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She stopped in front of Chris. Well, let me let you talk to your brother. He is starting to get
restless.
Ashley handed the phone to him. She informed him she was going to run downstairs and turn in
the paper work she had just completed. He nodded before sticking the phone to his ear and she
turned and picked up the paperwork before heading down the hall.
* * * *
Chris continued to pedal even as he spoke into the phone. Hello.
There was a moment of silence on the other end. Did I interrupt something?
Chris frowned. No. Why do you ask?
You sound a little out of breath.
Chris groaned. You know sometimes I wonder if you need medication.
Andrew chuckled. So how is the last workout coming along?
Chris looked down at the counter on the machine. Six minutes left and counting.
Andrew was silent for a moment. Have you told her that you love her yet?
Chris sighed heavily. No, I haven t.
Tell her.
Chris rolled his eyes. I can t.
Why not?
I don t think she plans on staying in San Angelo.
He didn t give his brother any of the details he overheard Ashley talking about when she had
been on the phone with Raymond. He was bothered that she hadn t mentioned it to him yet but
he would give her time. He knew their relationship was changing, he just didn t know if it was
for the better or worse.
Then give her a reason to stay. If you don t, you ll regret it for the rest of your life.
Chris sighed heavily but Andrew didn t give him time to reply.
Tell you what you think about it. I need to get back to Karen and the kids but give me a call
later.
I will.
Chris disconnected the call and dropped the cell phone into the slot on the bike and began to
pedal faster. No it wasn t going to solve the problem but maybe it would help work off some of
his frustration. With a minute left in his workout Ashley returned and he realized that the
frustration he was feeling hadn t gone away. The timer dinged and he stopped peddling.
Good workout. Do your cool down, and we will do one more strength test. After that we can
head home.
He nodded and hopped of the bike. After toweling off he got down on the mat and Ashley
conducted the last of the test that she needed to run on him. Good. You are at about ninety
percent usage with your leg.
Chris smiled to himself. He was happy to hear that. Six months ago when he had lain on this mat
he hadn t even had ten percent of the use that he should have had in his leg. The months of pain
and desperation had been worth it. Now he only needed two more things to make this a complete
success.
Are you going to take a shower here or at home?
He sat up. I can wait until I get home.
She nodded and together they straightened up the room before heading out to his truck.
He had started back driving a month ago but only did so if he had someone else to ride with him.
Ten minutes later, they were pulling up in front of his house.
I hope George fixed something good for lunch. I am starved.
Chris led the way into the house and Ashley went straight into the kitchen. He locked the front
door then followed her. She was at the refrigerator and he smiled as she pulled out two
containers and put them on the cabinet. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
What did George leave for lunch?
Chicken salad and fruit salad. Do you want your chicken salad on wheat or rye bread?
Wheat is fine. What do you want to drink?
I saw some tea in there.
He smiled and stepped back. Walking over to the cabinet he pulled down two glasses and filled
them with the tea Ashley had accurately spotted in the refrigerator. She continued to make both
of their plates. He walked over to the table and set the glasses down before taking a seat. He
needed to shower but he was hungry right now and if he didn t eat, he wouldn t have enough
energy to make it through a shower. They were almost finished with their lunch before Chris
spoke.
What are you going to do with yourself now that you don t have a patient taking up all of your
time?
* * * *
Ashley was silent for a moment. She had been waiting for the topic to come up and she had
rehearsed her reply fifty times but those fifty times seemed to be useless to her right now. She
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