by Mya O'Malley
Breaking off the kiss, Shane suddenly straightened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” He backed away from Annie like she was infested with the plague.
“No, Shane. I’m glad it happened, I wanted it to.” Shane sprinted for the door, not looking back as he made his way across the parking lot.
“Shane! Stop, I can drive you home!” Annie yelled from the doorway of the office. If he heard her voice, he didn’t look back.
Chapter Thirty
Now it was Annie’s turn to cry. He didn’t even look back. Feeling a sense of finality, Annie sank to the bench she had just recently shared with Shane and cried. He didn’t want her, that much was clear. Shane had kissed her, but the kiss was sad, as if he had planned on it being their last; a good-bye kiss.
Turning to take a last look at Tiny before heading home, Annie noted that he remained in stable condition. She had a strong feeling the dog would pull through. It had been a close call, but Tiny was strong and he was showing how tough he could be. Deciding she would come in tomorrow on her day off to check on Tiny, she locked the door behind her. Should she drive by Shane’s to tell him the dog was still in stable condition? Should she call him? No and no. She was through with the rejection from him, it was over. There was only so much a woman could take.
Reaching for her cell, she called Aaron to fill him in on the latest course of events. Aaron lent a sympathetic ear, telling Annie she needed to forget about Shane, move on with her life. What was up with him? Wasn’t Aaron always the one preaching about true love? Feeling frustrated, she searched for Samantha’s number in her favorites list. Sam listened politely and offered up the same advice.
“Terry and I were thinking. It might be a good idea to maybe meet somebody new, to take your mind off of Shane. There’s this guy that Terry works with…”
That was all she heard before crying out a definitive no and hanging up the phone. It was definitely over; this was it. Everyone else saw it, now it was time for Annie to admit it as well.
* * * *
Deciding to stick with her plan to head into the office to check on Tiny, Annie woke early and stopped at the deli for coffee and a bagel before heading over to the vet’s office. Annie saw that Dr. Peters had beat her there. Spotting Dr. Peters at the front desk, Annie rapped on the door to see the doctor look up in surprise.
Opening the door for Annie, Dr. Peters’ face lit up. “Somehow I knew I’d find you here. Our little patient is doing nicely, Tiny is going to pull through.”
“That’s wonderful news.” It was the only thing that had put a smile on Annie’s face in a while.
“Would you like to do the honors and call Mr. Nicholls to share the good news?’ A twinkle reached Dr. Peter’s eyes as a mischievous grin spread across his face.
“Oh no. I Can’t…”
“Well, somebody has to and I can’t either, I have to run. You can tell Mr. Nicholls he’s free to stop by anytime. We’re open tomorrow to pop in for a visit. I’d like to keep Tiny for another night or two for observation and then as long as he’s up to it, we’ll send the big guy home.” With that, he grabbed his keys and waved good-bye.
Standing speechless, Annie couldn’t believe the doctor. She had said she didn’t want to call Shane. Dr. Peters was definitely proving that he was a lot more attuned to his surroundings than he was letting on. Picking up the phone before she chickened out, Annie dialed the number she knew by heart. Just hearing his voice coming across the line was almost enough to do her in.
“Shane…I…I’m calling to let you know that Tiny is doing well, he’s going to make it, Shane.” Why was her voice shaking? She picked at her nails, waiting for his response.
Hearing a sigh of relief come across the line, Shane spoke. “Whew. Thank you. You have no idea how good it is to hear that.”
“I’m pretty sure I do. I know how much you love that dog, Shane.”
“Yeah. When can I come by? I mean, can I see him?”
“Well, technically we’re closed right now, but I’m here for a while finishing up some things if you want to drop by.” Heavy silence filled the air.
“Today doesn’t work, sorry. How about tomorrow?”
Feeling like she got hit in the chest with a sledgehammer, Annie sucked in a breath. With her hands shaking, she responded. “I see. We open at nine a.m. tomorrow and close at seven. The doctor said he’d like to keep Tiny for a day or so for observation.” She was all business now, trying her best to keep her tone even, though tears threatened to come.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“Shane?” But he had already hung up. She was going to tell him she was happy for him, but he was already gone.
* * * *
The next few weeks dragged by. Annie went to work, went home, went to sleep. She felt lonelier than ever, especially now that Aaron and Melanie were in full swing, enjoying every moment of each other’s company. She couldn’t be mad at him or Sam, who was also busy spending time with Terry. Not even wanting to consider the possibility of signing up for that dating site again, Annie knew that if eventually she met someone again, it would have to be fate, she wouldn’t go looking for it. Being at work made things easier, so when Dr. Peters asked her to close up that night, she had no problem saying yes.
Kristen was busy shuffling papers around, getting ready to head home. “Make sure that you close out the computer before you leave.” Kristen barked her usual orders at Annie as Annie rolled her eyes behind her back.
“Got it.”
“Can you believe the news about Tiny’s owner?” Being the office busybody, Kristen thrived on telling everybody the latest gossip.
That stopped Annie short, however. Trying to play it cool, Annie casually asked for more details. “No, I haven’t heard anything. What’s going on?”
“Well, he’s leaving! He’s moving away.”
Annie’s heart skipped a beat. “Wait, what did you say?”
“He’s leaving. He’s going to Costa Rica to teach for a year and Tiny is going to stay with his friend. ”
“Whoa, slow down.” She stopped Kristen mid-sentence. “You must be mistaken. He’s not going anywhere, it must be another person you’re thinking of.”
“No way, he said so himself that day when he came to pick up Tiny, I figured you would have heard about it.” Annie had purposely avoided seeing Shane that day, hiding out in the break room until he had finished picking up Tiny.
“But, that can’t be.” Annie said more to herself than to Kristen.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Did he by any chance say when he was leaving?”
“Let’s see. I wrote it down here, he gave us his friend Kevin’s information in case we have to get in touch for any reason. It says here that Kevin will be responsible as of July tenth. So it’s today, go figure.”
July tenth. Today? He was leaving so soon? Her heart felt like it had been run over and squashed on the pavement. Today?
“What’s your problem? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Kristen inquired.
“Nothing, I just don’t feel well.” Sitting down to steady herself, she grabbed a cup of water from the water dispenser. Well, that about did it. Shane Nicholls was soon to be out of her life for good.
Waiting until Kristen had left, Annie picked up her cell and called Aaron. Somehow Aaron didn’t seem surprised.
“You know, Annie, it just might be the best thing for both of you. I tried to talk to him that night at the bar but his mind was made up about you. He even denied knowing anything about the text message.”
Annie was getting tired of everybody telling her she should just get on with her life, how about a little sympathy. Wait, what did he just say?
“Aaron! What did you say about the text message?”
“I said, he even denied ever seeing your text message.”
“But how could that be? I mean, he had to have seen it.”
“Well, of course. He’s just lying, that�
��s all. Listen, Annie, this doesn’t change anything except to add that the guy is a liar.”
“No, he might be many things, Aaron, but Shane Nicholls is not a liar.” Of that Annie was sure. As sure as her name was Annie Morgan.
“Aaron, don’t you see what this means? It means that he doesn’t know how I feel!” Annie was sitting at the desk in the office, twirling her hair.
“Oh no, I can see where you’re going with this one. Annie, the guy is leaving for Costa Rica today! It’s over. Let. It. Go.”
“Really, Aaron. Really? Would you let the person you fell in love with the first time you saw her go, the person you were destined to be with? Would you let her go?”
“Annie. About the whole love at first sight thing, it doesn’t actually mean anything.”
“Don’t you dare tell me it doesn’t exist! You said so yourself!”
“I was dreaming, look how it turned out with Suzie.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not how my story is going to end. I’ll talk to you later!” Slamming the phone down, Annie thought she heard Aaron saying something about not doing anything stupid.
Looking through her cell phone to her sent messages, she pulled up the one she was looking for, the one she sent all those months ago. Here it is, Annie thought to herself. She read the message through again, a plan quickly forming in her head.
Aaron and Samantha would both strangle her if they knew what she was devising, if they knew what she was about to do. Without wasting any more precious time, Annie lifted her finger and hit send.
Chapter Thirty- One
Pulling up to Kevin’s house, Tiny was mellow in the seat beside him. Every day, Tiny was gaining a little bit more of his strength back. Dr. Peters guessed Tiny would be back to his old friendly, playful self in no time. Shane knew when these dogs grew to be older, their energy wasn’t as high, their temperament more laid back.
“Here we are, big guy.” He prepared himself to have a heart to heart with his dog, his constant companion. Knowing he wasn’t going to get through this without shedding a tear, Shane figured he would say his good-byes in private before seeing Kevin and the boys.
“You behave yourself. Kevin and the boys love you, so you’re in good hands. I’ll be back before you know it. In the blink of an eye, I promise.” Tiny cocked his head, hanging on every word his owner said.
“Oh, and another thing. Stay out of fights, no more fighting, you hear?” The dog seemed to understand that Shane was telling him something important. He leaned over and licked Shane’s face. Shane held on to his buddy, embracing the large dog in a hug. Wiping a tear from his face, Shane locked his eyes on the dog’s face. “I love you, dude.”
Tiny barked and licked Shane’s face again. The sound of screaming could be heard as Kevin and the boys came running out the front door of their spacious ranch home. The yard was a full acre in size and fenced in, so Shane had no regrets about the choice of home over the next year for Tiny. Composing himself, Shane wiped his face with his hand.
“Easy guys, remember, Tiny is just starting to feel better.” Kevin lectured the boys, who, in turn, gently patted the dog. Tiny leaned over, kissing each of the boys. Knowing he had made the right decision, Shane glanced at Kevin.
“So these are the treats I was telling you about. His food is in this bag. I left you some money for food. He likes his chicken toy…”
“Shane, you told me all of this, you also wrote it down. Tiny is in good hands, relax.”
Shane stiffened his posture as Kevin pulled him aside. “You’ll be fine.”
“You don’t think that I’m making a mistake here, do you?”
Kevin threw back his head in laughter. “Shane. It’s a year. You’ll be back before you know it. You’re going to owe me quite a few drinks at Ronnie’s when you get back, you know.”
Shane gazed around, taking one last look at Tiny and the boys. “I have to go now.”
“I know.” Kevin grabbed his oldest friend in a bear hug and then ordered him to go. Without glancing back, Shane held his head high and started for the airport. Annie’s face clouded his thoughts; he could see her laughing, almost feel her kiss. His journey was about to begin. No more looking back, he was only looking forward from this moment on.
* * * *
The airport was crowded, but Shane was able to meander through. Finding his way to his terminal, he checked his bags in and kept a small carry-on filled with books. He planned on reading the travel guide for Costa Rica on the way over. He would start to take notes on the culture, the customs, and points of interest. Finding out that his cottage would be about a block from one of the local beaches, Shane planned on making the most of his time here, spending as much time as possible on the beach and in the water. He had always loved the ocean and had many fond memories of family vacations down at the Jersey Shore.
Waiting for his flight to be called, Shane browsed through the airport shops, he stopped to get a soft drink at one of the fast food restaurants. Sipping at his drink, he browsed through the gift shops. In one of the shops, he spotted men and women’s cologne. A bottle of Annie’s favorite scent caught his eye as a memory of the two of them blinded him.
They were taking Tiny on a walk in the park. It was still chilly out, so Annie was bundled up with a scarf around her neck. Seeing Tiny was the only dog in sight, Shane unhooked his leash and let the dog run free. Grabbing Annie and pressing her up against a tree, he nibbled at her neck and removed her cumbersome scarf.
“Shane!” Annie scolded, loving every minute of it.
She smelled delicious, fresh and clean. “Mmm. You smell unbelievable.”
They kissed until Tiny interrupted them, nudging between them, wanting some love, too.
Annie giggled hysterically and Shane silenced her with another kiss.
The mood suddenly got serious between Annie and Shane. “Annie. I think I’m falling for you.”
She kissed him, showing him without words that she felt the same…
Snapping out of his daydream, he walked away from the perfume, out of the store. His heart raced as other images of Annie tried to come through. He blocked them out, taking a seat in the waiting area. Picking up his travel guide, Shane muttered under his breath. He didn’t feel well. He felt like he was going to be sick. Knowing his nerves were getting the best of him, he closed his eyes and breathed evenly until his flight was called.
Hearing his flight number being called, Shane rose from his seat and walked onto the plane. Glancing at his ticket once more, he headed to a window seat near the back of the plane. The flight was filling up. Any hopes of having some elbow room on the direct flight to Costa Rica was squashed as he saw a couple heading over toward him. They were young and before Shane could even guess that they were on their honeymoon, he noticed their “just married” t-shirts. Great, this was just what he needed, the happy little couple sitting next to him, acting all lovey-dovey.
“Hey man, do you mind if my new wife here can get the window seat for part of the time? She’s never been on a plane before,” the eager groom asked. The bride, a pretty little thing about twenty-five years old, blushed and told Shane that her new husband was just being ridiculous.
“Take it.” He moved over to the aisle seat, allowing the young bride to enjoy her flight. What was the difference? It wasn’t like he could enjoy it, so somebody else might as well.
“Thanks man.” The eager groom pumped his hand, over and over. “You get it, you understand. You must be married.”
Shaking his head in protest, Shane spoke up. “No, no way, not this guy.”
The happy couple were speechless, as if he crushed their dreams of the sanctity of marriage. Feeling bad for the innocent newlyweds, he tried to take it back.
“Not that it’s a horrible thing, I’m sure. I mean, how would I know?”
An announcement came over the loudspeaker of the plane informing the passengers that the flight would be delayed for about a half an hour, perhaps more. Somehow, one hour l
ater, Shane found that he had told the happy young couple his entire pathetic story.
“Oh, no. You need to go back and get her!” The young bride clutched her chest in horror. “Go get her, get Annie!” The husband was equally insistent that he go after Annie.
“Don’t you see, man? You let that loser girl, Jana, ruin your entire life.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that she ruined it…”
“Yes, she did. It wasn’t Annie’s fault you mistrusted her, she’s a good girl, she never did anything with Aaron.”
Realizing he had just told complete strangers personal business about Jana he had never even shared with the people closest to him, he suddenly felt like a fool.
“Hey, it doesn’t matter, I’m going to Costa Rica for a year, it’s done.”
The bride surveyed him with sad puppy dog eyes and held her husband’s hand tightly. “It’s just so sad.”
“Yeah, it’s sad alright,” Shane agreed, thinking his love life was pretty sad and pathetic. Somehow, though, airing his feelings about Jana made him feel better, like he had finally let go of some heavy duty baggage. It also made him wonder if he had made a huge mistake.
The stewardess announced the safety procedures for the flight as Shane settled back.
“Ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we are preparing to take off. Please make sure that all electronic devices are turned off as we are about to depart.”
Checking to make sure that his cell phone was off, Shane noticed a text message that had come through just minutes before. Looking down at his cell, it nearly fell out of his hand as he jumped up in his seat.
“It’s her!” Shane shouted, causing passengers close by to stare at him.
“Who? Annie?” yelled the bride.
Shane nodded nervously, afraid to read it.