He's the Man (The Alexanders 3)

“Happy? Productive? Tell me this, Penny. These people you’ve helped, could they hold a rifle steady? Could they jump out of a moving aircraft? If I can’t requalify for my unit, then my life won’t be happy or productive.”

“I can’t tell you that you can do those things for sure, Matt. I’m sorry. But I can promise you this. If you don’t let me help you, you definitely won’t get there.”

“You want to help me?” Matt banged his fist on the desk between them. “Then help me get my life back! Can you do that?”

Penny froze. He looked down at the overturned items on her desk.

“I think we’re done here.” Penny took a step back when he moved closer. “Please leave or I’m calling security.”

After a tense moment when Penny wasn’t sure if he was going to leave, he spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m so incredibly sorry. It seems like that’s all I feel lately.”

Then he left.

Penny stood perfectly still for a moment, then collapsed into her desk chair. Her breath came in short pants until she finally felt her heartbeat begin to settle.

“Well, all right then. Great seeing you again, as well.”

* * * * *

MATT STALKED ACROSS the parking lot and stabbed the button on his keychain to unlock his truck. He swung up into the driver’s seat and slammed the door, then rummaged in the pocket of his jeans until he found the pack of gum he always carried. It was stupid but the repetitive motion of chewing was strangely calming. He unwrapped a stick and popped it in his mouth. Then he dropped his head to the steering wheel with a groan.

There were a lot of things he resented about his situation. He resented being left behind while his unit was out there doing what needed to be done. He resented his own body for betraying him and not healing properly. But most of all he resented the person he’d become lately. He wasn’t the guy who took his shit out on other people. Especially not people who’d gone out of their way to help him.

This is not who I am.

He raised his head and would have screamed like a girl at the face pressed against his driver-side window if his mouth wasn’t full. As it was, he almost swallowed his gum.

The brunette who’d checked him in for his appointment stood next to the door, hands on her hips. After his heart settled back down in his chest, he hit the button to lower the window.

“Can I help you?”

She glared at him until he shrank back in his seat. “Come with me. There’s something you need to see before you go.”

“Okay.” Matt got out and followed her as she led them back to the center. They reentered the waiting room and then crossed to a door on the other side of the room.

“So, what’s your name?” Matt wasn’t sure how to make conversation with a woman who looked like a pissed off pixie.

“I’m Georgia. I’m Penny’s assistant.” She held up a security badge to the gateway to the left of the door. It emitted a series of clicks before the light flashed green.

“Oh. Okay. I’m Matt—”

“I know who you are.” She held the door open, her face still stony. “After you, Sergeant.”

Was it his imagination or did she put extra emphasis on his title? Or maybe that was just his guilty conscience. He wasn’t representing his fellow soldiers well today, he knew.

They walked down a long hallway and stopped next to a door. Matt had to grab the wall to keep from slamming into her back.

“This is Mrs. Wright.” Georgia gestured toward the porthole window in the door. Matt peered through it. A middle-aged woman was using a set of metal bars to help her walk between them. When he looked again, he saw that one of her legs was shorter than the other.

“She was told that amputation was her best option after a serious skiing accident. Her right leg was completely crushed. No one believed it could be saved, but she refused to amputate. When all the other physical therapists told her a wheelchair was the best she’d ever be able to do, she came to Penny for help. She took her first steps last week.”

She allowed him a few moments to observe and then started walking again. They stopped next to another door. He looked through the glass window to see a young girl, no older than nine or ten, lifting a blue ball.

“That’s Daisy. She was born with cerebral palsy. It affects her ability to do all the things most children take for granted. Standing, walking, even swallowing. Her insurance only covers a certain amount of therapy. Her mom couldn’t afford the additional physical therapy she needed, so Penny convinced our boss to allow the center to provide her therapy pro bono.”

>

Matt watched, enraptured, as the little girl raised the ball slightly higher with the encouragement of the therapist who was helping her. She dropped it, but instead of getting upset, she laughed. Her eyes met his through the window and he pressed a hand against the glass. She raised a hand to wave back and then grinned, revealing a space where one of her front teeth was missing.