Pinups and Puppies

by R. L. Merrill

  “Thanks, babe. Night.”

  Huh. Tomorrow I’d be flying dogs in my little plane. Taking them to start a new life somewhere. There was a metaphor there, I just couldn’t find it yet. Anyhow, it was a piece-of-cake flight and it would give me something productive to do. Nice, uncomplicated way of spending the day.

  Famous last words.

  Chapter Two

  The flight down to Fresno was uneventful, but I grew more anxious the closer I came to landing. I should have asked a few more questions. Would the dogs bark the whole time? Would they be in a crate? What if they got sick? Maybe I should have contacted one of the other pilots first...

  But then I called on my years of flying newbie soldiers around and all the times I’d dealt with puke on my transports, fainting, whining...I could handle a couple of mutts.

  Once I landed at Fresno/Chandler Airport, I refueled Siouxsie before cruising over to the area where the website said I could park her in the tie-downs. When she was secured, I went into the airport lounge. I needed to pee like a—

  “Are you Marianne Cross?”

  I turned to find an older woman standing next to a small crate. Guess I’d have to wait for that bathroom break.

  “I am. Billie?”

  She approached and we shook hands.

  “Thanks for picking up the transport request. I think if we had a little more time, we could have found a home for Prudence and the pups here, but they need to be fostered together for a bit before they can be adopted out and all of our rescue partners are full up.”

  “That’s so sad.” I crouched down and caught a glimpse of a white and tan wire-haired terrier mix of some kind and a bundle of blankets that probably hid her pups. Prudence looked fierce, guarding the babies. Plus, she was pretty stinkin’ cute. The kind of dog that borders on so ugly you can’t help but love them.

  “Goth Dog is great. I’m so glad Dinah was able to work with us.”

  I peered around the crate trying to get an idea if it would fit in Siouxsie’s cargo space, thinking it just might.

  “Would you excuse me for just a minute? I need to—”

  “Oh sure! Go right ahead. I’ll take Prudence out on a leash and see if she needs to potty.”

  I thanked her and ducked into the women’s restroom to take care of business and wash up. I grabbed a soda and a protein bar from the vending machine and found Billie just outside the door with the crate at her feet, letting Prudence prance around in the grass. She did her business and Billie picked it up with a baggie over her hand like a pro.

  “There. That should make your trip more pleasant.”

  “Thanks. Um, I didn’t think to bring a crate. This is my first time.”

  Billie’s smile grew wider. “That’s no problem. Maybe bring it on back next time?”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew I didn’t ask enough questions. Thank you. Even if I don’t do another run, I’ll make arrangements to get this back to you.”

  Billie nodded and handed me the leash. “Mind holding this for a minute?”

  Prudence stood on her hind legs, tapping my shins with her dainty paws. I got down on her level and Prudence licked my chin hesitantly, as if asking permission to love me. I was a goner. One look in her scruffy little face and I wanted to scoop her up and assure her I’d never let her go.

  “She’s a sweetheart,” Billie said, watching us knowingly. “I’ll have to be sure to ask Dinah to keep me updated.”

  “I bet it’s hard to see them go and not know what happens to them.” I know I’d forever wonder who this little pup ended up with.

  “At least now I know she’s going to end up with someone.” Billie’s smile was sad as she opened the crate door and Prudence walked right in, sniffing around to be sure her babies were still there. I could hear the tiny whimpering sounds, but I’d yet to see the puppies. It had to be tough knowing you could only save so many of them.

  “Nice plane you got there,” Billie said as she lifted a hand to shade her eyes. “You been flying long?”

  “Twenty-four years. Air Force. Just retired. This was my gift to myself.”

  Billie smiled. “Active four years. Reserves for eight. Tough times but a great experience.”

  “Same.” We shook hands. “Right on. I’ll be sure to let you know when I’ve made the handoff.”

  Billie thanked me again and handed me the crate.

  My stomach dropped. I’d flown sensitive missions into Afghanistan, refueled jets in midflight over a war zone, and yet this felt like an equally important mission. My precious cargo needed a new home, and I intended to make sure these puppies arrived safely back in Hayward.

  Thankfully the crate fit in the tiny cargo space behind the seat. Before I lowered the lid, Prudence gave a tiny woof and licked her snout.

  “You just hold on there, dear Prudence.”

  I untied Siouxsie and hopped in. Her engine started right up and we taxied around to the airstrip. I called into the tower and was given the go ahead for takeoff. Once we reached a comfortable nine thousand feet, I rolled my head around on my neck and peeked behind the seat at my little passengers.

  “You guys want some music? How about I play your song?”

  Prudence’s little nose poked through the slats of the crate and then disappeared. No whining or yarking noises came from the crate. I prayed they were doing fine. I turned on my iPod and my Bluetooth speaker, filling the cockpit with the sweet sounds of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ cover of the Beatles’ song “Dear Prudence.”

  “I think it’s kind of kismet that you’re my first canine passengers.” I thought maybe my voice might soothe them if they were nervous. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure this Dinah chick is cool. I won’t leave you with just anybody.”

  This chick better be on the up and up, or I’m talking to Nell’s boss. No way would I put dear Prudence and her babies in harm’s way.

  The flight went quickly. I couldn’t help but check on the pups frequently. I worried when they didn’t make any noises yet was grateful they weren’t losing their shit.

  The landing went smooth at Hayward. We taxied around to the terminal and parked before I pulled out my phone to find a text from Dinah.

  I’ll be waiting for you in the lounge at 3:00.

  The round-trip flight took less time than I’d imagined, so I took the plane over to the hangar and let Prudence out for a stretch. I figured I’d drive her and the pups over to the terminal when it was time.

  “Want to stretch your legs, Mama?” Billie had loaned me the leash along with the crate. I was already beginning to compile a list of things I’d need if I did this again. Which I just might. I decided to reserve judgement until the handoff was complete.

  As much as I loved flying Siouxsie, it was nice to have a plan or a reason to take her out. So far I’d flown her to Vacaville to meet some folks I’d served with who were now stationed at Travis, and I’d taken her up a few times just to cruise around the Bay Area. Flying the rescue dogs would give me a plan, a mission...a reason to get out of the house. As each day passed, not knowing what I was going to do with my future weighed on me even more.

  I owned half of the split-level. I had my own entrance and a master suite in the lower level of the house, as well as access to the hot tub in the backyard. We shared the kitchen, and that was fine, but did I want this type of arrangement forever? Of course, I couldn’t afford to buy anything else in the Bay Area, and I did want to stay close to Matt’s family and my parents...

  God, I hated everything being up in the air, which was pretty ironic. Up in the air was my favorite place to be, but on the ground I liked order and structure. After four years at the academy and twenty-four years in the Air Force, I was struggling to adjust to being a civilian, and I couldn’t make a damn decision to save my damn life.

  Inside the hangar, I opened the crate carefully and hooked the leash onto Prudence’s collar. Once I let her down, Prudence pranced around in a circle and sat down, her tail wagging. I w
as so taken with her scruffy face and big brown eyes. I wondered what her pups looked like. I carefully lifted the blanket and saw two lumps of white curled up together, their little bellies rising and falling in sleep.

  Prudence tapped at my leg with her paws, alerting me that my attention was misplaced.

  “Yes, ma’am. Let’s take you for a walk.”

  We strolled on over to the restroom and back and Prudence seemed content to look and sniff around. She had really long legs for her tiny size. I got a kick out of watching her.

  It was nearly three, so I loaded her back into the crate with her pups and into the passenger seat of my beat-up Ford Ranger. I pulled down the hangar’s metal door and snapped the lock shut. I drove around and parked in the lot by the terminal and carried Prudence and company inside, suddenly feeling quite reluctant to hand her over.

  If only I knew what the hell I was doing with my life, maybe I could foster the dog and her puppies. Not that I knew anything about caring for puppies, though Nell could always help, right? But when it was time for them to be adopted, could I give them up? And then what if I ended up taking one of the consulting jobs down south Dad was pushing me to do? What if I had to move to a place that didn’t accept dogs? All of this uncertainty had me feeling quite surly.

  Until I turned the corner inside the terminal and spotted Dinah.

  Chapter Three

  The moment the redhead stood from her seat and smiled, I nearly forgot I was supposed to be putting one foot in front of the other.

  Dinah Shaw was the kind of woman who looked as though nothing could control her free spirit. Her dyed-red hair was pulled back and held in place by a navy-blue bandanna, and she wore a white t-shirt with a black bra clearly visible beneath it. The shirt was tucked into the waist of wide-legged jeans rolled up at the ankles, with red-and-white-striped socks visible above the tops of her Doc Marten shoes. Her slender arms and neck were covered in tattoos, and she had several piercings in her ears, septum, and one in her cheek that sparkled as she walked toward me.

  My heart seemed to stop in its tracks and then stutter back to life.

  “Is that the little mama?”

  I could not for the life of me move my mouth to form words. I looked down at the crate I was carrying in my right hand and then back up at the bombshell.

  “Dinah?”

  Lips painted dark red split to expose a bright smile. “Marianne, right?” She stuck out her hand and I shook it firmly. Dinah looked me up and down with interest evident in her deep brown eyes. “I was hoping to see your plane.”

  I looked outside and back. “Oh. Sorry. I got in a little earlier than I thought and parked it in the hangar.”

  “What do you fly?”

  I noticed one of Dinah’s pale pink arms was covered in a full sleeve of pinup girls. “Um, a 1950 C-140A. I just bought it a couple of weeks ago.”

  Dinah did a little excited shimmy. “Oh, that’s awesome! I’m a sucker for vintage planes. I used to go to the Reno Air Races every year. Did some modeling with the planes.”

  Hell yeah, I bet you did. Modeling made perfect sense. Dinah had the perfect pinup look going on herself. She had a youthful energy that lit up the room. Only the faint lines on her face told me she might be close to my age.

  “She peed. When we got here. I took her for a walk.”

  I smiled lamely and prayed she didn’t think I was a complete moron. I hated how stupid shy I sometimes got around people I was attracted to, and this woman had just wiped out any chance I had of making coherent speech.

  Dinah’s smile went straight to businesslike. “That’s good. Are the pups pretty small?”

  I set the carrier on top of the back of the couch so Dinah could peek inside.

  “They seem to be okay, but I’m sure this was stressful for them. She’s a good little mom though. She was really good on the trip and on the leash.” And I don’t want to give her up.

  Dinah bent at the waist and wiggled a finger at the terrier mix. “You are a cute one, little girl.”

  Dinah was taller than me by about three inches. At five foot seven, I probably outweighed her waifish figure by about twenty pounds. I liked to work out and, right now, given I had nothing better to do, I was probably at my largest size. My tank and cargo pants had felt a little snug this morning when I got dressed. Dinah seemed to be appreciating me, though.

  “We’ll get you back to my place and decide where you’re going to be fostered.”

  I tightened my grip on the handle. “She’s going to someone else’s house?”

  “Yes, my business partner, Carla, has a lot of experience fostering moms and their puppies. They’ll either stay with me or her until the puppies are old enough to adopt out or we find a home for the mother.”

  “Her name’s Prudence.”

  Dinah cocked a hip out. My eyes were involuntarily drawn to the faded jeans that clung to her hips, and the way the loose-fitting material outlined her hipbone and the juncture of her thighs.

  “Dear Prudence,” Dinah said with a laugh. “You a Siouxsie fan?”

  “Named my plane after her.” I shifted my gaze to Prudence in the cage, too nervous to make eye contact with Dinah in case my emotions were showing. I can’t do this. I can’t walk away from this dog.

  “That’s so cool,” Dinah said. “How’d you get into flying?”

  I wondered if she was really curious or if she was just making small talk.

  “Air Force. Retired two months ago.”

  “Wow,” Dinah said, her eyes wide. “Really? That’s impressive.”

  I shrugged off her reaction. “It was a job.” People tended to be more excited about my job than I was. It had been a great career, but it wasn’t like the movies made it out to be, all pulse-pounding terror, nail-biting suspense.

  “And now, what? You go fly for the airlines?”

  I shifted my weight and frowned. Why must everyone need an answer about what’s next? “I haven’t really decided yet, but no. I have no plans to fly for the airlines.”

  Dinah blinked. “I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just that most of the people I’ve met in aviation are either commercial pilots or retired military that end up flying commercial.”

  “It’s okay. I’m taking a little time to decide. This volunteer gig was perfect.”

  “Great. I hope you’ll consider doing it again. We have lots of people willing to foster and adopt up here, but it’s hard to ask anyone to take time out of their busy schedules to drive ten hours in a day to go pick up a dog.” She ran a hand lightly over the top of the crate. “I do it whenever I can, but Pawsitive Flight has been a great resource for us.”

  Prudence pawed at the door of the carrier and my chest tightened. I know, little one. I don’t know what to do.

  “She won’t go back to the shelter?”

  Dinah cocked her head to the side. “Are you interested in her?”

  “I... She’s great, like really great, but I’m not quite settled yet. I just feel...”

  “It’s hard, I know. But I promise you, we will find her the perfect furever home.”

  I scoffed. “That sounds like something you say to ease guilt.”

  Dinah stepped back and her confident smile slipped a little. “I don’t know, maybe? I don’t want volunteers to worry, but I’m honest about what we can and can’t do. It’s hard. Sometimes volunteers get attached to the dogs.”

  “I can see that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s fine,” Dinah said, and I felt like more and more of an ass. “Rescue work is full of feels, I get it. It’s not for everyone. My business partner and I started it together after she’d gotten a divorce, and it was a long time before she didn’t cry over every foster we adopted out.”

  “I bet. My niece volunteers at the shelter. She convinced her dads to take in a couple of seniors three years ago. Now they’re on their third set of seniors. I admire them for that.”

  Dinah smiled, and then her body snapped to attention. �
��Oh! I need to have you sign the transport form.”

  She reached into a Nightmare Before Christmas messenger bag and pulled out a clipboard. “We both sign this, and then you can keep a copy for your records.”

  I stepped closer and caught a whiff of Dinah’s scent. Fresh lavender, so heady it nearly bowled me over. Sort of like when you smell smoke and your whole body jumps to attention, only this scent didn’t warn of danger...it was sensual. Alluring.

  I inhaled deeply and Dinah chuckled.

  “Smell something you like?”

  “Oh God.” I was completely mortified. I’d just sniffed the woman like a serial killer! “I’m...wow.” I laughed nervously and took the pen she was offering, then filled out my information with a shaky hand. I had to cross out my phone number twice because I kept screwing it up.

  “It’s fine. I know, it’s strong when I first put it on. I make my own essential oils. I live on an organic farm with my sisters. Do you like lavender?”

  When I glanced up, Dinah was watching me with interest, as though she were trying to solve a puzzle. I handed her the clipboard, making deliberate eye contact.

  Screw it. I was done being awkward. I was my own woman now. The Air Force was no longer breathing down my neck about who I spent time with. If I met a woman I liked—and I liked this one already—I could sure as hell be up front about it. The only consequence now was rejection, and honestly? I had nothing to lose. Not anymore.

  I rolled my shoulders back and stood at my full height. “Yeah. I really like lavender. It’s...enticing.”

  Dinah’s eyes flared and she sucked in a breath. “Hmmm. Enticing. Yes. Do you ever use oils?”

  “I have a couple of blends one of my former officers’ wives made me for injuries and for sleep. Tangerine and other citrus. Chamomile. Tea Tree. I’m out, though. I haven’t needed it in a while.”

  “Injuries. Working out?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I’d loved that aspect of the service and I intended to remain in shape. I had weights and a bar for sit-ups and pull-ups in my place, and I liked to run trails in the area.

  Dinah’s eyes traveled over my toned arms, and she grinned.