Groaning, Shay shook her head. “Do you have any memories of those times, Reese?”
Shrugging, he murmured, “Not too much, really. My dad got wounded once more. Shrapnel, nothing serious enough to take him out of the fight, but I remember my mother crying her heart out. She was so fearful he was going to die.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what she went through.” Giving him a tender look, Shay said, “At least you were young and couldn’t grasp all of it.”
“My mom protected me from it, too,” Reese said with a nod. “The only time I heard her crying was after she got the phone call that my dad had been wounded again. I didn’t understand why she was crying. She held me and lied to me about it.”
“Did you buy it?”
“Yes, I did. I found out much later, when I was a young, green lieutenant, that she cried all the time. Just at night, after I was in bed, so I couldn’t hear it.”
“It’s so hard on the families of service people,” Shay agreed quietly. She saw the pensive expression on Reese’s face. “So he got out when you were five years old?”
“Yep, and my mom’s sense of relief told me a lot. We moved back to Caspar, where they’d both been born, and they went to work.”
“Did you grow up in the city?”
“No. My dad was born in a rural area just outside Caspar. He bought a home on the outskirts. He’d take me fishing and hunting with him every chance he got. Mom loved being in nature, too. She always had a huge garden every year, but because of the short summer, she lost a lot of what she’d planted. Most of the time I was out with our dog, Blackie, hiking, fishing, or just exploring the area.”
“Did you always have a dog growing up?”
“Always. Mom loves cats. She’s got two calico females right now.” He smiled a little. “She always told me women were like cats and men were like dogs. I understood what she meant after I went into the Marine Corps.” He laughed over those fond memories.
“And your dad still has his garage?”
“Yes. It’s grown a lot, though. He’s got five garages around Caspar and runs a pretty large business at this point. They’re doing well financially, and I’m glad for them.”
“Did car mechanics rub off on you?” she wondered.
“It did. My dad started teaching me how to fix cars and anything else that had wheels on it when I was eight years old. He’s enlarged his business and now has a group of men who also work on farm machinery and small engines.”
Shay gave him a teasing look. “So if I need my truck fixed, you can do it?”
“I could. But I think Harper has that area pretty well covered. He’s a good mechanic, too. And Garret’s no slouch, either.”
“We’re lucky to have all of you here. Each of you has a number of overlapping skills.”
Reese gave her a sincere look. “We’re lucky to have you, Shay. You’re giving all of us a chance to reclaim our lives. Make something of ourselves even though we struggle with PTSD.”
Shay saw his vulnerable expression, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the cup between his hands. She felt as if there was a raw, open wound still bleeding within Reese. Whatever he was carrying around within him was dark and toxic, because she could see it in his shadowed green eyes. Shay sensed a fine, subtle tension racing through Reese, as if he were remembering an event she’d triggered with her questions. She said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Reese shrugged, and put down his mug. “It’s not something I’ve ever talked about to anyone. Not even to my dad, who I’m pretty sure would understand.”
Treading lightly, she asked, “But your dad? Was he aware of what happened to you?” She saw pain come to Reese’s mouth, which flexed down as the corners drew inward.
“When I was released from the Corps, I did go home.” He opened his hands. “I tried to regain some kind of life for myself, but I couldn’t do it. I’d already lost Leslie. I couldn’t handle the people, the pressure, and demands on me. I was a failure. I couldn’t do any job in my dad’s garage without getting stressed out to the point where I walked off and disappeared. I’d get in the car he loaned me and go back to my old haunts near our home. I just needed the quiet. The peace. I couldn’t handle stress anymore.”
“I understand,” she said gently, reaching out, laying her fingers on his arm. Shay saw some of the tension decrease as she touched him. No one knew the importance of him talking this out more than she did.