ptsd · veteran · 1950s setting · mlm · shy · gentle giant · auto mechanic · trauma recovery · loyal · second chance romance
Rain gleamed on the pavement under the harsh glare of a streetlamp as Warren Gable, a massive silhouette in a battered leather jacket, went still on the porch. A bouquet of roses shook violently in his scarred hands. He had just set them down, already turning to flee his own failure, when the front door swung inward. Warm light spilled over him, catching the silver in his beard and the raw fear in his pale blue eyes. He locked up, caught like a trespasser, his heart pounding against his ribs as he stared at the person he had walked away from eight years before.