The Unexpected Shelter

by Abby Tyler

  It was a bloom!

  The bulbs Luke planted last fall were blooming!

  She let out a little shriek, capturing Luke’s attention.

  “What is it?”

  Savannah began running toward the gate. “The flowers! They’re blooming!”

  She raced around the fence toward her little garden.

  Two bright yellow crocus and one pink tulip had almost fully opened. As she examined the flowers more carefully, she spotted three lilies and four anemones about to bud.

  “You did it!” she cried out to Luke, who was approaching his side of the fence. “Look at them all!”

  Luke leaned to peer down.

  “Look at that,” he said. “It worked.”

  “You don’t fancy yourself a gardener then?”

  “I’ve never grown flowers in my life.”

  T-bone joined them and gave Luke a hard nudge. “That means it’s time, son.”

  Savannah glanced up. “Time for what?”

  Luke coughed into his hand as T-bone elbowed him again. “Time to get some fertilizer. Gotta make sure they bloom good and strong.”

  T-bone let out a guffaw that sounded halfway like he was choking.

  “Are you okay, T-bone?” Savannah asked.

  Luke clapped his father on the shoulder, hard. “T-bone here has just got something stuck in his throat.” Luke continued to hammer his back. “And it won’t come out, will it?”

  Savannah could tell something was up between the two of them, but they were always acting like this. “Well, you two better get back to that construction. The clinic isn’t going to build itself.”

  The men finished the building the next day, and T-bone declared that they should have a dedication ceremony.

  Savannah suggested they wait until summer, when Luke would have his certification completed, and they could open the doors for real.

  But T-bone would have nothing of it. The dedication would be that weekend, and he would have some of the townspeople come out and it would be a big ol’ party with music and a barbecue.

  Since she was overruled, on Friday afternoon, Savannah dug out one of her skirts, paired with tights and boots since it was still pretty chilly out. She didn’t have a dressy coat, so she tracked down one of her mother’s old scarves that had a bit of sparkle to it.

  She Googled how to tie a scarf for half an hour before finally coming up with an arrangement that kept her neck warm and settled prettily over her shoulders.

  It would have to do. No doubt the Tri-County News would be out to take a picture, and she wanted one of these few chances to be immortalized in the paper to have her looking decent.

  As she settled the dogs in their kennels a bit early, she heard hammering out back. She stepped outside to see several of T-bone’s friends putting together a small stage.

  She hurried out. “What’s this?”

  “It’s just temporary,” Fred assured her. “T-bone wanted to be able to see above the crowd.”

  The crowd?

  Now that she was outside again, she spotted an entire line of barbecue smokers stretched along the fence. When had those arrived? And how many people were coming?

  She got her answer within the hour. First, the helpers came. Men in aprons manned the smokers. Some of the ladies set up a table covered in pies. Savannah spotted Gertrude and Maude, and smiled when Maude gave her a little wink.

  Miss Betty from the tea shop was there, setting up an entire five-tiered platter full of tiny teacakes, many of them sporting little dog heads made of frosting, something her decorator had gotten famous for.

  Savannah admired them as more and more people arrived.

  Tables were set up. The women quickly covered them with linen while others surrounded them with chairs. They were getting fancy, like this was a reception, not a dedication.

  Then a man arrived with an audio system and large speakers.

  “Do we really need all this?” she asked him as he unrolled a long extension cord.

  He shrugged. “I just do what T-bone tells me.”

  The man himself finally came through the gate about an hour before the scheduled ceremony. Cars were filling up all of the space around her house, and two boys from the high school were out trying to keep order as the vehicles lined up in the fields.

  Holy smokes, would all of them fit in her yard?

  She texted Luke.

  Did you know this was going to be so big?

  His answer came quickly.

  It got a little out of control. T-bone wanted a big party.

  Savannah could see that!

  Boone wandered out in the backyard to look at all the fuss. “What’s going on here?” He seemed agitated.

  Flo ran up behind him. “Sorry, he got away.”

  “We’re having a little party, Boone,” Savannah said quietly. “You want to stay out here for the barbecue?”

  “You bet I do.” He plopped down at one of the tables, and Flo settled next to him.

  “I didn’t know it was going to be so elaborate,” Flo said. “I’m glad I came to help.”

  “I didn’t know either.”

  Maude swiftly brought Boone a plate piled high with meat and sides, even though she shooed away anybody else who tried to get near the food. Soon he had a glass of tea and was kicked back, chowing on barbecue and grinning at everybody.

  Savannah felt a hand circle her waist. She looked up at Luke. “You made it.”

  “Of course.”

  Something seemed off with him. He looked around, not meeting her eyes, jittery.

  “You okay?”

  “Right as rain. I’m going to check in with T-bone.” He gave her a squeeze and headed over toward his father, who was directing the men at the barbecue grills.

  Savannah sat down next to Flo and Boone. “This is really going to be something.”

  More and more people arrived, filling all the tables. Occasionally T-bone took the microphone and let everyone know that there would be food after a few announcements and the dedication.

  As twilight began to descend, a set of pretty white lights flickered on, strung from the new building to the house. T-bone stepped back on the stage.

  “I’m not a man of many words,” he said. “But I want to thank you all for coming here as we celebrate the construction of the pet clinic at Lena’s Home for Strays.”

  T-bone waved out toward the crowd. “Now I think Dr. Black, our local veterinarian, is going to say a few words.”

  Dr. Black emerged from the crowd. The two of them looked like pure opposites, T-bone in his leather vest and long beard, and Dr. Black in a tweed jacket and tie.

  He took the mic from T-bone. “I’m very pleased to be sponsoring this tech clinic, a spot where many of the lost and homeless animals of Applebottom end up. We’ll take the fine work started by Boone and Savannah in honor of Lena and expand it to include low-cost care for animals.”

  He searched the tables until his eyes met Savannah’s. “I’m sure all of you would like to welcome up to the stage the people who made this happen, our very own Savannah Perkins and the man who will be our new vet tech, Luke Southard.”

  Oh. It was time. Savannah hopped up from her chair and meandered through the tables up to the stage.

  She sure hoped she wasn’t expected to speak. She’d assumed she would stand there and smile for a picture.

  Luke also approached from the opposite side. He took her hand as she stepped up onto the platform.

  Dr. Black passed the microphone to Luke and left the stage.

  Luke continued to hold Savannah’s hand, and Savannah felt a breath of relief. He was going to do the talking.

  He lifted the mic. “It is so great to be here in front of you all. I don’t think I’ve met everyone still, but I’m Luke, T-bone’s son, and Savannah and I got this idea about five months ago to more or less formalize what we were already doing out here at the shelter. We fed newborn kittens. Nursed injured animals back to health. And with the extra procedu
res I’ll be able to do with the license, we’ll be able to provide even more services to animals in the area.”

  He drew Savannah closer to his side. “But that is only one of the reasons why you’re here today. Truth be told, this clinic isn’t going to open till summer, but we wanted an excuse to get you all here at the shelter tonight.”

  Savannah glanced over at him. What else was there?

  “When I got here to Applebottom, I didn’t have a stick of family,” Luke said. “Then I met T-bone, and anybody who looks at us knows right off that clearly, this apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”

  The crowd laughed and Savannah relaxed. Okay, so he was going to thank the community. Good.

  “Now I have a lot of people in my corner, like Doc Black, and Doc Brigham, who’s out there somewhere. And Fisher College. I nearly made the worst decision of my life to go back to Montana, but with the help of all of them, I got to stay.”

  The crowd cheered at this, and Luke paused and grinned. Savannah squeezed his hand.

  “But now it’s time to officially make myself a permanent part of the community.” He drew in a shaky breath and Savannah turned to him, concerned. He was doing great. Why was he so nervous?

  But then he dropped down on one knee, and it was her turn to zip straight through with shock.

  “Savannah Leanora Perkins, you’re not only the sunshine for all the animals in this county who get the love and attention of your care, but you are the brightest light for me, too. I want to help you continue your amazing work here, and I promise to do it with everything I’ve got.”

  Savannah could barely breathe. She forgot about the crowd, the new clinic, everything. All she could see was Luke.

  “I know you will,” she said.

  “I’ll try to be the man for the task, if you’ll take me. Will you marry me?”

  He let go of her hand and fumbled with his coat pocket for a moment, then managed to extricate a black velvet box. He opened it to reveal a lovely ring that she recognized as once belonging to her mother, albeit it with a little extra scrollwork on the sides now. Something old, something new.

  She glanced out at Boone. He seemed absorbed in his pie, but at the quiet, he looked up and caught her expression. For a moment, his face seemed to clear, and he gave her a little nod before shoving his fork back into the crust.

  She turned back to Luke. “I will,” she said, tears squeezing out of her eyes. “Of course I will.”

  A great cheer went up as he slid the ring on her finger.

  Music from the speakers began to play, and someone shot off a couple of bottle rockets. Savannah laughed and shook her head at all the trouble T-bone had gone through for them. Luke was his only son, his surprise, and now she would be his daughter-in-law.

  Luke stood up, his hand sliding up into her hair. His lips met hers, and another round of fireworks sizzled and broke open over the trees.

  Her life might sometimes feel small, and her days filled with a lot of drudgery and sameness.

  But today was special, and she was special. The sameness meant security for the animals in her care, something she would no longer have to do alone.

  Savannah knew for certain now that the shelter she and her father had built would live on, just like her love for Luke.

  Luke & Savannah’s Wedding

  You can also LISTEN to Abby READ this epilogue out loud! Go here!

  * * *

  Narrated by Gertrude

  * * *

  I had to rock back and forth three times before I was able to push myself out of the low-slung seat of Maude’s son-in-law’s sports car.

  That boy was having a midlife crisis at thirty. I could smell them a mile away.

  It didn’t help that we were parking in a field. Luke and Savannah had seen fit to have their wedding at the same spot where they got engaged. In their backyard, basically.

  Maude let out a little laugh as she watched me launch myself from the black leather. “You going to make it, old lady?” she asked.

  “If Luke wasn’t so busy getting married, maybe he could fix that old Volvo of yours and we wouldn’t be driving this ridiculous car.” I didn’t bother taking the annoyance out of my voice. Maude was used to me.

  “Well, maybe if we had taken your car, you wouldn’t be struggling to get out of something that was manufactured after the Reagan administration.”

  Maude always could tit for tat. It was probably the only reason we got along.

  I managed to haul myself out of the car. They’d mowed all the grass at least. There were cars parked as far as I could see in any direction. Some teenage boys were trying to control the chaos, but guests were arriving too fast for them to keep up. Their system of rows, if they’d ever had one, was breaking down.

  “I told you we should’ve gotten here earlier,” Maude said stiffly.

  I hadn’t been out to the place since the dedication of the vet clinic and Luke’s proposal. Since then, the clinic had opened. I didn’t have any animals of my own to bring out. I could barely fend for myself. But still, it was something new to gander at.

  I picked up my pie carrier from the back seat. Savannah had asked me to bring Boone’s favorite. She seemed to think he might get a little out of sorts about so many people being at his house. Apparently he didn’t have many good days anymore, but quite a few of the people in town had signed on to help make sure Boone was chilled out and happy for his daughter’s wedding.

  Maude and I picked our way around to the back of the house like the two old ladies we were. I swear, can’t people have weddings in churches like ordinary folk?

  At least the weather was good. Late-summer in Southern Missouri was a pretty safe time for an outdoor wedding. Most of the heat had burned off the day, so it was pleasant.

  A chorus of barks filled the air the moment we turned the corner of the yard. That gate was propped open, and the fence was threaded through with white ribbon and flowers.

  “Please tell me they’re not going to release all those hounds during the wedding,” I said to Maude as we came in sight of the folding chairs arranged in the backyard.

  “I don’t think so,” Maude said. “Sounds like they’re all inside.”

  Thank goodness for that. Watching one dog trot up the aisle at Carter and Ginny’s wedding had been enough to cause me heart palpitations. I didn’t need to see a couple dozen, or however many Savannah kept at her shelter these days.

  A white tent sat in one corner of the yard, but it was too small for the wedding or the reception. It looked as though it was simply covering the food and cake. The chairs were out in the open.

  A stage had been constructed at the front, a big arch prettying up the white painted wood. On either side of the arch were little white tables filled with all manner of flowers and picture frames and a big clear vase.

  Only a few people were sitting. Most were wandering the yard, several poking their heads into the new vet clinic.

  I was ready to go take a peek myself when the sound of classical music firing up stopped me in my tracks. I clutched my pie and scanned the space for the source of the music. It didn’t sound recorded.

  And it wasn’t. On the far side of the yard, Applebottom’s own string quartet was playing.

  My throat caught. Alfred Felmont was there, his eyes closed, playing his violin like he was holding a baby.

  “I’ll take that pie into the tent,” Maude said. “You can keep gawking.”

  I didn’t pay her no mind. I hadn’t seen Alfred in months. He’d stopped by for a piece of lemon meringue in early June. I’d been too tongue-tied to say a word to him. Maude took his order, as if we didn’t know what it was.

  In fact, I’d spent most of the time in the back room, sitting at the little table where we tabulated the day’s sales. It was situated so that you could see the front door, in case we were back there when someone came in. But since Alfred had sat near the window, I could spy on him from there.

  Maude knew what I was up to, but sh
e just shook her head. She always said the same thing. “I never knew two people who had the hardest time talking to each other for no reason at all.”

  She didn’t know diddly squat. Alfred was a man of few words. Everybody said that. And I was a woman of too many, mostly the kind with bite. So it made sense that we would just appreciate each other from afar. As long as I did that, I couldn’t wreck it for good.

  I must’ve stood there too long, staring at the quartet, because Betty Johnson came up behind me and asked, “Gertrude, did you finally turn into a pillar of salt?”

  I didn’t answer. It didn’t matter. As soon as she turned the same way as me, she knew what I was looking at. “Oh,” she said. And she moved on. Most people did. Especially if I was under the spell of Alfred Felmont’s violin.

  Maude returned and took my arm. “We can go sit near them,” she said.

  As if I was going to do anything else.

  Mayor T-bone got up on the stage and suggested everybody start taking their seats. I got a hustle in my bustle right about then, because I didn’t want anybody taking the spots that I had my eye on, fourth row, next to the musicians on the groom’s side.

  A couple young people I didn’t know tried to take my seat, but my steely gaze bore a hole right into their souls, and they skittered away.

  Maude shook her head as we sat down. “Gertie, you could scare the paint off a Chevy.”

  “Good.”

  The first song ended and the members of the quartet smiled and congratulated each other for a song well done. As soon as it was quiet, the sound of the dogs filtered in again.

  “Are they gonna be the background noise the whole time?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Maude said. “I hope we can hear the vows.”

  The minister from the Presbyterian Church came out in a black suit and stood in the middle of the arch, a Bible open in his hands.

  The music struck up again, drowning out the dogs. Too bad there wouldn’t be music the whole time. The dog suddenly got louder, even with the music, and people turned around to look. I craned my own neck, wondering what was going on.