Amnesia:A Navy Seal Erotic Romance(10)

This became a real embarrassment to Kaylee, considering that Dr. O'Bannon was letting her use his clinic's equipment for Cole's treatments. It was all just out of respect for Kaylee and Cole's reputation as a war hero that O'Bannon let her treat him in the clinic.

‘Humph! My back is aching from polishing all this stuff. What's taking Cole so long this time?' Kaylee thought.

Kaylee realized that long absences had a way of idealizing people in your consciousness and it was no different with Cole. In all that time apart, she had conveniently forgotten certain traits about him. She had forgotten just how notorious he was for being unreliable. And his recent habitual tardiness was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘I can't believe that I actually scrambled and begged Dr. O'Bannon to get me to work with Cole! I forgot just how much of a jerk he could be!'

The roar of a Harley outside the clinic interrupted Kaylee's angry thoughts. She knew who it was. The roar was all too familiar.

Kaylee walked briskly outside and saw Cole alight awkwardly from his huge Harley bike. The sound of its roaring engine was still echoing in Kaylee's ears and the smell of the smoke from its exhaust was still fresh in the air. How Cole could still ride a Harley, even if he was undergoing therapy for his injuries was beyond Kaylee.

Cole was just getting off when Kaylee walked angrily towards him.

"You're late, again!" she said loudly.

Even through his recently grown thick beard, Kaylee could notice Cole smiling sheepishly at her. He also reeked of alcohol, she thought.

"Sorry. I was a bit busy." Cole said.

"Doing what? Drinking? And driving!!? You do know you're not supposed to drink and drive, let alone while on pain medicine. And I don't think riding your Harley's the best way to travel with your bad leg. What have you turned into?" Kaylee was stunned by Cole's ‘ah ha' expression, and his sarcastic demeanor turned angry.

"Got any better ideas?" Cole snapped back.

"I think you still have your parents' old jeep in the garage. You could drive it. It would be less stress on your legs."

Now Kaylee could see Cole frowning from behind his beard. What was with the new look, anyway? His energy dropped every time his parents were mentioned, his mother passing when he was just seven, and living with an abusive father was no picnic, she knew. She made a mental note on the real problem and decided to figure out a way to help, on the emotional front.                       
       
           



       

"Hey! Nobody tells me when or when not to ride my Harley!" He shouted back at her, clinging to what little masculinity he had left.

Kaylee noticed that Cole was really having a hard time getting on his crutches this time. But she was too angry to help him.

"You're not making your therapy and treatment any easier for yourself! Keep this up, and you'll stay on your crutches!"

"A little help grabbing the other crutch would be appreciated!" Cole snapped again.

Cole and Kaylee were arguing in the clinic's parking area, and their voices were slowly getting louder and louder. More people were beginning to notice their bickering but they just kept going.

"You know what? That's the trouble with you, Cole! You've never really changed! You've always been that brat who kept getting into fights to act tough! You've haven't changed a bit! It's always been this way with you, ever since we were kids!"

Cole ignored Kaylee's tirade and tried harder to adjust the position of his crutches. He hated being this dependent on them. Kaylee wasn't sure if Cole was ignoring her or just sneering behind the beard. Maybe he was trying to act tough but she didn't buy it and her anger had really risen now.

"Deep down, you're the same little kid that got punched in the face by Bobby Evans!" Kaylee blurted.

Just as Kaylee spoke, Cole's right crutch went outward losing its grip, and he lost his balance. He fell on his side on the concrete of the parking lot, and his crutches scattered.

"Cole!"

The sight of Cole collapsing snapped Kaylee back to reality and she forgot her feelings of anger. She crouched beside Cole, put her hands under his massive triceps and slowly helped him up. Just as she crouched beside him, Cole whispered to her ear.

"I never told you why I was in a fight with Evans that afternoon," His mood had suddenly altered to one of vulnerability.

Cole had gotten Kaylee's attention. Kaylee noticed that Cole was reminiscently grinning behind his way too fuzzy beard now.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I socked Evans because he said you were a skinny, brainy, ugly duckling who would never amount to anything." Cole unintentionally shared, in a moment of vulnerability and retort to her tirade, trying to reveal something deeper about him to her.





Chapter Four



Hitch a Ride





"That was very unprofessional behavior back at the parking lot, Miss Watts."

Dr. O'Bannon paced around his office like a cornered rabid dog. Kaylee sat in a chair and kept turning anxiously. She was otherwise silent and had her head bowed.

"I can't believe that you would engage your patient in such a silly argument."

O'Bannon was cold and businesslike but he had a right to be. No matter what the argument or her own personal feelings, Cole was a patient at his clinic. And their little argument at the parking lot did not go unnoticed. A lot of people saw what happened and such an incident could really tarnish the clinic's reputation. They dealt with the cream of the crop athletes from all over North America. A small town done good, in terms of Rehab notoriety. O'Bannon would have none of it, not after he had worked so long and hard to put up the clinic.

"A lot of people saw you two arguing and it was embarrassing. He even fell to the ground while trying to adjust his crutches. You should have been helping him instead of engaging in childish banter."

Kaylee could not look O'Bannon in the eye. She knew he was right. She shouldn't have let her emotions cloud her actions. She should have acted professionally.

"I'm sorry, Dr. O'Bannon." she mumbled.

"It's a good thing that Mr. Jenkins didn't complain about your behavior. He was actually very gracious about the whole incident when I called him personally, to apologize."

Kaylee shook her head. She just couldn't believe what had happened.

"I'm really sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"It better not. He could have filed a complaint with the Board."

Kaylee bit her lip. She didn't like the sound of Dr.O'Bannon's words but he was right. Cole could easily have filed some kind of complaint against her and that would have really escalated the whole thing. She had dodged a bullet.

"Yes sir."

Dr. O'Bannon nodded her off and she walked out of his office. Cole was all smiles as he waited for her in the physical therapy room.

"Your superior chew you off?" Cole said, with a little dig and an accompanying smirk.

"It was nothing. It's okay." Kaylee said, brushing aside Cole's comment.

"Hey. Just to let you know, I didn't rat on you about the incident at the parking lot. Somebody else did. It seems like we made quite the scene." he said.                       
       
           



       

"I told you it's all right." Kaylee said.

"Fine, fine."

"Now, come on and let's get you on the treadmill."

The session seemed especially grueling for Cole. His pain wasn't something he would discuss or ever show, if he could help it. It was agonizing, and he kept it, and other things, bottled up. He wasn't sure if that was the way it was supposed to go, or if Kaylee was pushing him extra hard on purpose. Whatever the case, Kaylee was really laying it on Cole. He felt his quadriceps and hamstring burning more than usual, where the bullet had penetrated. Each step on the clinic floor was jarring. Cole held on to the walker tightly. This must have been what his Dad felt in his later years when he could barely walk. The thought did little to console Cole.

"Come on, Cole! You can do it! Keep walking. Your legs have to get used to it again!"

"I can't!" Cole mumbled.

Sweat dripped from his forehead. He tried to take one more step but a deep sharp pain got the best of him. He fell to the floor.

"Cole!"

He smiled at Kaylee. It was a brave front, but Kaylee could see that Cole was really frustrated at his inability to walk without any help.

"I'm okay." he said, as Kaylee helped him up, hand under each armpit giving him a little leverage to his good left leg which did most of the work. Her hands brushed down his back muscles, and she felt her heart flutter momentarily.

"It shouldn't take so long to see improvement." Cole said with dejection.

He was showing a vulnerable side, and this affected Kaylee.

"I think I pushed you too hard and I'm sorry for that." she said.

"No. You're only trying to do your job. I should be the one to try a little harder instead of being such an ass."

Their passing gaze met briefly as Cole got up. They looked deeply into each other's eyes, in a moment that became akin to an altered state. After the lingering moment, both of them simultaneously looked away.