Working It Out (29 page)

What she didn’t want was a
life filled with fear and worry.

Alec stared at her,
waiting for an answer. She blinked. What had he asked again? Oh right, the
church. “Um, no,” she said. “I haven’t gotten around to cancelling it yet.”

“Why?”

Wasn’t it obvious? Because
she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Just like she couldn’t bring herself to do
anything about the invitations that still sat on her kitchen counter. Instead,
they remained where they were, serving as a reminder that Grace’s life was
currently in limbo-land—at least until she and Seth had the chance to really
talk things through and figure it all out. Problem was, Grace wasn’t sure she
was ready for that kind of conversation yet.

Alec sighed, grabbed hold
of the bar with only half of the weight loaded, and hoisted himself up to a
sitting position. He glanced around the room briefly, as if to make sure no one
was listening, then met Grace’s eyes. “I tried to break up with Lanna.”

What? Twice now he’d
totally caught her off guard. Why would Alec possibly want to break up with
Lanna? They were perfect for each other. “When?” she finally asked.

“About a month ago,” said
Alec.

“Oh.” Grace let out a sigh
of relief. Since they were still together that meant Lanna had somehow talked
him out of it—something that Seth had yet to attempt with Grace. She suddenly
felt envious of her brother. At least Lanna had put up a fight.

Alec leaned forward,
resting his elbows on his knees. Then he snickered and shook his head. “You know
what she said to me? After she sat on top of me and pinned me to my chair, that
is.”

Grace mouth pulled into a smile
at the image. “What?”

“She looked me straight in
the eye and said, ‘What are you afraid of? That one day I’ll decide you’re too
much work and leave? Because that will never happen. What
could
happen
is that I could die tomorrow from a brain aneurism or some other random thing.
So could you. No one knows how long their time in this life will last. You just
have to embrace every day and hope and pray that you’ll get another and
another. And I hope I get lots of days with you, because I want way more
memories than I have right now, Alec Warren. So unless you tell me you don’t
care about me, I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.’”

Grace nearly laughed. It
was such a Lanna thing to say, and Grace wished she could have been a fly on
the wall for that conversation. She could only imagine the look on Alec’s face.

“She was right, you know,”
Alec continued. “Today could be it, so we may as well make the most of it.”

If only it were as easy to
apply the words as it was to understand them. “I’m glad to hear she talked you
down,” Grace said. “Breaking up with Lanna would have been the dumbest thing
you could’ve done.”

Alec raised an eyebrow.
“Hypocrite.”

“What? No.” Grace frowned.
“My situation’s different.”

He shrugged. “What worries
you the most? That Seth will one day end up in a wheelchair like me?”

“No, that he’ll end up in
a coffin.”

Alec cracked a smile at that.
“There is that.”

 Grace glanced out the
window. “Besides, what I worry about the most is the aftermath. What if something
bad happens and he tries to push me out of his life the way you tried to do?
What if he changes, too? I just don’t have it in me to relive the last ten
years all over again.”

Alec didn’t answer right
away. He let the silence grow denser and denser until it felt like a heavy
weight around Grace’s shoulders. When she didn’t think she could bear it any
longer, he said, “You’re forgetting one thing.”

Grace’s eyes flew to his.
“What’s that?”

“That Seth isn’t me.” He
held up his hand as if to ward off any arguments. “I’m not saying I condone his
recklessness, although I think he’ll tone it down from here on out. But look
what happened when he tore his ACL. Did he hole up in his house and wallow? No.
He got out, rented a bunch of wheelchairs, and convinced his friends to play
wheelchair ball. He’s the type of guy to make the most of any situation. Yes,
he’d probably mourn for a little while, but then he’d pick himself up, get that
sit-ski and that wheelchair mountain bike, and he’d keep doing what he loves to
do. Because that’s who Seth is—the type of person who really
will
make
the most of it.”

Alec let his words sink in
then grabbed the bar and lowered himself down once more. “You’re miserable
without him, Grace, and I’m sure he’s just as miserable as you. Go talk to him.
Tell him to grow up and stop pulling crazy stunts, mail those invitations, and
walk down that aisle. You’ll always regret it if you don’t. Take it from
someone who knows all about regrets.”

The words seeped into
Grace’s heart, warming it and filling it with hope. This was what she’d wanted
to hear ever since she’d taken that ring off her finger—a reason to put it back
on. Her brother was right. Seth was different.

Grace looked down at her
brother with new respect and appreciation. “Regret is a funny thing, isn’t it?
It’s such a heavy, yucky feeling, and no one likes to have it hanging around. But
at the same time, it has the power to turn people into something wiser and
stronger than they were before. Like you. Thank you.”

 Tears glistened in Alec’s
eyes as he nodded. Then he quickly blinked them away and tightened his fingers
around the bar. “Are you ever going to add the rest of the weight? I’m
beginning to think that I’m
your
therapist instead of the other way
around.”

T
he rest of
the day, Grace felt lighter and happier—more at peace than she’d felt in four
days. As she met with the rest of her patients, her smile was genuine and her
focus right where it needed to be. On them.

At the end of the day, as
she gathered her things together, Cameron poked his head into her office. “Glad
to see our little chat made you feel better. I was thinking you should come
clubbing with me and Talia tonight and get your mind off things.” He shrugged.
“Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone interesting. What do you say?”

It was nice of Cameron to
think of her—not that Grace would ever be interested in the type of guy who
hung out at a club—but she had something else in mind for tonight. Something
that included a guy she was already very much interested in. “Thanks, but I’m
going to pass.”

He pointed a finger at
her. “Just don’t go and load up on ice cream or something stupid like that. No
one’s worth losing that nice figure for.”

Grace nodded, thinking of
the pint of Rocky Road ice cream she’d ingested the night before. If only
Cameron knew how many times she’d turned to that treat for comfort over the
years. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You do that.” With
another point of his finger, Cameron backed out of her office. Once he’d
disappeared, Grace grabbed her keys and headed out. A smile played on her lips
at the prospect of having Seth’s ring on her finger by the night’s end—assuming
he still wanted it there.

But before she could find
and talk to Seth, Grace had a few things to do. She needed to finally get those
invitations off her counter and in the mail and make a quick stop at the
nearest bike shop. It was time to get a bike of her own.

The stranger inspected
Seth’s mountain bike with the eyes of a novice. In his button-down, collared
shirt, the man looked like he belonged more in an accounting office than on a
mountain bike. He squatted down, studied the derailleur then glanced at Seth
through wire-rimmed glasses. “Does Shimano make a good derailleur? I was told
that’s the most important thing to look for on a bike.”

Seth tried to hide his
annoyance. Good brakes and shocks were what? Just a perk? From the moment this
guy had opened his mouth, it was clear he was a mountain-bike wannabe who knew
nothing about the sport and couldn’t tell a high end bike from a Mongoose
purchased at Walmart.

“It’s pronounced Shim-
aw-
no,
not Shim-
a
-no,” Seth clarified. “And yes, they do. The XTR is top of the
line. As are the brakes, shocks, wheels, and frame.”

“Why are these pedals so
small?” he asked next.

Seth resisted the impulse
to pry his bike from the guy’s fingers. Who didn’t know what a click pedal was?
A guy who didn’t deserve to own Seth’s bike, no matter how much he was willing
to pay. “They’re designed to be used with cleats so your feet stay on the
pedals. I have the originals somewhere in my garage and will switch them out.”

The man fiddled with the
brakes and even tried to switch the gears. “And you say the brakes and tires
are top of the line as well?”

“I upgraded them myself,”
Seth mustered. He should have priced his bike what it was worth instead of
discounting it for a quick sale. Then maybe someone who actually knew something
about mountain biking would have shown up instead of this moron.

“Yourself?” The guy
frowned. “Why would you mess with a bike that’s supposedly top of the line?”

“To make it even better,”
Seth said. Did he really have to explain that? He grasped his bike by the handlebars,
ready to put it safely back inside his garage. He’d find another, more
deserving buyer. “Listen, I really don’t think this is the right bike for you.
Maybe you should try Baylor Bikes. They’re not far from here and could hook you
up with something you’d probably trust a little more.”

The man grabbed the
handlebars on the opposite side, as if afraid Seth would take it from him. “No,
that’s okay. I think I’ll take it.”

He
thought
? Seth’s
patience was about up.

A car drove by, slowed,
and pulled into Seth’s driveway. His glance flickered from his bike to the car,
then immediately back to the car, where Seth zeroed in on the driver. Grace. Their
eyes met through the window, and Seth’s heartbeat sped up. Suddenly, he didn’t
care about his bike or who bought it. In fact, he was ready to thrust it at the
man and say, “Here, take it. It’s yours.”

Grace left her car behind
and was now walking toward him, looking beautiful and kissable and wonderful.
She wore the red shirt from their first date—a shirt Seth had come to love—and
her hair hung in soft curls around her face. He wanted to crush her to him and
kiss her long and hard to make up for all the days he hadn’t been able to.

“What are you doing?” she
asked, glancing from the bike to the idiot man.

“Selling my bike.”

“Why?”

Did she really have to ask?
“Because it’s dangerous, and I don’t do dangerous things anymore.”

The corners of Grace’s
mouth twitched up. “That’s too bad because I’m here to ask for mountain-biking
lessons. How are you going to teach me if you don’t have a bike?”

“What?” Seth had never
felt more confused. She wanted lessons? Why? She hated the sport.

Grace stuffed her hands
into her pockets and shrugged. “I just bought a bike and figured it would be a
good idea to learn how to ride better. I was hoping you could be the one to
teach me.”

“I’m sorry, you did what?”
Seth asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion. Grace had given her ring back
on account of a mountain-bike accident, and now she’d gone out and bought a
bike on purpose? Nothing was making sense right now.

“I. Bought. A. Mountain.
Bike.” Grace emphasized each word. “I’m here to borrow your car so I can go
pick it up. Mine doesn’t have a bike rack.” She paused. “Yet.”

Seth felt as though he’d
entered a surreal universe where everything was the opposite of what it was supposed
to be. He was selling his bike. Grace just bought one. Even the potential buyer
of his bike was acting smarter, based on the fact that he was finally
scribbling out a check for a bike worth much more than the asking price.

Grace eyed the man. “Sorry,
sir, but the bike’s no longer for sale.”