by Vivi Holt
He heard a car pull up the drive, then footsteps coming toward the barn, and glanced up. Jen stood there, scratching Harley behind the ears. “Hi, Parker.”
“Hey, Jen. You’re home early. Can you come have a look at this? Penny here’s been limping a bit.” He nodded at the horse’s rear hoof he held in his hands.
She walked over to him. “Sure. I’d be happy to. I only had a couple of calls to do today, so Will let me finish early.” She examined the hoof quickly and frowned. “Looks like the frog is bruised – it’s pretty warm right here. See?” She took his hand and put it on the affected area.
He nodded. “It is warmer, I can feel it. What do you think caused it?”
“She probably stepped on a stone or something – it doesn’t look like her hoof has been overtrimmed. But I’d keep an eye on her, make sure there’s no underlying cause. I can check her over for you now if you like – I just have to get my bag from the car.”
“No need. So she should just rest, then?”
“Yeah, stall rest or small-paddock rest. You could also try soaking her hoof in warm water with Epsom salts. Let me know if it doesn’t improve.”
“Thanks. I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re welcome.” She stood and turned to leave.
Parker set the horse’s hoof gently on the ground and straightened. “Hey, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about as well.”
She turned back and smiled. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground. This was hard – he wasn’t sure what to say. He hated when people made a fuss over him, and this was the epitome of a fuss. “I’ve been invited over to the Ranger Memorial at Fort Benning. They’re giving awards to some of the guys I served with, and I’d like to go – you know, to support them. But I hate all that ceremony, and I’d have to wear my parade uniform … plus I’m not sure I really want to remember the stuff that went down. What do you think – should I go?” He glanced up at her.
She smiled. “Of course you should go. Sounds like it’ll be great – you get to see some old friends and honor them, and it’s not far away. I mean, I don’t know anything about what you went through. But it happened – you can’t pretend it didn’t or try to erase the memories. I think all you can do is remember what happened and honor those involved the best you can.”
He frowned. “I don’t know …”
“You’ll regret it if you don’t. These opportunities don’t come along all the time. You think they do when it’s happening, but they really don’t.”
He cocked his head. “How’d you get to be so wise?” he asked with a chuckle.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. My parents always told me that I should seize the moment, not say no to good opportunities, because they may never come along again. And I think they’re right.”
His brow furrowed. “Well, if I do go … would you come with me?”
She smiled. “Sure. When is it?”
“This afternoon,” he replied. “That’s why I haven’t told anyone. It’s really bad timing.”
She nodded. “It’ll be a good distraction for us. I’d love to go with you.”
He sighed with relief. “Well, I’m almost finished here. How about we go inside and get some coffee before we leave? We can grab lunch on the way,” he said, picking the horse’s hoof up again and securing it between his thighs.
“Sounds good to me.”
Once he was done fixing Penny’s shoe, they wandered inside, laughing over Jen’s antics that day on a beef stud farm an hour out of town. His spirits had lifted – instead of dreading the ceremony as he had since he received the invitation, he’d begun to believe that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Jen stopped and stared at a pair of suitcases by the front door. Parker frowned. He’d forgotten Hazel was leaving for surgery that afternoon. Well, not so much forgotten as pushed it from his mind – he didn’t want to think about it.
Jen ran her fingers through her hair, sighed then stepped inside and he followed. They found Hazel and Dalton in the kitchen, Hazel in Dalton’s lap, sharing a cup of coffee. “Oh, sorry for interrupting,” said Parker, backing out of the room.
“No, please come in – we’re about to leave.” Hazel stood and rubbed her red eyes.
“I wish you had let me help you pack, at least,” said Jen, wringing her hands together.
“No, I wanted to do it myself. And I wanted to spend one last afternoon with my handsome hubby.”
“Last?” asked Dalton. “I don’t think so.”
Hazel chuckled. “I meant before the surgery. And before I come home with plastic Barbie boobs.”
Dalton laughed and stroked the side of her face. “You’re perfect with or without Barbie boobs.”
Jen chuckled.
Then tears began to run down Hazel’s cheeks and she buried her face in her hands. “Oh baby, come on now,” Dalton said, taking her into his arms. “We’re done with the tears. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I know … it’s just that … I can’t believe Mom and Dad aren’t going to cut their trip short and come home. Their only child is having surgery and they just don’t seem to care …”
Dalton cupped her face in his hands. “Firstly, I think they do care – they just don’t know how to express it. And secondly, it doesn’t matter – you’ve got a big ol’ family right here who care more than you’ll ever know.”
“That’s right,” added Jen, wrapping her arms around Hazel from behind.
“Definitely,” Parker agreed, encircling Jen and Hazel in an embrace. The four of them stood there, wrapped up in love as the minutes ticked by on the kitchen clock and Hazel’s tears dried.
Finally she pulled away, sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Thank you, guys. It means so much to me. I’m so grateful for all of you.”
Jen wiped her eyes and Parker heard her hiccup. They untangled and said goodbye to Dalton and Hazel, who climbed into Dalton’s truck and headed off down the long winding drive. Harley stared after them, his tail hanging limply between his hind legs.
Parker and Jen wandered back to the kitchen and he poured them each a cup of coffee. “When’s the surgery?” he asked.
“First thing tomorrow morning. You know, you should tell Dalton and Eamon about the Ranger ceremony. They’d want to know.”
He shook his head and turned the coffee cup around in his hands. “No. They have enough on their minds. I’ll tell them some other time.”
Chapter 6
Jen stared at her reflection in the mirror over the dressing table in her room. Was a little black dress and a blue shawl a bit much for an afternoon Ranger ceremony? She’d never been to anything like that before – should she dress up or down? Parker hadn’t told her, and after their sad farewell to Hazel she didn’t have the heart to ask him. She picked up the curling iron and wound a strand of hair around it. One final curl and she’d be done.
While she waited for the curling iron to do its work, she couldn’t stop her mind wandering to Hazel. Where was she now? Had she settled into her room at the hospital already? Or was she sitting in some waiting room?
She pulled on the curl and it bobbed back into a tight ringlet. With a sigh, she turned off the iron, picked up her purse and headed down the hall in search of Parker. It was odd, going on a date with a man who lived in the same house. But this wasn’t really a date, she reminded herself – she was just keeping him company since everyone else was busy. If it had been a date, she’d be much more nervous than she was, but this was Parker, and she never felt nervous around Parker.
Correction: she didn’t feel nervous around Parker when he was fully clothed. Wet and wrapped in a small towel was another matter entirely. She chuckled and adjusted the purse strap where it hung over her shoulder. Where was he?
She found him waiting by the front door, reading something on his phone. When she walked over, he glanced up and his eyes widened. “Wow.”
“You look so different. Beautiful – that’s what I meant. You look beautiful.” His cheeks flushed pink.
“Thank you. You look pretty flash yourself.” Gone were the jeans and cowboy boots, the Stetson and the T-shirts. In his forest green uniform and matching beret he looked not just handsome, but sophisticated and masculine in a way she hadn’t noticed before. This was a man who knew who he was and what he had to do.
“Ready?” he asked, offering her his arm.
Jen nodded and put her hand through it, smiling at him as he led her out to his truck, her heart pounding in her chest.
* * *
Jen leaned against the truck door, her chin in her hand. The hum of the engine was a monotone drumming through her high heels and up her spine. They still had an hour to go, and after a half day of work and the emotional toll of telling Hazel goodbye, she was getting sleepy. She leaned back on the headrest and tried to pry her eyes as far open as she could with her fingers.
Parker laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to stay awake.” She slapped herself gently on the cheek.
He chuckled. “Sorry – is the company so boring?”
She shook her head. “No, driving always makes me sleepy.”
“Feel free to doze if you’d like. I don’t get sleepy driving, so no need to stay awake for my benefit.”
“No. If I do that, I might end up at your event with drool down one side of my face, flat hair and mascara rings around my eyes.”
He laughed again. “Now that would be a sight.”
“So where exactly are we going again?”
“Fort Benning, near the Alabama border. There’s a memorial there for the Army Rangers and they like to give out these awards there. It shouldn’t take too long to get there. The ceremony’s at four o’clock, so we should arrive with plenty of time to spare.”
“We’ll be able to get good seats,” she chuckled.
He laughed. “Maybe. And we can grab a bite to eat afterward if you like.”
“That sounds good. I’m already starving – I barely had any lunch. Too worried about Hazel, I guess.”
Parker’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. Sorry this is such bad timing. I know you’d probably rather be at home.”
“No, it’s good. I want something to distract me. I’ll go crazy if I just sit around thinking of all the things that might go wrong.”
“True. My psychologist says I should learn more strategies to distract myself from my blue thoughts, and …” His voice faded.
“You have a psychologist?”
He nodded and frowned.
Jen watched his reaction. He seemed to regret opening up, and had clamped his mouth shut. “I think that’s great.”
He glanced at her sideways. “You do?”
“Of course. You’re admitting you need help and you’re willing to go get it. Do you know how far ahead of the game that puts you? Most people don’t even realize they have a problem until it’s caused them all kinds of pain.” She ran a finger over the edge of the door frame, studying the curve of the molded plastic.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“It definitely is.”
“Anyway, all I’m saying is distraction is something I’m trying to learn.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re friends. Because I am the queen of distraction.” She laughed and threaded her fingers together, feigning a smug knuckle-cracking.
“Good to know.”
“Oh … I’ve got a great idea. Let’s play Truth or Dare.”
He grimaced. “I don’t know about that …”
“Have you ever played it before?”
“Yes, and it never ends well for me. I can’t imagine it’d be a good driving game.” He shook his head.
She laughed. “Good point. I promise not to dare you to do anything that endangers our lives, okay?”
“Deal.”
“All right – truth or dare?”
He shook his head slowly from side to side. “Ah … truth.”
“Good choice,” said Jen, rubbing her palms together. “Okay, let me see. Have you ever been in love?”
He laughed and his cheeks reddened. “Ah … no, I haven’t.”
“Interesting … your turn.”
“Hmmm … Okay. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” she responded with a smirk.
He chuckled. “Let’s see. I dare you to burp the Star-Spangled Banner.”
She stared at him with wide eyes. “Excuse me? Do you see the way I’m dressed? I am a lady. Just in case you were confused.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I guess that’s just too bad. You chose ‘dare,’ so you have to follow through, Barsby. Or are you chicken?”
She laughed. “Oh, I’ll follow through – I was just making sure you realized I’m a lady.”
“That’s abundantly clear,” he quipped, with an exaggerated leer at her dress that made her blush.
“Here we go then.” Jen concentrated, then burped out the tune as requested. When she finished, she grinned proudly.
Parker nodded. “Well, color me impressed. I didn’t think you could do it, but you proved me wrong. Where did you learn to do that?”
“Remember me talking about the family business? Well, my parents own Barsby Enterprises. You know, ‘Alabama’s #1 John Deere dealer’?”
“What? You’re one of those Barsbys?” Parker glanced her way with arched eyebrows.
She chuckled. “Yeah. I don’t like to tell people, since it usually changes their opinion of me. And I’ve tried to build a life for myself away from all of that.”
“No kidding.”
“Anyway, they work with a lot of farmers. And I spent many hours at the office as a kid. One day when I was bored, one of the regular customers taught me to burp on command.”
He laughed and ran a hand over his hair. “You continue to surprise me, Jen.”
She grinned and tucked her dress around her legs. “See? Queen of distraction. Now, truth or dare?”
* * *
Jen crossed her ankles under the white folding chair and watched the pretty sunset behind the memorial statue. Folks puttered around the lawn, taking their seats and chatting in hushed tones.
Parker returned and sat next to her, handing over a plastic cup filled with pink punch. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. This is really nice. There are more people here than I thought there’d be. This is kind of a big deal, huh?”
He shrugged and sat straight in his chair as he sipped his own punch. “I guess so.”
A man in a Ranger uniform sat beside him and slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Blue. You ready to go up there?”
Parker laughed. “Trigger! Good to see you man. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Jen wondered what the meaning was behind Parker’s nickname.
“Same goes for you.”
Two more men in the same uniform approached. “Hey, Gadget, Millsy.” Parker shook hands with them, and they grinned in reply. ““Everyone, this is Jen.” He leaned back to let the men shake hands with her.
She smiled. “Pleased to meet you. How do you know Parker?”
Trigger spoke first. “We served together in Syria. You haven’t told her much, huh?”
Parker frowned. “Uh, no. Not really.”
“I don’t tell anyone nothin’,” responded Gadget, leaning back in his chair.
“Me neither,” Millsy added. “Best not to. No one understands anyhow.”
“Why do you call him ‘Blue’?” asked Jen with a frown.
“Because he always has that solemn look on his face,” said Trigger with a chuckle. “Even in the middle of a battle.” He laughed uproariously, and the others joined in.
Parker grinned. “Yeah, well, at least I didn’t have a hair trigger like you.”
Trigger laughed again. “Fair point.”
An elegant-looking man with a long row of medals pinned to his c
hest stepped up to the podium, tapped on the microphone, then leaned toward it. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Please take a seat. We’d like to get started.”
As the rest of the audience sat down, Jen scanned the crowd. She saw wounded and elderly veterans, some seated alone, others with a group. And several young men with families. All with that same intense look on their faces that Parker often got.
Lost in thought, she missed most of what the speaker said, until he announced Parker’s name. She jolted as Parker and his friends all filed out of the row and headed for the podium. With a frown, she listened as the man read from a sheet of paper he held between shaking hands. “… the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism to the battalion, for their combat actions in Syria …”
When the medal was pinned to Parker’s chest, Jen stood with the rest of the audience and offered her heartfelt applause. Her eyes filled with tears, and she wished she’d thought to bring tissues. She didn’t know she’d cry. Parker had told her it was an event to honor his friends, not him. She sniffled into her shawl and continued to clap her gloved hands. The chill evening air made her breath look like puffs of smoke in the dimming light.
She waited after the ceremony was over for Parker to finish speaking with his friends. He joined her and they walked arm in arm back to the truck in silence. He opened the door for her and she slid into the seat.
Once he’d settled himself in the driver’s seat, she cleared her throat. “You didn’t tell me,” she croaked.
He rested his hands on the steering wheel. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“How about ‘I’m getting a medal for bravery’?”
He ran a hand over his eyes. “I don’t deserve it.”
She took his hand. “Parker.” He glared straight ahead, so she put her free hand on his chin and turned his head to face her. “Parker. How can you say that? You deserve it.”
His eyes clouded over. “No. I don’t. I didn’t do anything special. I was there, I did what I had to do, and now I’d rather forget the whole thing.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t imagine how hard it was for you. But you shouldn’t forget it. Because I’m proud of you. You fought for your country, for your family, for me. You are one of the brave soldiers who keep us all safe and free. And that’s worth remembering.”
