“I’ll do whatever it takes,” he vowed. “Brody and I won’t let her down.”
Kassie entered the bedroom and sat on the opposite side of the bed as Hannah with Brody in the middle. His head lay in her lap as she gently stroked him.
“How do you feel?” she asked, watching Hannah interact with the dog.
“A bit shaky,” Hannah admitted.
“It’s perfectly normal. Can you tell me what made you go into the closet?” Kassie asked gently.
“My father called. He’s arranging a flight home for me tomorrow. I don’t want to go, and he refused to listen. Then I went into the kitchen to make some soup. Something’s wrong with me,” she whispered. “I thought they came for me. They didn’t, did they?”
“No, Hannah. No one will harm you here. It doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with you. Your brain processes things differently. Claire can explain it better than I.”
“It seems I came at the right time,” Claire said cheerfully as she sat on the corner of the bed.
“Hannah fought with her father and then thought she heard the rebels,” Kassie explained.
“Ahhh,” Claire said as she smiled. “It’s part of your fight or flight reflex. Your brain mixed up the messages and your nervous system took over.”
“I don’t want to go back to my room at the hospital,” she pleaded. “I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t even make it a whole day.”
“Everyone has setbacks now and again,” Kassie consoled her. “Why do you think we have buttons in the closet?”
“I felt like I lived in a nightmare. It’s as if I never came home from Afghanistan,” she murmured.
“Remember our discussions about PTSD?” Claire reminded her.
“Yeah. It felt so real. My heart kept pounding, and I struggled to think straight,” she said, describing her feelings. “I’m sorry to create such a fuss. Leo and his men must think I’m coo coo.”
“Stop,” Kassie admonished. “Patch mans the board some nights in case someone pushes the button. Do you think you’re the only one who has ever pressed it? We have a response team in place to help the people who need it.”
“Tell me how you feel now, Hannah,” Claire said. “We have some medications we can try to help with your anxiety and other symptoms. If you don’t want to return to the hospital, what did you have in mind?”
Hannah shrugged. “I know I need help. I guess staying in the cabin seems out of the question after this.”
“What about staying with someone? Do you feel safe with Scarlett?” Claire asked.
“Yes, but she’s recently married. I’m not imposing on her and Ty. They’re still in the honeymoon stage,” she refused.
Claire turned to Kassie. “Do we have another vet we can pair her with?”
“No. I have three returning home and the two transferring to the cabins requested to stay as roommates,” Kassie reported. “I have one veteran who might be ready in about two weeks.”
“I’m afraid we can’t leave you alone for two weeks. We planned to go with you tomorrow to introduce you slowly to the community,” Claire said, attempting to come up with another idea.
“What about Cole and Brody? Do you feel safe with him?” Kassie asked.
Hannah smiled slightly as she scratched her four-legged friend behind the ears. “Yeah, I do. He doesn’t mind if I don’t talk. Cole treats me like I’m… normal.”
“No one truly is. Don’t work toward perfection,” Kassie warned. “How do you feel about staying with him? What if you attended therapy and we work on getting you out and about while he’s working with the dogs? When you’re not, you can help him at the training facility,” Kassie suggested.
“I don’t know. It’s one thing for him to visit me at the hospital but quite another for him to babysit me,” Hannah said, shaking her head.
“He already offered. Cole seems determined to help you. We can try it and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll come up with another alternative. I need you to tell me honestly, do you feel comfortable enough to try?”
Brody raised his head to stare at Hannah as if willing her to take the chance. Her stomach flip-flopped as she debated her options. Stay with Cole here on the mountain or go home to her parents with her tail between her legs. A mixture of anger, determination, and pure spite to prove her father wrong filled her.
“May I speak with Cole?” she asked.
