“It wasn’t senseless. You saved someone’s life,” Sascha interjected.
“Who says that asshole didn’t plan it all along?” Caleb asked.
Phoenix sighed and opened his eyes. “He was probably out of his mind. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“You guys didn’t argue, right?”
“Nope, I gave the bum money.”
“A buck, right?”
“Yeah, a buck.” Phoenix looked thoughtfully at his brother, a new thought penetrating his foggy mind. “You don’t think he got mad because I gave him too little, do you?”
“Mad enough to try to kill himself?” Sascha coughed a little laugh. It did sound preposterous.
“Who knows what sends people over the edge,” Caleb said.
“So to speak,” Phoenix added dryly. No response to his gallows humor.
“What’d he do when you gave him the money?” Caleb continued.
“I wasn’t looking at him. I was reading a note from Orchid.”Could it have been as simple as money? What if I gave the guy a five? A hundred? Hell, I’d give the bastard all my millions to get my limbs back.
“Did he look suicidal to you?” Caleb continued.
Phoenix wasn’t listening. His mind raced with what he could’ve done differently. What altered route could’ve changed this nightmare.
Sascha gripped Caleb’s arm. “Stop already. Don’t you see this isn’t a good time?”
“Sorry,” Caleb muttered, not making it clear whether he was apologizing to his sibling or his ex-girlfriend.
“Come on, babe. Let’s go. Let the man rest.”
Phoenix heard the door shut and the rhythmic clicking sound of two pairs of feet walking away down the corridor.
CHAPTER 12
LITTLE ACORNS
Phoenix
What asshole thinks I’m well enough to move to rehab?
A knock at the door announced the arrival of a trim woman, wearing a tracksuit and a cheery attitude.
“Hello, Mr. Walker.” The fit young woman with the ponytail of a cheerleader took in all of him, not averting her eyes but looking straight at him, with warmth and competence. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Nadine, your lead therapist.”
“You want to know how I feel about that?” Phoenix asked dryly.
“Funny one.Physicaltherapist, not a shrink.”
“Well, good luck with that. Not much left to work with.”
“May seem that way now.” She nodded affably, as she checked him out like a side of beef at a Brazilian barbeque. “You’ve got the physique of a twenty-year-old athlete. Best abs I’ve seen in a while. So, how are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a train,” he answered, aiming to point out the uselessness of her question. However, there was no dampening her enthusiasm for the body that was in her charge.
“I appreciate that it’s hard to see right now, but I promise, it’s going to get better. First, let’s talk about your goals.”
