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She hoped with Drake and Adria’s visit, his grief subsided and he remembered Juliana as the woman who fought her demons and tried to build a new life for herself just like Chase was trying to do now.
They were at the very start of finally building a solid relationship and being a family. For them to succeed, Chase needed to be healthy in mind, body, and soul.
She wanted that for him.
And he was working on it, because he wanted them all to be happy together.
Chase draped his arm over the back of Shelby’s chair and played with her hair with his fingertips. “Dinner was really good, sweetheart.” He loved having Drake and Adria there.
Remmy lay under his chair. The dog hadn’t left his side since he arrived.
He hoped having Remmy with him would help.
He’d see over time.
Shelby put her hand on his thigh under the table. “I’m glad you liked it. You ate really well tonight.”
The comment reminded him that Shelby was always trying to take care of him and watching for signs that he wasn’t okay.
Chase lifted his chin toward Eliza. “I think she’s got more on her bib than she put in her tummy.”
Eliza smiled at him, and his heart lightened just looking at her.
Shelby sighed. “I better get her cleaned up in the bath and ready for bed.”
They’d been sitting around the table after dinner. He and Drake talked about old times. The good things they remembered about their military service. Shelby and Adria seemed to get along great. They talked about Adria’s store and exchanged some recipes. Shelby talked Drake through a couple of exercises to help strengthen his bad leg and scolded Chase for not doing the ones she taught him this morning.
Drake stood and helped Adria slide her chair back.“We better get going. It’s late, and we’re leaving early in the morning for Montana.” Drake and Adria planned to stay in a hotel in town.
Chase gave Remmy a pat on the head to let him know he needed to move and waited for the dog to slide out from under his chair. Chase stood to see his friends out, and Remmy was right by his side again. “Thanks for coming all this way. It means a lot, especially now, during this difficult time.”
Adria hugged him. “I really wanted to see you and thank you for what you did. I know what happened set you back, and I’m sorry for that.”
Chase shook his head. “I’ll be okay.” He’d said that a lot since he returned home. This time he meant it. “I needed to hear you say that you didn’t blame me.”
Adria squeezed his arms. “You rushed in to help when that asshole had to be pushed into calling an ambulance.”
Chase released her.
Drake stepped in and rubbed his hands up and down Adria’s arms. “He’s locked up now.”
That seemed to soothe Adria. A little bit. “He deserves worse.” She sighed. “Sorry. Sometimes it just hits me, and the anger inside me boils over.”
“We get it,” Shelby assured her. “I hope we’ll see you again soon.”
Adria found a smile. “Me, too.WhenChase comes to Drake’s group ride, come with him. We’ll hang out. You can meet Drake’s sister, Trinity, who is also my best friend and business partner.”
Chase didn’t miss the look in Drake’s eyes that he better show up for the group meeting.
He’d started opening up to Shelby and his family, buthe didn’t want to burden them with all the gruesome details.
His talks with Dr. Porter helped, but this could be a way to connect with fellow soldiers and talk about how they transitioned back into civilian life and how they overcame the hurdles of feeling sometimes like home was a battlefield, not four walls and a roof.
And while Dr. Porter got him because he’d served, talking with others who shared the same kinds of experiences and maybe had different feelings about it might help too.
After spending time with Adria and Drake, he felt like he could grieve for Juliana and shed the guilt and regret.
One step forward.
