by Abby Tyler
He rapped on her door. Through the wall, he could hear Roscoe’s excited bark, and Ginny trying to subdue him.
When they appeared, Roscoe lunged forward, only half harnessed.
“I’m sorry. I’m running a little late,” she said.
Carter firmly grasped the dog’s collar. “Somebody’s ready for a walk, aren’t you, Roscoe?” He tried to steal a glance at Ginny, but she was in the middle of frantically strapping her harness to her waist, and he couldn’t see her expression.
“Come in while I finish this,” she said.
Carter stepped into her house. Everything was neat and tidy, other than the scattered dog supplies next to her backpack on the floor. When the door was safely closed, Carter let go of the collar.
Roscoe leaped up and placed his paws on Carter’s shoulders. This had become their regular greeting. Carter accepted a couple licks and then set him on the ground.
“Roscoe, sit,” he said.
Roscoe attempted another leap up to Carter’s shoulders.
“Yeah, it’s sort of two steps forward, one step back,” Ginny said. “He hasn’t sat once today.”
“Interesting,” Carter said. “He was doing it so well last week.”
“I know. And he did yesterday. But today it’s like his memory has been erased.”
“I’m sure dogs get in moods just like the rest of us.”
Ginny fastened the harness around her waist, cinching the sides for a snug fit. On someone small like Ginny, it had a corset affect, drawing her waist into tiny proportions.
His jaw tightened, and he glanced away. Probably she wasn’t even interested in him, so he needed to quit ogling her. He focused on Roscoe as she slipped her jacket on top of the entire ensemble and held out the loose end of the leash.
“You want to do the honors?” she asked. Her face was flushed from the effort of getting everything together quickly.
Or maybe she’d caught him looking.
Carter took the leash, and their fingers brushed against each other. He forced himself not to react, even though everything in him had flared hot. Sparks practically flew from where they touched, and their eyes held for a moment.
Maybe it was time to address this. “I got your note,” he said.
Her lips parted as she let out a breath. “We’ll do it soon, right?”
Okay, that seemed like interest. Maybe she really did have something to do. “Yeah,” he said.
She relaxed, so he knew this was the right course. Bring it down. No pressure.
He broke their gaze and attached the leash to Roscoe’s harness.
Carter cleared his throat. “At least the weather looks fine today. A little cold is all.” He was dressed for it in jeans and a sweatshirt.
“Then hopefully we won’t be trying to calm a dog in the rain and muck!” she said.
“That was a memorable day, for sure.”
Their gazes clashed, and Carter figured she was thinking about that moment in the trees where they looked out over the park. They stood there too long, and Roscoe gave an impatient woof.
Ginny looked down. “Okay, Roscoe! We’re going!”
The spell was broken, and they left the house, heading down the street in their usual easy-going manner.
When they arrived at the hill, they returned to their standby commands, getting Roscoe’s attention, and convincing him to sit. At first, he didn’t oblige, but then Ginny brought out the treat bag. Light dawned on both of them as Roscoe started sitting immediately when he recognized a reward was involved.
“He’s figured it out,” Carter said. “He expects that treat.”
“The book said not to worry about that,” Ginny said. “It’s a natural part of it. And actually pretty helpful, because once he figures out he gets these rewards for doing what we want, he will do more.”
“Okay,” Carter said. “Should we work on stay?”
“I don’t think he’s up for stay. I would be happy with come. If I can get him to come when I call him, then I don’t have to worry about him going into one of the businesses downtown if he’s not supposed to.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Ginny reached for the connection to her harness to release Roscoe.
“I’ll give us some room to see if Roscoe will come to me,” she said.
“Sounds good.”
Ginny pulled on the release, but it was twisted in a strange position. She couldn’t get it loose. “Can you get this?” she asked.
“Sure.” He moved in close, his hands near her waist.
Ginny smelled of pine needles and something feminine, like a flower shampoo. Carter had to swallow over a lump in his throat at their proximity.
His fingers fumbled a moment, then finally the tether came loose. “You were right. It was good and stuck.”
“It really wasn’t an excuse to get you close.”
The tone in her voice made him grin. When Ginny lifted her face, their mouths were only inches apart. They stared at each other for another long beat, and Carter spotted little specs of gold in her brown eyes.
For a long moment they held the position. Only the smallest movement would have brought them together.
Carter’s arm jerked back suddenly. Roscoe had taken off after a bird. “I need to stay on top of this,” Carter said, dashing to catch up. “He almost got away.”
Carter let Roscoe get a few paces up the hill, then firmly told him to sit. When Roscoe spotted the treat in Carter’s hand, he did.
“He’s looking for it,” Carter called back. “He’s figuring it out.”
Ginny bent down and slapped her hands on her knees. “Roscoe, come.”
Roscoe looked at her hands. She reached for the backpack, and Roscoe already knew what she was going for. He bounded her direction.
Ginny fed him the treat. “I’m not sure he’s getting the connection between the word and coming to me.”
“I agree,” Carter said. “Let me fetch a couple treats, and we’ll go back and forth.”
They did that for a good half hour, still not sure that Roscoe wasn’t coming for the treat instead of the word. As they walked back home, Ginny said, “Maybe I need to get some sort of little treat sack that is always fastened to me. That way we know for sure he’s coming because we say the word, not because we’ve already put a treat in our hands.”
“Good thinking,” Carter said. “I’m headed into Branson on Saturday. You want me to pick one up at the pet store? They have a lot more options than here.”
“That would be great,” she said.
“Since you have such a crazy weekend and all,” he added.
Only when her pace faltered did he realize what that sounded like, as if he was accusing her of making up an excuse not to go to the museum.
The silence stretched between them, and Carter felt obligated to fill it. “I bet you still have boxes that are packed.”
Ginny fumbled with the treat bag to avoid looking him in the eye. “I do want to go,” she said. “Just not yet.”
“It’s fine.”
They walked on, Roscoe dashing from one side of the street to the other, testing the limits of his tether. He was a good distraction in the awkwardness.
Carter wasn’t one for games. Not usually. But he really liked Ginny. Maybe she had more problems than it seemed. He was the one who felt gun shy after his big miss on national television.
She was new in town. Nobody knew her past. Possibly she had some experience that was just as humiliating as his.
Chapter 12
The Friday football schedule showed an away game, but it was in a neighboring town, so Ginny called Natalie and the two of them drove over the bridge to watch it anyway.
Once again, the quarterback kept the ball when he couldn’t find an opening and made quick progress up the field. But just like before, Carter instructed him to keep passing or running ground plays rather than actually helping the team toward its modest goal of fourteen points in a season. Strange.
&nbs
p; Carter spotted Ginny early on, as the visitor’s side was almost empty other than the band and cheerleaders, plus the football parents. Several times she caught him glancing up at her.
Natalie did too. “I saw that,” she said. “He ask you out yet?”
Ginny didn’t want to admit that he had. “We’re still doing the dog lessons,” she said. “But maybe it will be in the cards.”
“Three and out, I’m telling you.”
Ginny had no answer to that.
When the game ended, Natalie grabbed Ginny’s hand and dragged her to the break in the chain-link fence where the team walked to go to the dressing rooms.
As Carter passed, Natalie called out, “Hey, Coach!”
Ginny’s stomach roiled. What was she doing?
But Carter ambled over, waving to the few Eagle fans who had paused to let the team pass before heading to their cars.
“Hey, Ginny. Thanks for coming.” He looked quizzically at Natalie. “I think we’ve met before.”
“I’m at the elementary with Ginny,” Natalie said. She grinned and looked from Carter to Ginny, as if she could glean something. “I hear you two have been seeing each other a lot.”
“Just for the dog,” Ginny said quickly.
“Roscoe is great,” Carter said.
“Maybe you should do something without Roscoe,” Natalie said.
Ginny’s body burst hot with shock. “Natalie!”
Carter seemed less surprised, waving at another couple walking by. “Maybe so. I should head in with the boys.”
“Yeah, great seeing you!” Natalie said.
When he turned away, Ginny had to control herself to avoid exploding. Keeping her voice measured and calm, she asked, “Why did you do that?”
“Just a little friendly suggestion for our hot coach!” she said. “Come on. You’re into him!”
Ginny tightened her jacket around her body. Her friendship with Carter wasn’t possible to hide in a town this small. And it seemed everyone was trying to push them together maybe a little faster than they wanted to do it themselves.
A coach’s meeting made Carter run late the next Tuesday. He texted Ginny to let her know he’d meet her at the park, and he had the new treat bag.
The meeting had not gone well. Parents were calling in about the major losses with unanswered points. Several people asked why they weren’t using the new quarterback more effectively.
He was on edge and worked hard to bring himself down before he met up with Ginny.
When he finally managed to make it to their hill, he spotted Ginny and her dog looking over Table Rock Lake. The sun was already low in the sky, spilling red light across the water and leaving them in silhouette.
They looked perfect and serene, the ideal thing to take away the ugliness of his day.
He paused for a moment, wondering if he should broach the topic of the museum again, or if he ought to wait for her to come around. Maybe she wasn’t interested, but then, after that moment with Roscoe in the storm, they had some connection, something he’d never quite felt before.
And her friend had been pushy after the game. Had Ginny told her about him? Ginny had been upset at the interference, but maybe only because it caught her by surprise?
Ginny spotted him and waved. They bounded down the hill, Roscoe leading the way. The Great Dane leapt up and put his paws on Carter’s shoulders. This was becoming one of his favorite things about the dog.
“Roscoe!” Ginny called. “Down! Sit!”
The dog ignored her, shoving his nose in Carter’s face. He laughed. “Here,” he said, tossing the new treat bag around the big brute for Ginny to catch.
She looked it over. “It’s perfect!” She attached it to her belt and slid a few bacon chews inside while Carter wrangled Roscoe back to the ground.
When his paws hit the grass, his snout lifted into the air.
“I think he’s noticed,” Carter said.
Roscoe hustled back to Ginny, poking his nose to her belly and sniffing at the new bag.
“I’ll hold on to him,” Carter said. “Walk a little ways and show him your empty hands.”
Roscoe didn’t want to let Ginny and her tantalizing smell go. Carter held on tightly to his harness as Ginny tried to walk.
She held up her empty hands. “I don’t have anything, Roscoe,” she said.
Roscoe strained against the leash. Carter had to dig in his heels to hold him back. “We created a monster,” he said.
“I know. I don’t really know what to do about it.”
“Maybe we should just walk for a while and try to let him forget where they are.”
That was wishful thinking. Even as they moved along the path, Roscoe constantly nudged the treat bag at Ginny’s waist.
“We may have to scuttle this for another day,” Ginny said. “Maybe if I put the treats in when he’s not around, the smell of them won’t be so obvious. I can wash my hands and everything.”
Carter nodded. “I see why people need trainers. The books and YouTube videos talk generically about dogs, but you need someone to help you adjust your strategy on the fly.”
“He walks right beside us as long as the treat bag is attached to me,” Ginny said. “I would call that a win.”
It was true. This was the most pleasant walk they’d ever had with her dog.
“At least it’s good for something,” Carter said.
The sun tipped the edge of the lake, so they made their way back to Ginny’s house.
“It was nice of you to drive out to the game Friday,” he said. “I liked seeing you there.”
Her face pinked up a little. This was working. He had been right to ask her out. But why had she delayed?
“It’s fun. Like all the times watching football with my dad.”
“Really? You guys did that?” Most girls he met weren’t too into sports.
“We would have great arguments about strategy,” she said.
He grinned at her. “My dad was a big fan, too. Who did you root for?”
“Seattle,” she said.
“Bummer,” he teased. “And just when I was starting to like you.”
She laughed. “High school is more interesting, since the talent really stands out. You were right about that quarterback being so good. When he keeps the ball, you guys actually make some progress.”
This sounded a lot like what he heard at the meeting. He hadn’t expected it from Ginny. “Toby’s got talent. Too bad he’s stuck with us.”
Ginny plunged on. “But if he’s got promise, he should be allowed to do what he does well and get the statistics that might help with college and scholarship.”
Carter’s defenses flared. “For what? To be disappointed when he gets benched because he came from nowhere important? When nobody drafts him?”
Ginny let out a long gust of air. “Whoa-kay,” she said. “You’re the coach. You know best.”
Carter forced himself to relax. She was just trying to be helpful. She couldn’t know what he was saddled with. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t snap at you. I just don’t want him to get his hopes up. It’s easy to look good on a team like ours.”
The fallen leaves crunched beneath their feet in the quiet. Most of Applebottom seemed to be in for the night, the blue glow of televisions showing through the windows, and the aroma of home-cooked meals coming from kitchens.
Roscoe sniffed the air, and for the first time in the walk, forgot about the treat bag and tried to aim for one of the doors.
“Looks like Roscoe finally found something more tantalizing than the treats,” Ginny said.
The change of topic was more than welcome. Carter looked down at the dog. “Even so, he’s still not pulling like he was. It’s good progress.”
It was true. Roscoe moved at the end of his tether, but he was still walking along at the same rate as they were.
“I guess I can hope that my days of being dragged from one side of the street to the other are over,” Ginny said.
; “He’s doing great. He sits. He comes when you call. He’s actually walking with us.”
His gut slowly unclenched now that they were talking normally again.
“Well, Coach McBride, perhaps you and I do make a pretty good team,” Ginny said.
They turned onto her street. The house was only a block away.
Carter didn’t answer, not sure what to make of her calling him Coach McBride. He studied her. She challenged him, unlike all those women he tried dating before. They were ingratiating, wanting to fawn over him rather than speak like normal people.
This was better, even if sometimes it was hard.
As they approached her walkway, he paused. Maybe it was time to go for broke.
“So did you get enough stuff done last weekend?” he asked.
Her words stumbled. “Last weekend?”
“Yes. You said it was crazy.”
She hesitated again, then slowly said, “I did.”
“Are you still interested in a museum?”
She turned her face to him, and his eyes locked on her mouth. He’d thought about kissing it before, of course he had, but now, that moment seemed so possible.
He held his breath until she finally answered him.
“Yes. Saturday?”
His chest relaxed. “That sounds great. It generally calms down around five. It takes about forty-five minutes to get there.”
“So leave here at four, then?”
Their gazes clashed. He saw more than he’d bargained for in those brown eyes. A vulnerability. Hope. Was all that for him?
“I look forward to it,” he said.
Roscoe took that moment to get right between them and sit firmly on the concrete.
“I think Roscoe knows we’re planning something without him,” Ginny said, cracking one of her beautiful smiles.
He looked down at the dog. “Don’t worry, Roscoe. We’ll still do plenty of things with you.” He glanced back up at her. “Just not this.”
Time to exit stage right before he blew it. Carter handed Ginny the tether and took off with a little wave.
Now he had something to look forward to.
Chapter 13
Ginny knew she was in for an incredible experience the moment that Carter parked next to the replica of the ship that held the Titanic Museum in Branson.