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Liz’s eyes widened. Was that what Kelly thought she was doing? Making Adam squirm? She and her friend were going to have a long talk this evening when she came by.
Once settled into the back seat of the car, Liz leaned her head against the plush seat. She didn’t want Adam to squirm, didn’t want him to feel trapped, didn’t want anything from him.
She honestly wasn’t sure what the answers were. She was pregnant by a man who didn’t love her but felt obligated to do the right thing. How far would he go with that?
She turned her face into the car seat, not liking her fate but knowing she’d survive. A fresh whiff of new-car smell hit her.
“Whose car did you borrow? This looks brand-new.”
He seemed surprised that she’d spoken to him. She hadn’t since she’d attacked him with his flowers. “It is new.”
What he was saying registered.
“You bought a new car?” The entire time she’d known him he’d driven his sporty little two-seater. Why would he buy this roomy, luxurious sports utility vehicle? She wiggled in the seat she sat in and realized the luxurious design hid built-in child seats. Her heart pitter-pattered in her chest. “When?”
“This morning. Your wheelchair wouldn’t fit in my car,” he explained so matter-of-factly she could have screamed.
She’d assumed he’d borrowed the vehicle, as he had the truck they’d hauled her grandfather’s equipment in. How ironic she was using many of the same items she’d given to the assisted living facility?
“You didn’t have to buy a new vehicle. For that matter, you didn’t have to take me home. I had a way until you so gallantly—” she almost choked on her own words “—stepped in.”
“It’s really not a big deal, Liz. I wanted to buy a new vehicle, so I did.”
Money wasn’t the issue for Adam it had always been for her but, still, this was too much. He shouldn’t have bought a new car because of her.
“Besides,” he continued, “your old car was totaled and you’ll need something to drive once you’re able to.”
A fresh wave of anger welled within her.
“Uh-uh. I’m not driving your car.” She shook her finger at him. “You are not going to take over my life, Adam. What happened today was an aberration. I’m not going to be manipulated into doing what you want me to do over and over, got it? Butt out of my life.”
Since Adam wasn’t sure how to respond to her outburst he opted to keep his attention on the road.
He supposed he should be grateful Liz was talking to him at all. She didn’t want to be in his car or anywhere near him.
Surprisingly, her friends had pushed her into coming with him. So had Larry and Dr Bell. He hadn’t asked anyone to force Liz to accept his ride but that’s what they’d all done.
He wasn’t complaining. He’d do whatever it took to get her to spend time with him, to listen to him, to realize he wanted to make up for his mistakes.
For the time being, Adam chose not to tell Liz that she wouldn’t be driving his car, that he’d had the title put in her name that morning. He wanted to take care of her, planned to spend the rest of his life doing just that.
The remainder of the ride to her place was quiet. Never in their relationship had Adam struggled with what to say to Liz, never could he recall feeling awkward with her before her grandfather’s death, but he did now. Horribly awkward.
She sat in the car while he got her bag and flowers. He carried the items to the house and let himself in with the key she’d given him months ago. Leaving the front door open, he returned to the car and got Liz’s wheelchair out of the back of the SUV. Despite the balmy day, the frame chilled him to the bone.
Would he ever be able to grasp the cold metal of a wheelchair and not wonder if some
day he’d be forced to use one?
But he didn’t have time to dwell on what-ifs. Liz sat in the SUV, waiting for him. If she could have managed getting out and into the house by herself, she’d have been long gone. When he opened her car door, she slid her arms around his neck and let him lift her into the waiting wheelchair.
He swallowed at how precious she felt in his arms.
Even with the cast, she was so light he could have carried her into the house. From the stiff way she touched him he knew that the less time they had to touch, the happier she’d be. So he placed her in the wheelchair and pushed her into the house that had been made handicap-accessible years ago for Gramps.
The fact Liz didn’t want to touch him cut deeply, but it wasn’t anything he didn’t deserve. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t attempted to achieve prior to her crash.
“Thank you,” she murmured when he’d settled her on the love seat and propped a couple of pillows beneath her cast to keep it elevated.
