Page 5 of Fatal Vision

At least not the way Shelby wanted it to.

A lot of things weren’t working the way she wanted. Things like her coordination, her balance.

My brain.

Sweat trickled down her temple as she gripped the walker with both hands and sent another message to her right leg. She had ten feet of Therapy Alley in front of her, and by God, she was going to get down this ugly runway come hell or high water.

Determination screamed through her veins. Everything in her body tightened.Lift…shift…move…

“Rabbit tits!” she yelled. Her damn leg was still in the exact same place.

Heads swung her way, some surprised, others snickering. Her therapist, Alicia, looked up from where she crouched beside Shelby’s uncooperative leg.

“Rabbit tits, huh?” Alicia gripped Shelby’s ankle and moved her foot into the right spot. “That’s a new one.”

“I meant…”Donkey balls, but she couldn’t form the words. They wereright therein her head, but somewhere between her injured brain and her mouth, what came out was…”Cotton dicks.”

Cotton dicks? Well, at least dicks and balls were in the same general vicinity, anatomically speaking.

Alicia started laughing and Shelby finally joined in, because, really, if she didn’t laugh, she’d cry.

“Colton would like that one,” she mused, wiping sweat from her temple. “And it’s rude of you to laugh at me.”

Alicia nodded, still grinning. “Completely unprofessional of me, but you have to admit, your colorful expressions are the most entertaining thing about my day.”

The rest of the patients and their therapists went back to working on their own rehab. Shelby watched, trying not to feel sorry for herself as the nine feet of carpeted track stared back at her. She had all four limbs—even if one of them still wasn’t working at 100%—and she could see, eat, and function almost normally. Some of the others in Premiere Physical Therapy couldn’t.

“Glad I can be of service.” Pushing the walker forward, she took a step with her left leg. At least she had one that cooperated. “But man, this was so much easier yesterday.”

Alicia stood, analyzing Shelby’s stance. “This isn’t unexpected. You’ve made amazing progress in the past few days alone, and will continue to gain more control over your gross motor skills as time heals you. Those cognitive puppies in your brain will straighten out as well. But some days, it’s going to be one step forward and two back. Literally.”

No. There’s no going back.“Can I get an extra session in the hydro tank again today? That might help.”

“One session a day,” Alicia reprimanded. “You know the rules. If you push too hard, which may be your problem right now, you’ll only set your progress back.”

Alicia’s reprimand was spot on and Shelby knew it. She’d insisted on having two therapy sessions yesterday, and it had left her body overly tired. When her body couldn’t keep up with her will and determination, she ended up more than a little frustrated.

Which led to her brain fritzing out and things likerabbit titsandcotton dickscoming out of her mouth.

Rabbit tits and cotton dicks.You’re a poet and don’t even know it—she could hear Colton’s voice now, mocking her. He’d be laughing so hard at her outbursts, he’d probably be rolling on the floor.

God, she’d give anything to see his cocky grin.

To seehimperiod.

It was damn frustrating when her mind was filled with things she needed to do and people she had to talk to and her body wouldn’t play ball.

Her right foot was a boat anchor. Until she could walk the ten feet of Therapy Alley, her doctors wouldn’t release her. She wanted to smack something.

Use that anger.

Tighten, shift,mooove…

Her leg slid, anchor that it was, a whopping inch. That was it.

God, defeat sucked.

“I can’t,” she said, closing her eyes. Sweat rolled down her left ear and she wiped it away. “Lift it, I mean.”