Counting on Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 3) by Amelia Rose Page A
Authors: Amelia Rose
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sissy.”
Emma nudged Joseph playfully in his good shoulder, smiling down at him. “Sorry, pretty boy, Darius said you have to sit up. Doctor’s orders.”
“Nope. I’m not doing it. Tell Darius he can do it if he wants this stupid tube ripped in half so badly.” Joseph threw his good arm over his closed eyes, hiding his face.
“Come on, remember what I promised you. I have a special treat planned today if you hurry up and finish all your exercises.”
Joseph peeked up at her from under the crook of his elbow and scowled. These weeks living in the small extended stay hotel suite with Emma had been interesting, to say the least. When he wasn’t in one of his twice daily therapy sessions, she was reminding him to do his stretches or his exercises, even when they were just relaxing or watching TV. At first, it had been annoying, having some outsider boss him around, but as he grew accustomed to it, he realized Emma was just looking out for him. “Fine, but I refuse to finish my vegetables or pick up my dirty socks for the rest of the week.”
“It’s a deal. Now sit up and move it, pretty boy!” She stepped back and pointed to the rubber tubing hanging from the wall of the physical therapy unit. “Two more sets! Go! Move it!” Her contribution to his therapy had been to become a cross between a deranged cheerleader and a kitten-like drill sergeant, which would have been funny, if Joseph hadn’t been hurting so much.
This hurt was different though, and Joseph knew it. Rather than the debilitating, frightening pain that came from not knowing why his body was betraying him, this was the pain that clearly told him he was on the mend, even if he still had a long way to go. He looked forward to this pain, because it told him that he was getting better.
“Tell me what the surprise is first,” he hedged, stalling for a little more rest time by hopefully distracting Emma.
“Nope. Good little boys who finish all their exercises get surprises,” she replied in a sing-song voice, returning to her chair against the wall. “Stubborn little boys who don’t get well get to go home and get sent to their rooms.”
“Promise?” Joseph muttered under his breath, but then sighed deeply in a frustrated way and sat up, reaching for the hateful tubing again. He began counting out his reps to himself, the effort and pain creasing his otherwise handsome face. Emma watched intently, a far cry from when she couldn’t bring herself to see how he struggled when he’d first begun several weeks ago. Now, she sat by his workout station and called out her support, reminding him to straighten his arm or pull with his core as she’d seen Darius do.
An exhausting two hours later—two hours that admittedly included a marvelous deep tissue massage on his scarred back as he slept—Joseph and Emma walked out of the building hand in hand and climbed into the rental car Bernard had arranged to take them back and forth every day. She steered the car to their hotel, and walked behind Joseph as he carried himself up the stairs under his own power.
Chapter Seventeen
“Go change clothes, and we’ll be on our way,” she said with an eager expression, repacking items from the small kitchenette into the cooler she used to bring their lunch to therapy each day.
“How do I know what to wear if I don’t know where we’re going?” he demanded, still trying to pry the information out of her.
“Just wear regular clothes. You know, jeans and a t-shirt,” Emma answered, stashing some apples in with their snack foods and drinks.
They finally hit the road, the windows rolled up against the chill in the air that signaled Christmas would be coming soon. It wasn’t lost on either of them that Joseph would be away from Carson Hill for the holidays, a fact they refused to acknowledge or discuss. Emma turned up the radio and sang along quietly, watching Joseph’s face uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye, staring at her.
“What?”
Emma nudged Joseph playfully in his good shoulder, smiling down at him. “Sorry, pretty boy, Darius said you have to sit up. Doctor’s orders.”
“Nope. I’m not doing it. Tell Darius he can do it if he wants this stupid tube ripped in half so badly.” Joseph threw his good arm over his closed eyes, hiding his face.
“Come on, remember what I promised you. I have a special treat planned today if you hurry up and finish all your exercises.”
Joseph peeked up at her from under the crook of his elbow and scowled. These weeks living in the small extended stay hotel suite with Emma had been interesting, to say the least. When he wasn’t in one of his twice daily therapy sessions, she was reminding him to do his stretches or his exercises, even when they were just relaxing or watching TV. At first, it had been annoying, having some outsider boss him around, but as he grew accustomed to it, he realized Emma was just looking out for him. “Fine, but I refuse to finish my vegetables or pick up my dirty socks for the rest of the week.”
“It’s a deal. Now sit up and move it, pretty boy!” She stepped back and pointed to the rubber tubing hanging from the wall of the physical therapy unit. “Two more sets! Go! Move it!” Her contribution to his therapy had been to become a cross between a deranged cheerleader and a kitten-like drill sergeant, which would have been funny, if Joseph hadn’t been hurting so much.
This hurt was different though, and Joseph knew it. Rather than the debilitating, frightening pain that came from not knowing why his body was betraying him, this was the pain that clearly told him he was on the mend, even if he still had a long way to go. He looked forward to this pain, because it told him that he was getting better.
“Tell me what the surprise is first,” he hedged, stalling for a little more rest time by hopefully distracting Emma.
“Nope. Good little boys who finish all their exercises get surprises,” she replied in a sing-song voice, returning to her chair against the wall. “Stubborn little boys who don’t get well get to go home and get sent to their rooms.”
“Promise?” Joseph muttered under his breath, but then sighed deeply in a frustrated way and sat up, reaching for the hateful tubing again. He began counting out his reps to himself, the effort and pain creasing his otherwise handsome face. Emma watched intently, a far cry from when she couldn’t bring herself to see how he struggled when he’d first begun several weeks ago. Now, she sat by his workout station and called out her support, reminding him to straighten his arm or pull with his core as she’d seen Darius do.
An exhausting two hours later—two hours that admittedly included a marvelous deep tissue massage on his scarred back as he slept—Joseph and Emma walked out of the building hand in hand and climbed into the rental car Bernard had arranged to take them back and forth every day. She steered the car to their hotel, and walked behind Joseph as he carried himself up the stairs under his own power.
Chapter Seventeen
“Go change clothes, and we’ll be on our way,” she said with an eager expression, repacking items from the small kitchenette into the cooler she used to bring their lunch to therapy each day.
“How do I know what to wear if I don’t know where we’re going?” he demanded, still trying to pry the information out of her.
“Just wear regular clothes. You know, jeans and a t-shirt,” Emma answered, stashing some apples in with their snack foods and drinks.
They finally hit the road, the windows rolled up against the chill in the air that signaled Christmas would be coming soon. It wasn’t lost on either of them that Joseph would be away from Carson Hill for the holidays, a fact they refused to acknowledge or discuss. Emma turned up the radio and sang along quietly, watching Joseph’s face uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye, staring at her.
“What?”
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