Page 70 of Stolen Hearts

She waved a hand at the room. “Sit anywhere you like.”

He moved to the armchair again, sinking into the heavy leather. Everything about his posture was stiff. Even his clothes—jeans and a flannel shirt—seemed to be out of place on the man.

She took the sofa opposite him and met his gaze. “I see you took my advice to skip the appointment and just popped by for a chat today. How are things going?”

“Fine.” He didn’t relax into the seat. Not unusual for any patient let alone a new one.

She sought to put him at ease and sat back, crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap. “Have you been assigned any work on the ranch?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, drawing her attention to his build. Compared to a lot of the veterans she worked with, Justin didn’t carry as much muscle. The mental note made her wonder again just how long he was enlisted, since the men seemed to harden with each year they spent in the military.

“Been doing some work in the fields, leveling out the ground.”

She bobbed her head. “It’s beautiful land—nice to spend time outdoors.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t sound like he was committing to her view on the beauty of Wyoming. He lifted a hand to his forehead, swiping a finger through the sheen of sweat there.

The day wasn’t very warm, so she could only surmise he was highly uncomfortable. Seeking to put him at ease, she got up and crossed the space to her desk to pick up a new notebook. Often she found that having her attention directed elsewhere helped patients lower their defenses.

The clock continued its ticking, but it didn’t ground her like it normally did. It seemed to be counting down, extending the short minutes since Justin arrived.

When she returned to her seat, she offered him a small smile of encouragement and put pen to paper, jotting a note about how uncomfortable he was. Sweating. Eyes darting around the room, landing on anything but her.

She asked him some more questions, which he answered with the same calm aloofness that he had every question she asked so far.

Detached,she wrote in her notes.

She was secretly glad that Navy wasn’t here, that she was out with Auntie Honor, getting kisses and fingerpainting with people who cared about her. She couldn’t shake the disquiet inside her when she thought about the way Justin sneered at the baby.

She watched him now. His expression was unreadable. He didn’t casually slouch like the other veterans—he perched on the edge as if ready to jump up at any moment.

The other guys used Navy as a buffer between them and her when they talked. Since Justin didn’t enjoy Navy time and the notebook hadn’t worked, she needed to find a new way to make him comfortable. She closed the notebook and carried it to her desk, hoping that having the desk between them might make him feel safer.

“Have you ever been on a ranch before now? Growing up, maybe?” She left the prompt open for him to start talking about his past.

“No. Not before I came here.”

“Never been around animals?”

“Not big animals like these.”

“Some of the guys are intimidated by the cattle at first. I admit I was frightened by the horses when I first got here too.”

“I’m not frightened.”

She was getting somewhere, even if getting Justin to talk was like pulling teeth. She pulled open a desk drawer and withdrew a file with blank intake forms. She would have him fill out a questionnaire before they wrapped up today’s session.

They’d be making slow progress, but there was no timeline. And she was patient.

She asked him another question about what he’d expected from ranch life. When he didn’t immediately respond, she stood and turned to her filing cabinet. As she shifted around some files, Justin started talking in a slow, even tone.

She listened to him intently, aware that he seemed to open up more when she was occupied with another task. Encouraged by this, she continued sorting through files.

The creak of leather of the chair he sat in told her that he was finally getting more comfortable.

But the next creak didn’t sound normal.

A prickle ran up her nape. She straightened a little, half turning to face him.

---