The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty

         "Lace?" Slade knocked on her bedroom door. "You decent?"

       "Yeah, come on in." Lacey grabbed her tennis shoes from her closet just as Slade walked into her room. 

         "You about ready to go?" He asked her with a smile on his face.

        "Yup. I just have to finish putting on my shoes, and then I will be ready." 

         Slade knelt down and grabbed Lacey's shoes out of her hands before she could even say anything. Lifting one of her legs and setting it on his knee, Slade slipped on her tennis shoe, tying the laces. He did the same with her other foot, too. Once both shoes were on and tied, Slade stood up to smile at Lacey, a starry look in his eyes.

         "What?" She asked, a smile rising on her lips as she stared at the most handsome man in the world. 

         "You're just so beautiful. I don't know how you do it." And with that, Slade leaned forward, dropping a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek, making her blush. 

          "Enough flattery, cowboy. We are gonna be late for my physical therapy." Lacey teased, rolling past Slade to grab her duffle bag off her bed, but Slade snatched it up before she could. Playfully, Lacey stuck out her tongue at Slade. "You're bein' so helpful today, I don't know what to do." 

         Slade just smiled and shook his head as he followed Lacey down the stairs and into his truck. She was getting better at lifting herself into the cab. Nearly every day she had been practicing, and she had it down almost perfectly. Watching her now, Slade's heart practically burst because of how proud he was of her. Sure, at first it wasn't easy, and she was less than interested to improve, but ever since they had started dating, Slade had set out to try to help her as much as he could. Lacey had realized that going on dates with Slade often meant having to go places outside of the ranch, and since she wanted to spend time with him, she reckoned it wouldn't be too bad to begin doing the things that her parents and her physical therapist had been trying to get her to do. Plus, now, she was feeling the best she has felt since her accident. Doing her exercises and getting outside more had really helped her to improve. 

       "So," Slade started once they were on their way to physical therapy. "Have you made a decision about that ranch that Trevor got you into?" 

        Lacey let out a sigh before she answered. "I have decided that I for sure want to do therapy at the ranch, but we can't really afford the cost of it right now. And, I missed the deadline for the really nice scholarship, so I just don't think it would be feasible for us right now. So, in the meantime, I plan to just keep goin' to Trevor, and hopefully work up the strength to eventually ride again." 

         Slade slowly nodded his head, an idea brewing. "Don't they allow anonymous donors? Or, we could do a fundraiser or something." He glanced over at Lacey to see a small smile rising on her lips. 

          "I appreciate the thought, but seriously, it's okay. I will figure something out." Lacey said, shutting down the conversation. 

           A while later, Slade parked his truck in front of the therapy building. Lacey pulled her chair next to the cab, carefully sliding down into it. Before Slade could, she began to wheel herself away from the truck. 

          Walking beside her, Slade grabbed the door for Lacey. After checking in at the front desk, the couple made their way upstairs to the waiting room. Once seated, Slade picked up a cooking magazine from the table. "What sounds good to you for lunch?" He asked, flipping through the pages. When Lacey let out a chuckle, Slade looked at her. "What?"