Pretend You're Mine(78)

“I will marry you and have your babies if you get me the hell out of this house. I have a PT appointment in thirty,” he said, stepping back. Harper looked him up and down. He was dressed in gym shorts and a t-shirt. His gleaming new prosthetic left leg began a few inches below the knee and ended in a sneaker.

“Luke might have a problem with the first, but I’d pay money to see the second, so it’s a deal. Besides, I want to see what you can do with that hardware.”

“I can do anything. They just won’t fucking let me,” Aldo muttered.

“If you don’t do what the doctors tell you, you’ll end up screwing up your stump or breaking that thing,” his mother warned pointing at his prosthetic.

Harper saw red in Aldo’s eye and decided to force a truce.

“Mrs. Moretta, I’m going to take Aldo to his appointment today. Is there anything you need while we’re out?”

Mrs. Moretta grumbled for a moment. “Well, I supposed I could use another box of Chardonnay.”

At the car, Aldo tossed his crutches in the back seat and lowered himself into the passenger seat. He dropped his head back against the headrest and sighed. “I love that woman, but I swear to God, one of these days one of us is going to murder the other.”

Harper snickered and shifted into reverse. “That was World War III in there.”

“That’s what happens when you spend two fucking weeks straight with Ina Moretta. I think it was her goal to drive me crazy.”

“I hear that’s what moms are for,” Harper said, backing down the driveway into the street. “Where are we going?”

Aldo directed her out of town to the north.

“By the way, there’s a bag of goodies in the back for you,” she told him.

Aldo swiveled in his seat and grabbed at the gift bag. “Where’s the candy?” he demanded.

“It’s in the bottom. I consulted with Luke on this so a lot of it you can thank him for.”

He pulled out a clear package. “New ear buds and an MP3 player?”

“It’s full of get-pumped play lists for therapy, and you can also use it to drown out your mom.”

“Ear plugs,” he said pulling out the tiny plastic egg.

“Luke said your mom snores.”

“Like a fucking company of lumberjacks at a chainsaw convention. What’s this? A bracelet?”

“Yeah, I thought you could start accessorizing,” Harper teased. “No, it’s one of those step counter heart-rate monitors. It’s what normal people who don’t run half marathons on the weekends use to measure their fitness. And since, for the next week or two, you probably won’t be hitting a 10K, I thought you could use it with your physical therapy. It’ll sync with your phone, too.”

“This is cool, Harpoon. Thanks.”

He seemed tired, flat. But he was home.

“Seriously? You’re gonna go with Harpoon?”

“We’ll see where the day takes us.” Aldo unwrapped a mini chocolate bar and popped it in his mouth.

***

The clinic was a twenty-minute drive north of town. Aldo ate candy and stared pensively out the window while Harper called Beth at the office to let her know she’d be back later that afternoon.

“Beth wants me to hug you for her,” Harper said, hanging up.

“I have a feeling I’ll be getting a lot of that.” Aldo didn’t seem thrilled with the idea.

“I know there’s a certain beautiful brunette who’d be willing to get in line to hug you.”

Aldo grunted.

“Have you talked to Gloria?”

“No.”

“Care to expand on that? I feel like I’m talking to Luke here,” Harper sighed.

“Turn here,” Aldo said, pointing at a white stone building on the right.

Harper pulled into the parking lot, and eased up to the front of the two-story glass entrance.

“I’ll grab your crutches,” she told Aldo, pulling the parking break.

“I’ll walk from the parking space,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Harper shrugged. “Fine.”

Two could play the smart-ass game. She pulled into the very last space at the far end of the lot and turned the car off. She worked the crutches free from the back seat and waited until Aldo pulled himself to a standing position.

“Get your ass in there.” She handed him the crutches.

She saw the tic in his jaw and waited.

“You can come in if you want,” he said finally before stepping around her and starting toward the front entrance.

Harper grabbed her bag out of the back seat and followed him.

His face didn’t show any exertion when they reached the reception area, but there were little beads gathering on his face and neck. His knuckles were white on the padded handgrips.