Come Lie With Me - Linda Howard [26]
Not surprisingly, she fell facedown on her bed and slept heavily, without dreaming, to awaken promptly when the alarm went off. She had learned, over the years, how to function even when she felt as if a part of her had been murdered, and she did so now. At first she had to force herself to go through the regular routine, but in only a moment the hard self-discipline had taken over, and she shoved the crisis of the night away. She would not let it drag her down! She had a job to do, and she’d do it.
Perhaps something of her determination was written on her face when she entered Blake’s bedroom, because he promptly raised his hands and said mildly, “I surrender.”
She stopped in her tracks and regarded him quizzically. He was smiling a little, his pale, thin face weary, but no longer locked in a mask of detachment. “But I haven’t even attacked yet,” she protested. “You’re taking all the fun out of it.”
“I know when I’m outgunned.” He grimaced and admitted, “I don’t see how I can give up without at least trying again. You didn’t give up, and I’ve never been a man to back down from a challenge.”
The hard knot of apprehension that had been tied in her stomach since he’d lapsed into depression slowly eased, then relaxed completely. Her spirits soared, and she gave him a blinding smile. With his cooperation, she felt that she could do anything.
At first he was capable of very little with the weights. Even the smaller ones were too much for him, though he kept gritting his teeth and trying to continue even when she wanted him to stop. Stubborn was too mild a word to describe him. He was hell-bent and determined to push himself to the limits of his endurance, which unfortunately wasn’t far. It always took a long session in the whirlpool afterward to ease the pain from his tortured muscles, but he kept at it, even knowing that he was going to have to pay with pain.
To her relief he asked no more questions and in no way referred to what she’d told him of her childhood. Because of the extra demand he was making on his body, he was always sound asleep when she checked on him at night, so there were no repeats.
Over Serena’s protests Dione also began giving him therapy in the pool. Serena was terrified that he’d drown, since his legs were useless and he obviously couldn’t kick, but Blake himself overruled her objections. He’d said that he liked challenges, and he wasn’t backing off from this one. With his engineering expertise, he designed and directed the construction of a system of braces and pulleys that enabled Dione to lower him into the pool and hoist him out when the session was ended, something that he would soon be able to do for himself.
One morning, after she’d been here a little over two weeks, Dione watched him as he devoured the breakfast that Alberta had prepared. Already it seemed that he was gaining weight. His face had fleshed out and wasn’t as gray as it had been. He’d burned a little during the first few days he’d been in the sun, but he hadn’t peeled, and now the light tan he’d acquired made his blue eyes seem even bluer.
“What’re you staring at?” he demanded as Alberta removed the plate before him and replaced it with a bowl of fresh strawberries in cream.
“You’re gaining weight,” Dione told him with immense satisfaction.
“Shouldn’t wonder,” Alberta snorted as she left the room. “He’s eating like a horse.”
Blake scowled at her, but dipped his spoon into the bowl and lifted a plump strawberry. His white teeth sank into