“I do!” Porter’s little boy footsteps ran toward her, and she stepped back so she wouldn’t get trampled. A dog barked, and then claws slipped on the hard floor as all four dogs followed him.
Trent said something, appearing behind the dogs. He barked a command at them again, and they all stopped. Wilson, the pack leader, whined, and Trent shushed him. He stepped to their side and then in front of them and let them come with him.
She wanted to see their faces, but she stood beside them instead.
“Wow,” Porter said.
“Go try it out,” Lauren said. “They’re good for up to five hundred pounds, so you could all get in the same one.”
Porter moved forward and got in the blue and white striped hammock. “This is great,” he said. “Come lay down, Daddy.”
Trent looked at Lauren and said, “You’re amazing,” before joining his son in the hammock. He yipped at the dogs, and they trotted over, eager to please him. They struggled to get in, especially with all three humans laughing, and Lauren snapped a picture of the six of them in one hammock.
Then Porter pushed the dogs out and they went down the steps to the yard. He moved over to the other hammock, and Trent motioned for Lauren to come join him.
So she did, cuddling easily into his side and sighing. “Merry Christmas,” she said, and he chuckled.
Nine months later
Trent had watched Lauren over the past several months as she tried to keep up with Michaels Construction and learn how to run the events at the Mansion. Sometimes he and Porter went up to the grounds and hung out while she walked around with Mabel, taking notes.
She was exhausted most of the time, and Trent didn’t blame her. She always made time for him and Porter, and she’d encouraged him to pursue the idea of training canine dogs full-time.
“So we’re getting married tomorrow,” he said to her when he arrived at the Mansion on September ninth.
She grinned. “We sure are.”
“You have everything ready?”
“Yes,” she said. “My parents are coming tonight sometime. Gillian is picking up the dress and staying with me tonight.” She straightened from where she was putting towels in a low cabinet.
“Anything I can do to help?” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, still somewhat in shock that she was about to be his. He’d had several moments of self-doubt over the months, but as soon as he saw Lauren again, they went away. She didn’t seem to feel like she was second-best or that she wasn’t equal to the task of raising Porter.
“Nope,” she said. “Well, show up.” She laughed, and he smiled too. “And bring the dogs early. Your dad will have their bow ties.”
A hint of sadness touched his heart. “Only two,” he murmured.
“How are Wilson and Brutus doing?”
“Great, last I heard,” he said. They’d both been taken on with the Chicago Police Department as narcotics dogs over the summer, and he’d gotten a few pictures as the weeks went by.
And he wasn’t the only one who missed the two dogs. Tornado and Pecorino barely knew what to do with themselves, and he hoped they’d behave during the wedding tomorrow.
“Any leads on a new dog?”
“No.” He sighed. “I thought Ruthie would work out, but she gave up on that ball after twenty minutes.” And police dogs didn’t give up, ever. They worked until they accomplished their tasks. “I think I’m going to adopt her anyway.”
Lauren wiped her hair out of her face. “I knew you would.”
“You okay with that?”
“Of course. You can have as many dogs as you want.” She squeezed past him and walked toward the kitchen.
“That’s why I love you,” he said, following her. “I got the dog run in your back yard done.” He also had one more thing to tell her, but he wanted it to be a surprise. He reasoned that it would be a surprise no matter when he told her.
“Hey,” he said, catching her hand before she went into the kitchen. “I know you’re checking on stuff for tomorrow, and I promise I’m going to get out of your hair.”
“You’re not bothering me.” She looked up at him. “Okay, what’s going on?”
She knew him so well, and Trent really liked that. “I think I do want to quit at the department and train dogs full-time.”
Instead of frowning and questioning him about how they could pay their bills, she grinned and said, “Good idea. And you’ll take Mabel’s offer?”
Trent nodded, having thought about being the manager at the Mansion for a month before the idea had really sunk in. “Yes, I think so. The dogs I’m training can come up here. They’ll have access to people and situations, and Adam said I could still use the police supplies.”
“You’ve talked to him already?”
“Briefly,” Trent said, glancing at Jaime as he came in from outside. He’d never seen himself as a property and event manager, but Mabel was really getting up there in age, and she wanted the Mansion to stay in the family.
Lauren would be the new owner of the Mansion, but she wanted to keep doing her construction business as well. So while she’d been learning the ropes at the Mansion for the past nine months, she didn’t want to run the operations of the place on a day-to-day basis.
So Trent would.
“There you are,” Mabel said as she stepped out of the kitchen. “Come taste this sauce. You’re going to love it.” She looked from Lauren to Trent. “Oh, dear. What did I interrupt?”
Lauren patted Trent’s chest and looked at her great aunt. “Trent’s going to take the manager job and train dogs.”
“Of course he is.” Mabel looked irritable, like this decision should’ve been made ages ago. And maybe it should’ve. But Trent did like to take his time on life decisions, as they affected a lot more than just him.
“Of course he is,” Lauren mimicked, giving her great aunt a kiss on the cheek as she moved into the kitchen. “Now, where’s this sauce?”
* * *
Trent woke on his wedding day, his heart booming around inside his chest like someone was beating it with a big mallet. He hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of the wedding, but it was Lauren’s first ceremony, and she was well-known in Hawthorne Harbor. Or at least the Magleby’s were, and everyone within a hundred-mile radius knew she was set to inherit the Magleby Mansion once Mabel died.
But Mabel just kept kicking, and Trent suspected she had many more years at the Mansion and around town.
Lauren had asked his sister to help her, so Trent was left to his own devices to get himself and Porter up to the Mansion. He texted Eliza when he got there to make sure Lauren was safely hidden away in the west wing she’d redesigned.
With the coast clear, he took Porter up the steps and to the right instead of the left. The groom’s rooms were much less impressive than the brides, but he had plenty of space to get dressed and comb his hair. Porter too. They were ready in only a half an hour, and he looked out the window at the outdoor area where they’d be married.
Dozens of chairs had been set up, and Jaime worked with three other men to put up a big white tent. Colored streamers got hung on the corners, and someone knocked on the door to his suite.
“Yeah,” he said, and his parents came in. His mother carried the flowers for him and Porter and she wept as she pinned them on.
“Mom,” he said, not sure what else to say to comfort her.
“They’re happy tears,” she said. “I’m just so glad you found someone again.” She sniffled. “You two are just so handsome. She is so lucky to have you.”
“I think we’re the lucky ones, Mom.” Trent glanced at Porter. “Right, bud?”
Porter shrugged, which caused everyone to laugh, and then his mom took his hand. “Come on, buddy. You’re coming with me for a few minutes.” She glanced at Trent. “Your dad has the bow ties for the dogs and then Mabel wants the three of you downstairs.”
“I’m okay to leave?”
“Yep, as long as you can get down t
here in the next ten minutes.”
His dad handed him the two bow ties for Tornado and Pecorino, and his parents left with Porter.
“All right, guys,” he said to the dogs. “Come get dressed.” The dogs didn’t know that command, and he grinned at them as he bent down and got their bows onto their collars. “No barking, okay? This isn’t about you.”
He barely thought it was about him. No, he’d been married before, and he knew this wedding was all about Lauren.
He made it downstairs and into position inside the timeframe Mabel had given him, and he was surprised to see that the chairs were nearly full of people. And more and more just kept coming.
It felt like a long time but was really only a few minutes before Mabel signaled him and he got up from where he’d been sitting with his family. He stood by the altar, calling both dogs over with him.
He turned to see his son standing in the doorway, his hands held just so. A moment later, he started walking, but it wasn’t a normal stride. Trent chuckled at the formality of it, and he grinned as his son started down the aisle, carrying a pink rose.
Porter stood next to him while the rest of the wedding party marched down the aisle, and then finally—finally—Lauren appeared.
Her dress was pure white and gorgeous, rising and swelling along her curves. The bottom half was miles and miles of ruffled fabric, and Trent could barely breathe as she walked toward him, a rosy blush in her cheeks.
Porter stepped forward and handed her the rose, and she bent down to hug him. When she straightened and Trent took her hand in his, he caught the hint of tears in her eyes. It warmed his heart to see how much she loved his son, and together they faced the pastor.
He hoped they would face everything together.
The pastor had been instructed not to speak for too long, so before Trent knew it, it was time to say I do.
Lauren did first, and then Trent gazed at her as he said, “I do.”
“You may kiss your bride.”
Trent felt every emotion in the book in that moment, but the greatest of them all was joy. He kissed Lauren—his wife—and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said back, then she turned toward the crowd and lifted their joined hands.
* * *
Read on for a sneak peek of THE SOLDIER’S SECOND CHANCE, featuring Hunter, a Marine returning to Hawthorne Harbor, and Alice, the woman he left behind to serve in the military. Now available in Kindle Unlimited.
Trent and Lauren worked everything out and have a family now! If you liked this book, please leave a review for it today.
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Sneak Peek! The Soldier’s Second Chance Chapter One
Hunter Magleby watched the ocean on his left-hand side, his heart slowly sinking toward his feet with every mile that passed. Well, the left one at least could still feel something. His right foot ached with a numbness the doctors said would probably never go away.
Sure, some days were better than others, and Hunter tried to keep his thoughts on the positive.
I’m still alive.
I have somewhere to live.
I got an honorable discharge from the Marines.
“Have you been to Hawthorne Harbor?” his driver asked, breaking into Hunter’s thoughts.
“Yes,” he said without looking away from the ocean. It was beautiful, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the sight of it, the smell of it, the constant way it drove toward the shore.
He finally tore his eyes from the water and looked out the windshield. “I grew up there, actually.”
“Oh, is your family still here?” The driver was asking to be conversational, Hunter knew. People everywhere seemed to be extra kind to him, and he knew it was because of the uniform he wore and the cane he used. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t even look his direction.
His anxiety tripled when he thought about how his great aunt would receive him, but he pushed it back. After all, Hunter had a ton of experience in burying emotions and getting the job done. And that was what he needed to do in Hawthorne Harbor.
“No,” he said. “Well, sort of. My parents moved when I joined the Marines. But there are plenty of Magleby’s still in Hawthorne Harbor.” Too many, actually, but Hunter kept that info under his tongue. He was looking forward to seeing Aunt Mabel, and she’d told him that Lauren lived just down the hill from the Mansion.
In fact, it would be Lauren who’d fixed up the house where he’d be living, and he had a gift for her in his backpack.
The driver stopped talking then, and Hunter leaned back into the seat behind him, almost hoping time would slow enough to stop. Then he wouldn’t have to return to a town that had forgotten him. He wouldn’t have to face the past he’d left behind. He wouldn’t have to try to figure out who he was now that he wasn’t a soldier.
A sigh gathered in his chest, but he kept it contained. Another skill he’d picked up from the numerous meetings he’d endured over the years. He could keep his face completely passive for long periods of time too, and he never, ever let his emotions show if he didn’t want them to.
He felt like he’d been living behind a slab of stone since the accident that had stolen his mobility from him. Stolen his career.
You’re still alive, he started mentally reciting again. You have a good place to live. Family nearby to help. Money coming in.
The road curved, and the ocean moved behind them. The outskirts of town appeared, and Hunter steeled himself to step back in time.
The driver took him right to the house on the northwest side of town, just down the bluff. He jumped out of the car to get Hunter’s bags, and Hunter took his time getting out of the backseat and positioning his cane to help balance himself.
“There he is.” Lauren came down the front steps, a smile on her face. She didn’t even look at his leg or the angry pink scar clawing up from underneath his collar. Her long, dark hair bounced along her shoulders, and a man Hunter didn’t recognize followed her. He took Lauren’s hand as they approached, and Hunter’s wariness returned. He hadn’t realized he’d have a whole welcoming committee.
Lauren let go of her boyfriend’s hand and embraced Hunter. “You look great.”
Ah, so his cousin was a liar now. Hunter smiled anyway. “Thanks. How long have you been back in town?” Her family had left like his, and it was almost an unwritten rules that Magleby’s didn’t live anywhere but Hawthorne Harbor.
“About seven years,” she said. “This is Trent Baker, my husband.”
“Oh, congrats,” Hunter said, leaning all of his weight on his left leg so he could extend his right hand to Trent.
“Nice to meet you,” Trent said, a smile on his face that disappeared quickly.
“Are you Army?” he asked Trent.
“No.” Trent shook his head. “I used to be a cop, but now I train dogs to be police animals.”
“Ah.” So he was in a similar field of work as Hunter. He could always spot those who had some sort of experience dealing with difficult situations, and cops made great soldiers.
“So your place is properly aired out and ready for you,” Lauren said, stepping toward the front porch, where the driver had set Hunter’s bags. “Trent and I and Porter live just down the road. Aunt Mabel is bringing her apple twist bread by later.”
“She doesn’t have to do that,” Hunter said, looking at the eight steps that led up to the house. The thought of climbing up and down these every day made his muscles tighten and his brain to tell him to find somewhere else to live.
“I know,” Lauren said. “But she insisted, and you know how Aunt Mabel can be.”
“Pushy?” Hunter said, which caused both Trent and Lauren to laugh. Neither of them reached to help him, which he appreciated. They also didn’t walk slower because of him or wait for him. They just went up the steps and into the house, and when Hunter got there, he found three dogs sitting nicely bes
ide Trent.
“This is our welcome home gift to you,” Lauren said, beaming down at the canines.
“A dog?” Hunter asked.
“Not just a dog,” Trent said. “A trained service animal. They can do all kinds of things.”
Hunter blinked, his first reaction to decline a service animal. He wasn’t disabled. He didn’t need help. But in the back of his mind and way down deep in his hear, he knew he was disabled and he did need help.
“Like what?” he asked.
Trent exchanged a glance with Lauren that didn’t go unnoticed by Hunter. “You balance on the couch and hand me your cane.” Trent strode forward and took it from Hunter. He put it on the table behind him and whistled at the dogs. All three of them shifted toward him, and one of them whined.
“Sh,” Trent said, and the dog quieted immediately. “So you give him a command to get the cane, and he will.” Trent pointed to it and said, “Geronimo, get it.”
The big German shepherd took a few steps and put his front paws up on the table. He scrabbled around for a moment, finally getting the cane in his jaws and backing up and dropping back to all fours.
“You tell him to bring it,” Trent said.
“Bring it,” Hunter barked, and the dog trotted toward him, tilted his head back, and let Hunter take the cane from his hand.
“You can tell him to drop it,” Trent said. “He can get almost anything you want him to. Geronimo is the one I’d pick for you.” He glanced at the other two dogs. “But Clara is great too, and she really likes to cuddle during downtime. So if you like that….” He let his words die there, and Lauren took over.
“Have her open the door,” she said.
“You want to see her do that?” Trent didn’t wait for Hunter to answer. He walked to the front door while he talked. “So I’ll go out and ring the doorbell. You tell her to answer. Just like that. ‘Answer it, Clara,’ and she will.”
Hawthorne Harbor Box Set Page 80
