“Yesssss!” Sam jumps to her feet, pumping her fist in the air. “Final-four baby, here we come.” Her plump lips turn up in a smile that never wavers when she says, “Just think, by this time next year, we’ll be in Lawrence. God.” She giggles straddling my lap. “I can’t wait to get out of this town.”

When you love someone, their dreams become yours but I’m left scared shitless on how to deliver this girl everything she deserves.

Staring up into her eyes, with my nerves on fire, I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear while saying, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she quickly adds before brushing her lips against mine.

Before she has the chance to deepen our kiss, I pull my face away from hers. My voice barely a whisper when I add, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

She cups my face, her thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I know. That’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”

The idea of letting her go has been weighing heavy on my mind. Sam shines like the brightest star in the sky. The world is sitting at her fingertips and I refuse to shackle her to a mediocre life. If I want to keep her, I need to get my life in order and I need to do it fast because time is literally slipping away.

I’ve traveled the world and buried more brothers than I want to count, and still I didn’t know life could be this cruel.

I have two regrets in life and breaking Sam’s heart is one of them. I had hoped she managed to get out of Jasper but at least if she stayed, it was after she earned her degree. From the day I met Sam, she told me her plans of leaving town. She had her eyes set on KU and making a life for herself away from this Podunk little town practically in the middle of nowhere.

With the afternoon sun shining through the windows, the room appear warm and inviting, the complete opposite of the chilly glare Sam’s aiming my direction.

“Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“Jeez, Doc. How very professional of you.”

With a dramatic roll of her eyes, she stomps to the living room and parks her ass on the couch.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Mom says, patting my good arm.

“That’s not necessary.” My voice is almost frantic. Control is a carefully crafted tool the military instilled in me. I can handle almost anything without so much as flinching; however, there’s no amount of training that could prepare me for being alone with this woman.

“Nonsense. I need to clean up for my appointment anyway,” Mom says, already limping down the hallway.

Slowly, my attention returns to Sam. She has a file sitting on the coffee table in front of her but she’s not looking at it. Instead, she’s carefully studying me. Her eyes leisurely wander down my face, my arms and legs, kindling a slow burn in the pit of my stomach.

Sitting down in the recliner, my mind wants to wander to a time in my life when everything felt perfect, when she belonged to me but instead I force myself to stay in the present—a place where this beautiful creature hates me.

“On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain level?”

I blink a few times, caught off guard on how quickly she jumped into doing her job. Truthfully, my arm hurts like a fucking bitch, but I’m not about to admit that to anyone, especially Sam.

Okay… game on. Stretching my legs out in front of me, I answer with a smirk. “One.”

Sam’s eyes narrow in question. “Okay. Using the same scale, how would you rate the mobility in your arm?”

“One.”

She squares her shoulders and sighs. “Your arm is in a sling. I think that in itself would tell you your mobility isn’t where you’d like it to be.”

I remain silent, which only adds to her building frustration. Tapping her finger on the file, she flips through a few pages. “Your left tendon and bicep were torn in multiple places. After three surgeries it seems this is as good as your shoulder is going to get. With some intense physical therapy, the last doctor is hoping you’ll be able to roll your shoulder and have some use of your arm.”

I nod, appearing bored. She isn’t telling me anything I haven’t heard a thousand times already.

“Since your pain level is only a one, I presume the medicine your doctor prescribed is working?”

“I’m not taking any fucking pills,” I say, gritting my teeth.

“You’re not making this easy on me, Luke.”

My brows raise in question. “I didn’t know it was my job to make things easy on you.”

Her hands ball into a fist. “Can you at least shower by yourself?”

Torrid thoughts of the two of us naked and wet sinfully whirl through my mind. A suggestive smile tugs at my mouth. “Why? Did you want to get naked with me? I’m willing to pretend I need help if it means I have a naked chick washing my body.”

Her expression falls. “I’m sure there are plenty of chicks in Jasper who are willing to get naked with you, Luke.”

Oh, shit…I didn’t mean just anyone, I meant Sam but I can’t tell her that. She could be married for all I know and if she’s not… well, I still can’t give her the life she deserves. But I would never, purposely throw another woman in her face.

“I’ll talk to my boss and rearrange a few things. I’m sure if I try hard enough I can find someone who’d be willing to trade a client with me.”

A blast of adrenaline shoots through me, leaving me almost breathless when I ask, “What?” Ten minutes ago, I was annoyed that I had to put up with someone coming here and telling me what to do. My arm is useless so what the fuck does it matter anyway but now… I can’t stomach the idea of her disappearing from my life. I don’t deserve her but the selfish bastard in me isn’t ready for her to walk away for good.

“Luke, this isn’t going to work. I don’t know if you’re purposely being an ass or if everyone in your life is rewarded with this crappy attitude, but I have enough on my plate without adding you to my list of problems.”

My back goes straight while a dose of worry and interest overwhelms my mind. Mom gave me a run down on several people, but not Sam, and my sudden need to know every fucking detail of her life leaves me buzzing for a taste of something I don’t deserve. Regardless, my mouth opens and words spill from my tongue. “Maybe you’d like to get a beer sometime?”

She watches me for a few beats then swiftly grabs the file off the table and hollers, “Margie, are you ready?”

Shit, she’s leaving…

“I can drive my mother,” I blurt in a panic. I hate the fact that I’m home, yet Mom still needs to rely on someone else.

“No, you can’t. Considering your arm is in a sling, it’s not safe for you to drive down to the mailbox, let alone all the way to town.”

Mom walks into the room, her eyes dancing back and forth between us.

“Are you ready?” Sam questions.

“Oh, yes.”

She nods her head towards the door. “Then, let’s go.” Sam walks toward the door, leaving me with a persistent ache in my chest, one I’ve lived with for years.

Disappearing into another life was an illusion, a way of masking a broken heart. Sadly, no amount of discipline or training taught me how to mend the pain I inflicted. I tortured myself with the knowledge that she moved on, that she was happy. She deserves a man who can deliver the world, not a life filled with agony followed by bitterness. But something tells me Sam’s living with the same misery that’s been my constant companion since the day I left town.