Chapter 245

“Steve and I discussed this topic after the first attack,” revealed Gwen. “It wasn’t easy to draw it out of him, either. Men don’t like to talk about war and killing. They don’t enjoy it. Steve takes no pride or pleasure in killing those men. He did it because it was forced on him. He did what he had to do. Family and friends are extremely important to him. Just be glad he’s so capable, but don’t expect him to talk much about it. He tries to compartmentalize things like this. He’s a big, strong man and doesn’t want to show any weakness or misgivings, but it’ll be a long time before he works his way back to his usual easy going self.”

“Charlie’s the same way,” added Jordan as she squeezed Charlie’s arm. “He served a tour in Iraq right out of high school. He was in the army long enough to qualify for a government loan to go to college. He won’t talk much about what happened there.”

“Mom, you need to help Dad get through this. Be close, talk to him, and love him all the tim