Lori’s heart melted at the sight of Chase with the children. The man standing in front of her now reminded her of the Chase she’d first met, the young man who had been so great with the children he’d led on horseback rides as part of his summer job at a local ranch. He used to tell her he worked hard to make each trip an adventure for the kids, one they would always remember. She’d thought at the time that he’d make a great father. It was good to see that aspect of his personality reassert itself.
“Nicholas? Everything okay?”
The casual concern she identified in Chase’s voice had her looking sharply at the boy wearing the dark-rimmed glasses.
“Y-y-yes.”
He doesn’t look like everything is okay, Lori thought.
Chase shot a “help me” look toward Lori. “Maybe Captain isn’t ready for swimming lessons.”
“No!” the other little boy protested. “He’s ready. I can tell.”
“He’s right, Mr. Chase.” The girl wrapped her arms around the squirming puppy and begged. “Please let him stay. Please, please. Pretty please?”
Chase met Nicholas’s gaze and arched a questioning brow.
“It’s okay,” the boy replied after a moment of thought. Bravely squaring his shoulders, he added, “He’s just a dog. I’m not afraid of dogs.”
He’s had a bad experience with a dog, Lori thought. Poor little guy. He was the kind that stirred every woman’s maternal instincts.
“You sure?” Chase asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. Everybody go sit in your spots,” Chase told the children. The redheaded boy darted toward the bench at the side of the pool near the shallow end. Nicholas and the girl followed more slowly—and more warily. The girl’s gaze shifted back and forth between the dog and the water. Nicholas’s stare never left Captain.
“You have a bit of a mountain to climb, I think,” she murmured as she handed Captain’s leash over to Chase.
“Yep.” He shook his head and grumbled, “Me and my great ideas. I trust you’ll hang around for the fun, Dr. Murphy. Bail me out if necessary?”
“I didn’t exactly come dressed for the swimming pool,” she replied, gesturing toward her V-neck T-shirt and jeans.
“More’s the pity,” Chase murmured, earning a sharp look from Lori. He pasted an innocent look on his face before he added, “Let me officially introduce you to the three amigos here.”
“I thought we were Tadpoles!” the redhead exclaimed.
“Amigos means friends,” Nicholas said. “It’s Spanish.”
Chase frowned at his charges. “Zip your lips. Dr. Murphy, this is Ava, Trevor, and Nicholas. Kids, Dr. Murphy is a veterinarian.”
“A dog doctor,” Ava said, her brown eyes growing wide.
“Cats, too.” Lori smiled gently at the little girl. Ava had eyelashes to die for. She’ll be a heartbreaker someday.
All these kids tugged at Lori’s heartstrings. As an Eternity Springs native, she knew the history behind the Rocking L summer camp and she wondered what losses had earned these three places at the camp mess table. She’d have to ask Chase later.
Now, she gave Ava a wink and added, “And sometimes big animals—cows, pigs, and horses—though they are not part of my usual practice.”
“Horses!” Ava clasped her hands in front of her. “I love horses, too!”
“I thought you might.” In Lori’s experience, most little girls did love horses.
“We get to go horseback riding every morning. My horse is spotted and her name is Rainbow.”
“That’s a stupid name for a horse,” Trevor piped up. “My horse is Chief.”
Nicholas remained silent, his cautious gaze still locked on Captain.
“How about you, Nicholas?” Lori asked gently. “What is your horse’s name?”
“Lightning.”
“Lightning is one of the Rocking L’s biggest horses,” Chase observed, watching Nicholas closely.
“He’s very gentle.”
But he looked at Captain as if he were a hound from hell. Wonder what the story was there?
“I am so in over my head here,” Chase muttered before motion at the edge of the pool caught both his and Lori’s notice. Trevor was up off the bench and chasing a butterfly. “Trevor, sit your butt in your spot and don’t budge an inch. If you move before I give you permission I’ll snatch you bald-headed. Dr. Murphy, would you tell the Tadpoles here about golden retrievers?”
“Snatch me bald-headed?” Trevor repeated. Then he giggled.
“I’m happy to tell you all about goldens,” Lori hastened to say. “Only, where should I start?” She looked at Nicholas when she added, “I could talk about them all day. My family had two goldens when I was growing up—Daisy and Duke. I know the breed well.”
“Do they like the water?” Chase asked.
“Oh, yes. As a rule, goldens love the water.”
“But can a golden be scared of the water?”
“Of course. Dogs are individuals just like people.”
“I’m not scared, Mr. Chase,” Ava said solemnly. “I’m terrified.” She blinked those heavenly eyelashes and explained to Lori. “My sister fell into the swimming pool at my granddad’s house and drowned. I found her. She was my twin.”
“Oh, Ava. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too. I don’t like to be terrified. I want to be brave. It’s just so hard.”
“Being brave is terrifically hard,” Chase said, his tone as solemn as Ava’s and filled with moral authority.
Nicholas finally jerked his gaze off Captain long enough to ask, “Does something terrify you, Mr. Chase?”
Chase met the boy’s gaze. “Yes.”
“What?”
Chase knelt down and scratched Captain on the ruff of his neck. Lori unconsciously held her breath until he admitted, “I have terrifying nightmares. They make me afraid to go to sleep sometimes.”
“A person has to sleep,” Ava pointed out. “They don’t have to swim.”
“You take baths, don’t you?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “Only showers.”
Trevor turned toward her, his mouth agape. “What about bubble baths?”
“I don’t take bubble baths.”
“That’s lame.” Trevor inched his butt toward the water. “Bubble baths are the best. Last week when the babysitter was over I talked her into letting me take my bath in my mom’s tub and I dumped a ton of bubble stuff in the water and turned on the jets. The bubbles built and built and built and overflowed the tub and ran out onto the floor. It was like a volcano with white lava running down the mountain. It was so cool.”
Chase dragged his hand down his chin. “I think I need to add something else to my frightened-of list. You scare me, Trevor.”
The boy flashed a big grin and Lori laughed out loud.
“Okay, we’ve played around long enough. Time to get busy. Who wants to go first today?”
“I do! I do!” Trevor shouted.
“Of course you do. You went first yesterday and the day before. Nicholas or Ava?”
“Why don’t you start with Captain?” Nicholas suggested. “You don’t want him getting tired and being bad.”
“All Captain does is be bad,” Chase said with a sigh.
Dr. Lori couldn’t let that one stand without comment. These children might be dog owners someday. “If that’s so, it’s your own fault, Mr. Chase. Captain is old enough to learn to follow simple commands. He’s certainly old enough to understand the word ‘no.’ You must teach him and be consistent with your efforts. It’s not fair to Captain if you’re not.”
“You’re right,” Chase admitted. To the children, he added, “She usually is right. I promise to do better from here on out. So, let’s introduce Captain to the water, shall we?”
“How do we do that?” Trevor asked.
“This pool has a beach entry. We’re going to take him there, remove the leash, and let him explore.” Chase shortened the dog’s retractable leash and held it out toward the little girl. “Ava, will you please take Captain to the pool?”
She didn’t move, but scowled up at Chase. “You’re making me go first.”
Lori said, “Have you met Miss Celeste yet, Ava?”
The girl nodded. “She’s wonderful. She leads story time—and she doesn’t use a book! Her stories are the best.”
“She’s very wise. She once told me that for a person to be very brave, it helps to be scared down to your toes.”
Lori felt the intensity of Nicholas’s stare and knew she’d caught both his and Ava’s interest. If Chase had been a little more forthcoming about today’s events when he’d phoned last night, she’d have been better prepared to help today! As it was, she was flying blind.
“I don’t get it,” Ava said.
“Because it takes exceptional bravery to overcome extraordinary fears.”
“Be exceptional, Ava,” Chase encouraged. “You can do it. You and Captain can do it together.”
The little girl stood, but the swim shoes she wore appeared to have glue on the soles. “I can’t.”
Chase knelt down and offered the leash handle once more. “Just to the edge of the pool, sweetheart. You can do it. I’ll go with you. Would that help? I’ll stay right by your side.”
“You won’t leave?”
“Nope, I’ll be right there.”
That encouraging purr in his voice gave Lori the shivers. She had a flashback of memory to the first time she’d let Chase use his tongue on her.
“You’ll like it, sweetheart,” he’d promised. “Just say the word and I’ll stop, but you won’t want me to stop. You’ll love it.”
“I’m still scared!” Ava cried, yearning in her voice. “I don’t want to be, but I can’t help it. My sister wasn’t scared and look what happened to her.”
“Chase won’t let anything happen to you,” Lori said. “I promise. He will take excellent care of you.”
Focused on the little girl, Lori was caught by surprise when little Nicholas squared his shoulders, stood, and marched toward Chase. He took hold of the leash’s grip. “I’ll help.”
Trembling like a stand of aspen in a gale wind, his complexion drained of color, Nicholas returned to the bench where Ava continued to stand frozen in place. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the pool’s entrance. “C’mon, Ava. Let’s get this done.”
Chase moved forward, his intent to interfere if necessary obvious. But Nicholas’s move appeared to be exactly what she’d needed because Ava allowed Nicholas to pull her along.
They stopped at the water’s edge. Then Nicholas sucked in a bracing breath, squatted down, and unhooked the leash from Captain’s collar.
What happened next was something Lori thought she’d remember the rest of her life.
As always, Captain’s tail whipped back and forth nonstop. He dipped his nose into the water and then a paw. He backed up. Yipped at the water. Approached again. Sniffed again. This time the tips of his ears got wet. He dipped a paw and again backed away.
Ava’s tremulous voice encouraged, “You can do it, Captain.”
The pup looked up at the little girl, tail wagging.
Ava took a single step into the water and Lori caught her breath. A second step, then a third. Chase shot a triumphant look toward Lori and she fired back a grin.
“C’mere, Captain. You can do it.”
The pup followed Ava, and moments later, he was swimming—and Ava stood thigh-deep in water. Lori didn’t try to hold back her cheer.
Not one to hold back, Trevor followed his fellow campers into the pool. Chase began moving the moment the boy did so he was already in the pool when Trevor, being Trevor, decided he was a natural swimmer like Captain and dove forward.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Chase said as he swept an arm around Trevor and deposited him on the side of the pool. “What did I say about keeping your butt planted?”
“Nicholas and Ava didn’t stay planted.”
“Don’t worry about other butts. Worry about your own.” Chase’s gaze shifted from Trevor to Ava to Nicholas. “Nicholas, would you sit beside Trevor, please?”
“Yessir,” Nicholas replied. A little color had returned to his cheeks and he didn’t seem to be watching Captain so intently.
While the boys settled, Lori crossed to the bench and took a seat. A smile hovered on her lips as she watched Chase work with Ava. He really was good with children, maintaining the perfect balance between encouragement and teasing and teaching and discipline. Using Captain as an assistant, Chase managed to coax little Ava into the water waist-deep. When he dared the little girl to put her face in the water to finish out her turn, Lori honestly expected her to do it.
It might have happened, too, had Captain not exited the pool to investigate the beetle crawling across the ground and, in doing so, scrambled across Trevor’s lap and onto Nicholas’s.
The eight-year-old let out a shrill, terrified scream.
* * *
Chase watched the sun sink behind the mountains in the west and exhaled a sigh of profound gratitude. Thank God this day was over. Dealing with his own demons was challenge enough. Seeing them in eight-year-olds was a kick in the junk.
He sat on the swing on Lori’s front porch, sipping from one of the cups of iced tea he’d purchased at the Taste of Texas Creamery along with a half gallon of Rocky Mountain Road ice cream and a package of cones on his way to Lori’s. He’d arrived early. She’d warned him she wouldn’t be home before eight-thirty, but he didn’t mind waiting. Something about this porch, this swing, helped him unwind in a way that he’d never expected.
Lori’s front porch was peaceful with the hummingbird feeders hanging from the rafters, the pots of red geraniums decorating the steps, and the scent of fresh-cut grass perfuming the air. Something about this place fed his spirit even more than being up on the mountain. He could sit here and relax and drink tea and not feel quite as … what … empty? Alone? Damned?
He dragged the toe of his hiking boot against the porch floor and sent the swing swaying. The chain squeaked. The scent of grilling steak drifted on the air from one of the neighbors’ backyards. Stretched out beside him sleeping, Captain let out a little snuffle, and the tension that had hummed through Chase since the moment Nicholas let out his shriek slowly drained away.
The sight of Lori’s SUV coming up the street had his pulse speeding up. He knew the moment she spied him on her porch because she abruptly applied the brake. He gave a little wave, and when Captain lifted his head, Chase scratched him behind the ears.
A moment later, she’d parked in her drive and exited the SUV. “Chase. What are you doing here?”
“You asked me to tell you how Nicholas was doing.”
“I asked you to call.”
“This is better. I brought ice cream from Taste of Texas.”
That stopped her scowl mid-formation. “What kind?”
“Rocky Mountain Road. It’s in your freezer. Brought some cones, too. They’re on the counter.” He reached into the sack at his feet and pulled out the cup of iced tea he’d brought for her. He hadn’t forgotten that Lori always wanted something to drink along with her cone.
“You went into my house?” she asked, accepting the cup.
“You wouldn’t leave it open and unlocked if you didn’t want people going in and leaving you ice cream.”
“True.”
“I had to thank you for coming up to camp today. If you hadn’t been there to watch the other two kids when Nicholas ran off, I’d have been in a bind.”
“I was glad I could help. I want to hear everything. I hated having to leave before things settled down. First, though, how many scoops?”
“Two, please.”
She nodded and the screen door banged behind her as she disappeared inside the house. A slow smile spread across Chase’s face. He found it infinitely reassuring that some things … some people … didn’t change. Lori Murphy might not be his lover anymore, but she would always be his friend.
When she joined him on the porch swing a few minutes later, she carried two ice-cream cones. She handed the large one to him and took a seat beside him. “Tell me what happened with Nicholas.”
“Why don’t we eat our ice cream first? The story will spoil your appetite.”
“That bad?”
“I haven’t had Taste of Texas ice cream in years,” he said, avoiding the question.
Lori took the hint. For the next ten minutes or so, they ate their ice cream, rocked on the porch swing, shared the deepening twilight … and little, if any, conversation.
Chase was as content as he could recall being in a very long time.
When she popped the last bite of sugar cone into her mouth, she licked her fingers and all but purred. “What that man does with sugar and cream is sinful. You should see Michael when Mom and Dad take him to the creamery. Remember Cookie Monster on Sesame Street?”
“Om nom nom nom.”
Lori laughed. “That’s my little brother. Only it’s not chocolate or strawberry or cookies-n-cream that sends him into orbit. The boy goes bonkers over orange sherbet.”
“How’s all that going these days? The family dynamics.”
Lori shrugged. “Okay. For the most part, okay.”
“What’s the ‘for the most part’ part?”
“We’re adjusting. This is the first time I’ve actually lived in Eternity Springs since Mom and Dad got married. Sometimes I’m not really sure where I fit in with their new family. Especially with Dad. He knows how to be a father to Devin and Michael. Sometimes, he’s at a loss with me.”
“I imagine that’s the way most fathers are with their daughters. My dad is certainly that way with Caitlin. You’re the beloved eldest child, the only daughter. You have a special place in Cam’s heart.”
“I know. I love him, too. It’s just sometimes I’m sad for both of us that we didn’t get to share my childhood. As much as I loved my granddad, I really would have liked to have had Cam with me at the school Daddy/Daughter dance. But enough of this. I sound like a whiny girl. I have him in my life now and I’m grateful—especially when I hear some of the stories of our campers. So tell me, what’s the deal with Nicholas?”
As Chase finished off his ice-cream cone, he recalled the moment that afternoon when he chased after the boy and found him with his arms thrown around the trunk of a tall pine tree, sobbing. He’d had to pry the boy away from the tree, and when the little arms came around him and the story began pouring from Nicholas’s mouth, Chase had been horrified.
Slowly, he shook his head. “The poor kid. His file didn’t say anything about his having a fear of dogs. I never would have asked you to bring Captain if I’d known.”
“Of course not,” she murmured. “But what I saw today isn’t a normal fear of dogs.”
“Wolves.”
Lori’s eyes went wide. “Wolves?”
“I knew the bare facts from his file. Nicholas added to them when I chased him down in the forest this afternoon. His parents had an ugly divorce, and it was his father’s turn to have Nicholas for Christmas.”
The memory of sitting outside his parents’ house and staring at the Christmas tree flashed through Chase’s mind. He’d thought about the twinkle lights and ornaments and angel topper when he was alone in the mountains of Chizickstan. He’d found comfort in thoughts of faith and family and home.
What, he wondered, did poor Nicholas think when he saw a Christmas tree?
“The poor kid’s mother basically kidnapped him,” he said flatly. “She was in Idaho, driving through the mountains, and there was a storm. She wrecked the car and died at the scene.”
“Was Nicholas hurt?”
“Not physically, no. But he was stranded with the body. The best guess is three days.”
“Oh, no. Oh, Chase.”
“When I chased him down today, he talked to me about wolves. Red eyes and gray fur. I guess they circled the car. Kept him trapped inside with his mother’s body.”
“That poor, poor little boy.”
“Yeah. He was pretty shook up today. Captain took him by surprise. From what he told me, when the pup’s sharp claws scratched him, it triggered a flashback. He tried to get out of the car once. Got one leg out and a wolf went after it. He has scars on his ankle, Lori. Dogs bring it all back. Dogs and Christmas.”
“Christmas?”
“Carols. I guess his mother played a Christmas station after she snatched him. She sang along. After the wreck, the radio kept playing until the battery went dead.”
“Oh, no. How long would that take?”
“The file estimates eighteen hours.”
Lori closed her eyes and shook her head. “These kids who come to the Rocking L … I don’t know how Cat and Jack manage to wade through all the applications. Their stories are truly heartbreaking.”
“I don’t know how Nicholas will ever get over it.”
Lori studied him for a long moment, and when she spoke, Chase knew she was talking about more than Nicholas. “He’s lucky that he’s found his way to Eternity Springs. This place … the people who live here … we can help him heal if only he’ll let us. Look at the events of today. You helped him today.”
“I scared him to death.”
“You helped him face his fears.”
“He screamed bloody murder.”
“Sounds to me like his experience earned that sort of response. He verbalized it. Since it wasn’t in his file, maybe he verbalized it for the first time. That’s a giant step toward healing.”
They both knew that Lori was talking about more than only Nicholas now. Defensively, he asked, “Are they teaching psychology in vet school these days?”
“Pets can’t tell us where they hurt, Chase. We learn to read nonverbal cues.”
“How about we leave that for another time and concentrate on swinging. I need me some porch-swing peace.”
Lori shrugged. “Since you brought me Rocky Mountain Road…”
Neither spoke as the shadows lengthened, the only sounds the rhythmic squeak of the swing, the occasional snore from the dog, and the call of mountain cicadas hidden in nearby trees as twilight finally slipped into night.
Chase let out a long sigh. “Nicholas and I talked about the dog thing. He’s okay with Captain now, but he’s still worried about other dogs. Since our swim lessons are at the same time as your lunch break, we’re hoping you might volunteer to join us two or three times a week and bring other dogs to visit.”
She didn’t answer right away and he found himself anxiously holding his breath. “Nicholas was on board with this?”
“It was his idea to begin with. He doesn’t want to be afraid. He liked dogs before the accident, but they do remind him. He watched Ava work on getting over her fear, and he wants to do the same. He just needs work. They all do.”
“Okay, then. Yes, I can do that. Maybe I won’t bring Dad’s dog, though.”
“That’s probably a good plan. At least at the beginning. Mortimer is infamous. Has he slowed down at all in the past few years?”
“A little. He’s still a challenge.”
“Well, watching that little guy today … I think he’ll do it. He’s gutsy. I’m gonna bet right now that when camp is over and his father comes to pick him up, the first thing he’s going to do is ask for a dog.”
“I like the way you think, Timberlake.”
“Maybe the thing to do is save Mortimer for a final exam. If Nicholas can give that crazy dog some love, I think it’ll be safe to say that he’s conquered his fear of dogs.”
“That will be a nice summer’s work,” Lori observed.
“Wish I could think of something to do about Christmas.”
Acting instinctively, Lori reached out and laid her hand atop his. “Healing occurs in stages, but the process is a dynamic one. It’s critical to remember that it’s not linear. Wounds can progress both forward and back through the phases depending upon internal and external forces at work within the patient.”
Chase turned his hand over and threaded his fingers with hers. “What are you trying to tell me, Dr. Murphy?”
“Don’t forget you’re in Eternity Springs. It takes longer for some than for others, but I have yet to run across a broken heart that has failed to heal.”
“Are you talking about me or about a little boy who is afraid of dogs?” Immediately, Chase wished he’d kept his big mouth shut. He didn’t really want to go there.
And yet, Lori was the one person he thought he could possibly go there with.
Lori smiled and stretched out a leg and gave the swing a push. She didn’t respond to his question, and Chase was relieved.
Especially since she didn’t pull her hand away from his, either.
Eventually, Captain stirred and hopped down from the swing, and Chase knew he’d better go. He had to be at the Rocking L early in the morning. “Thanks for sharing your porch swing,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Thanks for bringing me ice cream.”
As they stood, Captain managed to wrap himself around Lori’s ankles and she stumbled forward. Chase’s hand shot out to catch her … steady her. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against him.
“Time stood still” might be a cliché, but that’s damned sure how it felt to Chase. As if time had stood still. For just a moment, with Lori in his arms, he felt young again. Clean again. Innocent again. Though in truth, little he’d felt for Lori could be termed innocent.
Which was why it felt as natural as sin to lower his head and kiss her.