RAIN DROVE DOWN the long driveway toward the cabin amazed at how much progress the contractors had made in only a week. They’d have to stop calling the place a cabin. She’d seen the plans, but seeing the size of the foundation up close was something else entirely. The place was huge. With all the trucks, equipment, and noise, no wonder Brody had decided to move in with her and the girls. Not that he’d had any intention of not staying with her. He’d told Owen they’d slept together and would from now on. He wasn’t kidding.
After the softball game last Saturday, he came back to the house with them, the girls excited about their win. Brody barbecued and Pop and Owen joined them for dinner. Autumn remained on guard and quiet, afraid Roxy would show up any minute. When the girls found out Brody was staying, they were both excited, but Autumn seemed mostly relieved. Brody’s presence in the house made her feel even safer. As she’d said, it was two against one, them against Roxy.
Rain exited her car and headed for the portion of the cabin still standing as part of the new construction. Jim stood off to the side, talking to some of the men near a cement truck. He waved to her. She entered the main room and found the girls at the kitchen table playing a game on each of their laptops. The noise of construction wasn’t much muffled as the side and back walls had been torn down and sheeted with plastic to keep the weather and dust out during construction. Heavy canvas tarps draped over Brody’s furniture.
“Mom!” both girls shouted.
“Hey, guys. Where’s your dad?”
Silence. Neither of them met her eyes. Not a good sign. They’d all seen how Brody could sometimes lapse into silence for long periods, become short-tempered for no reason, and check the locks on the house several times before coming to bed. The girls heard him in the night when a nightmare overtook him and he thrashed and yelled in bed. Sometimes she woke him easily, distracted him by making love. Other times, he’d come out of it in a cold sweat and not want her to touch him or be near him. He’d leave the room and sit on the back porch in the cold, until he was calm and under control again. She felt inadequate to help him. It took a couple of days for her to realize that as the days went by without a word or sighting from Roxy, the worse he got.
“Dawn, where is your father?”
“He left.”
“Where did he go? His truck is outside.”
Dawn looked to Autumn and both girls remained silent. Rain went to them and kneeled by their chairs. “Dawn, you have to tell me what happened. Is he okay?”
“He was acting strange. His hands were shaking. His face got all red and sweaty. He kept covering his ears.”
“Do you know why?”
“Well”—she bit her lip—“they were doing a lot of sawing and hammering. He helped for a while, but then he came in for lunch and the noise bothered him.”
Rain kissed Dawn on the forehead and did the same to Autumn. “Where did he go?”
“He walked off toward the trees, past the lake.”
“Okay. You two stay here. I’ll be back soon.”
“Mom?” Autumn’s small voice stopped her. Her big, pleading eyes nearly made her stay. She hated to leave the girls when they were scared for their father.
“He’ll be fine, honey. We need to give him time to heal. The bad things in his mind aren’t like a cut through the skin. The mind doesn’t heal as quickly. Autumn, you know how it feels to have something terrible in your head and you can’t make it go away. At first, it was real hard for you to forget, but over time, you could forget for long periods of time, and not think about it all the time. Your dad is still thinking about the war and what happened. The few hours he’s able to put it aside and not think about it will change to days and weeks and months, until one day he’ll think about it again and it won’t hurt him so much.”
“Hugging you makes him feel better. His face changes when he kisses and hugs you. He’s not so sad and upset. He smiles,” Autumn said.
“He needs me and you and Dawn to remind him of good things.”
“He only checked the locks and out the windows three times last night,” Dawn said, hopeful that was a good sign.
“He had to live his life for a long time watching for the enemy, making sure no one snuck up on him and his team of soldiers. It’s very hard for your dad to stop a habit like that. It’s become a part of who he is.”
“That will get better, too,” Autumn said, because she too had spent many nights checking to make sure the door was locked, the nightlight was on, and no one was hiding in the closet or under her bed. Rain remembered those nights and Autumn’s irrational fears. In those moments, Rain knew those fears were very real for Autumn. Just like Brody’s fears were real for him. Sometimes too real.
“Yes, honey. There have been a lot of changes in Brody’s life lately. All the changes have made it hard for him to settle. But he will, with our help.”
Both of them looked reassured. Autumn’s eyes didn’t look quite so fearful. “I’ll be back shortly. If you need anything, Jim is right outside. Do not leave the cabin until I get back unless it’s an emergency. A lot of men and trucks are outside. You could get hurt if you, or they, aren’t paying attention.”
Rain got the nods of agreement she expected and both girls turned back to their games.
She waited on the porch while her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight overhead. Jim ended his conversation with another man and headed her way. She met him halfway.
“Brody took off about fifteen, twenty minutes ago. He looked a little worse for wear. Told me to keep my eye on the girls, make sure Roxy didn’t show up and try to take Autumn. Said you’d be by soon. Everything all right?”
“The war,” she said by way of explanation. “All the noise gets to him sometimes.”
Jim nodded, placed his hands on his hips and stared at his boots. “I have a cousin who served a tour a few years back. I swear when he came home, he was an entirely different person.”
“Thanks for understanding. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this between us. If people started talking, well, it would only make things harder for Brody.”
“You got it. Brody’s a good man. This project is a real good opportunity for me and my guys. I know he wants it done fast, but we’ll do it right. He’s a real hero and deserves the best, and that’s what we’ll give him. And you. He sure does talk about you an awful lot. The two of you look real good together. Especially when you’re with the girls. It can’t have been easy for you to do it on your own.”
“No, not easy, but my pleasure all the same. We’re happy he’s home.”
Not wanting to waste another minute away from Brody, afraid of what condition she might find him in, she asked, “Which way did he go?”
Jim pointed to the trees off to the left of the lake. “He headed that way, straight into the trees. I’ll keep a real close eye on the girls until you get back.”
“Thanks, Jim. We’ll be back soon.”
“No problem. Hey, in a couple of days, we’ll have some walls up. Then, you’ll really be able to see the layout of the place.”
“Can’t wait,” she called, and headed toward the trees and Brody.