High Country Rebel

“Makes two of us,” Val assured him. “I’m glad I came home.”

“Makes three of us,” Gus said. “The Bar H is coming back to life under your and Griff’s guidance.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “And now, with Talon agreeing to work for us full-time, that’s going to help us with the plans we’ve got on the back burner for the ranch.”

Cat smiled, always enjoying Gus and her fiery personality. “Don’t expect him to start doing much of anything for about two weeks.”

“Don’t worry,” Griff assured her, picking up his coffee mug. “May is always testy and we get more snow than spring sunshine. I’ll go easy on him.”

“Good,” Cat murmured, “because he’s really underweight, Griff. He’s lost forty or fifty pounds from what I can tell.”

“Why so much?” Gus demanded, scowling.

“Maybe six months in the hospital did it,” she suggested. “He doesn’t talk much about himself and he didn’t like my questions when I asked him.”

Val nodded. “Just give Talon time. Don’t press him too much, okay? Chances are him getting wounded has something to do with it. He’s probably going through a lot of emotional trauma he can’t share with anyone.”

“That must be tough,” Gus muttered, “not being able to talk about it to anyone.”

Val put her empty pie plate aside and slid her fingers around the coffee mug. “It’s being caught between a rock and a hard place, Gus.”

Griff sat back, watching his wife with concern. “And that’s why after we got married, on some nights, you’d wake up screaming.”

Val sighed. “Yes. I still get them, but not as much as before.” She reached over and touched his cheek. “Because I have you, I feel safe now.”

Cat tilted her head. “So, you have PTSD, too.” It shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did, because Val seemed so calm and collected.

“Yes. I’m sure not one-tenth as bad as Talon has it. He was out on the front lines against the enemy all the time. My work was off and on for a couple of years over in Iraq. Still, when your life is on the line, it affects you.” Her voice lowered and she held Cat’s gaze. “Talon has probably seen terrible things, Cat. He’s jumpy and he’s been finely trained until his reactions are all based on muscle memory. He doesn’t think about his defensive moves—they are a part of him. That’s why you can’t be near him when he suddenly jolts awake for whatever reason.”

Griff nodded. “I remember the first time you sat up screaming in bed shortly after we got married. You scared the living hell out of me. I thought you were hurt.”

Val smiled sadly. “Yes, I remember that night. That dream.”

“What did you do to help her, Griff?” Cat wondered.

“When I realized she wasn’t hurt, I just held her.”

“Love always heals,” Gus uttered, eyeing the couple with tenderness. She reached out, patting Val’s arm. “I wish you’d told me this before.”

“It’s hard for military vets to open up, Gus,” Val said. “Man or woman, it doesn’t matter. We carry so much toxic crap inside us, we’re afraid to release it.” She glanced over at her husband. “I guess that’s why we have nightmares and maybe we’re working it out in the landscape of our mind. So much of it is top secret and we can’t speak about it to our spouse or friends. We’re like time bombs.”