by Deb Kastner
God’s best?
Was that what he was? He’d never been that for anyone before.
“Yes, ma’am,” he told her when he realized she’d narrowed her gaze on him.
“I won’t have to threaten to take you down if you don’t care for her as she deserves. Not with Sharpe and Frost around.”
“No kidding,” Aaron muttered. “I wouldn’t mess with those two. But I promise you, Ruby is first and foremost on my mind.”
Sally reached out and made an X on his chest. “And in your heart.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He tried to pay for his pizza, but Sally would have none of it. “Enjoy your day,” she told him. “I wish every blessing on you and Ruby.”
He could only hope the rest of his day went half as well as his time with Sally had. His next stop was the ice-cream shop. Doug Little was behind the counter and reached out his hand as soon as Aaron walked in.
“What can I do for you today?” he asked, coming around to pet Oscar. “No Ruby with you today?”
Funny that everyone in town expected Ruby to be by his side. It was his deepest prayer that Ruby wanted the same thing.
“Ruby doesn’t know about this yet,” he explained, as he had to Sally. “I’m looking to start a side hustle in order to stay in town. I intend to bake cupcakes to sell in Whispering Pines, and I’m here trying to find out if it might be feasible to sell them here in your shop, if you’d have any interest in that?”
“Cupcakes and ice cream? Seems to me those go together.”
“Here you go, sir,” Aaron said, handing him a cupcake from the basket. “Try before you buy.”
Doug ate the cupcake in silence, but unlike with Sally, Aaron could immediately tell he liked it. He was grinning from the first bite.
“Chocolate is my favorite,” Doug said, wiping white frosting from his lips with the corner of his apron. “How much are you selling these for?”
“Sally at the pizza joint said she could easily sell them for three dollars apiece, which comes to thirty-six dollars a dozen. She suggested I ask for twenty-five dollars of that.”
“That sounds more than reasonable. I can tell these will fly off the shelf.”
Aaron went over the delivery schedule and how many dozens Doug would need, and before he knew it, he was out on the street again. He’d originally planned to hit up more shops, but between Sally and Doug—and presumably the Winslows, once they knew he was staying in town—he already had more than enough for his part-time business.
If he had to, he could increase his baking and make it a full-time business, perhaps reaching out to neighboring towns if necessary or setting up a shop in Whispering Pines. But first he wanted—no, needed—to see if Ruby would be interested in having him help out at A New Leash on Love.
That’s what she’d given him—a new lease on love.
And now he wanted to give it back again.
Chapter Twelve
“Okay, everyone, roll out.” Ruby had backed the family van up to the dog run and was taking barking, whining, overexcited dogs out of their crates as fast as she could manage. She’d spent the better part of the morning at a high-kill shelter and had returned with a selection of eight dogs of various breeds to evaluate for the service-dog program.
Probably only one or two of the eight would have what she was looking for, but she had rescued all of them either way and wouldn’t be returning any of these hyperactive pooches to the shelter. Her sisters would work with the ones not selected for the service-dog program on their Canine Good Citizen skills, and hopefully every one of these dogs would be adopted out from A New Leash on Love within a few months.
Every dog was one life saved that otherwise would not be. It made her sad that she couldn’t rescue them all, but she did what she could. And right now, her eye was on finding new potential canines for the military veteran program—and in the process, she was trying to keep her mind off Aaron.
It wasn’t working.
She kept thinking about where he might be, what he was doing and what his plans for the future were. Had he left town yet? Was he at the airport, headed for a different state, Oscar in tow?
Once she had all the new dogs in the run, she unfolded a chair and sat down with her clipboard to watch the pups interact. Mostly right now, she was allowing them to get out some of their energy before she put them through their paces in an attempt to discover what made each of them tick and how much training each of them may have had.
Were they food motivated, toy motivated or prey motivated? Would she be able to keep their attention, or would they become easily distracted?
She wanted just the right ones to start training for her military contract—that was, assuming she got the contract, which at this point was still up in the air. Now more than ever, she prayed it would go through and that A New Leash on Love would stay afloat. She’d emailed over Aaron’s results this morning but hadn’t yet heard back from Major Kelley or anyone at her department.
She glanced at her phone to double-check that there were no calls or text messages and once again wondered where Aaron was. Had he already checked out of the bed-and-breakfast?
She could call her sister Avery and ask, she supposed, but Avery and Jake would just tease her incessantly about it, and she had enough on her plate without drawing attention to her futile attraction to Aaron.
Her mind wandered to last night and the wonderful kiss they’d shared. Her whole heart had changed in the blink of an eye when their lips had met. Whatever her feelings, however, Aaron clearly didn’t feel the same way. Otherwise, he would have stuck around or at least said something in the moment instead of leaving without a word.
Wouldn’t he?
She watched the dogs for a few minutes. All of them had been living in small, cramped kennels, and most hadn’t had a bath in weeks. It was no wonder they were acting slaphappy and a little out of control. She would be doing the same if she’d been in such a situation. Her siblings would stop by later in the day to help her give all the pups a sudsy bath before putting them inside nice housing for a change.
It made her smile to know what she could do for them, especially if she was able to help other military men and women such as Aaron in the process. Her heart, which had been aching all day, warmed at the thought. If she couldn’t be with Aaron, then at least she could assist his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.
Suddenly, Ruby saw dust from a vehicle rising from down the driveway.
Could it be Aaron?
Had he returned?
Her heart hammered in her head as she waited for the vehicle to round the bend of the barn so she could see it.
It wasn’t Aaron.
It was, in fact, an olive green military Hummer with a tall, thin man at the wheel and a dour-looking woman in the passenger seat. She’d never been face-to-face with Major Bren Kelley, but she had no doubt whatsoever in her mind that this woman was she.
Ruby stood and waved. She intended to meet her at the gate and take her into the main training-facility building to show the major around. The new dogs would be safe out here in the yard until she could return to them.
But before she had the opportunity to make it to the gate, Major Kelley was unlatching it and stepping through without first asking.
This surprised Ruby. Most people who weren’t familiar with the program’s setup would at least wait until they were invited in before stepping into a run chock-full of dogs—and these ones technically weren’t even hers yet, until she signed all the papers at the kennel.
As much as she loved dogs, she knew to be cautious in such a situation.
“Ma’am! Ma’am! Please step out of the dog run until I can...”
She raced over to the major and put out her hands, palms up, to stop her, but the major’s back was to her, relatching the gate, and she didn’t see.
By the time Major Kelley turned around, eight untrained pups were running straight at her, dodging around each other and barking up a storm, trying to be the first to reach and greet her. Three of the dogs ran up to her at once: a loud, baying hound mix; a shepherd-retriever mix; and a medium-sized Heinz 57 dog of undetermined origin.
The hound was louder than the other seven dogs combined, but it was Heinz 57 who really made his presence known, launching from several feet away and landing with his paws squarely across the major’s shoulders, upending her onto the ground.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately, depending on the way she looked at it—it had rained the night before, and the major landed directly in the middle of a big mud puddle—probably a much softer landing than she would otherwise have had for her sake but definitely harder on the uniform.
Major Kelley’s driver scurried to help her rise to her feet, and Ruby ran to her other side. Together they moved the major out of the dog pen so there wouldn’t be any more incidents like the one that had just happened.
This was a full-blown disaster of epic proportions. And if the major’s expression was anything to go by, despite her success with Aaron and Oscar, it might very well mean the end of all of Ruby’s hard work on the military contract.
Her pulse roared as she attempted to brush mud and dirt from the major’s uniform, but it was no use, and Bren soon stepped away with a scoff, lifting her chin imperiously.
“This is where I sent my sergeant to be trained?” she demanded. “I was under the impression A New Leash on Love was a professional program, but I can clearly see now that it is not. These dogs are completely unmanageable, and I feel as if I have been severely misled.”
“No, ma’am—I mean, yes, ma’am. I can assure you this is a professional program. I didn’t have the opportunity to warn you before you entered the dog run unescorted. You’ve come at the wrong time.”
Major Kelley narrowed her eyes on Ruby. “What’s that supposed to mean? You expect me to call ahead so you can make your facility look just so? Are you trying to pull one over on the military, Ms. Winslow? Because I can assure you that will never work. Lieutenant, hand me my clipboard.”
The lieutenant had evidently left the clipboard in the Hummer and dashed off to go get it.
“Please. If you would just let me explain,” Ruby begged. “And allow me to show you around the facility. I’m sure after you see—”
“I’ve already seen more than enough, thank you,” the major snapped. “Speak no more of it. I have already made my decision.”
The major wasn’t even going to listen to reason?
Ruby couldn’t help but press on. This whole program depended on her changing the major’s mind.
“Didn’t you get my email with Aaron’s—Sergeant Jamison’s—results from the program?” Ruby asked, her voice higher than usual from the strain. “He spent four extremely productive weeks here and passed with flying colors. He is now the proud owner of a service dog, and I can say without a doubt that Oscar is going to be of great help to him going forward. I’m sure if you ask him, he’d agree wholeheartedly.”
If she’d known the major would be making an appearance, she would have asked Aaron to stay one more day so Major Kelley could see the end result of the training program. Ruby’s heart sank into her gut. All that work, everything she’d done with Aaron, might be for nothing. The major didn’t appear to want to listen to reason no matter what she said.
Taking a deep breath and trying not to cry, Ruby turned away and wrapped her arms around herself. She noticed someone else coming down the driveway and hoped they would turn into Winslow’s Woodlands and not toward A New Leash on Love. She knew she couldn’t handle talking to anyone else today.
Her heart leaped into her throat as she realized it was Aaron’s truck coming down the road.
What was he doing here?
She’d thought he was gone without a word, and the fact that he hadn’t left town confused her. But his return felt like God’s perfect timing. Together with Aaron, she could turn this disaster of a day around. It was critical that she show the major how the program really worked.
Aaron hopped out of the cab with Oscar right on his heel. He’d evidently spotted the major, or at least her vehicle, and wanted to speak with her, but then he noticed Ruby’s expression and stopped in his tracks, his boots raising dust.
He made an abrupt turn and approached Ruby instead.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he asked, brushing her hair off her face with the tips of his fingers.
Ruby’s lips quivered as she fought to keep her emotions under control. “I brought in eight new dogs from a high-kill shelter for evaluation today,” she explained. “I’d just arrived back at the farm with them. Obviously, I had no idea the major was going to show up today, or I would have waited for another time.”
“And?”
“I let all the new dogs loose in the dog pen. I thought I’d let them run off some of their energy before I started seriously looking them over and evaluating them for the service-dog program. Ironically, I was especially looking for dogs to work in the new military contract.”
She shook her head. “When the major arrived, she let herself into the dog pen before I could stop her. I can’t imagine why she did that when she clearly doesn’t like canines. If you ask me, she didn’t consider her actions. Anyway, three of the new dogs were a bit overenthusiastic and jumped on her. She fell backward into the mud.”
“What can I do?”
“Your timing couldn’t be more perfect,” she admitted. “I was just thinking that if I’d known about the major’s visit, I would have asked you to stay one more day. Would you mind showing off your skills?”
A moment later, he was striding toward the major, his steps firm and his shoulders squared, Oscar trotting by his heel.
“Major Kelley?” he called.
“Yes? Who are you?” she demanded.
“Sergeant Aaron Jamison, ma’am.” He stood in front of her and saluted, which she promptly returned. “I was the one assigned as the first veteran for A New Leash on Love’s military contract.”
Her gaze dropped to the poodle by his side, and her eyes widened significantly. “And who is this, Sergeant?” she asked in amazement, clearly already knowing the answer to her question but not believing her eyes.
“This,” Aaron said, leaning down to scratch Oscar behind the ears, “is my service dog, Oscar, ma’am.”
“You’re kidding.”
Aaron shook his head and stood back at attention. “No, ma’am. I’ve been training with Oscar for the past month now and am pleased to report that Oscar and I have successfully passed the program.”
The major made an indecipherable noise at the back of her throat but quickly recovered from her amusement.
Somehow, Ruby thought the fact that she had paired a big marine like Aaron with a poodle wasn’t a point in her favor any more than a pen full of unruly dogs had been. It was a step in the wrong direction, and she was going downhill fast.
But she wasn’t about to give up after working so hard. Now that Aaron was here, she intended to take this back into her own hands.
* * *
“I’d like to show you what Aaron has accomplished throughout this program,” Ruby said, straightening her shoulders. He was proud of her for stepping up. The major was intimidating.
Aaron squeezed his hands together behind his back. What he really wanted to do was shake the major for not giving Ruby a fair opportunity. From what it looked like to him, Major Kelley had made up her mind from the moment she’d arrived, perhaps before she’d even exited her vehicle. She’d evidently thought the facility ought to look different in some way. Her encounter with the newly recruited dogs had simply sealed the deal.
“Aaron? If you don’t mind?” Ruby said.
“Not at all. Come on, Oscar,” he coaxed.
“Let’s do our thing.”
Ruby gestured for the major to follow her. “Let’s start inside the building,” she said. “That way you can examine the inside of the facility while I show you what we do here. I believe you’ll find it to be both clean and organized.”
Ruby ran ahead to set up a chair for the major, but Major Kelley walked the perimeter of the inside of the building, taking in the placement and condition of all the equipment before seating herself. Surely, she must have noticed how organized the whole place was and how clean it was, the scent of antiseptic strong in the air.
“When I first arrived, Ruby taught me how to do basic commands with Oscar,” he said and then demonstrated.
“We use the clicker to let the dog know the exact moment he has performed the correct command,” Ruby added. “If the service dog is motivated by food in the way Oscar is, we follow the clicker with a treat. Different dogs are motivated by different things, such as having a strong prey drive or enjoying their toys.”
After Aaron had gone through all the basic commands, he had Oscar sit on one side of the building while he walked all the way over to the other side. He’d become so used to having Oscar beside him to help him balance that he immediately noticed the difference. He concentrated on his walk so he wouldn’t stumble.
He was pleased at the expression on Major Kelley’s face when Oscar waited for his command and then immediately came to a heel when Aaron called for him. Aaron caught Ruby’s gaze and winked in encouragement.
It was going well, but they both knew they weren’t finished yet.
Not by a long shot.
Ruby brought him a chair, and he seated himself across from the major, then showed her how Oscar could help him stand when he was having a bad day. Ruby explained how Oscar helped him balance on uneven ground and how he assisted him with forward motion when necessary.
Just to impress the major, Aaron sent Oscar to flip the lights on and off with his muzzle.
Major Kelley’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word.
“It’s fairly warm outside today,” Ruby told Major Kelley.