Page 10 of Montana Rain

“But hopefully once it’s open, we’ll have physical therapists on staff, so we can take people earlier in their journey and focus on both the physical and mental part of their healing.”

“People could definitely use it.” I’d gotten lucky. When I went into the SEALs, I came out unscathed. My trauma came from other places, and I was still dealing with it. But I knew plenty of men in all branches of military and government service who could be helped by a place like Resting Warrior. “You’re going to have a waiting list.”

He chuckled. “We already do. But some of that will be fixed soon.”

“How so?”

He nodded toward where the rest of the guys were clustered nearer to the actual structure. “Lucas, Evelyn, and their daughter will be moving off the property soon, and we’ll be turning their house into a guest house with a few rooms for the more mobile guests. And another one of our staff, Mara, is also moving off the property.”

“Is anyone staying?”

“I am, with Emma and Tyson. Someone’s got to live here, and we just built our house. I’m not keen on leaving it so soon.”

I felt a pang in my chest. “How’s your son?”

The smile on Daniel’s face made up for the fact that it was overcast today. “He’s incredible. A little over three months now. You’ll meet him tonight.”

We walked back toward the group of men. “Are you sure it will be all right?”

“I am.” His voice brooked no room for argument.

Well, then. Couldn’t argue with that tone.

“If you guys need any help around the place, it’s not like I’ll be busy.”

Daniel smirked. “Already bored?”

“God, yes.”

His laugh drew the attention of the others, and he clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, we can always use help. Especially with us rearranging things and such. We can talk about it in a couple of days.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll appreciate just getting out of the cabin.”

“No problem.”

The others watched as we approached, and Noah was grinning. “There’s one thing we haven’t shown Phillips yet.”

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

“The gym.”

Something about those two words meant more than I understood. “Is that code for where you bury the bodies?”

Liam laughed under his breath. “No, I think that’s Noah’s way of saying there are some who want to spar with you.”

I raised an eyebrow and looked around. No one disagreed. “I’m down for some sparring.” It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Some fault lines of tension still stretched between me and the group. If sparring with them and potentially getting my ass kicked cleared any of the air, I would do it.

“Seriously, though,” Lucas said as the group of us began to walk. “Are things okay with you? Banishing yourself to a cabin in the woods for a few months is usually a sign something’s wrong.”

Shrugging, I shook my head. “Hell if I know. Ask me again in a week. My head’s everywhere right now.”

He accepted the answer, and it was true. Simply seeing the community here up close was enough to make me question anything. It looked easy. I knew it wasn’t, but this was the kind of place that worked hard to keep everything out in the open. They had rules for communication and weren’t afraid to check one another when they needed. And, as I had experienced firsthand, they weren’t afraid to protect what was theirs.

The gym was a large building behind the main lodge, and bigger than I expected. Harlan shoved open the door, and I did a double take. This wasn’t a building with a couple of punching bags. This was a fucking gym. Punching bags, weights, machines, and a huge area with mats for sparring. Even lockers lined the far wall.

“Damn, you guys don’t mess around.”

“You’ve seen why,” Grant said quietly.

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