Page 29 of Doing Life

He pulled up to the house, which he had to admit was cute, well-kept, and welcoming. There was a wheelchair ramp in the front and an extra-wide door that had been put in, which were solid and practical, but there were pink and red roses planted along the rocking chair-lined front porch, as well as a huge pecan tree in the front. The yard was fenced for the dogs, and he could see a grill and a huge outdoor table with heavy chairs all around it. It looked like a house, not like a hospital.

Thank God for people like the guys at the Rocking W for making a place like this for their wounded heroes.

He parked along the front of the house, gathered his food, the beer, and his courage, and headed up the walk.

He could do this.

He knocked on the door, and it was the Brick guy who answered, holding out his good hand to take the bag of ice cream. “Hey, man. Brick. Good to actually meet you.”

“Sloan. Nice to finally talk with you too.”

“Come on in.” Brick led the way into the house, and seconds later he heard theclickclackof Abby’s nails on the floor as she came to him, waggingmadly.

No harness, so he knelt down and rubbed her ears and her neck. She was such a friendly girl when she wasn’t working.

Not that she sucked when she was. She was just focused.

Lance was sitting in the front room with the two other guys, and Brick waved him toward them. “I’ll put this stuff away.”

“Thanks. Hey, Lance.” He managed not to pop out a “babe”.

“Hey, you. Come sit and meet the guys.”

“Thanks.” He glanced at the TV, but it was running some movie he’d never even heard of, so he focused on Lance and his introductions.

“Who wants a beer?” Brick asked. “Oh, and we ordered pizza, Sloan. Lance said you like supreme.”

“He’s right.” Sloan grinned, because Lance was giving everyone a smug smile.

“How long have you two known each other?” Chris, the one in the wheelchair asked once they’d all settled in with a beer and were chatting.

“A while. We were in the same unit.”

“Yeah? You managed not to get blown up.”

Sloan’s gut tightened, and his scalp prickled, a cold sweat popping out. “I fared better, I guess. I was a little ways farther back.”

“Sloan has had his challenges, guys.” Lance didn’t snap, but he did sort of shut that line of thought down. He could feel the others’ gazes on him, but he watched Lance, wanting to touch him. Let him know he was right there, and he appreciated the thought.

He rubbed Abby’s ears instead, because she had put her head on his leg.

Brick noticed, raising his gaze to Sloan’s and nodding almost imperceptibly. He thought Brick got it. That he had hisscars too, just on the inside. Mostly. Lance still didn’t know about the scars on his damn leg yet…

They didn’t inhibit his mobility enough to keep him out of his job, but the burns had been bad.

“Hey, you want another drink, Sloan?” Lance asked. “Walk to the kitchen. I think I want to switch to iced tea.”

“Sure.” He hopped up, letting Lance come to him and take his arm.

Lance waited until they got to the kitchen, then stopped, a hand coming up to land on his chest. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s cool.”

“No panic?”

Sloan chuckled. “A little. First that I was going to get here and be a derp. And then that I was going to barf my beer right back up.”

“No foaming at the mouth, man. That’s bad form.”

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