Matt winced. “I’m sorry about what I said. I’ve just been dealing with some stuff.”

Penny waved off his apology. “I get that, but it doesn’t change the facts. I’m going to say this once. If you are willing to work harder than you ever have, I can help you. But I am going to make you push, curse, and sweat. Before it’s all over you’re going to hate me.”

He motioned to the dress shirt he was wearing. “I can’t even wear a simple tee shirt anymore. It hurts to lift my arm that high. If you can get me back to normal, I promise I won’t hate you. Hell, I’ll probably get down on one knee and propose.”

“That won’t be necessary.” The light blush that suddenly rose in her cheeks showed she wasn’t as unaffected as she appeared. Matt found himself studying her more closely.

Her blond hair was lighter at the ends, like she was growing out highlights. Not that he could see much of it since she had it bundled up in some kind of knot at the back of her head. Blue eyes the color of a clear sky sparkled behind the thin frames of the glasses she’d slipped on. She looked much the same as the quiet, unassuming girl he’d known years ago except for an extra inch in height and several inches in the bustline.

He wondered if she thought the bulky white lab coat she wore hid her figure. If anything, it made her curves more pronounced because it stretched out the seams in ways that probably weren’t intended.

When he looked up, she was glaring at him.

Right. Staring at her chest was probably not the best way to start off their professional relationship.

“So, what’s the next step?” He sent her a tight smile before focusing on buttoning up his shirt.

“The next step is getting you on the schedule three times a week. Half the battle will be keeping you from injuring yourself further, so in the early stages I’ll want to monitor you carefully. Let’s start with noon next week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

“Okay. That works.”

“Rule number one is that you tell me what you’re feeling. The truth. I know you’re a big, bad soldier and you can take pain, but there’s no place for machismo here. In this situation, I need to know what’s really going on with your body. Your pain response gives me information. Information is how I tailor your treatment. Can you do that?”

“I can do that.”

“Okay. My goal here is to get you back to one hundred percent. The tricky part is that your one hundred percent is about five times higher than the average guy’s.”

“I’ve been keeping myself in shape as much as possible. I don’t have the luxury of taking time off from my workouts. My goal is to qualify for the Special Forces. I’ve already gone to jump school. I was scheduled to go to Ranger school after deployment, but then the accident happened. You know the rest.”

“Jump school? So you jumped out of an airplane?”

Matt chuckled at her awed look. “Yeah. There are a lot of battle situations where it’s difficult to bring in ground support and dropping in from above is the best option. It’s important to have guys who are qualified to enter from the air and the Army always needs volunteers. So I offered to go.”

“Wow. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

At his confused look, she clarified. “Skydiving. I’ve always wanted to try it. I’m naturally risk averse. Everything I do, not just in my career but even in my personal life, is about minimizing risk. That probably sounds stupid to you.” She looked away, a beguiling flush of pink tingeing her cheeks.

Damn, she was cute.

“No, it doesn’t sound stupid at all. I can understand the fascination. There’s nothing like it. Free-falling makes you feel invincible. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done. If I can qualify to be a Ranger, then I’ll do even more incredible things. It’s been my dream since I joined the Army. Tell me you can give that back to me, Penny, and I’ll do anything you ask of me.”

Their eyes met and her lips softened and parted. It would have taken more self-control than Matt had ever possessed not to watch as her tongue darted out and traced the edge of her bottom lip. When she noticed where his attention was, she abruptly spun around and walked to the other side of the room.

“Mmm. I’m really glad you said that, because I have a feeling you’re not going to like rule number two.” She stood on tiptoe and pulled something down from a shelf. When she turned around she held it up so he could see it. It looked like a white bandage.

“Rule number two is you need to wear this for a few weeks.” She held up one end, then looped it over her head. She tucked her arm into the part hanging near her stomach.

“You want me to walk around wearing a sling again? I wore one when I was first injured. Shouldn’t I be past that by now?”

“Your shoulder is still weaker than it should be. While I work on the surrounding areas, we need to give the muscles and tendons time to heal without being jostled too much. Wear the sling. Trust me.”

He eyed the cloth she held out dubiously. It was bad enough having a bum arm without having to walk around wearing something that advertised it.

“Fine. I’ll wear it. I said I would do whatever it takes.”

Penny patted his arm. “Whatever it takes starts now.”

CHAPTER FOUR

THE DREAMS ALWAYS started the same way. The clawing fear. The panic. Everything was so clear, the image as perfectly preserved as a digital photograph.