Healing Us: Sports Romance, A Comeback Uncovers Love Read Online Free Page A

her up
in his arms and kissed her passionately. Beth jumped back and remained
speechless.
     
    “That’s something I always wanted to do. Now I think we can
move forward with a clean slate. See you tomorrow at the pool.”
     
    Ben smiled as he walked out the door, leaving Beth
breathless.

Chapter Six
     
    Beth was up early the next morning and saw Heather as she
was gathering her things for the track. She had thought about Ben from the moment
her head the pillow and only Heather’s voice was able to disturb her thoughts
both sweet and sour.
     
    “You were asleep by the time I got home. I met the nicest
hurdler from Phoenix and one thing led to another. I don’t have to tell you
what happened but it was amazing and I have Ben to thank.”
     
    “Ben, what about Ben?” Beth hadn’t heard most of Heather’s
story but the name Ben caught her attention.
     
    “Ben shut me down when I made advances so I guess he wasn’t
up for having fun but he did introduce me to Cory. Ben has a stick up his ass
and after he told everyone about you’re needing a shrink, I was lucky he turned
me down.”
     
    “Slow down Heather.” Beth laughed. “You’re talking a mile a
minute and it’s 5am.”
     
    “I’m just hyped about trials which begin 40 days from today.
Can’t win a gold medal until you make the team and you never know if some
nobody from Kansas is waiting to ambush our dreams.”
     
    “I think by now the competition is laid out and it’s time to
focus on nothing but the track. You may want to consider dialing it down a
notch, not to sound like a mother hen but I’ve been there. international
competition is a beast and it takes everything out of you.”
     
    “I’m young Beth and you must forget what that’s like.”
Heather trotted off to her room.
     
    ****
     
    Beth walked onto the practice track, which was intimidating
because she was surrounded by the best of the best. She saw Seth working with
some young women who would be competing in the 4x4 relay, which was something
she enjoyed until her accident. The American’s were counting on the four women
that they had and there was no room for a 5 th . Dixie waved from the
other side of the track where she was practicing the hurdles. Dixies glided
over the hurdles as if she were a gazelle. Beth found it hard to believe that
she had recently given birth because she didn’t have an ounce of fat on her.
     
    “Nice; on time. That’s a good start to our working
together.” Seth smiled as he jaunted across the field to welcome Beth. “I’m a
stickler for promptness as you’ve probably heard. Most of the gossip about me
isn’t true but this is. I had a runner who was habitually tardy and I told her
to run back to her room because she was not coachable.  She’s here at Apex
still but she’s somebody’s else’s problem now.”
     
    “Yeah, I outgrew my tardiness. It’s selfish when you think
your time is more important than someone else’s. I assume we’ll get started by
setting a baseline and working from there.”
     
    “Not really, I don’t want you working on speed until we get
your form worked out because I hear from Jonathan that your stride needs
tinkering.”
     
    “It does, I guess because I run differently since the
accident. I’m surprised that Jonathan even thought it was worth mentioning
because I don’t consider it a drawback. It’s hardly noticeable.”
     
    Seth laced his arms across his chest. “Did you get a head
injury when you fell off your bike?”
     
    “No Seth; my helmet was intact. I was just letting you know
that it’s no big deal.”
     
    “Have you forgotten that every single detail matters at this
level. If you have no intention of winning, then you don’t belong here. We have
to use everything we can because you’re not a youngster and don’t forget that
making it to the games is only the first step towards Olympic gold. I would
apologize for being a hard ass but I won’t because that’s how I coach