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Perfect.
“Yes, it is.”
I smile. It’s not flirty or designed to knock the panties off anyone, but it does hold its own. “Are replacements randomly selected or can individuals put in a request to work in certain locations?”
“It depends. In the case of the Maple Ridge Veterans Center, someone there requested a specific physical therapist. And she was more than happy to accept the placement.”
“It must have been Chris McCutcheon,” Troy tells me. “He’s the center’s director.”
The woman types on her keyboard. “No, it was Richard Diegel.”
Troy and I exchange confused glances. Her response doesn’t make sense. “Since when does the head of counseling get any say in whom the rehab department hires?”
Troy’s brow pinches into an almost-there frown. “Good question.”
The woman leans closer, a gleam in her eyes. “He’s her boyfriend.”
And that information is the mallet hammering the silver disc into shape.
We thank the receptionist for her help and return to Troy’s truck.
“Diegel really does benefit from Lucas losing his job at the center,” I say as Troy pulls out of the parking lot. “It might mean Diegel’s department will get more money because Lucas won’t be around to argue on behalf of the PT department. And his girlfriend can live in the same town as him.”
“Which means Diegel probably won’t be too disappointed if Chris, for some reason, decides not to rehire Lucas.”
“Do you think that could happen? If Lucas is found innocent, he might not be rehired after all?”
“Anything’s possible,” Troy says. “But I can’t imagine that happening. Lucas is well respected at the center. As it is, there’s been some grumbling over him being fired. People have wondered what happened to innocent until proven guilty. But there are others who have already convicted him without the benefit of a trial.”
So no different from what it’s been like in town.
“Does Chris or the board know anything about your plans for the Wakefields’ land?”
“I’m sure they do. But they also know that Lucas has no plans of leaving the center for a few more years—if at all. He’s not throwing his lot into our project without some sort of safety net. He loves his job at the center. He’s not ready to give it up just yet.”
That sounds like the Lucas I’ve always known. When he takes risks, they’re always calculated risks. He doesn’t jump into the deep end unless it’s absolutely necessary.
I gaze out the side window for a few minutes, letting everything go by in a blur of green fields and blue sky. It’s so peaceful on the stretch of highway between Eugene and Maple Ridge. Nothing like where Aiden, Lucas, and his brothers were deployed with the Marines. “When you left the military, did you struggle with PTSD?”
“No. I was lucky. But I know many people who were messed up with it.” Troy cringes, his own pain and guilt and regret staring back at me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You’re right. It did mess up my brother. If it hadn’t, he would still be alive.”
“I had a friend who recently died because of PTSD,” Troy says after a beat. “He was my best friend. He hadn’t been with the military, but he was a paramedic and witnessed the results of a horrific accident on the highway.” He nods to the stretch of open road in front of us. “I completely missed the signs he was struggling with PTSD. If I could go back in time and help him, I would.”
“I’m sorry about your friend.” I swallow down my own pain of how I failed to protect my brother from his own demons.
“Lucas told me what happened a few weeks ago. With the flashback while he was watching the news and then the nightmare he had while…” Troy leaves the sentence hanging.
“While he was in bed with me?”
“Yeah, that. Has he had any more since then?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t witnessed any more flashbacks. But I also haven’t slept with him since that one time, so I don’t know if he’s had any more nightmares. If he has, he hasn’t told me about them.” Lucas is so paranoid that he will have another nightmare and accidentally hit me again—or worse—he still insists that I sleep in the guest room. “Has he ever told you what happened that led to them?”
“No. As far as I know, the only person he’s ever discussed it with was the therapist he was seeing in Seattle. It could be he hasn’t had any since the last ones he mentioned to me. He hasn’t had any issues on the job sites. Let me know if he has any more of them. With everything he’s going through, he might need to talk to someone so the situation doesn’t get worse.”
“I will. Thanks.”
