Worth the Risk by Kay Lyons

Author:Kay Lyons
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-946863-79-9
Publisher: Kindred Spirits Publishing

Chapter 8

Grayson blasted the air to cool Frankie's too-hot and trembling frame and let her have some silence to regroup after what had just happened.

He knew PTSD when he saw it. The question was what had she encountered to cause it and when? Maybe he should've done a little more digging when he'd searched online.

Frankie had mentioned Tank's injury and how she'd come by the dog, but now he wondered if her choosing the animal had more to do with her own PTSD issues than simply wanting to help the dog live out the rest of his life with honor as a four-legged soldier.

He drove the two miles back to the ferry line for the return trip. Frankie had her eyes closed, face toward the window, but he knew she wasn't asleep. Once he'd paid the fare and took his place in the marked lane to board, he cleared his throat. "I talked the entire way over here. It's your turn now."

She didn't respond.

"Frankie, I'm not giving up. And while I hate whatever it was that left you dealing with reactions like that, you know I get it. So talk to me. What happened?"

Nothing.

His hands tightened over the wheel but he heard her take a breath. The sound shattered him because it was such a shaky, shuddering inhalation.

"Roadside bomb. A convoy ambush. It was… We were pinned down for quite a while."

"Casualties?"

"Four. Two bled out at the scene and two later."

He'd treated more battle wounds than he wanted to think about, so he had an idea of what she'd seen. "I'm sorry."

"It's all part of it. I knew that when I signed up."

Being willing to sacrifice for your country was one thing but having to do it another. PTSD wasn't something to be taken lightly, nor should she be dealing with it on her own. "Do you see a counselor? Are you part of a group?"

He glanced at her in time to catch the wince that momentarily marred her beautiful features.

"I did. At the hospital in Germany. Not here."

"Frankie—"

"What? I'm busy. You think it's easy to run a business and work the way I do?"

"I think you can make time for something that will help you. You need to talk about what happened."

"No one needs to know that about me here."

"Why not? It means you're human."

"It means I'm crazy… or at least that's what a lot of people think when a sudden noise makes me jump through the roof o-or hide behind a freaking tree. They'd stop seeing me and start wondering if they're in danger because I know how to use a gun."

Grayson reached across the expanse and took hold of her hand. "Do you think your family wouldn't understand? Your father?"

During one of their many chats overseas, she'd told him about her family and her colonel father, every word full of praise and admiration.

"He'd understand but he'd also blame himself. Feel responsible somehow. I don't want that."

She tried to protect them, at cost to herself. "I'm glad you told me.

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