Page 35 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)

Frustration ground at Squat. He’d been working on strength and mobility, but there was still just a little stitch when he tried to go heavy. He needed to be patient, but he wanted this phase of healing to be over.

“Hey, Squat, how is it going?” Apple called out as he entered the weight room.

“Like shit.” He wiped the towel over his face. “Fuck, I need this damn arm to heal.”

“Dude, it’s only been a few weeks. You need to give it time. You know time is an important part of healing.”

Squat rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

“So do it right.”

Apple was right. He had to take the time to do this the right way. If he cheated himself on healing, he would be fucked for all time.

The door opened, and Trip's team came in. “Hey, Squat, how is that arm feeling?”

“Like shit.”

“You think it will heal?” Hop asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. It’s just going to take some time.”

Zip came over and rubbed his shoulders. “You’ll be back to fighting shape in no time.”

“I will.”

Rider and Bud set up at the weight rack across from him, and Q came over to where he was working.

“Hey, Q, how's it going?”

“Good. You’re looking stronger than you were the first day you got back.”

“I feel stronger, but I also feel weak. I hate not being where I was before.”

Q chuckled. “I’d be crawling out of my skin, too. You’re doing good.”

“I have office duty later. It’s going to suck.”

“Oh dude, I feel ya. Don’t fall asleep. They get pissed when you do that.”

“I guess you’ve experienced that.”

“Yeah, I hated it when I was on desk duty. It's enough to keep me from getting injured.”

Squat laughed. “I sure as fuck didn’t jump in front of that bullet.”

Shine stepped over. “Oh, he sure as hell did. He said he was tired of the mission and wanted a break.”

Q threw back his head, and the rest of the guys joined him. “Yeah, that sounds about right for Squat. You know the shorts ones are always the lazy ones.”

Squat rolled his eyes. “That’s me.”

They were all laughing, and it felt good to be with his team and friends from other teams. He had a long way to go, but he could do it.

He wouldn't give in to the pain or the exhaustion.

He could recover from this injury and come back stronger than ever.

That's what his life had been about, coming back stronger when it seemed like he should give up. He wasn’t the type of man to give up, not with being a SEAL and certainly not with Asher