"God dammit!"

I cursed as I tried to reach my toothbrush, only managing to knock it further away. Everything was out of reach from the chair. I stood on my good leg and grabbed the toothbrush, sitting back into the chair with a thud.

I brushed my teeth angrily, annoyed by the complexity of doing even the simplest of things. I rinsed and spat and then carefully stood and put my toothbrush back where it belonged. I scowled in the mirror before plopping back down again.

Stupid. This was so stupid. I knew there were worse things. It was not worth getting upset about.

But every damn thing was harder to do.

Just putting my pants on without hurting my injured leg required me to lay on my side. I knew the wound was healing and it would get easier. But it was frustrating as hell.

Especially since this was one thing I couldn't use my strength to solve. For this, I needed patience.

I shook my head. I'd figure out a way to make do. And I would find a way to walk again.

Until then, I was mounting a shelf in the bathroom. And bars so I could lift myself using my upper body strength. And getting a damn seat for the shower.

I would not be a whiney-ass victim dammit.

I growled as I knocked the bar of soap into the toilet.

Well, maybe I would whine a little.

I combed my hair without looking and wheeled back into the bedroom to finish getting dressed. My luggage was on a rack by the window and I could easily access it from where I was. My mother had unpacked my dress clothes but I'd shooed her off when she tried to take care of the rest.

Stack by stack I unloaded it. I put a pile on my lap and wheeled over to the dresser and back again. I did it about twenty times until my all shit was stowed. Then I zipped up the suitcase and slung it down, pushing it under the bed. It wasn't the most graceful maneuver but hell, it got the job done.

Mom had brought down a coffee machine earlier that morning and it was already percolating. She'd also left me a plate of eggs and fruit. I grumbled a bit about the lack of bacon, but I had a feeling mom was not going to budge on a healthy diet. She'd already given me an earful last night over dinner.

I wolfed down the eggs and coffee and realized I didn't have to rush for once in my life. In fact, I didn't have one damn thing to do with myself. I looked around. There was plenty of stuff I could fix in here. Things to help mom out the way I did every time I came home for a holiday.

I could paint the place. Repair the side table that was leaning to one side. The back patio had some bricks coming up from the soft, loamy ground we had out here. But none of that was happening while I was in the chair.

I rolled my shoulders and decided to get to work on the one thing I could control at the moment.

My recovery.

If I kept the rest of my body in good working order, then maybe my leg would heal faster. Or at least I would not go out of my freaking mind.

I eyed the sofa and the edge of the fireplace. Deciding the fireplace was more manly, I scooted my body from the chair onto the lip and started doing dips. I eased down onto my knees and turned around to do push ups on the floor, keeping the weight off my bad leg.

I was pretty sure the physical therapy folks would frown on this, seeing as my stitches were barely out, but damned if I was going to go soft. I did two sets of fifty, alternating dips and pushups. I was just finishing up the second set when I heard footsteps on the stairs.

I counted out the last few reps and turned over, sitting on the floor with my back against the fireplace. There, if I could do that a few times a day, plus crunches, I would not be getting soft. I just had to watch my injury and go slow.

At least it was something.

I wiped the back of my wrist over my forehead as mom came down with my new aid. I froze with my hand still over my forehead and stared. I could hardly believe my eyes.

Dark hair, big hazel eyes and curves that wouldn't quit. A beautiful mirage from my teenage fantasies. The girl who had haunted my dreams all those years ago.

My new aid had just walked into the room, looking just as shocked as I did.

And a damn sight less happy.

I was grinning ear to ear, but she sure wasn't.

A gorgeous brunette stood in front of me, tight jeans casing long, impossibly curvy legs. And good lord, that was just her legs. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail that made her look like a schoolgirl. She was wearing a plain button down shirt that did little to disguise her ridiculously sexy body. There was no mistaking the Jessica Rabbit proportions of the girl who'd driven me crazy throughout all of high school.

Fuck it. Junior high too.

Tabitha fucking Peterson.

This was amazing. Awesome. Fantastic.

And a total fucking disaster.

This girl- scratch that- this woman- had done more than haunt my horny teenage dreams. I'd still thought of her over the years. Searched for her now and then online with no luck. I only had my memories and a few pictures in the yearbook to remember her by.

She looked even better now, if that was even possible.

So yeah, I was glad to see her. More than glad. I felt like an old house that had the power turned back on. A busted car with a new battery.

But my pride was rearing its ugly head.

Tabitha was the last damn person I wanted seeing me like this. I wanted to screw her brains out, not have her wipe my ass. Not that it had come to that but- well, fuck it. It was the principle of the matter.

I frowned. She looked even less psyched than I did. That surprised me. Everybody else was acting like I was a war hero, even if the accident had been a equipment malfunction. She didn't know that. Hell, I'd just found out the barest details myself.

The Navy was notoriously tight lipped when shit went wrong. Which it had, rather spectacularly. I'd finally heard from the guys last night. I'd known that no one was killed in the explosion. Johnson got a mild concussion with some hearing loss and I got clipped, but that was it. Davis and Cain hadn't even been above deck.

Two of us, out of the service. But everyone had survived. Even the ship was being refurbished, though the guys had been reassigned.

We were fucking lucky.

Right now though, I didn't feel fucking lucky.

"You two know each other, don't you?"

I nodded curtly. Tabitha said nothing. I noticed the way her neatly pressed shirt was fraying at the edges, the plain straight lines of it doing nothing to distract from her outrageous figure. Her eyes were dark as she looked me over.

"Do you need help getting into the chair?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"On the floor?"

"Yes. I'm good. On the floor."

I smiled at her pleasantly. I had to figure out how to get her to leave, and then come back when I could walk and let me take another crack at her. And I meant to take another crack, and then some.

"Mom, can I talk to you alone?"

Tabitha didn't wait to be asked. She stalked over to the patio door and out. I did my best not to stare at that ass of hers. It had been way too long since I got laid, I realized. That was the only way to explain the way my body was reacting.

Because I was close to being fully hard and my mother was in the damn room.

"Yes?"

"Mom, this isn't going to work. First of all, she's not strong enough to lift me."

"She is, actually. They have to pass a test."

I clenched my jaw and ignored that little tidbit.

"And second of all, I don't need a damn babysitter. I just need a little help now and then and a nurse to change the dressing. That's it."

"Well, Tabitha is a nurse."

My jaw dropped at that.

"She is?"

"I believe she had one year of nursing school. She came home to take care of her grandmother. She's actually more qualified than most home aids. Unless you want a visiting nurse service and that's a much more expensive proposition. The doctor didn't think you needed it."

"I don't need a twenty-four hour nurse. I don't need anything-"

"Tabitha knows how to follow the doctor’s instructions and help speed your recovery. You want that, don't you?"

I clenched my jaw.

"She's a very nice young lady. I knew her grandmother."

She gave me a look that could freeze boiling water.

"I hope you haven't treated her unkindly, Gabe. I know how snobby people in this town can be. I didn't raise you to judge people because they don't have money."

"No. I don't. I haven't."

"Good. I'll just tell her to come back in so I can get to the office. Unless there's something else?"

I knew I'd been beat. My mom couldn't stay here all day and she wasn't willing to leave me alone. I'd just have to set this place up so I could be here by myself. This wouldn't last more than a week or two.

I was sure I'd be walking again in a month anyway. I had to be.

Tabitha came back in and hung her purse on the back of a chair. I decided to use this time to get to know her. To find out if she had a boyfriend. Hell, maybe I'd have a real shot at her now.

"So."

"So."

She pulled out a pad and a pen.

"What would you like for lunch? Any food allergies?"

"Are you going to write everything down?"

I was grinning but she just stared at me.

"Yes."

"Come on, Tabitha. Tell me how you've been. It's been a long time."

She put her arms down and bit her lip. I realized with a start that Tabitha Peterson was shy. All those years of people calling her a brazen hussy, and she looked nervous just answering a few questions about herself.

I'm not sure why exactly, but it was fucking adorable.

Plus, I actually wanted to know.

"My mom said you went to nursing school."

She nodded and cleared her throat.

"Yeah. I'm going to go back and finish. I just need to wrap up some stuff here."

"And you are a home aid now?”

She lifted her chin and stared at me defensively. Like I was interrogating her instead of trying to get her to loosen up. I'd like to help relax her- starting with getting her out of her clothes.

"I'm a waitress. It's the first time the service has called me."

"So, I'm the guinea pig, huh?"

She picked up her pad again.

"Let me know what you want to eat. The notes in your file said high protein and lots of vegetables. And it's almost time for your meds."

I leaned my head back and exhaled.

"I'm not picky. Surprise me."

She nodded and tucked her little pad into her back pocket. I perked up a bit at that, having a good view of her lower half from my seat on the floor.

"I think you should get back into the chair now. Let me help you."

"No, I've got it."

I used my arms to get myself back onto the fireplace ledge and reached for the chair. She held the handles while I scooted into it.

"You should put the brakes on next time."

I looked over my shoulder at her.

"Right. Okay, thanks."

She left to get my pills and set a timer on her phone. I stared out the window where I could see a sliver of the ocean. I used to love running on the beach, sailing and even surfing. The water looked rough today. I'd kill to be out there though.

I had a feeling today was going to be a lot less calm than the sea.