efore sliding back into her own seat.
‘Try the movement a couple of times without dipping the oars into the water. Forward...now back... Good. That’s very good. Are you comfortable doing that?’
Tamara nodded. ‘Yes, that’s fine.’
‘All right. Let’s give it a go, shall we? Try just one stroke.’
Tamara repeated the motion, dipping the oars into the water this time. The boat moved forward a little and she turned the corners of her mouth down.
‘We didn’t go very far.’
Laurie grinned. ‘That’s because you haven’t built up any momentum yet. We’ll try it again, yes? A few strokes this time.’ She caught Ross’s eye and he nodded. As Tamara pulled on her oars, he replicated the movement.
‘See, that’s better. Keep going... No, don’t look round at Ross. It’s my job to make sure he’s doing it right...’
Laurie called out the strokes, and Tamara started to get into the swing of it. Ross was following her, and the boat began to move a little faster. ‘That’s really good. Well done. You okay, Tamara?’
‘Yes. This is great!’ Tamara was grinning broadly.
‘Okay, I’m going to pick the speed up. Follow my count. Keep your back straight, Tamara...’
The two of them were rowing in perfect synchronisation now. Ross was doing more than his share of the work, but Tamara would still be feeling the resistance of the water against her oars, and the sensation of pushing forward. The boat started to move faster and she whooped with delight.
‘Yay! I like this...’
‘Keep your concentration... Good. Very good.’
They rowed in a more or less straight line, until they began to near the deeper waters at the middle of the lake. Laurie showed Tamara how to manoeuvre the boat around, and she managed it without too much help from Ross. When she began to look a little tired, they pulled for the shore.
‘What do you think?’ Laurie helped Tamara out of the boat.
‘It’s great. Can I do it again?’
Laurie glanced at Ross, and received a nod from him. ‘As long as your leg’s okay. Does it hurt?’
Tamara shook her head. ‘No, it doesn’t put any pressure on it.’
‘I’ll come and check on you later on, then. If everything’s still fine, we can go out again next week. And in the meantime you can concentrate on your exercises so you’ll be able to do a bit more.’
‘Cool. I’m hungry...’
Ross chuckled, holding out his arm to steady Tamara over the rough ground at the side of the lake. ‘We’ll go down to the kitchen, shall we? Get them to make you a sandwich.’
CHAPTER SIX
LAURIE WAS WAITING for him in one of the small clusters of armchairs that stood in the deep window bays throughout the clinic. He’d have to come this way on his route back from the kitchen to his office.
Ross smiled when he saw her and flopped down in one of the seats. ‘You’re waiting for me to say it, aren’t you?’
‘I’m waiting to hear how Tamara is doing.’ And to hear him say it.
‘All right. So you don’t want me to tell you that you were absolutely right.’
‘I didn’t say I didn’t want you to...’ Laurie smiled at him. ‘Thanks.’
He heaved a deep breath of contentment at a job done well. ‘And Tamara’s in great shape. She’s demolishing a sandwich and telling the cook all about her trip out onto the lake. Seems you may have a rower on your hands after all.’
‘Not necessarily. But while she can’t run, it’s good for her to have some goals. Ones that don’t involve regaining what she had before. This is something different for her.’