Lacy slowly shook her head. “I…I don’t know. Connor said that this SEAL had PTSD. Maybe he has the TB…”
“TBI,” I stated.
With an apologetic look, she said, “I don’t know.”
I started to chew on my fingernail as I paced. I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to Aiden, and I hadn’t done anything because my feelings had gotten hurt by him or I was letting my damn pride get in the way. At the same time, I was a single mother with a business I needed to think about and a life I had to figure out. Could I take on something as big as this? Something as big as Aiden’s past?
An image of Aiden playing with Ben and of Ben lifting his hands for Aiden to pick him up popped into my mind—and I spun around so fast to face my sister that I nearly made myself dizzy. “Do you think Mitch can get me in touch with this SEAL’s wife?”
“You could ask him. I’m sure if you told him why you wanted to talk to her, he would make it happen.”
I quickly walked out of the barn, with Lacy fast on my heels—or as fast as her pregnant body would allow her to go in the snow.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To the police station. I need to talk to Mitch.”
I stared at the name and phone number Mitch had written down on the back of his card. With a deep breath and shaking hands, I dialed the number. It rang twice before a female voice picked up.
“This is Macy.”
“Um, yes, hi, Macy. My name is Willa Turner. I’m friends…well…maybe more than friends, with a former Navy SEAL by the name of Aiden O’Hara. I believe Aiden and your husband served together.”
“Yes, I know Aiden well. Brook mentions him from time to time, and they still talk to each other often.”
That made me pause for a moment. “Really?”
“Brook was discharged from the Navy a few months back after he sustained a pretty bad injury. He was a sharpshooter and a bomb went off and took three of his fingers. The ones on the hand he needed to shoot with.”
I sucked in a breath. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you, but I would rather a few fingers be gone than him.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I prayed I wasn’t making a mistake by reaching out to Macy. Would Aiden be upset with me? I shook my head to clear those thoughts. I loved Aiden, and if it meant reaching out to Macy to try and help him, then so be it.
“Um, Macy, this might be so terribly rude of me, but I’m sort of at a loss here. Aiden hasn’t lost limbs or anything like that, but I do believe he’s lost a piece of himself. Or, he’s trapped in a world he doesn’t know how to get out of.”
I heard a sniffle on the other end of the line.
“If this is too much, please—”
“No! No, Willa, please don’t stop. Keep telling me.”
I drew in a deep breath. “From the outside, he seems okay. For the most part, he acts okay. He’ll stare off at times, and it’s clear he’s lost in a memory. Most of the time, by the expression on his face, it’s not a happy one. Anyway, we were together one night. I mean, we knew each other back before he went into the Navy, and we shared this moment… Well. It’s a long story so let me just keep going.”
I let out a nervous laugh as she told me to take my time.
“Aiden was having a dream, and I couldn’t wake him up. It was clearly a nightmare. When he finally woke, he pinned me down and then put his hand around my throat. It all happened so fast, and he realized what he had done and let go as quickly as he’d done it. But, after that, he left. He walked out without even talking to me. I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me, even though it did scare me.”
“God, this sounds so familiar,” she said in a shaking voice. “I forget sometimes I’m not the only person in the world dealing with this.”
I wasn’t sure if I should feel relieved or not. “He avoided me for a couple of weeks and then stopped by my family’s apple orchard. A tractor backfired, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground and Aiden was covering me. Needless to say, it’s been a month, and he’s still avoiding me like the plague. He seems to be settling into life again, but I think…I mean…I’m almost positive he has PTSD. I love him, Macy, and even if things don’t work out between us, I need to help him. I just don’t know how to do it.”