Page 69 of Call it Fate

Jax stepped around his Land Rover and pumped my hand, his greeting friendly but more businesslike. “Zach.” His expression softened a bit when he tipped his head at Emalee and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you both.” She looked at me. “Are we having lunch together?”

Grace’s eyes swung to me, full of reproach. “You didn’t tell her?” She punched me in the arm with enough force I actually had to rub it. “What were you thinking?”

I frowned. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“You don’t just spring something like this on someone, you big dope. I should just take him and go home.”

Jax looked at her. “Oh, no you don’t. We’renotkeeping him.”

She stuck her tongue out at her husband. “We’ll see. And if not him, then another one.”

His eyes narrowed at her. “Oh, really?” But his eyes were twinkling. I’d been around them enough to know they could each throw down a challenge to the other, but they never took it too seriously. And in the short time I’d been around Jax, I knew there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t give Grace if it was within his power.

Em frowned. “I’m sorry, but who are we talking about?”

Grace beamed. “Hold on.” She opened the back door to their car and issued a command. “Come.” A small butterscotch-colored, furry head emerged, followed by a wriggly body and a wagging tail. “Heel.” The dog immediately sat by her feet, looking up as if waiting for another command.

Emalee’s eyes popped as she swung to face me. “You didn’t. Zach, you know I can’t take on a puppy right now.” Her voice was tinged with panic.

“It’s not for you. It’s a fully trained seeing-eye dog for Harrison Connelly.”

Her eyes swung back to the young dog who was still sitting at Grace’s feet.

“Seriously?”

“During that interim between graduating Edonton and waiting to hear from a vet school, I met a guy who helps match service dogs to vets. I became really interested in it and spent some of that time learning what it took to train a dog. That’s when I met Grace’s mom, Anne, who is a trainer. She raises the pups from birth and spends months introducing them to whatever service is needed.”

“Does Harrison know?”

“His wife does. But given their limited mobility and finances, they couldn’t afford the time away to be a part of a program.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t make the trip all the way to Sterling Mill. Everyone’s schedule is so busy. My mom has her hands full with a new litter, so she couldn’t come. Jax and I were the only ones available to transport him, but we have to be back to Passion tonight. Jax has a new project he absolutely has to be on-site for tomorrow. And Bristol is about the halfway point between us.”

During her entire speech, I watched Emalee. I think she only half-heard what Grace said. Instead, her eyes that were just clouded with skepticism were now shiny with admiration. They shone on me. “You did this for Harrison?” I heard the catch in her throat.

I nodded. “I know Lessa needs a break, and I understand finances are a challenge for them. Sergeant Connelly can’t travel without Noreen, who can’t take time off from work. So, I thought maybe we could bring the dog and the training to them.”

“Who’s going to train him?”

“I was hoping you’d help me. The dog already knows all of the commands. Grace is going to teach me and you, and we’ll teach the Connellys back at home. It’s not ideal, but I think we can make it work since I’ve done this before several times.”

“Me?”

I nodded. “You’re going to be our pretend blind person. We’ll teach you how to give the commands, and you’ll see how the process works. That way there will be two of us to help them instead of just me, especially once I…”—I couldn’t bring myself to saywhen I leave—“well, anyway. Are you mad at me?”

“No, I think you’re incredible.” She launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and kissing me.

We spent the next two hours practicing, including taking Sam into a restaurant where we ate lunch together. Then we practiced walking the sidewalks and curbs. Em got so into it she fashioned a blindfold to keep her from instinctively opening her eyes so she would be more authentic in understanding the dog’s commands. By the time Grace and Jax had to return to their town of Passion, Virginia, Em and I had a pretty good handle on things.

Grace knelt down and gave Sam a big hug. “You do good for the sergeant now, you hear?” She glanced up at Em. “And my mom loves to get progress reports on her pups. She likes to know that everything is going well.” Grace stood and handed Em a business card. “And here’s her number if anything should come up.”

Em tucked it away and thanked the couple for bringing the dog to us. We loaded up Sam and headed home. I listened with amusement as she told Sam all about the family he was going to. Then she chattered on about how much she liked Grace and Jax and how much she hoped Grace would take her up on her offer to get away at The Dogtrot.

“You’re an incredible man, Zachary Abbott.” She played with the hair on the back of my neck, sending little shivers of anticipation through my body. “What do you say we find someone to stay with Iain tonight, and I’ll give you a thorough demonstration of just how much I think so?”

I winked at her and pushed the accelerator harder. That night, she left no room for doubt about how she thought of me. And there was no question in my mind that I was a lucky man.

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