I bet she's stunning when she really smiles.
Shaking that thought from his head, he motioned behind the receptionist's desk. "This is Luke, he'll be assisting with your exercises and scheduling your appointments."
Paige acknowledged Luke with a nod and another small upturn of her lips.
"I've got you all checked in, Ms. Young." Luke’s right eye twitched in an almost imperceptible wink as he grinned at Paige. The kid was an incorrigible flirt.
"Call me Paige, please." She gave her mother an apologetic look before grimacing. "I'm sure I'll turn into my mother soon enough, no need to rush it."
Hope gave a little chuckle. "I'll take that as my cue to leave. See you later, honey." She turned to Gabe. "How long do you think PT will take?"
"It's hard to say, but Paige has a lot of rehabilitating to do." Gabe made a face that was a mixture of a grimace and a smile. "Best guess? About two hours. Maybe a little longer."
Both women's eyes widened, and Paige's jaw dropped.
Hope stepped closer to him, lowering her brows and voice. "I assume you're aware of the full extent of her injuries?"
"I am."
"Don't you think two hours of physical therapy is kind of long considering all she's been through?"
"Itisa long time. It'll feel like a lot longer than that to Paige, I’m sure. She’s got a lot of down time to make up for, and we’ll be working on multiple parts of the body. It’s important she get back full range of motion soon."
"But—"
"Mom. I'll be fine." Despite the determined lift of Paige's chin, she didn't look convinced.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Young, your daughter is stronger than you think. Stronger than even she realizes." He gave Paige an encouraging smile. "The therapists did multiple sessions of therapy with her each day at the rehab center, helping her work up to what she has to do now."
"You've got this, honey." Hope patted Paige's shoulder. "Give me a call when you're done."
Gabe motioned to the back of the gym after the door closed behind Hope. "If you'd like to follow me to the consultation room,we'll do an evaluation and set up a plan for your continued rehabilitation."
"Sure thing, Just Gabe." Her dimple stood out again when she smiled, but it still didn't reach her eyes.
Chuckling, he walked beside Paige as she slowly made her way across the room. "Are the crutches for stability or to avoid weight bearing?"
"Both. My pelvic fractures were unstable, so weight bearing was delayed by a few weeks. I'm only supposed to put about fifty percent of my weight on my left leg. Next week, I can bump it up to seventy-five percent."
"You've only been mobile for two weeks now?" Gabe ventured a guess. The last person he worked with that had pelvic fractures couldn't bear weight for eight weeks.
"Depends on your definition of mobile." She gave him another hint of a smile. "One therapist at the rehabilitation center thought if I could get myself into a wheelchair then I was considered mobile."
"With limited use of your right arm, I'm sure even that was difficult since you couldn't use it to propel the wheelchair."
"Yes." She let out a sigh. "It's been a long road. Most days I wonder if I'll ever get back to normal."
"It will take some time, but don't worry, you'll get there," he said with confidence.
They were almost to the door of the consultation room when Paige's left crutch caught on the leg of a nearby chair. Her body lurched forward, but her crutch didn't budge.
A rush of adrenaline surged through Gabe, sending his heart into his throat, as he watched her pitch forward.
Her right crutch swung wildly, hitting his leg. Then she released the left one and flailed her arm. Her momentum shifted, and she suddenly teetered backward as her crutch clattered to the floor. She let out a cry of alarm.
Gabe threw an arm behind her back. When he was certain he'd stopped her fall, he wrapped his other arm around her waist to steadyand balance them both. He froze, half bent over with her in his arms, her right crutch sandwiched between them.
She grabbed the front of his shirt in a tight fist and squeezed her eyes shut. She inhaled sharply then seemed to hold her breath.
