A Pinch of Promise

Can first love overcome a lifetime of lies?

Ten years after Ben Taylor's first love disappeared, he meets a physical therapist who looks just like her. Rebecca Fisher denies being Marie, but Ben is determined to uncover the truth.

Rebecca has built a new life under a false name, running away from her famous pastor father's toxic legacy. But Ben's persistence forces her to face her past and the lies she's told.

As Ben and Rebecca fall for each other, they must decide if they can trust their hearts. Can Ben forgive Rebecca for her deception, and can she learn to trust again?

Dive into this heartwarming romance as Ben and Rebecca navigate the complexities of love, trust, and forgiveness.

Rebecca Fischer pulled up her next appointment on her tablet. Her breath caught. Ben Taylor. The image of sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes flashed across her thoughts. Silly. There were probably hundreds—thousands, even—of people in the world with that name. Besides, Ben had never mentioned wanting to live in the D.C. area. And even over the course of one fleeting summer, it had been clear that Ben was going to get what he wanted.
Pushing away the ghosts of what might have been, Rebecca strolled through the sprawling therapy room, weaving between weight machines and treadmills. She crossed an expanse of floor mats where patients were stretching, some with the assistance of other physical therapists, resistance bands, and medicine balls. Conversations, grunts, groans, and the occasional whimper of pain ricocheted off the mirrored walls. She smiled as she stepped into the reception area.
“Mr. Taylor?” Rebecca’s gaze drifted over the handful of people waiting. Her heart raced as a man about her age, complete with sandy brown hair, wobbled out of a chair.
“That’s me.” Ben adjusted the position of his crutches and inched his way across the room.
Rebecca pursed her lips, evaluating his progress. He hadn’t been doing the range of motion exercises the surgeon had sent home with him. And he was babying his knee. “When was your surgery?”
“Friday.”
Three days. She nodded. Not as bad as she’d thought. “All right. Been doing your exercises?”
Ben hunched his shoulders. “Trying to.”
She held open the door into the main therapy room and gestured for him to go ahead of her. “I know it hurts. But if you want to get that full range of motion back, you’ll need to do more than try. I’ll help. I’m Rebecca, by the way. We’ll start with a focus on getting your knee extension back. For now, if you’re not here at therapy or doing your exercises, keep the immobilizer on and use your crutches. Either your surgeon or I will let you know when you can discontinue either one.”
“Okay. And the swelling?”
“It’ll go down, don’t worry. I’ll send you home with some instructions for that, as well.” Rebecca stopped in front of a straight-backed chair positioned against the wall on the far side of the mats. Pale blue eyes met hers and the moisture in her mouth evaporated. “Have a seat.”
When Ben was settled, she set his crutches out of reach and helped him remove the immobilizer. He shifted in the seat and flinched. “Now what?”
“Now we see how well you can extend your leg. I know you’ve been mostly straight in the brace, but you need to be able to get to what we call terminal knee extension, to regain your regular gait. If you want to grab the sides of the chair, that sometimes helps. Straighten your leg as far as you can.”
Grimacing, Ben lifted his leg, straightening it.
“How’d you tear your ACL?” Rebecca knelt by Ben’s leg and lifted his foot.
Ben sucked in a breath. “Uh. Football with the guys after church. My roommate played semi-pro, so he’s always trying to get a game going. I was stupid and caved.”
He hadn’t been athletic at summer camp, either. It had to be him. Did he recognize her? He wasn’t acting like it. Though it wasn’t as if she expected him to be overjoyed anyway. Not after the way she’d vanished after camp. Would he understand if she explained? “Did you at least have fun for a little while?”
“First play.”
She winced, biting back a laugh. “Oooh.”
He shrugged. “I’ve never been particularly athletic. I figured I’d get injured one way or another, but I hadn’t banked on it being this bad. At least it gets me out of having to play football again. Ever.”
“Go ahead and put your foot down. Feeling okay?”
Ben nodded.
“Ok, straighten your leg again, let’s see if we can go a little farther this time. While you do, tell me about yourself.”
“To help take my mind off the pain?”
“Yeah. Plus we’re going to spend a bit of time together while you recuperate. Just pretend I’m your hair stylist.”
“Getting my hair cut doesn’t hurt like this.” Ben ground his teeth together. “Um. Let’s see. I work for a hunger relief agency, primarily helping to allocate money and organize food drives that churches arrange throughout the year.”
Maybe not exactly what he’d been planning in college, but definitely close. “That sounds like a worthwhile job. Fulfilling. Go ahead and lower your foot.”
“It is. I like knowing that what I do makes a difference for people in countries where food isn’t as abundant as it is here.”
She nodded. Making a difference had been her dream, once. “Let’s go one more time and then we’ll do ultrasound therapy for the soft tissue, and spend some time working on that swelling. And I’ll get you some instructions to supplement what the surgeon probably sent home with you.”
“Okay.” He cocked his head to the side. “You look familiar. Have we met before?