Chapter Twelve
“Atta boy.”
Over the last several days, Raider seemed to be improving exponentially.
The stitches had healed, his gait was slow but steady, and his disposition was now demanding something to do.
Something more than lie around the house accepting scratches and treats.
So far the only person Raider had cottoned to unconditionally was Josh, and Katie was his next favorite.
Josh had not figured out what the dog had against the rest of the family.
He wasn’t mean to them, just hesitant and as a result, distant.
He still slept mostly on the raised dog bed, but sometimes, especially during meals at the kitchen table, the dog would rest at Josh’s feet. Like now.
“Funny how even off duty, he still positions himself like a war dog.” Alice Sweet poured a cup of tea for herself and held the kettle up. “Want more?”
“Thank you.” Josh had been working at the table, nothing critical, keeping up with emails and other communications with Kade and his team, checking on the injured and the recently recovered, but mostly, he’d been researching, for the umpteenth time, options and prognosis for his condition.
Closing his laptop, he held out his empty mug.
“Ooh, looks like I got here just in the nick of time.” Katie practically bounced into the room. Her long blonde hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail swished back and forth against her back. She looked better than great.
“The news still reports that Congress is digging their heels in and butting heads. Are you hearing anything different?”
She shook her head and that same easy flowing ponytail swayed, taunting him to run his fingers through the silken strands.
He came within seconds of forgetting the tea and sitting on his hands before he did something really stupid.
“Nothing.” Katie flopped into the chair across the table from him. “For once, the media seems to know exactly what they’re talking about.”
Taking a seat at the head of the table, Alice cupped her warm mug and laughed. “I really do miss Walter Cronkite.”
“Walter Cronkite?” Katie frowned. “The news anchor from the sixties?”
“Yeah, well. I’m not that old.” Alice chuckled softly. “He was on the air until the 80s, and then the mantra for news desks became, If it bleeds, it leads. Such a shame.”
Katie shrugged. “If I were still in Houston I’d probably be going stir crazy by now. Heck, I was practically stir crazy two weeks ago!”
“And we are delighted to have you wait this out with us.” Alice blew over the brim of her cup. “Have we heard from Jackie today?”
“As a matter of fact,” Katie smiled, “I’m going into town to meet her for lunch.
The kids have a half day today, then the teachers have some kind of meeting before they have to prep for the parent teacher meetings tonight.
Jackie has to be at the school for the meetings, but since she’s only a class aide, she gets to skip the meeting and have a long lunch with me. ”
“Perfect.” Alice reached for a butter cookie on the plate in the middle of the table that had been calling Josh’s name since he sat down.
If he didn’t get out of here soon he was going to cave and eat the whole platter of cookies.
With his lack of exercise since the explosion, he needed all that sugar and carbs like he needed the proverbial hole in the head.
What he really needed was to move. To get out of the kitchen.
“I have to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. I’d be happy to give you a ride. Save gas on two trips.”
To his relief, her face lit up at the suggestion like a little kid taking in the toy store window. “That would be great.”
At his feet, Raider’s head tipped, his ears twitched, and he glanced from him to Katie.
More and more he believed that animal understood every word anyone said in English.
He almost laughed to himself; he wouldn’t be surprised if this smart animal understood more than English. “You itching to go for a ride too?”
Raider’s head straightened and his tail swiped left and right on the cold floor.
“Is that a good idea?” Katie’s gaze narrowed, not from confusion or irritation, but concern.
As if not trusting what Josh would say, Raider pushed up into a sitting position and Josh would have sworn the darn dog nodded yes to her.
Since Katie bit back a smile, she must have thought the same thing.
Alice shrugged. “He’s had plenty of rest, maybe it’s time for a little recreation.”
“Then I guess I’m taking Raider to town.”
Now the dog was up on all fours, his tail wagging happily from side to side and Josh didn’t have the heart to tell him not yet. Instead he looked to Katie. “Is it okay if we go a little early? We could hang out at the park or something to kill time.”
She shrugged. “Works for me.”
It didn’t take long for Katie to transfer her tea to a travel mug and grab her purse, while Josh located and hooked the leash onto Raider’s collar. Everyone, including the dog, was all smiles.
Another few minutes and they were strapped in and on the road to town.
“It’s getting to you, isn’t it?” Leaning against the passenger door, Katie tugged at her shoulder strap and smiled at him.
“That obvious?” He kept his eyes on the road.
“That you’re as restless as Raider here?” She nodded. “Yeah. I recognize that look. Same one I had after I’d rearranged my closets and cabinets and cleaned out my drawers.”
“Alphabetically,” he added with a smile, hoping he hadn’t said the wrong thing and delighted when she let out a sweet laugh.
“And alphabetically,” she chuckled softly.
“Were you always that meticulous?”
“Thank you for that. My mother called me neurotic. For a while she worried that all my dolls were lined up on the shelf from shortest to tallest and that when I was old enough to put my own clothes away, all the clothes in my drawers, and closets, were color coded.”
“Impressive.” He nodded. “You would have done well in the military.”
“Doubtful. I’m also allergic to rising before the sun.”
“Yeah,” he chuckled softly, “that would pose a problem.”
“Not one you have?”
He shrugged. “As a teen I could sleep all day with the best of them, but no, I don’t mind rising with the sun.
Or before it.” Waking early was as common in the Army and Marines as it would be to find a bear in the woods.
He just hoped he could go back to the work he loved.
His gaze drifted to Katie still smiling at him.
Then again maybe it was time for a change…
As soon as they rolled into town, Katie noticed something a little odd.
The few times she’d come down Main Street there were always people milling about.
Honeysuckle, after all, was a tourist destination.
Today, however, was different. There seemed to be more people and all of them ambling about, were staring at the ground. “That’s odd. Don’t you think?”
Josh must have not only noticed, but agreed with her.
His gaze darted from one person to the other, all moving slowly like the march of the wooden soldiers, and all watching the ground.
“Something is definitely up… or down,” he teased.
“Let me drop off the prescription and then we’ll see if we can figure out what’s so fascinating about the sidewalk. ”
“Works for me.” She kept her attention on the people along the street. If she didn’t know better, she’d say she was swept into an episode of the old Twilight Zone television show.
Plenty of room for parking in front of the drugstore, Josh hurried around the hood of the ranch truck and had taken hold of her door before she could climb out on her own.
She had to admit, there was a lot to be said for the chivalrous nature of the men around here.
Whether it was because they were ranchers, or in a small town, she had no idea, but either way she wasn’t going to complain.
Especially since helping her out of the truck meant an excuse to hold Josh’s hand, even for a little while.
As soon as she was on the curb, Josh opened the back door of the old quad cab and latched Raider’s leash onto his collar again.
Wrapping his arms carefully around the large dog, he helped ease him out of the vehicle and onto the curb.
It was sweet how he realized the dog would need help; a lot of men would have made the poor animal jump on that weak leg.
She also found herself wishing that she was the dog, Josh’s strong arms carrying her out of the truck.
How foolish was that? All these silly hopes and dreams, anyone would think she was a teenager again.
The walk inside took a little longer as Raider needed to register and file away every new scent, and clearly there were quite a few in the several feet between the car and the pharmacy door.
She loved how patient Josh was with the dog and smiled at the bond the two had built.
As soon as the door opened, Katie realized something was off.
Apparently, so did Raider. The dog stiffened, his nose to the air and his tail stopped swishing. Immediately, he tugged at Josh, pulling him to the right. Josh’s gaze shot to Katie as a low wailing sound came from the direction Raider was moving.
Around the corner of the last aisle, the problem became clear.
Huddled on the ground a little boy, maybe six or seven years old, had his hands on his ears and was rocking forward and back, making a low whaling sound.
Standing over him, a woman hovered, bargaining with the child.
“Luke, how about a new unicorn lovie, you like unicorns.”
Beside her, the clerk stood with a small square blanket about the size of a one foot square floor tile with a small stuffed animal head in the center. Probably the unicorn the mother spoke of.
Between the wails, and the mother’s coaxing, the child repeated in a sharp shrill voice, “Not mine, not mine, don’t want unicorn.”
Katie didn’t have to be an expert in child psychology to realize this wasn’t an ordinary temper tantrum. The look of pain on the clerk’s face and something akin to desperation on the mother, told Katie this was definitely way more than one spoiled child.
“We shouldn’t intrude,” Josh whispered, trying to tug Raider in the opposite direction.
The dog was having nothing of it. He pulled, and tugged, and began wiggling about until he had Josh so twisted up that he’d had no choice but to let go of the leash. Before Josh could grab hold and untangle it, the dog had bolted forward, knocking Josh off his feet in the process.
“Josh!” Katie dropped to his side. “Are you okay?”
Heaving a deep sigh, Josh closed his eyes for a second before meeting her gaze. “Only thing hurt is my pride. At least this time I can blame the hundred pound K9.” His eyes widened and his head whipped to the right. “Raider!”
Standing up, Katie extended her hands, prepared to help him with his balance, but Josh had righted himself and didn’t seem to be even a little off.
His attention was so focused on the dog, she didn’t think he’d thought to be careful.
A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. He was getting better.
“Raider.” The sound of Josh’s voice was low, but firm, and laced with a hint of concern.
As soon as Katie came out from behind him, she saw why he was concerned. The dog was lying across the little boy’s back. Not moving, not speaking, just lying on him. The sheer horror on Josh’s face was in complete contrast to the relieved sigh the mother had let out.
Completely confused, Katie looked to the little boy trapped under the dog. The kid was no longer rocking or making any noise. At her side, Josh stiffened. He looked as confused as she felt.
The mom extended her hand, palm out, and slowly moved closer to them. “I can’t thank you enough.”
Josh’s brows shot up high on his forehead, but he didn’t say a word.
“He lost his favorite lovie. The baseball bear one. We have three just in case of a situation like this, but today of all days, I only grabbed one. I have no idea where he dropped it, but he’s been inconsolable since he noticed it missing.”
“And the dog is helping?” Katie almost whispered. It was a stupid question, because the kid had shifted so the dog was still lying on him, but the little boy could wrap an arm around the dog.
“It’s the pressure. Do you have autistic children? Is that why the dog knew what to do?”
Autism Spectrum. Now things were making a little sense to her.
Josh shook his head. “He’s a military service dog. Injured in an explosion.”
“Oh my.” The woman’s head whipped around and she spoke softly, “Luke, be careful with the doggy, he has an ouchie.”
The child muttered, “ouchie” and shifted to a fully seated position and gently stroked the dog’s fur. “It’s okay, doggy. I take care of you.”
Staring wistfully at her son, the mom sighed again and turned to Josh and Katie.
“Are you in a hurry? I’d rather not try to separate them just yet.
I think the whole town is walking from the park to here trying to find his lovie.
If someone would just find it sooner than later he’ll be all right.
” She paused, noticing Luke was smiling.
“Then again, maybe we don’t need it any more. ”
“No hurry,” Josh reassured the stressed woman. “I’m just going to see about my prescription.” Keeping his gaze on Raider and the little boy, Josh continued down the aisle to the pharmacist’s window.
At least now they knew why so many people were wandering about watching the pavement. Small towns really were something else.
Another step and without a word, Josh grabbed hold of her hand, slowing his steps to match hers, and her heart nearly stuttered.
She could feel the tension in his stance in complete contrast to the warmth of his hand.
Reality was way better than any hope or dream.
Her gaze rose to his profile. Strong jaw, currently clamping down on his back teeth.
He was troubled, she knew that. She also knew he was kind, and considerate, and thoughtful, and holy pharmacies, she was falling for him—hard.