“I wouldn’t do that to you, honey,” he said, shaking his head. He caressed the line of her jaw with his thumb, before it wandered over to touch her lower lip.
Her breath caught. How could he be so caring and aware of her needs when he was suffering so much?
“He diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD. I wasn’t surprised. I figured that’s what it was. He wants me to go for individual counseling once a week, and to a PTSD Support Group on Tuesday nights. I go back tomorrow at eleven.”
She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m proud of you for getting help this way.”
“I was fooling myself to think it would go away by itself. After that night I attacked you, I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t bear it if I somehow hurt you.”
“I know. If there’s anything you need from me during your treatment, I hope you’ll tell me. I want to help any way I can.”
He gathered up the wrappers from their meal. “I know you need to get back to work. I’ll see you when you get home.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll pick up Maverick, and we’ll go to the park. I could use some PT to burn off the tension of telling a stranger what’s wrong with me.”
She gave him a light punch in the arm. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Rob.”
He laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I’m perfect.”
“Well, close to perfect, anyway.” She felt herself blush. He didn’t need a declaration of her feelings for him. He had enough to deal with. Time would tell whether they could make it as a couple.
Chapter Eighteen
Rob and Maverick jogged to the park side by side. Rob’s leg got stronger each time they did this. Time and exercise had increased his mobility and Maverick’s. Maybe eventually, he’d get full mobility back. He might never be at the performance level he’d been while in the Marines, but with luck, he’d recover enough to succeed at a physical job like ranching.
The next few months would tell what his future might bring in a lot of different areas—physically, mentally, emotionally, and in his relationship with MJ. He had a tough road ahead. Would the VA be able to help him recover from the things he’d seen and done, and the ways they’d affected him? He’d tried to ignore the PTSD, but he needed to jump in with both feet. Learn as much about it as he could. Wouldn’t that help him heal faster than waiting for his counselor to take him through baby steps?
What if he approached his recovery like a mission? He could gather intelligence on the “enemy,” and plan out how to take PTSD out for good. He’d talk to the counselor about it. He wanted to fast-track his recovery. Hell, he wanted to be whole for MJ. She deserved a man who wasn’t an emotional cripple. Would he be good enough for her? That remained to be seen.
He felt Maverick’s leash tighten and looked at the Malinois. His body tensed, and his eyes locked onto a figure on the other side of the park.
“Maverick, calma.” He wouldn’t call the dog off until he’d assessed what made him so nervous. He stopped and put Maverick into a sit. The man headed across the green space toward them. As he approached them, Rob recognized him. Crap. It was Kent Barnard. Neither he nor Maverick needed this. The dog let out a low-throated growl, and the hair on his back stood up. It matched the tingle at the back of Rob’s neck. This guy was trouble. He grabbed onto Maverick’s halter.
“Barnard,” he acknowledged. “What can I do for you?”
“You can get the hell out of this town,” the man growled. “You need to keep your nose out of my business.”
“What makes you think I’m in your business?”
“Sheriff questioned me about that fire. I explained I don’t know anything about it.” He smirked. “Tough luck, you gettin’ burned out like that.”
Rob shrugged. He didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of a response.
“Seems like you and your junkyard dog don’t have any reason to stay in Ridgeview now.”
He shrugged again. “Maybe not, but I’ll decide when it’s time to leave. I don’t need your suggestion.”
He tensed as Kent stepped into Maverick’s space and leaned over him. The man let out a mirthless laugh. “Be too bad if something happened to him, wouldn’t it?”
“Are you threatening my dog? I’d step back if I were you. Not sure I can keep him from tearing your throat out when you get that close.” Maverick’s growl deepened into a snarl.
“You best keep him contained. Be a shame if they took him from you as a vicious dog. They’d kill him, you know. That’s what they do around here with a mean, out-of-control cur.”
“You keep taunting him, and I can’t promise anything.”
Barnard gave an evil grin and backed up a step, but Rob didn’t think for a minute that the guy was afraid. What was his game?
He spoke into the tense silence. “Look, you leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone. This park is a public space, so we all have a right to be here. We’ve done nothing to you. Don’t give us a reason to change that.”
Kent Barnard shrugged and turned away. He looked over his shoulder with a parting glare. “Don’t worry. I won’t forget for a minute what you’ve done. You need to stay out of my relationship with my wife and daughter.”
Rob stopped himself before responding that he’d called the cops because Kent had been harassing his ex-wife and child. He didn’t
