The Best Is Yet to Come (9)

Hesitating for only a moment, Cade did as she requested. Once he returned, she shook her head. “You’re wrong, Soldier. Your limp is less pronounced.”

“If you say so.”

“I do, and I want you to continue, despite the fact that you seem to believe it isn’t helping.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Cade had hoped she’d be willing to let him discontinue the PT. Far more than the fact that he begrudged every minute of those sessions, he didn’t know how he was supposed to earn a living. Counseling, both physical and mental, in addition to all the community service hours he was required to fulfill, made it nearly impossible to find decent employment. He’d gotten a part-time job at a local tire shop and garage, located across from the high school, which hardly paid him enough to cover more than the basics.

“And the counseling?” the judge pressed. “Tell me how that’s going.”

When he first heard “court-mandated counseling,” Cade was convinced it would be a complete waste of time. He hated the very thought and had no intention of revealing his soul to some quack. To his surprise, Cade discovered he quite liked his counselor. Harry Milton was nothing like what he’d expected. He hadn’t pressed Cade to discuss anything having to do with his injuries or his combat experience. What Cade found most helpful were the group sessions. As of yet, he hadn’t contributed. He needed to get a feel for the others before he’d be willing to share. Listening to their stories, seeing how they had worked their way back from the edge, had helped Cade square his head. It relieved his mind to know he wasn’t alone. He’d noticed the nightmares that had plagued him for months didn’t happen as often. The group had offered him a lifeline, one he hadn’t realized how badly he needed.

“It’s going well, Your Honor.”

She nodded, looking pleased. “I’m glad to hear it, Soldier. Very glad.”

Her continued interest in his case made Cade wonder if his family had something to do with this. He needed to find out if they’d been involved. He hadn’t seen or talked to his mother since the day of his sentencing. He had no doubt she’d been quick to tell his father how low their son had sunk. How she’d even known he had a court date remained a mystery.

“You’re doing well, Soldier,” the judge continued. “I’ll schedule another ninety-day review with the clerk. Until then, keep up the good work.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Cade left the courtroom and headed to Harry’s for his weekly session. He drove from the courthouse in Montesano to Aberdeen, where Harry Milton had his office. Harry was a vet himself and had served in the first Gulf War. Nearing fifty, he was starting to show his age, with salt-and-pepper hair and a beer gut. His deep blue eyes revealed his own battles with demons who’d followed him from the Middle East. What Cade appreciated most about Harry was the fact that he could read bull faster than anyone Cade knew. He facilitated the group sessions and confronted anyone looking to cover up their feelings with humor, distraction, or other evasion tactics. Harry always cut it off and called it what it was. Cade found the counselor’s ability to read into people’s psyche nothing short of astonishing. He didn’t let anyone, man or woman, lie to themselves or to others.

Harry stepped out of his office after Cade was announced by the receptionist who also served the three other counselors in the VA facility.

“Cade.” Harry greeted him with a welcoming smile, leading him into the small office, where a coffee machine rested on the counter. On his first visit, just as he’d predicted, the only two pieces of furniture in the room were a chair and a sofa. If not for the court order, Cade would have turned around and walked out. He didn’t look upon it the same way now as he had in the beginning. The overstuffed sofa was comfortable. Harry didn’t know much about interior decor, yet somehow the room felt welcoming and soothing, sterile as it was.

“Make yourself a cup of coffee,” Harry said.

Cade did, and Harry made another for himself.

They both got settled. Harry sat in a padded chair and Cade sat on the sofa, and without thinking, Cade crossed his legs. He felt the immediate pull of pain at the injured muscle and quickly uncrossed them. It had been an instinctual move, and he realized he hadn’t been able to do it ever since his injury. The judge was right; he was making progress. This was the first time he’d done it—not for any real length of time, true, but still, he’d been able to lift one leg over the other for the first time in recent memory.

“So,” Harry said, stirring his coffee after adding sugar, “how did your court appointment go?”

“Okay, I guess. Judge Walters wants to see me again in another ninety days.”

Harry nodded, as if to say that was what he’d expected.

“My attorney thinks she’s put her name on my case file. I have the feeling her interest might have something to do with my father and his law firm.” Cade hadn’t said a lot about his family situation. Sensing Cade’s reluctance, Harry hadn’t dug for details. Nevertheless, he seemed to read between the lines.

“As you might have guessed, my father and I are estranged.” Before she showed up in court, he would have said the same thing about his mother. He’d expected condemnation and disappointment in her face when their eyes met, and he’d seen neither. He didn’t have the ability to read people, not the way Harry did. The only thing he thought he might have detected in her look was regret, and even then, he wasn’t completely sure.