“I agree.” Zac had known John for long enough to realize there was more on his mind than the training. “What else can I help you with?”
“Am I that easy to read?”
For the first time all week, Zac smiled. “Only sometimes.”
John took a sip of his coffee. “How are you feeling after Friday night?”
“Better than I was.”
“That doesn’t tell me much.”
“I don’t know what else to say. The drugs my doctor in Kabul prescribed for me are working.”
“When you need to see another doctor, there’s a good PTSD clinic in Missoula.”
Zac nodded. “Thanks.”
“Willow called me before she left for Bozeman. She’s worried about you.”
Zac sighed. “She shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“She cares about you.”
Acid burned in Zac’s stomach. “Did she tell you I ended our relationship?”
John’s eyebrows rose. “No, she didn’t. I thought you were happy together?”
“We were, but it wouldn’t have worked.”
“You seem sure about that.”
Zac had never been more positive about anything in his life. “Willow has a busy life. She was talking about going to Europe when the galleries exhibit her photographs. Even the fundraising concert stirred up a lot of interest in her music career. Her former agent left a new recording contract with her.”
“Did she sign it?”
“She threw it in the trash.”
“That must tell you what she thinks of that idea.” John watched Zac’s face before placing his coffee on the table. “What did you do?”
“I took it out of the trash.”
“And?”
“She still didn’t sign it.”
“Why do you want her to leave Sapphire Bay?”
Zac frowned. “I don’t want her to leave.”
“Then why are you making it so difficult for her to stay?”
“I’m not.”
John’s steady gaze cut through any half-truths Zac had been telling himself. It wasn’t Willow he was trying to protect, it was himself. “One day, she’ll realize she can have a better life without me. It makes sense to end our relationship now, before either of us get more hurt.”
John leaned forward. “I haven’t met anyone with PTSD who thinks they’re worthy of being loved. But believe me, when you meet someone who wants to be part of your life, you hold onto them.”
“It’s too late.” Zac dropped his head to his chest. All he could see was the disappointment and heartache on Willow’s face when he’d told her their relationship was over.
