Worth It All(34)
He searched her eyes for several beats, his own quiet and reflective.
“I’ve been thinking about Casey’s prosthesis situation,” Jake said after another moment. “And I think I should make her a new one. Not just make her one, but let her help me make it so she’d be excited about it.”
“Be one with her prosthesis?”
He smiled. “Exactly. I don’t pretend to know the mind of a five-year-old girl—”
“You do pretty well.”
His mouth curved slightly at the compliment. “I know you can go to Shriners, but I think I could make a better one. I know I could. And the turnaround time would be fast.”
Paige stared at him a second, taking in what he was offering. “That would be incredible. But I know it’s expensive, not to mention the time.”
“Paige. Please. I’ll put my guys on it. It’ll be a nice break for them. I can let Casey look at some material catalogs. She’ll have plenty of color and pattern choices to do whatever she wants.”
“That could be dangerous,” she said, thinking of what her daughter might dream up. He met her smile and she gave in with a sigh. “You know I can’t say no to that.”
“No,” he said. “You can’t.”
“Thank you. And thank you for today, too. I don’t know if I said that.”
“You did. About five times and you’re welcome. It was fun. I got a whistle and everything.”
He grinned, which was enough to make a woman stupid, then took a sip of water, and she tried not to stare at his throat. “So, um…was it always your dream to move to California? Open a major cutting-edge company?”
“No,” he said with a small laugh. “I never had such aspirations. The only thing I ever dreamed of was playing football.”
“Did you play at CalTech?”
“No. I played at the University of South Carolina. Thought I’d play four years of college, maybe even go pro.” He paused and studied the glass in his hand. “That was the dream, anyway. I played one season and then…” His gaze fell to his right leg and her heart hurt. “Then I lost my scholarship.”
He’d lost more than his scholarship. He rubbed his thigh again and she wondered if it was a habit when he thought about all he’d lost. He’d lost his dreams, so had she, but where she’d gained Casey, he’d lost his leg. “I’m sorry. What did you do after that?”
“After that, I moved out west to a rehab facility.”
That surprised her, that he’d needed to move for rehab, and it must have shown on her face.
“My left leg was broken in four places in addition to the lower portion of the right being crushed. One doctor suggested I might not walk again.”
Of course. Because his hadn’t been a planned surgery like Casey’s. It’d been sudden and painful and violent. That still didn’t explain why he’d gone so far away from his family. Why he’d stayed. “Well, that doctor was obviously wrong.”
“Lots of rehab.” His tone said it hadn’t been easy.
A dog barked in the distance and another answered him.
“Wait—you were quarterback, weren’t you?” she asked, breaking the silence. “All the games today?” It was easy to picture his big hands wrapped around the leather of a football. “You know, that could be considered cheating.” She nudged his leg playfully with the toe of her sandal, and he smiled the way she’d wanted him to.
“Not quarterback. Wide receiver, but I was around a football a lot. Enough to beat you, evidently.”
“I want a rematch.”
One side of his mouth curved up. “Anytime.”
As in he would spend time with her anytime she wanted? Did he want that? “I bet your parents are proud of you, coming out here, starting a business, and becoming a…”
“Biomedical engineer, and I don’t really stand out.”
“Why? Because there are so many?” She couldn’t imagine him not standing far and above all others.
“Maybe, but my oldest brother was an Air Force pilot and now owns a charter business. My next brother was a Navy SEAL, the next a millionaire before he was thirty. My sister’s a psychologist, and let me tell you what a pain that is. She’d rival Casey in the asking questions department,” he added affectionately.
He continued describing his family and their lives. The admiration in his voice when he talked about his brothers was clear, and she could picture him as a little boy trying to live up to what he saw as legends. She didn’t need to meet them to know he’d still be the standout to her. “Was it hard being the youngest?”