Chapter 19

He had done it! He had played poker with a group of strangers without breaking down. He had stayed in the present. He hadn’t had a blackout or a flashback. Dr. Michaels would be proud of him.

“Landon?”

He looked up and met Grace’s gaze. He didn’t hear her coming. He winked at her.

Pleasure spread through her.

“I heard about your poker game. The mayor wasn’t talking about anything else but you today.”

Landon nodded. “They were all very kind to me. I enjoyed it.”

“You’re one gutsy man,” she said. Then she opened the car’s door. Scout jumped in and moved to the passenger’s seat and then Landon slid inside.

Landon closed the car door as he settled into the seat. Grace started the car and drove off.

He looked more relaxed than the last time. Their gazes met and suddenly her heart beat a little faster. Warmth flashed in her expression.

No! How could she feel like that? Landon wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship. Neither was she. But even so, Landon wouldn’t leave her thoughts.

Landon talked with Dr. Michaels for more than an hour while Grace played with Scout outside.

Then, when he came out, Grace walked into the office. Dr. Michaels didn’t seem surprised to see her. Her name had probably come out more than once during Landon’s sessions.

They sat in opposite chairs and Dr. Michaels invited Grace to talk with a gesture of his hand, “What can I do for you, Ms. McAllister?”

“For a starter, you can call me Grace,” she asked. “I wanted to talk with you, Doctor, because I want to help Landon.”

“That’s good. Landon needs all the help he can get. Go on.”

“I know he is a soldier and he has gone through a lot. He explained to me he suffers from Post-traumatic Stress.”

Dr. Michaels nodded.

“I want to know what I can do for him.”

“He told me about ‘team Landon’.” The psychologist smiled. “A great idea. Now he knows he’s not alone.”

Grace smiled wide.

“A married couple, friends of mine, went through a rough patch and they went to see a therapist. He told them they were all a team working together to save their relationship. So I thought that knowing that he had a support network would help him. The word team holds a special meaning for him,” Grace explained. “Landon needs people in his corner. People he can count on if he needs help.”

Dr. Michaels looked at Grace for a while, studying her, finally, he said, “This is not something you can start and then quit. It needs a true commitment. Landon needs to know that you’re with him for the long haul.”

Grace straightened up in her chair. “I understand, Doctor. Believe me, I am. I want to be the one person who doesn’t abandon him,” Grace said remembering the article about his fiancée.

“You need to know what you’re getting into and that you’ve got what it takes. This will unfortunately include being the target of anger you do not deserve. Sometimes you may be faced with a scared man, rocking and hugging his knees in the closet. Can you handle it?”