Free Working It Out by Rachael Anderson

and the pain in her eyes, the words died in his throat. That guy in
the wheelchair had really done a number on her.
    Who was he anyway? An old boyfriend? Or worse—a current
one? Did Grace really move here for him? Seth felt a prick of something that
felt like jealousy. Apparently, she didn’t keep a professional distance from
all her patients. How had Alec managed to sneak past her walls? Or had they
been involved before he became her patient? Seth checked the impulse to follow
the guy and find out. He forced himself to stay put, waiting for Grace to
notice him.
    She sat in her chair, leaning forward with her chin
resting on her hands as she gazed out the window. Although Seth could only see
her profile, something in her expression wrenched his heart. He’d seen that
look before. On Lanna, right after the auction and before she’d walked away
from him. It was the same broken expression.
    Seth suddenly wanted to pull Grace into a hug and fix
whatever was broken inside her. But that was crazy. He hardly knew her, and the
last thing Seth should want to do was get personal with another girl like
Lanna.
    He cleared his throat and moved forward.
    As if coming out of a trance, Grace’s head snapped up.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly stood. “I’m sorry, have you been
standing there long?”
    “Long enough to know I’m not being treated nearly as well
as that guy.” Seth hooked a thumb over his shoulder where Alec had just left. “You
forgot to mention that the door opened automatically.”
    She let out a half sigh, half strangled chuckle. “Sorry. I,
uh . . . forgot.”
    “I bet.” Seth leaned casually against the bench and
folded his arms, glad to see that some of the sadness had disappeared from her
eyes. Maybe some mild goading would make it go away altogether. “Know what else
you forgot to mention?”
    “What?”
    “That you make dinner for your patients as well. When can
I expect you to drop by my place? Or do you only do that for guys in
wheelchairs?”
    Lips no longer twitching, Grace shot him a that’s-none-of-your-business
look. Then she pointed to the exercise bike and said tersely, “Why don’t you
warm up on the bike for ten minutes? After that we can go over some more
strengthening exercises and see how your leg is coming along.”
    Seth wanted to kick himself, possibly even duct tape his
mouth closed. When it came to Grace, he didn’t seem to know when to stop. Maybe
he needed therapy on more than just his knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
    “Why do I find that hard to believe?” Grace said. She let
out a breath of frustration then sighed. “For the sake of your knee, I’ll let
it slide for today.”
    Seth nodded, still curious about the guy in the
wheelchair, but not enough to risk ticking Grace off again. He swallowed his many
questions and climbed on the bike, starting slowly until his knee got the hang
of it, then building up speed. He’d totally bombed in the personal department, but
at least he could show Grace that he was still a good patient. Seth had worked
hard—both here and at home—and was pleased to notice that his leg muscles were
getting stronger already.
    While he rode, Grace tinkered around the room, writing
something down or fiddling with a machine. Seth even caught her staring out the
window at one point with the same sad, broken look in her eyes.
    When his ten-minute warm-up finally ended, Seth climbed
off the bike with an incredibly sore knee and wiped the perspiration from his
forehead with a hand towel. “I can’t wait for that not to hurt anymore,” he
said.
    Grace’s eyes flickered to his, looking almost haunted. “At
least you’ll recover.”
    It took Seth a moment to realize that she was still thinking
of Alec—whoever he was. He studied her for a moment, wanting to know why Grace
seemed to care so much about him and where her sadness came from.
    “What happened to him?” The question was out before Seth
could rethink