Lurch decided against putting Hamish to any unnecessary trouble. Wiggling out of the shorts was no problem. He would lean the crutch against the wall by the shower and get inside by holding onto the door. There was a bar on the wall inside to hold on to and a bench to sit on. He would get it done.
When finished, Lurch realized the accident had weakened him a bit more than expected. After hauling the gym shorts up, he sat on the toilet to catch his breath. It took a minute for him to gather his strength for the journey through to the sitting room and back to the couch.
As he rose, Lurch heard the treadmill in the gym. If Hamish was already up, he was going to let his pride take a hit and ask for help to get into the sitting room. He hobbled over to the door and concentrated on getting the door open without falling. Balanced on the crutch, he shoved it open and glanced up at the treadmill. With a gasp, the breath left his body.
In short shorts and a halter top, the most beautiful woman Lurch had ever seen was running on the machine. No one could compare to her, no one ever would. The ponytail which dangled down her back confined a mass of hair which must be at least waist length. A color he'd never seen before; it was red, but not red. Close to the color of strawberry ice cream, the red hair rippled with her movement.
Clutching the doorframe, he watched her long legs on the treadmill. Those muscular legs just kept on going up into the pale blue shorts. Well-formed breasts filled out the white halter top.
With a clatter, the crutch slipped to the stone floor. Hearing the noise, she turned. The woman hit the emergency stop button just as Lurch lost his hold on the doorframe. As he slowly slid toward the floor, Lurch felt as if someone sucker punched him in the gut.
Every inch of her upper body was freckled. Green eyes, full of concern swallowed his heart. She rushed over and quickly took his weight on her shoulder. Every muscle he could see was toned to perfection.
"Can ye stand? I nae meant to give ye ah fright. I supposed it was Lori in tha shower. She's sometimes an early riser in tha summer. She likes tae catch tha mornin light tae paint."
Her low-pitched voice wove some sort of magic around him. The lilting cadence of her accent wound around into his head and heart. Lurch was in waters so deep he was afraid he might drown.
"Stand?" He muttered.
Her hands propping him against the wall, and she reached down to pick up his crutch. When she straightened, Lurch wondered if he died in the night and was in heaven. In heels, she would be right at eye level with him. He gulped, as she leaned forward to push the crutch under his arm.
"Ye must be Mr. Lurch. Funny name that. Granny said ye dumped Hamish's bike yesterday as some fuck wit ran ye off tha road. Mr. Hay brought ye home in tha back of his wee lorry."
The woman was moving him back toward the kitchen. Strong arms urged him across the threshold of the gym into the other room. Negotiating around the kitchen table, she squeezed tightly against his side. Lurch sucked in a breath when her body touched his.
"Och, sorry if I hurt ye more. My name is Cate. Och, I should have told ye sooner but ye look to be in some pain."
Lurch was in pain. His heart was pounding away in his chest. He knew he was a gonner. Usually he could muster up something to say when a pretty girl came along.
But Cate was more than a pretty girl, she was the woman he spent too many years hoping to find. And he was supposed to leave in four days to accompany Hamish and the family to Los Angeles. They were to put the final polish on Hamish's new album in a studio there. It was insane. He could not leave this woman, then go thousands of miles in another direction.
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