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Cars. Lots of cars of different colors, makes, models, and ages. It looked like a dealership, maybe a used car dealership of classic cars, except these cars were in pristine condition. “Do you drive all these cars?”
“Sure. What’s the point of having them if you don’t drive them?” He stopped at a white pickup. “Here we go.”
“It’s huge.”
“Betsy will carry a lot and pull a heavy load.”
“I bet. Betsy? You name your cars?”
“Yes. Betsy’s a truck, though. She’ll be insulted if you call her a car.”
Who knew Levi had such a whimsical side? She wasn’t at all sure she could get into “Betsy” without help. There were no running boards and it was pretty high off the ground.
Levi opened her door and waited for her to get in. “You should’ve named her Wonder Woman. Maybe I should take a running start.”
He laughed. “Put your foot up there and I’ll give you a boost.”
With Levi’s hand boosting her butt she managed to get in. Levi walked around to the driver’s side, got in and the truck started with a roar. He put it in gear and pressed a button, opening a wide roll-up garage door. He drove out, closing the door with the same electronic control.
Soon they were driving down Highway 290 to Kerrville. She admitted “Betsy” was a nice truck. Quiet, luxurious, with leather seats and as smooth a ride as any truck she’d ever ridden in. The glimpse she’d had of all the cars had given her a rabid curiosity to see them up close and ride in them.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t find the tile at a closer home improvement store but I was beginning to worry that none of them would have what we needed.”
“That’s all right. I like to drive.”
Clearly, she thought with a smile. “Will Asher be able to drive?”
“He should be able to. Once he’s off pain meds, anyway. He lost his left leg below the knee so he should be easily able to drive an automatic.”
“That’s good. I imagine he won’t want to be dependent on someone to drive him around.”
“Probably not. Although he’ll need someone to drive him to and from San Antonio until he can find doctors and a prosthetist closer to home.” He frowned but didn’t add anything.
“Is something else wrong? I mean, I know you’re worried about him but is there more?”
“I’m not sure how much help Asher will accept from me once he’s out of the hospital. Probably not as much as he’ll need.”
“His life has changed drastically. I can’t imagine how difficult this has been for him.”
“He doesn’t complain, at least to me. He swears he’s not depressed and doesn’t have PTSD but he’s not…he’s not Asher. It’s like he doesn’t really care about anything anymore.”
Dana put her hand on his arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Levi.” Fairly certain of his answer, she asked her question anyway. “Have you thought about going to a support group for veterans’ families and friends?”
“Yes,” he said, surprising her. “I went to a couple of meetings after he first came back to the States.”
“And?” she asked when he didn’t continue.
Levi shrugged. “I don’t think I’m a share your feelings in a big group kind of guy.” He glanced at her then back to the road. “Or maybe period.”
Well, that didn’t surprise her. Levi was about as guarded as anyone she’d ever known. Of course, she’d been guarded too. Which had been one of their problems. “Has Asher been going to meetings?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t talked to me about it.”
Apparently, Asher was as bad as Levi about sharing, if not worse. “Does Asher have a prosthetic leg yet?”
“Yes. He just got it. I think I told you, he had to wait a little longer than he’d planned. Something about the way his leg was healing. Or it wasn’t healing as fast as they expected. Anyway, there’s a prosthetist who works out of Last Stand General Hospital. It’s only about twenty minutes from here, so it will be a lot more convenient for him to go for adjustments and things like that there than have to travel to San Antonio frequently. From what I’ve read about it, fitting a prosthesis correctly is a long process.”
A short while later they arrived at the home improvement store. The manager had pulled the tiles and arranged for them to be loaded quickly. Dana and Levi thanked him and they both made a note to use the store in the future.
