Page 13 of Always You

“Hey,” I said back. Doc said nothing about Tom working here, so I assumed Tom was one of us.

“And that’s Raj,” Doc finished, gesturing at a tall man at the kitchen island nursing a cup of coffee. Raj was older, perhaps in his early sixties, with a thoughtful expression and a gaze that seemed to take in everything with a quiet intensity. He lifted his cup in a silent salute when Doc mentioned his name, his acknowledgment more reserved but no less welcoming. I nodded in return and didn’t have to see the scars knotting the back of his left hand to know he’d served. I could see it in his eyes.

“Coffee?” Tom asked as he rinsed his bowl and placed it in the dishwasher, and I nodded. “Black?”

“Please.”

He poured coffee into a mug that announcedLiquid Wisdom Insideand placed it within my reach, but didn’t get closer himself.

“Peacekeeping Afghanistan, Sergeant, Army.” he said and crutched out from behind the counter, my gaze drawn to his legs, where one was missing from the knee down.

“Master Sergeant, Army,” I blurted.

Tom sketched a cocky salute with his free hand.

I shrunk in on myself. “Please, no,” I said, and he seemed to get it, offering me a fist to bump instead. No reminders of rank, or what we’d done or seen. Just no.

“Pancakes? Cereal?” he asked instead. “We have muffins, or we do unless Raj got there first.”

“Sorry,” Raj said. “I just ate the last one.”

Tom winced. “No muffins then.”

“Cereal is good.” I edged to the main table, keeping my eye on everyone, then awkwardly poured sugary cereal into a bowl and splashed it with milk. Spoons were in a jug to one side. Then, I settled at the table where Tom had placed my mug.

“Morning,” Alex said from the door, moving past me to get coffee and take a plate of pancakes from Elena. Did he still pour syrup all over them? Why did I even care? And why was there a buzzing in my ears?

He took a seat down from me. “Hi, Jazz,” he murmured.

I nodded and went back to my cereal. If he’d asked me how I slept or whether I needed anything, I might have just left, but he said nothing.

“Want me to show you around?” Doc asked.

I grabbed my mug and headed straight over to him—anything to get away from Alex. I glanced back and caught my old friend staring at me. His expression was… sad, maybe, or confused? He offered me a smile, but I hurried out after Doc, nearly spilling the contents of my mug and stopping in horror at the thought of messing things up.

“Shit.”

“Okay?” Doc asked.

“I never asked—is it okay if I take this with me?”

“Sure, it’s your home for as long as you want, so coffee can go everywhere,” he said and grinned.

I almost smiled back, but the comment about the staying here part sounded almost pointed. Or preachy? Or was that me overreacting?

He stopped at a board way past the medical room and gestured at bulletin photos, each image part of a larger circle. “So, this is the team. The other doc, Louisa.” He thumbed back at the kitchen. “You met Elena; she’s a therapist here, also your best contact for all things legal; and this is Lucas, therapist, web expert, all-around good guy. Plus, Carl, accountant.” Doc chuckled. “Then, of course, Alex, who runs the place with me.”

Alex.

Alex was smiling in his photo. Welcoming. Non-threatening. Normal. I could almost see the boy I’d once known—only grown up, bigger, stronger—and my heart skipped a beat.

Doc guided me through the entire building with a sensitivity that nearly brought me to tears. He didn’t require me to interact with anyone; he simply showed me where everything was, from a small gym and therapy room to the attic, which housed a yoga space, and then we made our way back downstairs.

When we’d completed a full loop and were back outside the medical room, he asked, “If you have a few minutes, can I check you over?”

“Sure,” I said. He did some basic checks, then told me the rest of the day was mine. He didn’t ask me to stay another night, suggest I talk to a therapist, or say I should get advice on what to do next for myself. He let me be, and with a wave, he relocked the medical room door and headed away from me.

Outside of my room, alone, I froze. Now what?

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