Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(64)

Greg nodded. “And don’t you worry about the boys at Hope’s Crossing. Every one of them can handle himself.”

She didn’t reply, chewing on her lower lip.

“You’re worth it.” Gary came over to sit on her other side. “Don’t doubt it for a minute. Alex is out there doing what he does because there’s something about you that brings out the best in him.”

“I don’t know if it’s the best.” The words fell out of her mouth, and she grimaced at how bitter they sounded.

“He’s got his issues to work through, and they’re a little closer to the surface around you,” Gary agreed. “But he’d have kept trying to bury them to be the perfect father for Boom if you hadn’t come along. He doesn’t need to be perfect around you. And he definitely doesn’t need to be a father figure.”

Greg snickered.

Finally, Elisa had to crack a smile. “You two are incorrigible with the innuendoes.”

“Who, us?” Greg spread his free hand wide across his chest in mock affront. “If you catch what we’re throwing around, your mind went there, too.”

Elisa shook her head. With everything so serious, she’d been wound up so tightly she’d thought she’d snap. Being here with Gary and Greg, going on about completely inappropriate things, seemed silly.

And a huge relief.

She looked down at the mug. When was a person supposed to look at tea leaves for the answers, before or after drinking the tea? “Alex is trying to build a life for himself and Boom. He doesn’t need all the complications I’ve got following me around.”

“He needs you. And he’s willing to fight for you.” Gary raised his mug in the direction of the parking lot. “Without you, he wouldn’t have faced his PTSD. He’d have tried to tough it out and pretend it wasn’t getting worse. He’d have become a hermit and never gone out, eventually would’ve even stopped coming here.”

“And that would’ve been a travesty,” Greg interjected solemnly.

“I’m not helping him get better.” Elisa wondered if he’d ever supervise a parent night again. Some of the parents might request he not do so. And even if there wasn’t resistance from the parents, he might choose not to.

“You could, once you learned what he needs from you to help him relax.” Gary glanced past her to Greg and gave his partner a warm smile. “Well, you’ve probably made progress in that direction, too, so let’s say you can learn what you can do around other people. And you also made him open up. Once he did, he could admit he needed Souze. Which is a huge step in the right direction.”

“He already had Souze.” Elisa wasn’t sure if Souze being at Hope’s Crossing Kennels was the same as Alex directly claiming Souze as his dog, but she thought it was probably just a formality. “He’s a great dog.”

Gary nodded. “True. And all of the men at Hope’s Crossing tend to train the best dogs and send them out in the world to partner the people who put their lives on the line every day. They don’t keep those dogs for themselves. Without you here, Alex might not recognize how much Souze helps him. I noticed he brought Souze tonight, and Alex would never have done the right thing for himself in the past. He’d have come up with some sort of reasoning for why he could make do on his own.”

“He’s too selfless.” She shook her head.

“And so are you.” Greg reached out and tapped her on the nose.

She scrunched up her face. “Not really. I just stayed. I’ve been taking up all of your generosity.”

She’d wanted more time to get to know Alex, explore what was between them. And then she’d become attached to Souze and to Boom and to all these people who were a part of the mini-world with Hope’s Crossing Kennels at the epicenter. In a very short span of time, she’d come to love it here.

Gary grunted. “True. You stayed. And in my opinion, it was the best decision you could’ve made for you or for Alex.”

“And we’ve definitely enjoyed you being here,” Greg added, leaning in to bump his shoulder against hers.

It was impossible to remain hopeless around these two. They were such quiet wells of strength and encouragement. Well, maybe not quiet. “Thank you, both. I don’t know what any of us would do without you two.”

“I’m so glad you feel better, dear.” Greg glanced at Gary. “So I have one thing I’ve been dying to know.”

Elisa sipped her tea. “Hmm?”

“Alex. He’s good, isn’t he? We’ll never know, but you could give us a hint.”

Elisa’s face suddenly burned with embarrassment. Sophie and Lyn could’ve asked her the very same question. Gary and Greg both seemed to know about her and Alex, though, and she wondered if it was obvious to everyone. “No kiss and tell.”

Gary laughed. “Oh, the look on your face is enough. And there was definitely more than kissing. Good for you, girl. And enjoy.”

*



About an hour later, Alex knocked on her door. She answered in her sleep tee and sweats, twisting the hem of the tee as she did.

His brows had been drawn together when the door opened, but his expression cleared when he looked at her tee. “So. How’s my timing?”