glass of water, and Penelope helped her sit up, running a soothing hand up her back.
As the coughing subsided, Penelope gestured between the two of them suspiciously. “Okay, give, what did Chris hear? Or at least, what do you suspect he heard? He looked a little shell-shocked when we saw him.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing really, but Colton herded him off and I think he’s probably going to see if he can get Chris to talk. It might help if we knew what was going on though.”
Julie closed her eyes. What a mess this was all becoming. One little secret was becoming this huge thing about to crush her. She needed to get back in control of her life. She was still reeling from—well everything, actually. But the one thing she did know was that if she had this discussion with anyone, it needed to be Chris. What happened between them had always been a private thing. It wasn’t fair to him to change that now, especially not with his brother’s girlfriend, even if that person was one of her best friends.
Julie opened her eyes. “I’m sorry, Pen, but I can’t talk about it. Not yet, maybe not ever, but definitely not now.”
Penelope frowned, but gave a short nod. “We may have made a mistake, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“When the townhouse came open next door to you, we all pushed Chris into renting it, thinking you both could use a friend to help you work through everything. But something’s happened and now you both seem even more wounded than ever. I’m sorry, Julie. We never meant for you to hurt more.” The tears welled in Penelope’s eyes.
Guilt assailed Julie. “Aw, come on, Pen, don’t do that. Geez, you and your hormones. Poor Colton.”
Penelope gave a watery laugh.
Julie ignored Rachel’s pressed lips. “Chris and I are fine. You all didn’t do anything. We’re lucky to have friends who care so much about us. It’s okay. I promise. We’re both going to be fine.”
And they were. She would make sure of it, but for now, she needed to get rid of her sister because Julie had a list to make and didn’t need Rachel giving her a hard time about it. It was time for her to make her OCD work for her, not against her. Aaron had shown her everything happened for a reason, and she wasn’t going to waste her opportunity here.
She touched Rachel’s arm. “I’m getting tired. Would you all mind letting me take a little nap? Besides,” she glanced back at Penelope who was still sniffling, “I think Penelope probably should go find Colton before the waterworks really begin.” She squeezed Penelope’s hand. “Thanks for coming by. Now go home and take care of that little one in your tummy. No more worries about me. The doctor said I should be out of here tomorrow, if I’m a good girl. I plan to make that happen, which means sleep now.”
Rachel narrowed her eyes at Julie, but went along and pushed Penelope out of the room. Julie figured she had a few minutes before Rachel came back to check on her. She would use those minutes wisely. Glancing at the door, she reached under her pillow and removed her stash of paper and a pen.
She began her list.
1. Get well.
2. Find the therapist’s business card.
3. Talk to Chris.
Chapter 23
After Chris left the hospital, he decided. When Julie got out of the hospital, they’d talk like the adults they were. It was past time for them to discuss what happened before and after he deployed, especially in light of her feverish ramblings on the way to the hospital.
She’d said that she loved him and he ached for her on more levels than just physically. He knew he wasn’t in any position to even begin to think about a relationship with a girl, but that didn’t change the zing of anticipation that made his heart race when he thought about Julie still caring for him. He wanted her so much and it had been so long since he’d had any hope. Was that wrong? At this point though, hope was a really scary thing, especially considering his physical condition, but he refused to give up on it.
And he wouldn’t be any good to Julie or any other relationship until he got his head on straight. Chris pulled out the card that Mick had given him. PTSD SUPPORT. It was time. He checked the meeting schedule. There was one tonight and he was