As Scott is.
"Whatdoyou want to do?"
"I don't know, but I'm tired of being everyone's charity case."
"You arenota charity case. People care about you and they want to see you succeed."
"Is that why Austin and Debbie Reed stopped by yesterday, saying they'd give me a job working construction and offered to pay for additional prosthetics for running and other activities? And why Jake and Emily said the same thing the day before as well as saying I had a job at the ranch, if I wanted it? Never mind that it's winter."
"It doesn't mean they consider you a charity case. They just want to give you a leg up as you plan for the future. They have plenty of money and want to use it to help others."
"A leg up? Really?" He rolled his head to the side to look at her. "Good thing I'm not easily offended."
He'd made his own share of amputee quips at his welcome home party to help set everyone at ease. They were all so worried about offending him or making him uncomfortable by staring that the tension in the room felt like a war zone.
She gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. It's just a saying, you know that."
"I know." Damon sighed. "Steven has already told me I have a place at the grocery store if I want it—which I don't. Who's next? Is Robert going to walk through the door offering me a job at the Sheriff's Office or Ben saying he'll hire me at his law office?" He smirked, knowing how ridiculous that last one sounded.
Paige remained silent, a pensive expression on her face, so he went on.
"The last thing I want to do is hobble around doing a job I'm not passionate about."
Especially when he didn’t need the money, thanks to the disability checks he’d be receiving from the government every month for the rest of his life.
"You'll only hobble for a while. Eventually, you'll develop a smooth gait. People with prostheticscanlead normal lives. Many even run marathons or climb mountains." Paige shifted to face him. "Whatareyou passionate about?"
Two months ago, he would have saidmarrying Grace.
"I don't know." Damon folded his arms over his chest. "When I was in high school, basketball was my life until I tore my ACL. Since then, the Army has been my life."
"Are you saying you want to re-enlist?" Paige's brow furrowed, and her voice lost some of its enthusiasm. "I'm sure there are still plenty of jobs you can do."
"No. I don't want to re-enlist." Of that he was certain. The future he'd planned for when he got out of the Army had fizzled out, but considering how anxious he was to get home during his last tour, he would never consider reenlisting.
“I want to...help people. Kids. I don’t want to teach, but I’d like to help teenagers somehow.” He shook his head as he struggled to articulate something that wasn’t even clear to him. “To help them find their way, you know?”
“Like a high school guidance counselor?”
Guidance counselor. Like Mr. Edwards.
He was the one who suggested Damon join the Army when Damon said he didn’t want to be stuck in Providence, working at the repair shop or grocery store forever. He wanted to travel and do worthwhile things.
“Yeah.” He slowly nodded his head as the idea sank in. “Like a guidance counselor.”
"You should see if you can be an assistant coach for the high school basketball team while you’re looking into what it would take to become a counselor."
Basketball?
Damon gave her a sharp look as a spark of excitement flared in his chest. Her words made him want to get off the couch for the first time in almost two months.
"I'll think about it."
"You don't have to decide anything right away, you know that. But we're all worried about you and don't want you to sink into depression." She looked pointedly at the TV and his lunch plate still sitting on the coffee table. The only reason there weren't more dirty dishes was because his helicopter mom cleaned up after him.
Too late.
"I know. Don't worry, I have an appointment with Emily tomorrow and another next week."
