Bride in Training

“I fell in love with Brent a couple days after I met him.” Molly uncoiled her arms. “Maybe not in love, but I fell in deep like.”

“Deep like.” Emily chuckled a little too heartily. “That’s a new one.” Silence.

Molly gave her a playful smirk. “I don’t think so. We’ll just wait and see.”

“You’ll have to wait a long time.”

Molly grinned and strode toward the office while Emily watched her go, feeling helpless. Yes, she’d thought about Martin and about Nessie. More about Nes… Maybe they’d both been on her mind, but she certainly hadn’t fallen in love or even like. Actually, she’d been confused. Where did Molly come up with something so ridiculous? She turned away, opened the dog food bag and continued filling the dogs’ dishes. Her day ended when Molly arrived, but she never left a job half finished.

The dogs wagged and wiggled to get to the food. They looked happy and healthier than some had looked when they’d arrived. Homeless dogs, abandoned dogs broke her heart. She and they were kindred spirits.

Emily grabbed her handbag and said goodbye to Molly as she hurried through the office and stepped outside. She didn’t want to talk with Molly about falling into anything.

Outside, she stopped and drew in a deep breath. The spring air filled her lungs and refreshed her in the same way the Holy Spirit had filled her with hope. In the sunlight, she leaned against her car and thought. Martin had hung on her mind many times during the day. Did he give Nessie the rawhide? Would he remember to purchase a doggie bed?

She opened her car door, but instead of climbing in, she leaned against the sedan, thinking about the call she’d made to him. She pulled out her cell phone and checked for messages. Nothing. Maybe she should call again and—

No. She’d called once. If he wanted to talk with her, he’d call back. If he found the clicker in the bag, he may have figured out how to use it. He didn’t need her.

Martin opened the door from the garage and heard Nessie’s nails clicking across the kitchen. Before he closed the door, the dog had reached the laundry room, her tail wagging. He bent down and petted her. Her dark eyes with long wispy brows gazed at him as if he were a hero. His chest tightened. Some men had children look at them like that. At least he had the dog.

When he closed the door, Nessie skittered off the way she’d come, and when Martin stepped into the kitchen, he found her posed by her dish. “Hungry?”

Her tail wagged as he headed for the bag of dog food. He added nuggets to her dish. And refreshed her water, then strolled into the family room and wandered to the patio door. In moments, Nessie padded to his side. He slid open the glass and let her out. She’d been pretty good since she had had the toys to gnaw. The clicker didn’t make sense to him so it lay on the kitchen counter. He guessed that’s why Emily had called.

An empty feeling settled in his chest. She would never come back. He sensed it. Success wasn’t his friend when it came to relationships with people. His mother had always seen his good side, but others? He didn’t want to go there.

He stepped onto the patio, pulled his cell from his pocket and settled into a chair at the umbrella table, the phone clutched in his hand. A cooler breeze drifted past, smelling like rain. Martin looked into the gloomy sky, noting the heavy clouds that had covered the sun. He hated dismal days. They made him feel worse.

The cell phone warmed his palm, and his chest tightened as he hit dial. It rang twice. He held his breath. As he mustered control, her hesitant voice met his ears.

“I couldn’t answer earlier, Emily. Sorry.”

“I—I didn’t want to bother you, but—”

“You’re no bother.” He drew in a quick breath. “I’m glad you called.” He fought his instinct to ask her why she’d run off. “You left something in the bag when you were here that I think belongs to you.”

“The clicker. I bought that for you. It’s a method to train Nessie. I—”

Silence ran through the line, and he opened his mouth but held back, knowing she had something else on her mind.

“I’m sorry about running off. I’d meant to show you how to use it.”

“Emily, listen. Let’s back up. You don’t need to apologize. I know something happened, and I feel badly. Would you drop by so we can talk? Or if you prefer, I’ll meet you somewhere.” More silence.

He couldn’t bear it and drew in a lengthy breath to calm himself. “The toys worked like a charm. Nessie hasn’t eaten a leather belt or the handle off of anything.”

Her faint chuckle whispered through the line. “That’s good.”

His foot tapped against the patio tiles as he waited for her to respond to his suggestion about meeting. Waited for her to say anything. He forced himself to remain silent.

“There’s a park not far from you,” she said finally. “It’s on—”

“I know where it is. I used to…Nick used to walk Suzette there.”

“I can be there in a few minutes. I’m not too far away.”

“Great.” He loosened his grip on the phone. “I’ll see you there.”

“Bring Nessie.”

He agreed and clicked off, his mind racing. She’d apologized. He still didn’t know why, but it was a beginning. He dashed inside, slipped out of his dress pants and tugged on his jeans and a polo shirt. Nessie was at the patio door when he returned to the family room, and he let her inside. As he headed for the laundry room for her leash, Martin grasped the clicker from the kitchen counter and slipped it into his pocket.

Nessie grew excited when she saw the leash. She needed to be walked, and he’d tried, but he hadn’t learned how to master the dog and the tether.

“Come on, little girl. We’re going for a walk.” He maneuvered Nessie to the front door and strode outside with the dog barreling ahead.

The park was close, but Nessie added time to the walk by tangling his legs in the leash. He had no idea what to say to the dog to keep her heading forward at a stride, not a sprint. A car passed him as he neared the grassy area. It slowed and pulled up to the curb. Emily slipped out and waited for them, a sympathetic grin on her face. His heart began to skip.

“Nessie did a great job getting you here.”

He shrugged and added a grin. “I told you I need practice.”

Emily strode toward the grass, glancing over her shoulder as they followed. “Did you think to bring the clicker?” She wore a pair of slacks beneath a long shirt, the sleeves rolled up. The clothes looked as if she’d borrowed them from a brother.

Yet no matter what she wore, he found her attractive. In the sunlight, he noticed her creamy skin. She wore only a trace of makeup. He liked the natural look. It fit her. Honest and simple.

He’d wanted to talk with her first, but apparently she wanted to work with the dog. He drew in a breath, dug into his pocket and pulled out the gadget.

She opened her palm, and he dropped it in. “We use this to enforce good behavior. When Nessie does something right, you click this and give her a treat. Eventually, you can either click or offer the treat, and she’ll understand.” Emily glanced at him as if she’d expected him to bring along the dog food nuggets.

He watched while Emily demonstrated, and then he tried using the gadget, but Martin noticed most of the time she was evading his eyes. He was captured by the innocence in her face, almost as if life was a bus she’d missed and she was waiting for another to pass by. That interested him. He winced, not wanting to admit it was more than interest. He was attracted to Emily.

When he didn’t respond, she turned his way, her eyes questioning. “Is something wrong?”

“Are you avoiding me?”

She almost did a double take. “I’m here. Does that look like I’m avoiding you?”

Her response frustrated him. She’d redirected the question. “Avoidance can mean more than absence.”

A faint scowl flickered across her face.

“Did I do something the other day when you darted off? If I did, I apologize. I thought we were—”

Her hand jutted upward, accidentally sounding the clicker, but she didn’t grin. “It wasn’t you. I had something on my mind, and I needed to leave.”

“But so suddenly?”