by Mimi Milan
She didn’t know his full medical history, or what arrangements had been previously made with the clinic. What she did know was that there was a worried mother standing in front of her, practically begging for help. A woman who reminded her very much of her own mamita.
Her free hand made a determined fist, which she placed on her hip. It was time for a wakeup call! Tanner obviously didn’t realize how much worry he caused his mother. A kindred spirit, Eva wasn’t about to let her suffer any longer. She knew what it was like to be held emotionally hostage by the one you love most. Tanner’s refusal to live – really live – was hurting both mother and son.
A flare of her old, pre-engagement self – the recently rekindled one that had originally belonged to a woman ready to conquer the world – burned within. This was where she would start. She would do everything in her power to help both mother and son… whether he liked it or not!
“Don’t worry about a thing, Ms. McKoy.” Eva smiled with resolve. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
The woman clapped her hands.
“Thank you, sugar! You are such a saint.” She wrapped one arm around Eva’s shoulders. “Come on in the kitchen. It’s easier to hatch a plan with food in the belly.”
Chapter Six
Eva resisted the urge to stretch as she stepped onto the porch. If nothing else, it could be said that Ms. McKoy was a consummate hostess. After creating the most delicious chicken salad tea sandwiches, she had managed to coax Eva into staying for dessert. They laughed and chitchatted about everything from Eva’s work and school schedules to a gig Ms. McKoy hoped to land – something to do with a possible wedding.
Eva giggled at the thought of the older woman she had just bid goodbye. With the way Ms. McKoy behaved, one would’ve thought Eva was about to become part of the family! Why, the woman had even gone as far as to check on Hunter.
“Does he bite?” She had asked while Eva enjoyed a delectable slice of homemade apple pie.
“Not even a little,” Eva had responded. That’s when Ms. McKoy insisted on going out to walk the dog, telling her, “You just set yourself right there and get some meat on your bones.”
So Eva had done just that – not that she needed to, of course. She knew she was fine the way she was. She had just wanted to enjoy the sweet taste of something that wasn’t store bought.
Except now she wished she hadn’t.
The sense of something wrong sent off warning bells; the pie turning to lead in her belly as she approached her car. Why wasn’t Hunter hanging his head out the window? Had he fallen asleep? She could only think of one other reason the dog would be so silent… he had gotten hold of something in the car and was busy destroying it.
Something like her textbooks!
Eva jogged down the driveway to her car and yanked the door open.
“Hunter?” She peered into the car.
It was empty.
She quickly straightened back up. She circled around the vehicle, looking this way and that as she searched for the dog. Panic rose in her as she silently berated herself. What had she been thinking, leaving him in the car like that? He must have escaped somehow. Tears began to well up. This was not good pet ownership at all. She yelled out his name, but was met with silence.
She promised herself that she would properly leash him next time. That is, if there was a next time.
“Hunter!” She cried out again.
This time, her call was answered with a resounding bay. Eva followed the sound towards the backyard, abruptly stopping when she saw the dog. He sat on his haunches, front paws in the air, begging for the food Tanner held out.
What in the world? Wasn’t this the guy who didn’t like dogs to begin with?
“What are you doing with my dog?” She demanded.
“What am I doing?” Tanner countered. He threw a piece of jerky away from him. The dog lunged for the dry meat and started chowing down on it. “You’re the one who set this mutt to sniff me out. I’m just trying to defend myself.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Eva marched towards Tanner. She stopped in front of him, arms crossed. “Don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t send my dog after you.”
Tanner adjusted his crutches. The movement forced Eva to look down. The shorts he was wearing showed off the prosthetic.
“Oh, hey. You’re wearing the—”
“Yeah. So, what about it?”
He glared at her as though she had just challenged him to a showdown.
The idea of wearing it at all obviously bothered him. Eva shrugged as if her first train of thought meant nothing. “Good for you – practicing on your own.”
They stared at one another for a moment. He finally spoke. “Well, I can’t let you take all the glory. Right? Not if I want to be able to claim my own victories anyway.”
Let her take all the glory? That meant he was actually willing to let her help him! Eva squelched the urge to squeal with excitement. Her first real clinical study after all. It was important to not drive him away, though. She needed to remain composed, so she simply nodded her acceptance.
“I agree. The progress you make during our time together will be due to the effort you put in. I’ll be little more than a guide helping you meet your goals.”
She thought she had worded her intentions well – that he would readily agree with her position. Instead, he glowered at her even harder.
“What makes you think I’m willing to do this with you? I never said anything about us working together.”
“I—Well, I thought that—”
Eva fumbled for the right words. Hadn’t he just stated that he didn’t want her to take all the glory? Didn’t that mean he was willing to work together?
She ran both hands down her face as if trying to rub some sense into her mind. She didn’t want to upset him further. He was a military vet – decorated from what his report read – one who had done well serving his country. Respect had been earned for that fact alone. At the same time, her graduation depended on the ability to present successful case studies – ones that demonstrated she knew how to implement the lessons learned in class. This would be a perfect opportunity to do just that. Plus, it was important for Tanner to become successful in his personal goal to once again walk unassisted. After all, he was a young, handsome… eh, hem… vibrant man with a great future in store for himself.
“Are we agreed, or what?”
Eva gave her head a shake. Had he been talking to her?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch that. Agreed to—”
Tanner let out an exasperated sigh. “You know, the dog listens better than you.”
Eva huffed. “Excuse me?”
“Seriously.” Tanner pulled out another piece of jerky and ripped it in two. Hunter once again assumed a begging position and waited for the tasty morsels to be tossed away. “See? The dog listens and I don’t even have to say a word.”
“Ha!” Eva let out a wry laugh. “Maybe if you would dazzle me with sweet treats, then I’d listen a little better.”
Tanner’s eyes squinted, the tiniest of smirks tugging at one corner of his mouth. “Sweet treats? You mean like… homemade apple pie?”
Homemade ap—
“Hey! The only way you would know I ate pie is if you saw me – which means you were here the whole time.”
“Not the whole time. I went out for a… walk… this morning. Thought I’d get some practice on the trails.” Tanner pointed behind him to the forest that outlined the property. A distinct dirt path had been cut out through the trees, and while the path itself looked manageable, the uphill climb didn’t. Tanner must have read the look of concern on Eva’s face because red crept into his face and he bowed his head. “It was a little steeper than I thought.”
Raising his head again, he leaned on one crutch and lifted the opposite arm. It was scraped and cut up, indicative of a fall.
Eva took a step forward. “Here, let me look at that.”
“No.” Tanner dropped hi
s arm with the firm statement. She hesitated and his expression softened a bit. “I meant thank you, but no. I’m not an invalid. I know how to take care of myself. Anyway. That’s how I knew you were here. I was about to enter through the back when I saw you through the window. Didn’t think you would still be here, but I guess I forgot how stubborn my mother can be.”
Eva smiled at the thought of how long the woman had been able to tie up her time. “She does have a way of getting what she wants.”
“Yeah, she does.” A curious look graced his face. “Which may say something about the dog.”
“My dog?” Eva slapped her hand against her leg and Hunter joined her side. She patted his head. “What about him?”
“Where was the dog when you were inside with my mother?”
“Out in the car… I know, I know. It’s not good to leave animals in cars. I figured it would be fine since it isn’t hot out and the windows were rolled down.”
“Rolled down enough for him to jump out?”
“Of course not. I only rolled them down enough for a cool breeze to blow into the car. It explains why he was barking the whole time.” She rubbed behind the dog’s ears and crooned, “He didn’t like being stuck in there all alone.”
Tanner smiled at the display of affection. “And yet the dog – which you say you did not set out to find me – somehow ended up in my backyard.”
“Well, your mother did take the dog for a quick walk. I just figured that maybe she had forgotten to close the car door again.” Eva scowled at the idea forming in her mind. “Except—”
“The car doors were all closed when you got there?” Tanner finished with a humorous grin.
“Wait a minute. You don’t think your mother purposely let my dog out. Do you?”
He raised a challenging brow in response. His eyes shifted to something behind her. Eva turned just in time to see the graying head of Ms. McKoy disappear from the kitchen window.
Eva gasped. “Your mother—”
“Is a very determined woman,” Tanner interjected. “She also seems to be under the idea that I’m in need of some kind of special help. But like I’ve said before – I’m not an invalid. I can take care of myself just fine.”
Eva slowly nodded in agreement. Her voice was gentle when she spoke.
“I know you can. In fact, I’m sure there’s so much more that you can do than I’m even aware of – maybe even things that you yourself haven’t realized you have the power to do.” She hesitated, then took a slow, steady breath. “That’s why it’s so important for you to continue your rehabilitation.”
“And I will,” Tanner said. “By myself, on my own terms.”
Eva sighed. “Won’t you at least consider—”
“No.” Tanner moved his crutches forward, swinging his bad leg as he made his way to the back door. The dog began to follow him and Tanner stopped. “For the last time, I don’t need help. Not from the clinic… and certainly not from some do-gooder with a ghost dog.”
He reached the back door and once inside slammed it hard enough to emphasize his point. He would eventually reach his goals one day… just not with Eva’s help.
She let out another tired sigh and called the dog back. It was time to give up and go home.
Chapter Seven
Two weeks. That’s how long it had been since Tanner had gone to the clinic, and already he was beginning to feel stiffness in his legs and back – not to mention the lack of progress of learning to walk independently. Part of him was disappointed that he had acted so irrationally about the dog. Sure, it had looked a lot like the one back in Afghanistan – the one that had contributed to his injury and Chip’s death. It wasn’t the same dog, though. This one would never have a bomb strapped to its side… just a beautiful grad student that looked like she spent her days drinking from the golden sun.
Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? Maybe it had something to do with that alluring combination of being easy on the eyes as well as easy to talk to. At least, she had been easy to talk to until he shut her off and turned her away. Tanner groused at himself.
“Hey. You alright, man?”
He looked up at the taxi driver staring back at him in the rearview mirror, then turned and looked out the window. “Yeah, I’m good.”
He refused to say more. All he wanted was a nice, quiet morning cup of coffee – someplace where he wasn’t going to get the third degree from his mother for blowing off his therapy.
Every day was the same. He would wake up to the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen. If he didn’t come out in a timely fashion, mama would knock until he finally invited her in. She always arrived with a tray of sinful goodness and motherly advice.
“You know, you could have this kind of treatment all the time if you found the right woman… what about that sweet girl who was supposed to come around here. Eva or something, wasn’t it?”
Ha! She wasn’t fooling him any. He knew that she knew that they both knew exactly who Eva was. In fact, she had made it more than apparent that she had special designs for them to grow sweet on one another with her fake dog escape.
Fat chance of that happening!
Even if there was a remote possibility of Eva falling for him, he wouldn’t be so cruel as to saddle her – or any other woman, for that matter – with someone like him for a husband. It just wouldn’t be fair.
Not that she’d even be interested.
Tanner couldn’t imagine someone like her falling for his sort anyway. Sure, he wasn’t the ugliest guy around, but even whole he hadn’t been God’s gift to women. At least, not in the sense to get someone like her. She had those long, soft curls that framed the prettiest face he’d ever seen – shapely eyes, a button nose, and a heart shaped mouth a man could kiss all day.
What?!
Tanner snapped out of his reverie. He needed to stop thinking about her like that. He needed to stop thinking about her period! They wouldn’t be seeing each other again. He had made sure of that by disappearing the past two Saturdays before his mother was even out of bed. He had to give her credit for sticking to his mother’s arrangements and still coming by despite wasting the trip out. He had disappeared just in the time to miss the last visit. If he kept it up, Eva would eventually quit and become little more than a pleasant memory. He should’ve been happy with the idea. So why did he feel terrible instead?
“Need any help?” the driver asked as the taxi pulled into the parking lot.
“Nah. I’m good.” Tanner leaned a little to reach into his pocket. “How much do I owe you?”
The driver waved him away. “Don’t worry about it.”
Tanner had a feeling he knew the driver’s reasoning for refusing payment, and felt his mood darken.
“Listen, friend. I’m sure you think you’re doing me some noble service, but truth be told, you’re not. I’m quite capable of paying. So I’ll ask you again,” he pulled out his wallet and flipped it open, “how much do I owe you?”
The driver turned around and studied him for a moment. He grunted, surprising Tanner by popping open his car door and stepping out. He walked to Tanner’s side and grabbed hold of the handle, suddenly jerking the door open.
“Out. Now.”
Tanner was thankful he had opted for the crutches instead of the wheelchair that morning. The tone in the man’s voice told him it was time to square off, and that would’ve been impossible to do from a sitting position. At least he would have something to lean on for support, and could use the other crutch to defend himself! He stuck one outside and quickly exited, using the other to balance.
“You want to go, man?” He glared at the driver. “Then let’s go. I’m ready!”
The driver sized him up, one comical brow cocked as if to say he didn’t make much of the threat. He confirmed Tanner’s suspicions when he let out a chuckle.
“Your foot might be missing, but your spirit sure ain’t!”
Tanner growled. “You don’t know me. Who are you to
be saying anything anyways?”
The man raised his left hand to demonstrate the missing fingers. Tanner inhaled sharply.
“Oh, that ain’t nothing,” the man said. He leaned to the right a little, and then lifted his left pant leg. “They got a lot more of me than they got of you.”
Tanner swallowed hard. “You were there, too?”
“Yeah, but not for long,” the driver admitted. “First recon and one of the boys took a bad step – went all seventh heaven on me. When I awoke, I had already been through surgery. Let me just say I was none too pleased at the time, and made sure everyone else knew it!”
Tanner glanced away, a bit of guilt eating at him. It sounded a lot like his story. When he realized he was missing part of his leg, he had lashed out at everyone around. The idea of going home less than whole devastated him. He was positive he would become nothing but a burden. Sure enough, that’s exactly what had happened.
But what about this guy? He was even worse off than Tanner and he seemed to be managing fairly well. Here he was… driving a taxi!
Tanner nodded at the man. “Well, you seem to be doing just fine now.”
“Oh, yeah. That I am,” the man agreed. “Of course, I couldn’t have done it alone. I had a great rehabilitation team and lots of support. I don’t think I could’ve survived without the boys down at the VFW, and the love of my little Rosie. Yep! They were the ones that helped me most.”
“Glad to hear it worked out for you.” Tanner smiled and extended a hand. “Name’s Tanner McKoy.”
The man reached out and grabbed hold. He gave his arm a solid pump. “Nice to meet you, McKoy. Name’s Barrett. Joshua Barrett.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Josh.” Tanner smiled. “Have to say, I didn’t even realize there was a VFW around these parts.”
“Not quite around here. It’s about twenty minutes east – over in Rutherford.” Josh looked thoughtful. “Hey, you know what? You should stop in sometime.”
“Uh, I don’t know about all that.” Tanner hesitated. “I’m not too sure I’d fit in.”
