by Alexa Davis
“Oh, God, that hurt. But it was so worth it, hearing you admit you’ve fantasized about a big Hargrave wedding. You’ve been denying it for years, you know that, right?” I rolled my eyes and sipped my coffee while she laughed.
“Okay, once upon a time, when I thought George was going to propose, I had planned out a wedding in my head. But, you big jerk, since he has now proposed and that’s not going to happen, I need my best friend to be finished making fun of me and help me plan.”
“I’m sorry. Of course, I’ll help you plan your wedding. When do you want to have it?”
“Well, I want it to be as soon as possible. Before harvest, after the cattle drive next month, for obvious reasons, and somewhere in there, we’re aiming to get George licensed as an instructor for TAWSAD.”
“Oh yeah, we really need a few instructors who are PTSD vets, instead of just us shelter people. It’s getting harder and harder to be taken seriously, and we need the funding. Which reminds me of the other reason I decided to visit this morning, once I saw your car.” Shaylen took a bite of her food and I stared her down as she chewed, a self-satisfied look on her face.
“Really, Shay?” I rolled my eyes and she chuckled.
“Okay, so it’s not the most important thing in the world, but you know how I recently started to check out the world of online dating? Well, I had a date that didn’t end in any magic, if you know what I mean, but the guy was sweet, respectful, and we’ve kept in touch. It just so happens that he’s a psychiatrist and the head of the neuropsychiatry at Austin State Hospital, and he’s excited to be on board with our therapy and service animal program.” She tapped her hands on the desk like a drum and grinned at me.
“So, we have a medical expert to speak to the legislators.”
“We do, indeed. Add a war hero, and maybe a couple of businessmen like your father, and we are no longer just a couple of women who decided to be justice warriors. We are legitimate in the eyes of the patriarchy.” I reached over the desk and high-fived her.
“That’s could be the best thing I hear all day. I hope you didn’t make me peak too early, Shay. George and I are hunting for our wedding venue today and for real estate for his new business.”
“You guys don’t know how to bite of what you can actually chew, do you?” she teased me. She finished her breakfast and stood with her coffee in hand. “I have to get to work, too. I’m glad you’re back, and I’m very happy that you and George are managing to work things out. I hope you understand that I’m holding back on the full emotion of bliss for you, until I see you both, on your big day, and both of you are dressed and ready for a wedding.”
I frowned, but nodded. It was no less than I’d expected, being surrounded by people who could remember the public version of our breakup. She smiled and saluted me with her coffee cup, and I let her out the way she came in, with a hug.
“Be safe. George and I, and Xavi, of course, will be there later for support. We’ll see you then.” Shaylen waved goodbye, and I watched her climb into her car and drive off.
I relocked the door behind her and chewed my lip. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she was right and George lost his resolve again. It was disheartening, but I refrained from calling him and waking him up, just to start that fight again. As much as it was difficult for me to trust him completely, I had to hope for the best and pray we didn’t slide sideways again.
I finished some much overdue paperwork that none of my employees could complete and waited for Jenny, my front-end supervisor and head cashier, to arrive so I could run through what still needed to be done before we opened. By the time the doors were unlocked, my employees had taken over and I was no longer needed, though Kevin, the low man on the totem pole, was grateful that his first task of the day ended up being a donut run, instead of the cage cleaning and animal feeding he was used to.
I glanced at the clock. It was just after seven, and George would be up soon. Since we’d agreed to give Dad a cooling off period, he had nowhere to be. I worried that he’d backslide if he wasn’t kept busy, so I handed the reins of the shop back over to my relieved crew and decided to take a page out of Shaylen’s book.
I stopped for George’s favorite breakfast burrito, fresh ground coffee from the espresso hut, and snuck back into the house just as George and the dogs stirred.
31. George
I was awake before Callie snuck out of bed, trying so hard to be quiet and not disturb me. She had no idea that I’d been lying awake most of the night, turning an idea over in my head. So, when I heard her pull into the driveway, I slipped back under the covers and pretended I was just waking. Our dogs, however, snored right up until the moment they smelled the food she brought in with her.
It wasn’t hard to feign starvation when she handed me breakfast in bed. The aroma of cheap fast food made my stomach speak to me aloud, and Cal giggled at the loud complaining from my gut as I unwrapped a big burrito, stuffed with chorizo, egg, cheese, and hash browns. I made sad eyes at her, until she rolled her own and left the room. Seconds later, she handed me her homemade habanero salsa, and once I added it to my burrito, I was staring at the perfect food.
From the moment I took my first bite, my stomach took over, and the next thing I knew, I was shoving the last corner of the folded burrito into my mouth and sweating from the salsa. I wiped my hands with the tiny wet disinfectant square that came with breakfast and wiped my forehead with a napkin.
“Thanks for breakfast. Why didn’t you eat any?” I asked her and she smiled and patted my leg.
“I went into the shop this morning. Shaylen noticed my car and brought me coffee and Chick-fil-A. I thought I’d pay it forward.”
“God bless Shay, then.” I stretched and squinted at the clock. “You let me sleep in.”
“Well, I thought you’d earned it. And, as my second gift to you, we don’t have to go venue hunting today.” I started to protest, but she held up a hand to let her finish. “I’ll drag Shaylen around the dress stores later, but I want to focus on getting you licensed with Xavi to be mentors, and you need time to take care of your business stuff, it can wait a few weeks for us to decide, after all, just because I was pushing for it, doesn’t mean we need to get married right away.”
I nodded, secretly excited that she’d given me the perfect opening to make my surprise work. Xavi and I had bonded, and apart from a few commands we never used in our real life, I felt confident that Xavi could pass an obedience examination and we could start to be of use to the veteran community. But, training on our own was as good an excuse as any to take time apart from each other.
I pulled her onto me and buried my face in her neck so I could kiss her without ruining the moment with my morning burrito breath. She let the dogs out for their morning bathroom trip and territory marking session, and I jumped in the shower, after sending a group text to my mother, father, and Daniel.
I couldn’t forget the look on Cal’s face when I said I didn’t want to be married on the ranch. Her sad eyes had told me everything I needed to know, but I just wasn’t sure how to pull off a secret as big as planning a wedding.
Thinking in the shower seemed to help because by the time I was drying myself off, I had a plan. I dressed in a button-down, collared shirt and Docker’s, and joined Cal in the kitchen, where she had started a fresh pot of coffee and was drilling both dogs on basic commands in exchange for their favorite treat.
“Hey, I know you said we should hold off on the wedding stuff, but what about just window shopping a little today? I have to take some time and go over to Tuck’s firm to sign papers and whatnot, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at flowers, or take you to try on dresses.” I snapped my fingers. “We should make an appointment with a baker and have a cake tasting, right around lunch time.” She laughed, her face lighting up like Christmas morning.
“I think we should leave the cake tasting for a little bit, but yeah, let’s look at pretty things we could have for our wedding.” She smiled sh
yly at me, as though she wasn’t sure I was happy to go wedding planning with her. She had no idea how excited I was. After all, how could I surprise her with her perfect wedding if I didn’t even know what kind of wedding she wanted?
We spent the early morning at the local florist’s, looking at flower arrangements and bouquets. I snapped pictures of her favorites to “save for later” and whenever she wasn’t looking, I texted them to my mother.
As soon as Tucker texted to let me know he was in the office and he’d heard from Danny about my surprise, we headed over and I signed contracts. He had already set up a business account for me, which was where the money from my inheritance had been deposited, while I worried about other things.
Now, he slipped a check in with all the other papers, and I signed a blank check for my mom to use on the wedding. Tuck pinned a note to the top requesting that anything over ten thousand be cleared through him first, and just like that, I was the CEO and president of my own business, and operation Big Wedding was underway.
We went to lunch before it was time to visit Shaylen’s shelter and show off Xavi’s moves to the new recruits to the program. I remembered how nervous and hopeful I’d been when I sat in that damn wheelchair waiting for them to introduce me to the dog that would ensure my independence. Now, as I walked in, still leaning on my cane, but walking on my own, I spared a quick look to Xavier, who walked next to me with complete confidence, a happy Pit bull grin on his face. Cal was watching him, too.
“I feel bad for not bringing Slinky for everyone to say hi to, but she was in the shelter so long, I’m afraid she wouldn’t understand I wasn’t leaving her here.” She sighed and opened the door for Xavi and me.
Just inside the exercise yard, Shaylen and one of her volunteers waited with a Marine, who stood with what I liked to call his military “angry blank” face. I could see the twitchy, nervous fear behind his eyes and knew exactly how he felt.
His left arm hung at an odd angle at his side, and I realized he had no use of the limb. He wore a sling, but it was empty and lay against his side, as Shaylen finished examining it. His right arm seemed to be at full strength, and from the scars and pock marks on the left side of his face, I guessed it was from proximity to an IED or grenade attack.
Shaylen completed her examination and the Marine slid the shoulder sling back over his arm and strapped it to his chest with the Velcro enclosure, so it wouldn’t flop as he moved around. She stepped back and motioned us toward them when she noticed our presence.
The Marine stared me down, but his eyes kept flicking to Xavi, who heeled perfectly and stayed glued to my side, with his tongue lolling out of his face-splitting grin. I gave the command to sit, and with a nod of my head, the soldier knelt and introduced himself to Xavi, who immediately decided he loved him and proceeded to try to lick off his face.
“I’m sorry. Xavi is a vicious, vicious animal,” I drawled, giving my fur buddy a down command and then a treat to munch on when his belly hit the ground.
The vet introduced himself as Mike, and even smiled a little, relieving some of the tightness behind his eyes. I encouraged him to take a seat, and while we waited for Shaylen and Cal to bring him his potential new service dogs, he peppered me with questions about Xavier and my experiences, both military and civilian.
I gave him the overview of my injuries, and he did the same, and we cataloged our grievances with the VA system. Xavi and I had Mike chatting like an old friend by the time Shaylen brought out a beefy-looking Staffordshire, who bounded around the exercise yard and refused to settle down enough for Mike to handle him. A German shepherd and a Rottie-mix came and went, but no sparks. I talked softly to Mike, who I could see was getting despondent as the dogs paraded through with no interest from either the vet or the dogs.
I had an idea, and texted Cal, who was back in the kennels. She texted back her agreement, and the next dog to come through the door was the most beautiful Golden Retriever I’d ever seen. Her feathery coat was freshly brushed and shining like spun gold, and her smile automatically made me grin in response. I shot a quick look at Mike, and almost cheered out loud. He looked positively enraptured with the little girl, who was introduced to us as Lady.
I watched as she ran right up to him and jumped up with her front paws on his lap. She sniffed, then licked his face as he chuckled.
“Okay, okay, girl. Yes, I love you, too. Okay, that’s enough now.” He laughed and finally commanded her to sit, to give him a chance to dry his face. She dropped her butt to the concrete at his first command and thumped her tail happily while she stared up at him like he was the only other creature in the room.
“I figured you out, Mike,” I gloated as he made love eyes at the little girl at his knee. “You’re a big softie. You needed a little girl to look after.” Mike chuckled and nodded wryly.
“I have three little sisters. I guess I just understand females better. Which,” he added with a side-glance, “has been pretty useful for dating.” I laughed and shook my head.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. I have four brothers, and that beautiful, leggy thing you were checking out, the one who brought Lady in to you? That’s my high school sweetheart, and she’s still taken.” I arched an eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat.
“No offense intended. Your fiancée is a beautiful woman.”
“That she is, Mike.” I stood and held Xavi’s leash and my cane in my left hand and shook his hand with my right. “Good luck with Lady. I know we’ll be seeing more of each other.” Cal gave him her card, to which she’d added my name and number.
“Please call if you or Lady need anything. We’ll leave you in Shaylen’s capable hands. George and I look forward to seeing more of you both as you move forward.” I looked back over my shoulder as we walked away, to see an unusually shy Shaylen going over the gear that the service dogs used and training Mike how to get Lady into her harness one-handed.
“Did you see that?” I asked Cal as I held the seat forward so Xavi could jump into the backseat and stick his muzzle out the window.
“No, what did I miss?”
“Well, Mike said he was good with the ladies, but I never thought I’d see anything that made Shaylen blush.” Cal scoffed.
“That, I wish I’d seen.”
I slid behind the steering wheel and grabbed Cal’s leg, dragging her, giggling, to the middle of the bench.
“Whatever. I didn’t have to be a ladies’ man. I just had to be my lady’s man.” I glanced over at her and she rolled her eyes. “See what I did there? I am so good.” She giggled again.
“You’re the best, George. I’ve always known it.” I kissed the side of her forehead before we pulled away from the shelter. I didn’t bother to say the words, but we both knew the truth, that the only reason I was as good as she believed was because she believed it.
After lunch, I took her to a dress shop where her mom had agreed to meet her and dropped her off. I left instructions with the cheerful, round-faced woman behind the front desk to call me as soon as Cal and her mother left, so I could pay for her favorite choice and have it tailored and delivered to the ranch.
I called my mother and asked what she was missing to put together the perfect wedding. She had a few questions about Cal’s favorite cake flavor and her favorite foods and said that she’d already scheduled her friend to cater the event and would have a buffet-style dinner to make it easier to put together. I swung back past the shelter and let Shaylen in on the secret, and she promised to get all Cal’s volunteer friends, and all the shelter’s dogs, primped and ready.
I ticked off the list that Cal had put together with me the night before. I texted Logan and asked him to be my best man, and then Tucker, Danny, and Jackson, and asked them if they wanted to help as ushers. Our social circle was small, so it didn’t take long at all to get the word out to everyone who mattered to Cal that she was going to be surprised with a wedding.
I called my mother back to find she had already spread th
e word to her society friends to come and bring their wallets, as the only wedding gifts we wanted was in the form of donations or adoptions. I sat in the driveway and breathed. Xavi put his head in my hand and whimpered until I noticed.
“It’s okay, boy. I’m just a little overwhelmed by what I got done today – and how to keep it secret. We can do it, though, can’t we?” I considered his puzzled face and scratched behind his ears. One way or another, with the help of my family and Cal’s, she would get her perfect wedding.
32. Callie
I tried not to be irrational about the amount of time George was spending on the phone and texting, especially when I finally got suspicious enough to ask, he was talking to the vet he was mentoring, Mike. I knew I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something from me, and it was killing me.
He’d lost all interest in talking about the wedding, responding with grunts and nods when I showed him a picture, or suggested a local business to use for catering or a venue, and worse, we couldn’t decide on a date that worked for both of us.
George was hyper-focused on his mentor-training, especially since Mike had become his unofficial responsibility. I agreed to put off setting a date until after we went to the ranch for the weekend, where George would set up the obstacle course for Xavi’s obedience training and get one last prep-session in before his examination.
I packed for the trip to Lago Colina with riding and swimming in mind. The river and lake were low this time of year, but it was hot enough, even in the mountains, that the water was warm and refreshing. I took out my fishing pole, but thought better of it and put it back. The water was too warm for good fishing; they’d be all mushy and inedible. Hannah’s annual summer party was widely-known as being the event of the season, and I had to admit, I was excited to finally have a reason to go again. It had been the saddest part of my time away from George, when I was reminded that I couldn’t be a part of the family anymore.
