Working It Out (14 page)

“I wouldn’t say
always
,” Seth said. “But when I
really want something”—He shot her a meaningful look—“I don’t give up easily.”

Exactly what Grace was afraid of.

S
eth leaned
back
in his rented wheelchair as Alec gave high fives to Garrett and
Brandon. They’d just played a three-on-three game of basketball, and Alec,
Garrett, and Brandon had pretty much slaughtered Seth, Owen, and their other
friend, Ethan. Alec was good. Not only could he outmaneuver everyone, but
ninety percent of his shots found their way into the net. For a guy who’d only
played basketball for fun in high school, he definitely knew how to shoot—even
after a ten-year hiatus. It was the reason everyone wanted him on their team.

“Great game, guys,” Alec said to Garrett and Brandon. “You’re
really getting the hang of those chairs.” Sweat dotted his forehead and soaked
parts of his shirt, but he looked happy. If only Grace were here to see it. Much
to Seth’s disappointment, she hadn’t shown up since that first game.

Garrett stretched his legs out in front of him and rubbed
his quads. He glanced at Alec. “I don’t know how you do it, sitting in that
chair day after day. My abs are screaming and my legs are cramping.”

“He doesn’t have a choice, idiot.” With his foot, Owen gave
Garrett’s chair a playful push, twisting it to the side.

Garrett shoved Owen’s foot away and twisted back around,
glaring at his friend. “He knows I didn’t mean it like that. Right, Alec?” He
suddenly didn’t look so sure of himself.

“Yeah.” Alec leaned forward and rested his elbows on his
knees. “But Owen’s right, I don’t have a choice. Day after day, this is my
life. I go out of my way to find wheelchair ramps, take up too much aisle
space, and feel like a dwarf. Just leaving the house is a major production.”
The feeling in the room thickened with discomfort. “But,” Alec added with a
shrug. “I can kick everyone’s trash in a game of wheelchair ball, so it’s not
without its perks.”

The guys all chuckled, Seth included. In many ways, Alec
reminded him of Grace. They had that same calm, almost stiff exterior that
masked a dry sense of humor. When playing ball, Alec really let his guard down,
and when he did, he fit right into the group. Seth couldn’t help but wonder
what Grace would be like if she did the same. Something told him there would be
no turning back for him if she did.

Ethan stood to his full height of 6’6” and stretched his
arms over his head. “I’ve got to get going. Thanks for putting this together,
Seth. Want me to take the chair home again?”

“If you’re planning to come Wednesday, then yeah, that’d
be great.”

Ethan made quick work of folding his chair before waving
goodbye. The rest of the guys followed suit—with the exception of Alec, who
wheeled himself to the opposite end of the gym and began shooting one ball
after another, missing more than normal. Since Seth couldn’t lock up until Alec
decided to leave, he folded his chair and left it by the door then walked
across the gym to where Alec sat. The basketball hit the rim with a clang
before slamming to the floor and bouncing toward Seth.

He grabbed it and tossed it Alec’s way, standing near the
basket to retrieve more balls.

“It’s okay, I got them,” Alec said when Seth reached for
another wayward ball.

Seth tossed it back. “It’s no problem.”

“Just like it’s not a problem for me to get it,” Alec
said a little stiffly, as if offended. “It just takes me a little longer.”

Seth stifled a smile. Yes, Alec was definitely Grace’s
brother.

When the next ball hit the rim and bounced to the far
left, Seth jogged to grab it before chucking it toward Alec. “It would be a lot
easier if you’d just make a shot.”

“Says the person who just got his tail kicked.”

Seth grinned as he retrieved another ball. Only this
time, instead of returning it to Alec, he tucked it under his arm. “Hey, I’ve
been meaning to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

Seth walked toward Alec and dropped down beside him,
tossing the ball back and forth between his palms before throwing it to Alec
once again. “So a friend of mine runs this afterschool program for kids, and somehow
I got roped into organizing a couple of soccer teams. The city-league program officially
starts in two more weeks, which gives me just enough time to put a few teams
together and hopefully get some practices in before the first scheduled game.”
He paused, wondering how Alec would react. “So how about it? You interested in
coaching?”

Alec’s eyes widened in a you-did-not-just-ask-me-that
sort of way. “Me—coach soccer? Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Grace said you were one of the star players for
your high school team, so why not?”

Alec shot Seth a look of annoyance. “Because you need
legs for soccer, Seth. How am I supposed to teach a bunch of kids how to play
when I can’t move mine?” Without really aiming, Alec hurled the ball at the
basket. It bounced off the backboard and careened the opposite way, filling the
silence with a reverberating sound every time it hit the ground. Alec watched
it go with a frustrated look on his face.

Seth didn’t move to retrieve the ball this time. Instead,
he studied Alec, wondering how they’d gone from joking around to this. For the
first time since he’d met Alec, he felt like he was seeing the guy who’d walked
out on Grace that day in her clinic.

“What’s really eating at you?” Seth said.

Alec threw up his hands as though Seth should already
know. “I just hate being reminded of what I can’t do. I used to ski, play
basketball, rock climb, run triathlons, and”—He shot Seth a look—“play soccer.”
He shook his head in a gesture of frustration. “Now I can’t even coach a youth
soccer league.”

Wow, talk about pent-up frustration. Seth studied Alec
for a moment, resting his elbow on his bent knee. “You know what amazes me?” he
finally said.

“What?”

“That there really are no insurmountable challenges.”

Alec rolled his eyes and groaned. “Please don’t tell me
you’re going to give me a pep talk right now, because I get enough of that from
Grace.”

“Take Beethoven, for example,” Seth continued as if Alec
hadn’t said anything. “He lost his hearing but ended up composing some of the
most brilliant music in history. Claude Monet went blind in his old age but
continued to paint. Then there’s Stevie Wonder, Michael J. Fox, Stephen
Hawking—”

“Don’t you dare say Christopher Reeve.”

“And Christopher Reeve.” Seth grinned. “Not to mention
all those athletes who compete in the Paralympics year after year or people who
go on to live regular lives, filled with a good job and a family they love.”

“Your point?” Alec said, probably ready for Seth to be
done.

Seth shrugged. “All I’m saying is that a whole lot of
people have taken away your excuses to wallow. So stop it already.”

“Excuse me?” The scathing look Alec directed at Seth had
him worried he’d gone too far. But what Alec needed was a good kick in the butt,
and Seth wasn’t about to back down.

“C’mon, man, there’s no reason why you can’t do anything
you want to do, including coaching a youth soccer league or getting back into
skiing or whatever it is you want to do with your life. You just have to be
more creative. Thousands of people have done it.”

For what seemed like forever, silence descended, making
the enclosed gym feel claustrophobic. Alec sat in his chair with a half glare,
half sullen look on his face. “Grace put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“No, but I see the way she worries and stresses about
you. I saw tears in her eyes the day you charged out of your workout with her,
and I’ve seen how happy it’s made her that you started playing ball with us
regularly.” Seth glanced at the ball resting on the floor at the other end of
the gym and sighed. “It’s not all about you, you know. The way you choose to
live your life affects those close to you as well.”

Alec let out a breath and slouched against the back of
his chair. When his eyes met Seth’s again, he looked resigned. “You’re right.
Grace deserves better from me.”

“And you deserve better from yourself.” Feeling like he’d
said all that needed to be said on the subject, Seth hopped to his feet and jogged
to retrieve the ball, tossing it once more toward Alec. “So how about a
compromise? If you agree to coach from your wheelchair, I’ll do the same. We’ll
make it a competition and see whose team has the most wins at the end of the
season.”

The corners of Alec’s mouth tugged into a slow smile, and
something sparked in his eyes. “Haven’t you learned anything from playing
basketball with me? You’d never win. So do your team a favor and even the
playing field by standing on your own two feet. I’ll figure out a way to teach
those kids soccer.” With that, Alec swished the basketball into the net.

Seth grinned, feeling like the shot was a turning point—a
good turning point. Maybe now Alec would stop looking at his disability as
something that made him unequal to the rest of the world and start seeing it
for what it really was: a chance to prove that he could still do everything he
wanted to do.

“You’re on,” Seth said. “And may the best coach win.”

“Oh, I will.”

M
usic blared
from
an open window in Alec’s apartment, making Grace stop short. She
glanced up in awe. All of the blinds and windows were wide open, letting in the
fresh, damp air. It had been two weeks since she’d dropped by, and she suddenly
wondered if she was at the right place. A quick glance at the numbers on the
door assured her she was.

The overcast sky suddenly seemed sunny and bright.

With a smile, Grace balanced the bag of groceries on her
hip as she shoved her spare key into the lock, knowing Alec would never hear
her knock over the music. Besides, she’d sent him a text earlier letting him
know she was coming. Ever since Alec had agreed to keep playing ball with Seth,
Grace had taken a step back, hoping that Seth could work even more magic.

Evidently he had.

Inside, a wonderful smell filled the apartment, reminding
Grace of the Sunday dinners her mom used to make. She walked across freshly
vacuumed carpet to the kitchen where everything seemed to sparkle and shine,
like a Mr. Clean commercial.

Wow.

“Hey, sis,” Alec said, wheeling himself down the hall
toward her. His hair was freshly cut, his face shaved, and his clothes ironed. Actually,
based off the tag hanging from his sleeve, they were new.

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Grace
tugged the tag free and glanced at it. A fifty dollar shirt from Nordstrom. Her
eyes widened.

 “You can put those groceries away because I made dinner,”
Alec said as he wheeled past her. “Baked ziti with extra cheese—your favorite.”

Grace trailed behind, blinking as he pulled a small
casserole dish from the oven, followed by a loaf of French bread wrapped in
foil. Her heart constricted. “You went grocery shopping?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” he answered, his tone
teasing. “You let my cupboard get bare, and I was hungry.”

“And your clothes.” She pointed. “They’re new. Did you
order them online or . . .” She let the question die off, not daring to hope
that he’d actually left his house to purchase clothes.

“The salesperson I met at Nordstrom was really helpful.
Do you like what she picked out?” He glanced down at his clothes. “Oh, and my
socks are new too. I’d wiggle my toes to show them off if I could.”

Sure enough, his socks looked new as well—and completely
ridiculous with green and yellow stripes. Grace withheld the laughter bubbling
up inside her. “Was the salesperson colorblind?”

He frowned and looked at his feet. “Actually, I picked
these out. You don’t like them?”

“They’re just, uh . . . very colorful,” she finished
lamely.