He tapped the metal plate at the end of the bench. "Place your feethere." He gave her a few more instructions, helping her get properly situated. "Good, now push up."
He released a strap above her head. "Okay, you're good to go. Bend your knees and sink down until they're at ninety degrees. If ninety feels too easy, squat a little lower."
She did as he instructed, again feeling the pull in her low back and the tightness in her right thigh.
"How does that feel?"
"It's tight, but it's doable."
"Good. Remember, we want to stretch your limits but not push them so far we cause more injury. Discomfort from tight muscles is okay, pain is not." He pushed buttons on a timer, making it beep repeatedly. "Let's go for five minutes."
Five minutes!
While Paige had lain in a hospital bed day after day, she'd dreamed of being able to get up and move. She longed to go jogging or swing dancing. She'd even visualized working up a sweat in Zumba class. However, now that she was becoming more mobile, she longed to spend more time in her bed. She had never been so exhausted in her life.
This time when Gabe walked away, he didn't talk to Luke but rather sat at a small portable desk and began typing on his laptop.
Luke lifted his head and scanned the room. "Hey Gabe, can we put on some music?" He nodded toward a shelf that held a portable speaker.
"Sure, but I get to pick the music." Gabe pulled his phone from his pocket.
"Come on, that's not fair."
"Get used to the disappointment. Because when it comes to choosing the music for the office, you won't ever be assigned that task."
Luke's chin jutted out. "Dr. Stoker let me pick. Once."
"Once. You blew it by playing that rap garbage."
"I won't play rap. I'll put on something else, I promise."
"You can't fool me." Gabe pointed at Luke now. "I've seen your playlists. Your second choice is always hard rock."
"It's better than the stuff that puts everyone to sleep."
The longer the debate went on, the more Paige recognized the teasing tone in the two men’s voices. They had obviously worked together before and had a good relationship. Despite giving him a hard time, Luke seemed to respect Dr. Rivera.
"How about we let Paige decide?" Gabe said.
She lifted her head. "Decide what?"
"What kind of music should we listen to?" Gabe gave her an expectant look.
Was this some kind of test? Gabe and Luke obviously preferred wildly different kinds of music which they were very vocal about. Depending on how she responded, would she make an enemy of one or the other?
"Please no country," Luke said under his breath.
Paige was tempted to say just that to see how the tall, lanky PT assistant responded, but she wasn't a big fan of country music, unless she was swing or line dancing. That was one area where she and her cousin Riley differed. In fact, they'd had many conversations similar to Gabe and Luke's argument.
"How about soft pop?" She said it with hesitation for fear of how both men might react.
"Yes!" Gabe pumped an arm in the air while Luke groaned and dropped his head onto his textbook. "A woman after my own heart."
Paige froze, mid squat. It was a common saying, but to have her physical therapist say it about her was…odd.
Luke must have thought so too, because his head jerked up, his right brow arching. The broad grin on his face said he didn’t intend to let Gabe live the comment down.
Gabe's own eyes widened, and ruddy spots colored his tan cheeks. "I uh…" He coughed. "I didn't mean that like it sounded." He gave a small shake of his head and hunched one shoulder. "I just meant that you have excellent taste in music."
