Tally bit down on her lip to stop herself crying out when Cash winced in pain. He screwed his face up as Liam, his physiotherapist, made him push beyond his comfort zone. This was his eighth physio session since they’d returned to Northern Ireland from Paris four weeks before, and though he was making progress with his hand, it came at a cost.

“Again,” Liam said.

The physiotherapy was brutal, and it didn’t take a genius to work out that Cash was having real difficulty managing his frustration. The reddened face, clenched jaw, and sweat on his brow and upper lip as he tried to grip the tennis ball in his right hand gave it away.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” Liam said.

No matter how awful Cash was to him, Liam refused to give up. He didn’t take anything personally, even when Cash’s temper made him say terrible things. The problem was that Cash had recovered quickly from his broken leg, and he’d assumed his hand would do just as well.

It hadn’t.

They’d been at the exercises for an hour or so, and Tally could tell Cash’s patience was wearing thin. His moods since he’d regained full consciousness were unpredictable at best. Sometimes, he’d be so loving, and by a mere look, he’d send her heart racing, and she could fool herself into thinking everything was the same as before the accident. At other times, his anger and frustration would boil over, and Tally would have to admit that he scared her.

“I said I fucking can’t!”

“Are you giving up?”

“Yes! Fuck, yes!”

Tally blanched, but Liam didn’t even flinch. For Cash to give up meant he was utterly exhausted, and that brought its own challenges. He hated how weak he’d become, how much his body had been affected during what, in reality, was a fairly short time in a coma. But this wasn’t the movies. People didn’t wake from a coma one day and compete in a triathlon the next. This was real life. And it was shit.

She tentatively touched his shoulder. “Want to rest for a bit, ace?”

He pulled away, and her hand fell to her side. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

She glanced at Liam and tilted her head towards the door. Taking her cue, he left.

She knelt in front of Cash, her hands on his thighs, and fixed him with a hard stare. “You’ll always be my ace. I know you’re frustrated, and you can yell and scream at me all you like. But you and I both know all that will do is make you feel like shit in the long run.”

He rammed his knuckles into his eyes and rubbed hard. When he faced her again, his eyes were bloodshot. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You have to do this, Cash. For you and for me. For our future.” She grabbed his face and forced him to meet her gaze. “I believe in you.”

He jerked his head back. “Then you’re a fucking fool. What are you still doing here anyway, huh? I mean, you hardly signed up for this. I’ll never play again. You know that, right? And what does that leave me with?”

Her hands fell to her sides. “Me,” she said quietly.

Silence hung over them both until the lack of sound became almost painful. Cash let out a deep sigh.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

His apologies were never expressive, but Tally knew he felt them deeply all the same.

She sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. “The only person who is saying you’ll never play again is you, Cash. I haven’t heard Liam say that, or any of your doctors. I can’t believe you’d give up this easily.”

“Easy?” He glared at her, fury sparking deep in his eyes—eyes that used to look at her with such love and affection. “You think this is fucking easy?”

“There you go again,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “Hearing what you want to hear. I didn’t say this was easy. I said you’re giving up too easily. Where’s all that determination gone? Where have you gone, Cash?”

He launched himself out of the chair. “I guess I disappeared when a car smashed my fucking head in and left me with this useless fucking thing,” he yelled, waving his right hand in the air, his left hand balled into a fist.

Tally scrambled to her feet and stood directly in front of him.“Let me get this right. You’re saying the accident turned you into a quitter? With everything you’ve had to overcome in your life, you’re going to let this beat you?”

Cash pressed his lips together in a hard line as though if he didn’t clamp them shut, he’d say something he didn’t want to. Or something he’d regret.

“Fine,” he finally said. “Go and fucking get him.”

Tally stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.