to be happy, but it’s not easy. Will it ever get easier?”
“I promise it will.”
“I have a boyfriend.” I wait a beat to brace myself for his reaction, but all he does is smile at me. “He’s the most amazing person I could ever meet, and for some reason, he loves me. I want to be happy with him, and right now, I’m doing well, but what if that doesn’t last?”
“Does he know about your PTSD?”
I nod.
“Then that’s enough. Your happiness won’t last forever, Ranger. You will have setbacks, but you’ll crawl back up, and over time, those days will become less, and you’ll find yourself having far, far more good days than bad.”
He’s not sugarcoating it, and that means everything to me. “Were you officially diagnosed with PTSD?”
“No. War trauma for soldiers was still a taboo. I didn’t get that label until much later, but I knew that in hindsight, that’s what I have.”
“Have? Not had?”
He smiles gently. “It never fully goes away. It’ll always be there, and even now, fifty years later, I do have the occasional triggers where I’m back in that jungle all of a sudden, holding dying men in my arms.”
Silence hangs between us, but it’s a good silence, one shared in mutual understanding.
“Thank you,” I say finally. “Thank you for selling me your house, but even more for sharing your story. It’s given me hope.”
“You’re a good man, Ranger, and you deserve all the happiness in life. I pray the house I built will be as much a blessing for you and your family as it was for me and mine.”
“Would you like a tour to see what I’ve done so far in fixing it up?”
His eyes light up. “I’d love to. I think I spotted some new outbuildings?”
“Yeah, I built two barns. My boyfriend’s house burned down in the fire, so he and his animals moved in here. Five horses, four chickens, two goats, one dog…and a partridge in a pear tree.”
Mr. Sherman laughs at my joke, which was, I’ll admit, arguably lame. But maybe I’m getting better at it than I realized. I show him the progress I’m making on renovating the bathroom, and then he inspects the new barns and fences. “You’re doing a great job. It makes me happy to see this place alive again.”
“You can stop by any time,” I tell him, and his smile widens.
“Be careful what you say to an old man. I may be dropping in a lot more than you’d counted on.”
He’s lonely. I don’t know why that thought never occurred to me, but it’s crystal clear to me. “Where do your daughters live?”
“My oldest is in South Korea, where her husband is stationed. My youngest is a surgical resident in Atlanta.”
His voice rings with pride but also with underlying sadness. “And you’re here,” I say softly.
“She offered to move me to Atlanta to be closer to her, but I can’t leave this town. Doris is buried here, and I have too many good memories. Besides, she’s busy with her career and a wonderful girlfriend.”
Well, that explains the lack of judgment when I told him about Julian. “Mr. Sherman, I mean it when I say you’re welcome here anytime.”
“You’d better clear that with your boyfriend first, Ranger. And please, call me Marvin.”
I grin. “My boyfriend collects stray animals. Pretty sure he’s fine with a stray human.”
“In that case, do you need some help with that fence?”
Six Months Later
Julian
A wet nose on my foot startles me out of a rather pleasant dream I was having about my boyfriend. With a grin on my face, I roll over, reaching for Ranger without opening my eyes. Unfortunately, my plan to re-enact the dream is thwarted by his very cold and empty side of the bed.
I grumble, opening my eyes and yawning. I don’t have long to mentally complain about my lonely predicament because PP takes it upon herself to crawl up the bed and start licking my cheek.
“Yes, it’s good to see you too.” I yawn again, dodging when she tries to stick her tongue right into my mouth. Not exactly the French kiss I was hoping for this morning. I indulge in a few minutes of husky cuddles, then drag myself out of bed and go in search of my man.
My man. I still get a giddy smile on my face every time I think of him. Six months living together and we’re still very much in the honeymoon phase, but I have every confidence we’re building