AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He inclined his head to her in acknowledgment and grabbed a pair of weights. “We’regoing for twelve with five pulses on the last one. Ready?”
She grinned, and so did he. “Let’s go.”
Together, Mike and Emily knocked out three sets, much to her delight. “Great job,” he said, setting his weights back down. “How’s your hip feeling?”
She drank a few gulps of water, absently patting her right hip. According to the intake he completed with every new client, she’d wanted to start training because she’d never had much interest in exercise, besides some occasional yoga that she could “do in my bedroom in my pajamas,” but now that she’d been getting some aches and pains as she aged, she had decided she needed to seek out some help.
“Okay, we’re going to try static holds but add in movement. So you’ll still strengthen your foundation but hit on some range of motion too.” He demonstrated how he wanted her to hold a lunge then slowly lift her knee up toward the ceiling before lowering back down to the lunge. “We’ll start with five seconds for five reps. What do you think?”
As she eased back into a lunge, she frowned.
“Hey, it’s only five seconds. You can do anything for five seconds, come on,” he said, setting his fingertips on her elbow to make sure she was steady and balanced as she completed her reps.
“You know, you’re really good at this,” she grunted on the last one.
Mike lifted one shoulder. “I’d hope so. Could be really dangerous if I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“No.” She switched feet, settling into her lunge. “I mean your disposition. I’ve always been afraid to come into a gym, and if you weren’t Adam’s brother, I probably wouldn’t have reached out. But,” she said on an exhale as she picked up her back leg, almost tipping over until Mike righted her and got her back into a lunge, “you’re really good at this, very calming and encouraging.”
“Thank you. But you’re not getting out of your last three reps.”
Emily grinned and finished up before sitting down on a nearby bench. “I’ve never told you about my nephew. He’s in seventh grade, and my sister told me that he wants to start working out but isn’t really sure where to start. He was born with a lower limb difference.”
Mike swiped his hand over his mouth and beard, scratching at his chin as he listened.
“You know boys at that age, he wants to get a girlfriend, he wants to look good,” she said with a tired smile. Mike knew she was a mother of two children, one daughter in high school and one son in college. “But I guess he’s struggling to find exercises that he can do.” She leaned back on her hands, tilting her head to the side. “Have you ever thought of that? Providing an adaptive program for people?”
Mike had thought of it, but only for himself. He had needed to figure out how to get back into his normal exercise routine after his amputation by trial and error. Through that experience, he’d realized that he could help other people in their fitness journeys, but it had never occurred to him to make that his focus.
“Who better to provide that service than you?” Emily said with a smile as she stood up. “Something to think about.”
He would think about it. He’d think a lot about it.
* * *
Sam knocked twiceon the front door of her mom’s ranch home before entering. Classical music played quietly in the background as voices filtered in from the dining room. “Hello?”
“Sweet pea!” Carol Monahan-Healy attacked Sam with a hug and kisses. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“You too,” she said, kissing her mom’s cheek before Lina appeared.
“Hi, Sammy.”
Sam hugged her stepmother. “Hey. Nice to see you.”
“Good to have you home.”
Lina was great and she made her mom happy, but this house was never Sam’s home. She hadn’t had a home since the divorce, and it was hard to keep up the one big family act, which was why she chose not to visit either of her parents very often.
“You look wonderful, sweetie,” Carol said, squeezing Sam’s hand. With a long, flowing dress and a slouchy cardigan sweater, she appeared every bit the kindergarten teacher she was.
“Thanks. How’s school? You’ve got a couple days left, right?”
Carol folded her hands together in front of her chest. “We finish next week, but of course, Lina has some more work to do.”
Lina lifted one shoulder, her long gray hair brushing it. She and Carol had met when they taught at the same school, but Lina had since moved on to become principal at another elementary school. Ironically, Jimmy took Lina’s old job, teaching second graders.
“And then you’re going to Colorado?” Sam asked.
