Baby Im Back

him walk the length of the room many times without his cane. “Your alignment is much improved. How does it feel?”
    “Awkward,” he admitted. “I have to concentrate.”
    “It’ll be second nature soon,” she assured him. “Why don’t you give the steps a try?”
    He walked to the set of four steps up and four steps down girdled by a handrail. Slowly, he maneuvered them, using the rail only occasionally. “Why did you come back?”
    She looked up from where she was making notes on his file. “Pardon me?”
    His expression was curious. “Why did you come back to Sweetness? You couldn’t have great memories of living here.”
    He was referring to the bullying again. She gave a shrug. “School was tough, but otherwise my parents made sure I had a happy childhood.”
    “Where did you go after the tornado?”
    “To Chattanooga. My father got a job there.”
    “Did you like it?”
    If anything, the teasing at her new school had been even worse. “It seems that kids are the same everywhere.”
    His mouth tightened. “And after high school?”
    “Classes at the University of Tennessee, then my PT training.” She smiled. “A fairly uneventful life.”
    “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    Lora’s pulse picked up, but Barry’s tone was casual. In fact, he was focused fiercely on descending the stairs.
    “Uh…no,” she offered, trying to match his tone.
    “That must be by choice,” he said, still not looking at her.
    Lora frowned, not quite sure where the conversation was going. “What makes you say that?”
    He shrugged. “There are a lot of single men in town.”
    He stumbled on the last step. Lora lunged forward and put her arms around his waist to stabilize him. He steadied, but it left their face mere inches from each other. Lora blinked and before she could pull back, he had closed the space and captured her lips with his.
    If she said she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to be kissed by Barry Ballantine, she’d be lying. In truth, she’d thought about it a thousand times while sitting behind him in sophomore English, and a few hundred times this week alone while lying in bed. But in her wildest dreams, she hadn’t imagined it would be this good, that his lips would be gentle, but firm, that his tongue would coax hers into a sensual dance, that—
    He abruptly pulled back. “I’m sorry.”
    She released him and struggled to pull breath into her lungs. Her mind raced, trying to assemble an appropriate response when her body screamed for more.
    “That was wrong of me,” he said, descending the last step heavily.
    Her throat convulsed and she glanced at her watch to regain her composure. “That’s probably enough for today,” she agreed.
    But long after he’d made his escape, his kiss kept her occupied even as she went through the motions of therapy with other patients. That evening, the found dog was a welcome distraction because while his furry little body hadn’t full recovered, his spirit certainly had. He was playful and congenial and bright, judging by the way he caught on to the game of fetch, and she was able to teach him to sit with only a few minutes of training and a few snacks. At first he wasn’t crazy about the collar she put on him, nor the leash she attached to it, but he acclimated quickly.
    Lora was nervous about seeing Barry the next day for his appointment, but as she watched the puppy play and run, an idea formed in her head. The next morning when Barry walked up to the entrance of the clinic, she was waiting for him in the parking lot with the dog on its leash.
    “What’s this?” he asked warily.
    The memory of his kiss hit her full force, but she rallied. “I think you’re ready to maneuver around obstacles outdoors. I thought we might take a walk up to the school and back.”
    He glanced up to mentally stake out the distance. “That looks easy enough. Is the mutt coming, too?”
    Lora was surprised at the irritation in his voice. She had hoped the man and animal would bond—keeping up with a pet would be good for Barry’s continued mobility. “I was hoping you’d take his leash.”
    An odd expression crossed his face, then he shrugged and reached for the leash, extending the cane to her in trade. “No one’s claimed him yet?”
    She took the cane, knowing Barry had just passed a mental hurdle by relinquishing it to her. “No. I think he might’ve been abandoned. It’s a shame—he’s energetic, but he obeys so well.”
    “German