Near the wall, Seth pounded at a heavy bag. He paused between reps. “I bet you could still do it.”
The men had ended up in the workout space after a training meeting for the Crisis Response Team. Jack Stewart, the dark-blond flight nurse, and Boone Buckam, the blue-eyed head of the Crisis Response Team, also worked out nearby.
“I could definitely beat you, anyway,” Sammy said. “You always were a lightweight.”
Seth put his hand to his chest in mock pain. “Lightweight?” He gave the heavy bag a few jabs. “Why don’t you come over here and say that?”
Sammy laughed, the itchy energy in his chest easing.
“You’re doing great after your accident,” Jack said.
Okay, maybe the relief only lasted a moment. “Thanks to you and Colleen.”
“Nah, Colleen was the hero that day.” Jack walked over to where Sammy sat and motioned to the bar. “I can spot for you. Are you still in physical therapy?”
Sammy lay back down on the bench and wrapped his hands around the bar. “No. I’ve graduated.” The months of therapy after his surgery stretched long in his memory. He’d moved past the physical limitations. Now if only he could figure out how to move his mind forward.
“You’ve done well coming back from that. Back to new.” Seb slowed the treadmill to a walk.
“I won’t be doing three-hundred-pound dead-squats again. But, yeah, I guess I’m doing okay.”If you don’t count the nightmares.He pushed the bar up and away from his chest, the burn in his arms not leaving any room for anything else. “I guess non-lightweight Seth will have to show us how it’s done.” An inch at a time, he brought the bar back down into place on the rack. A slight plink sounded as the bar seated into place.
“We could’ve used you last week on the snowplow,” Seth said. “Any idea when you’ll be coming back?”
And there it was.
A pain filled his gut momentarily. He really did enjoy being in the plow truck, clearing snow, contributing to the town he loved.
“I’m just not up to it yet.” Sweat unrelated to the weight lifting popped out on his forehead, and he wiped at it again.
“Maybe you can ride along with us sometimes. Get back into the swing of things,” Jack offered.
“Yeah, maybe.” Get an up-close view of everything the accident had stolen from him? No thanks.
Sammy took Seb’s place on the treadmill. For a moment the room echoed with the noises of the men shifting into their new positions. Their sweat filled the air with a sharp musky scent. Outside the window, the January sky hung overcast and gray.
“Did you hear that Robin Fox is back?” Seth called from the weight-lifting bench, his voice coming out in a grunt as he tried to press Sammy’s weights.
“Who is Robin Fox?” Boone asked.
Sammy felt heat rise up his neck. “Just a girl we went to school with a long time ago.”
“Just a girl with the last name Fox?” Boone teased.
“I think we need to hear more about this Robin,” Jack put in.
Sammy increased the speed of the treadmill. “Guys, she’s just a friend.”
“Okay, sure,” Jack said. “But is she single? Is she cute?”
Sammy ignored the ribbing and bumped his machine up until he was jogging.
“I seem to remember you two being pretty chummy.” Seb caught his eye in the mirror hung on the wall, his face a picture of innocence. “I ran into you more than once having a study session.”
“Oh.” Boone leaned into the teasing now. “I think maybe you just need another study session. See if you remember any chemistry?”
Sammy missed a step, recovered, and held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. I give. She’s cute. She’s back in town, and I saw her the other day. She’s all grown up.”
Seth gave a loud, theatrical sigh. “Growing up happens to the best of us. Wasn’t she in Paris or something?”
