Chase pulled her back into another hug and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry she’s gone.”
“Me, too. But we are still here. We get a chance to have what Juliana wanted. A happy life.” She looked him in the eye. “You’ve got a lot of trauma stored up inside you, like Drake. Let this one go. Juliana wouldn’t want you blaming yourself for what someone else did to her.Ionly blame him. Not you.”
He nodded and reluctantly said, “Okay.”
“Good. Then give her back,” Drake grumbled, making Chase smile and hold on to Adria for a few seconds longer.
He glanced down at Adria. “You sure you want this big grump?”
Adria slipped free and walked into the crook of Drake’s arm. “I’m sure.”
Drake nodded toward Shelby. “Besides, you’ve been in love with her forever.”
Chase caught the surprise in Shelby’s eyes. He’d never said he loved her out loud.
Drake held out his hand to her. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name and all of Chase’s pining.”
Shelby shook Drake’s hand. “Thanks for saving his life and sending him back to us.” Shelby shifted her focus to Adria. “Thank you for coming during this difficult time. It means so much to me that you’d drive all this way to help Chase heal.”
“I know what it’s like to love a man who’s lost in another world sometimes.”
Chase knew Shelby loved him. He felt it in the way she took care of him, the way she made love to him, and the way she understood him.
He’d needed this meeting with Adria to come to terms with losing Juliana. He could already feel the heavy guilt fading away as he accepted what happened, his part, and that Adria and Drake really didn’t blame him for being too late.
Adria looked at him. “Anything I can do to help you stay in the here and now and find peace... Well, I hope my coming has done that.”
“It means a lot,” Chase choked out, his throat tight with emotion. He’d felt alone for so long.
But he had his family back in his life now, friends like Drake and Adria, and most important, he had Shelby and Eliza. They brightened his whole world.
He wasn’t alone.
He didn’t have to do all of this on his own.
“We didn’t come empty-handed. Come out to the truck. I’ve got something that will help you stay grounded in reality.” Drake held his hand out toward the still open door.
Chase cocked a brow.
Shelby touched his arm. “I’m going to check on Eliza.”
“Oh, can I come? I can’t wait to meet her,” Adria said.
“Absolutely.” Shelby waved for Adria to follow her.
Chase walked behind Drake out to his truck. “What did you bring me?”
“Remember I told you that I’m working with Jamie Kendrick. She runs an equine therapy program at her ranch.”
“Yeah. She’s one of Dr. Porter’s patients. You guys have gotten a bunch of ex-soldiers together and do a group thing for those of us who have PTSD.”
Drake opened the truck door and let out the two barking dogs. “Well, she also started training service dogs. She helped me train Sunny.” Drake bent and patted the multicolored Australian shepherd, then hooked his arm around the chocolate Lab licking his face. “This is Remmy. He’s yours.”
“What?” Chase didn’t know what else to say.
“Jamie trained him for someone like you. He knows what to do if you get lost in a flashback, or you have an anxiety attack. He’ll even wake you up out of a nightmare.”
“I’m sure there are other soldiers who could use a dog like him.”