Erica’s laugh echoed, like she was in a car, too. “Boy, are you in for an experience.”
“You have pets, don’t you?” Bailey asked as she sped toward the store.
“Lots of them. I foster pets for the shelter and a few rescue clubs.” She then added, “And I have my own Golden that Tanner gave me a few years ago. He’s one of Apollo’s offspring.”
Bailey laughed. “That dog gets around.”
“Yep, but he’s so smart, Tanner wants to get as many puppies from him before he gets too old.” Changing the subject she asked, “How close are you? I’m only a few blocks away.”
“Me, too.” Bailey was so relieved Erica could meet her. She was lost when it came to animals…and Tanner. “Meet you inside.”
Five minutes later, Bailey hugged Erica then together they entered the big box pet store. Bailey froze. The smell and sight of dogs and cats overwhelmed her for a moment. “All this for pets?” There were rows upon rows of choices just for dogs.
Obviously at home in this environment, Erica grabbed a cart. As they passed the checkout, she snatched a booklet from a rack at the end. “You need this coupon book. It’ll save you a lot of money. They want to get you hooked on their brands so you’re a customer for the life of your pet, which for a Golden is about ten to twelve years.”
Ten years? It hit Bailey right then, she was in a committed relationship with Noel for ten years. Maybe more. Then she remembered that cute little puppy an hour ago who had licked the tears from her face. She loved Noel, and had fallen in love with her the moment she’d held the puppy in her hands seconds after her birth. Insta-love. Yes. It was possible.
“I start at the back and work my way forward.” Erica bulldozed down the central aisle and stopped at the end in front of huge windows announcing pet grooming. “Dog food. Did Tanner mention any specific kind?”
“They get haircuts?” Bailey pointed to where several women worked on dogs.
“Oh, yes, and nails trimmed on a regular basis,” Erica explained. “You might luck out and Tanner will tell you when the groomer is coming by the kennel and she’ll do Noel, too. I try to get Ares over there whenever she’s around.”
“I guess I messed up Tanner’s naming system by giving Noel her name.” Bailey stared at the aisles of dog food.
“That’s a perfect name for her,” Erica insisted. “It’s about time Tanner grew out of his Greek god obsession. He’s loved those legends since we were kids and has been naming animals after them most of his life.”
“So he’s into Greek mythology?” Now Bailey was getting somewhere. She’d work in his personality flip somehow.
“Yeah. So was our dad. He used to read us the tales when we were kids.” Erica looked at her. “He was an English professor and loved all literature from Greek to Grimm. I think that’s why Tanner likes to read so much.”
Bailey hadn’t thought about it before, but his bedroom had books and magazines stacked on the nightstand and floor. His living room had reading material on almost every flat surface. “Did Tanner follow in your father’s footsteps and study English in college?”
Erica was silent for the longest time, guilt written in the tight line of her lips.
Bailey figured she wasn’t going to answer, so she went back to the shopping conversation. “Tanner told me not to worry about dog food. He’s giving me some.”
“That’s just like my brother, selfless.” Her voice cracked on the words.
Bailey’s gaze shot to Erica’s face. She looked ready to cry.
“Are you all right?” Bailey put her arm around her friend and pulled her into a corner where they leaned against hundred-pound bags of dog food.
“Yeah, I’m fine, because of Tanner.” Erica dragged in a breath. “When our parents were killed, hit and run driver, Dad was gone instantly, but Mom was unconscious for months, racking up unimaginable hospital and doctor expenses.” She swallowed hard. “Pawpa and Nonni nearly lost the farm trying to do the right thing and pay all that they could to sustain their only daughter’s life and raise me and Tanner. In the end, God decided to end all our misery, and took Mom in her sleep.” Erica closed her eyes but tears leaked out. “Some blessings came with so much pain it never stops hurting.”
Bailey wrapped her arms around Erica and let the taller woman cry it out. Her heart bled for the preteenagers who’d lost their mother and father. Without knowing why, Bailey cried, too. It had just been one of those days.
Erica lifted her head and forced in a breath that was immediately huffed out. The second one helped her regain her composure. “Mom’s and Dad’s life insurance…there wasn’t enough for both of us to go to college.” She sniffed, but continued, “Pawpa and Nonni certainly couldn’t afford to send us. So that wonderful, quiet, non-assuming brother of mine enlisted in the Army so I could have the money to go to college.”
She wiped away the last of the tears and looked at Bailey. “Yes. I am a success, because of him. I have an awesome job, a great apartment, wonderful friends I made in college and the best brother on the earth who is finally doing what he should have done ten years ago.”
“Training dogs?” Bailey asked.
“No, silly,” Erica said with a smile, “going to college.”
Tanner was in school? Why hadn’t he said something? “Night school?”
“Yeah, he’s taking some classes at night, some in the day, some online.” Erica took a deep breath and stood. “He’s trying to knock them out as fast as he can.”
The door to Bailey’s heart opened wider as her respect for Tanner grew once again. Did all her education intimidate him? Well, it didn’t matter to her. She liked Tanner. More and more.
“Let’s see that list,” Erica ordered, “or we’ll be here all night.”
Bailey absently handed the list to her. Then there were the butterflies that flitted around at the mere thought of him, like the ones doing jumping jacks in her stomach. She wanted to see where things would go. She’d just have to turn up the heat and see what was cooking between them.
Bailey marched into the kennel the next evening to a dozen women and two men with dogs of every size and breed on a circle around Tanner and Apollo. She watched him in his element. He was a good teacher to both humans and dogs. A woman in her early thirties beckoned him and as soon as he was within arm’s reach, she pulled him so close her surgically enlarged breasts rubbed his chest. He took several steps back and whistled for Apollo who trotted over and re-demonstrated the command.
Satisfaction flowed through Bailey’s veins. The very pretty—overdressed in her tight miniskirt and scoop necked sparkly blouse—woman hadn’t turned him on. But she had. She’d felt his erection less than twenty-four hours ago.
Class was soon completed and Tanner spoke with every owner and petted every dog. When Mrs. Overendowed, and there most certainly was a diamond encrusted band underneath the two-carat solitaire, hung around to be the last one out, Bailey couldn’t help herself. She met them half way to the office, slid her hand up his chest and around his neck. “I’m glad you’re finished, darling.” She kissed him, briefly, but the electricity that passed through her invigorated her even more. “Can we go get our little girl, now? I’m sure Noel wants to come home.”
The devilish look in Tanner’s eye told her he was onboard. “Hello, sweetheart.” He kissed her quickly and grinned. “Mrs. Davenport, I’ll see you and Coco next week. Be sure to practice every day this week. It really makes a difference.”
With a practiced smile, she placed a hand on his bicep. “Of course, Tanner.” In a very seductive voice, she added, “I’ll see you next week.”
As soon as she was out of earshot, Bailey asked, “Cocoa? It’s a white toy poodle.”
“I don’t know,” Tanner shrugged. “I’m just thankful the arena is large and her perfume dissipates about half-way through the class.”
Perfume? Bailey laughed. “It’s C-o-c-o, like the French perfume.”
“Whatever.” Tanner stepped into t
he area where Noel and her brothers now lived. He took her face in his hands. “I owe you an apology. I was rude—”
Bailey pulled his face to hers and kissed him like she wanted to the moment she saw him. She opened for him and he dove in, possessing her the way she liked. He teased of mint and man, her two favorite flavors. As they explored each other’s mouths, his hand moved down her back to her butt and he pressed her whole body into his. She liked this. Needed this. She needed to know she was a woman wanted by a man. Not just any man. Tanner.
They broke apart, breathing hard.
“You were brilliant back there with Mrs. Davenport.” He must have really appreciated it by the way he took her mouth and she hoped she showed him how much fun she’d had pretending.
Separating once again, she said, “It was my pleasure.”
“Tanner.”
“Bailey.”
They spoke at the same time. Bailey charged on, “I don’t know what happened just before I left last night, but I don’t want it to happen again. You went somewhere in your head, then you all but shoved me away. I want to see where this attraction we have for one another is going. If that’s not what you want, tell me right now. If I said something wrong, I apologize. If it’s my leg, well, I can’t do anything about that. If it’s—”
Tanner crashed his mouth over hers and held her so close she could hardly breathe.
When he lifted his head, he stared down at her, pain streaked through his nearly black eyes. “It’s me Bailey, all me. And, yes, I want to see where this takes us, too. Last night…my head…I…I’m taking college courses.” He shook his head and looked away. “You have your PhD, and I’m so far from that point—”
“Look at me, Tanner.” She forced his gaze to meet hers. “When I lost my leg, I learned so many things about myself. I am not my prosthesis, it is part of me. I am not my degree, it is part of me. I am not airborne, or a diver, or a sniper, or any of those other skills they taught me in SpecOps, or an Army Lieutenant, all those things are part of me and make me who and what I am. But at the base of it all, I am a woman who wants to see where you and I can go, together.”
“I want that, too.” Tanner’s kiss was filled with promise. When he released her, hope had poured through every crack of doubt. “Now, let’s get our little girl to her new home.”
Tanner picker up Noel and closed the gate, securing her brothers behind. “SpecOps?”
“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you, and I’m just starting to really like you.” She smiled over her shoulder. If he only knew how true that was.
Chapter Twelve
Tanner checked the GPS. He was outside Durham, North Carolina. At least he was in the right state. About another two hours and he’d see Bailey. She’d been in Charlotte for several days, acclimating and practicing the course for the cycling finals. If she won, she’d be headed to Rio in September.
He reached back and petted Noel, who at forty-five pounds, took up most of the back seat in his truck. At six months old, she was finally average weight, but ten pounds behind her brothers. She was sleeping peacefully, the contents of her stomach still there. Thank goodness for the meds Case had given him. Noel was a terrible traveler.
Starting three weeks after Bailey had first taken Noel home, the puppy was back in the cage with her brothers, arriving covered in drool and car sick. Not unusual, but the home remedy of ginger snaps hadn’t work. Noel visited for the week her momma raced, and won, in Italy. The puppy was back for a week in April and again in May while Bailey attended training camp in California. Tanner got to spend more time with their little girl, as Bailey continued to call her, than he did with the woman. But he was fine sharing anything she wanted. Stolen kisses, texts, and pictures seemed to be their primary means of communication. Their schedules were like twisted magnets that couldn’t seem to find the right connection.
As soon as Noel had all her shots, and at Tanner’s insistence, Bailey had brought the puppy to obedience class, the four out of six weeks she was in town. For those classes, they were in close proximity and afterward, they were in each other’s arms for at least an hour.
Tanner was never so glad to have a week off from school, and over the July fourth long weekend. He and Bailey would finally have a real date. He’d made reservations at the best Italian restaurant in Charlotte and even brought a sports jacket.
Three hours later, he pulled into the lot designated for contestants, thankful for the special pass Bailey had given him. He’d memorized the map and as soon as he’d clipped Noel to her leash, he headed toward their designated staging area.
“I want to improve upon the functionality of prosthesis.” The tall man seemed to be lecturing, or something, to the dozen women who surrounded him. He raked his perfect hair off to one side and smiled. “Someday I want the bionic man to be real. We should be able to replace limbs with ones that are fully functional.” Heads nodded in agreement.
Tanner scanned the area. No Bailey. Maybe they moved their team to a different location.
Harumf.
He knew that bark. It was Katlin’s dog Damnit. He was taking the dog back to Virginia with him since her team was deploying right after Bailey’s race.
He was in the right place.
Noel started to whine, but didn’t dare pull on her leash. She knew better. They’d worked hours on that skill in the past two weeks.
Harumf.
All heads turned to watch him approach. Suddenly, seven women broke from the pack and ran toward him.
Noel sat down in front of him and went on guard.
“Easy, girl,” Tanner commanded and stroked her head. “Friend.”
Noel was having no part of the last command and growled low and deep. Tanner knelt beside her and petted her head to tail. “Friend.”
He knew the moment she scented Bailey who was hidden behind Katlin and crew.
“Tanner.” His name was called over and over in a chorus of familiar feminine voices. He stood and was mob hugged.
“We’re so glad you made it.” Katlin kissed his cheek. “I can’t thank you enough for meeting us here and taking my big guy home with you.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this.” Tanner’s eyes never left Bailey’s.
“Out of my way, ladies. This man is mine.” Then she stood before him.
He let out a breath of relief. She was really there. He swooped her up in his arms and kissed her, enjoying the rush that flowed from one to another, two halves becoming whole again.
When they broke apart, Nita held out her hand to Tori. “C-note my friend. Told you.”
Tori dug in the pockets of her cargo shorts and produced a small leather wallet. Tanner watched as one hundred dollars changed hands. “If we weren’t headed back to the sandbox, you’d be buying drinks tonight.”
Tanner looked at the five women on Katlin’s team. Athletic bodies, far beyond normal military. Each carrying weapons, well hidden, but he recognized hardware when he saw it. His life had depended on that skill too many times. He could add and knew he was looking at something special. Special operations. He remembered what Bailey had said several months ago. Had she been part of this elite team? Their bond was undeniable. If so, she would have to kill him if she ever admitted it. He looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms. She’d never betray her friends. Neither would he.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Bailey then dropped to her knees. “And I am so glad he brought you.” She buried her face in the long hair at Noel’s neck as she ran her hand all over her puppy. “Did you come to cheer Mommy on?”
Bailey bounced to her feet. “I want to introduce you to my team. They’re all eager to meet you.”
People were not Tanner’s thing. He could go the rest of his life without meeting new people, except for the ones he trained the dogs to help. Those people he insisted on meeting, to be sure they would be good to the dogs he’d worked with for over a year.
But he’d do anything for Bailey.
“Michael Man
delson,” the king who held court earlier said as he thrust his hand out to Tanner. “It’s nice to finally meet the man who stole Bailey from me.”
When he glanced down at Bailey, her jaw tightened. “I was never yours, Michael, and made that very clear at that first camp.”
She looked up at him, her eyes begging to be believed. “He made moves on me—”
Tanner covered her worried lips with his finger. “It doesn’t matter. That was in the past.” He hugged her and whispered in her ear. “If you think I’m a virgin, you’d be very wrong. But those women are in my past. None of that has anything to do with you and me.” He glanced up at the man glaring at them. “Besides, he’s too pompous for you.”
She placed he palms on his cheeks. “Do you have any idea how much I—”
Squeebonk. The most annoying noise blared over the loudspeaker positioned ten feet away. Tanner wasn’t sure he’d hear certain ranges for days.
“All riders to their starting positions.” The announcement seemed to repeat over and over.
Lips were pressed to his before he’d recovered from the audible assault.
“Wish me luck,” Bailey said and pecked his lips one more time.
“Good luck.” He got in one quick kiss before she disappeared into a mass of people and bikes.
Three hours later, his heart, and his world, slowed to a manageable pace. Bailey had won a position on the U.S. Paralympic team to the screams of Katlin, Grace, Lei Lu, Tori, Nita, and the new girl, Harper as she crossed the line. Her cycling team had surrounded her, then her military friends had taken over. In the midst of happy tears, were words of stay safe, be careful, see you on the flip side.
With Noel practically glued to Bailey’s knee and Damnit at Tanner’s side, the four made their way to his truck. “Do we need to get your bike?” he asked as he watched some people loading trucks.
“No. The team sponsors handle all that for us.” She took his free hand in hers. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
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