“Wow, Matilda. You did it again.”
“What?” She looks confused.
“You surprised me.”
She shrugs. “I do it because I love the work, and it’s a good cause. These dogs make a huge difference in the lives of the veterans who need them.”
“I know.” I nod. “I absolutely know how important it is.” Again, I’ve got no words. None but “Thank you for your service.”
“Oh, geesh.” She slaps my arm and giggles. “You’re full of it.”
I laugh along with her, but the truth is, I meant it. I watch her work with the dog for a few more minutes, then as she places him back into a large kennel, she asks, “You hungry? I’m making meatloaf.”
Damn, I love meatloaf. “I wish I could stay, but my flight leaves soon. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
“Oh.” She frowns. “Right. Texas is your home.”
“Chicago is home. I’m stationed in Texas.” I pull open the back door and watch Matilda step through to the kitchen first. Inside, her dad is seated at the small, round kitchen table, cup of coffee near his hand. He’s reading a magazine… upside down.
“Walk me to the door?” I ask her.
“Sure.”
Before I step out of the kitchen, I shake Buck’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.” I smile. “I mean, Buck.”
“Same, son.”
When I get there, Matilda’s holding the door open. Before I step through, I hand her the small bundle. “That’s for you. A thank-you for helping me this week.”
“Oh.” She blushes. “You didn’t need to get me anything.”
“I know, but I saw it and thought of you.”
“Uh-oh. I’m a little worried now.” She snorts, and I’ve got to admit, I’ve grown to like those little sounds of hers. She tears open the gold wrapping. When she looks as though she doesn’t know what to do with the paper, I take it from her. Pulling the lid from the small, white box, she stares down into it, her face still. “This is too much.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Reaching into the box, she retrieves the bracelet. It’s one of those you put charms on. I’ve added a silver charm of a tiger. The sight of it makes her laugh, a contagious kind of giggle. “Funny.”
“You can keep adding charms to it.” I sound a little too proud of myself, to be honest, like I invented the damn thing. But I happen to think the notion of her turning the plain, silver bracelet into something personal is kind of cool.
“It’s beautiful.” Matilda’s eyes seem shiny. She’s not going to cry, is she? “I love it.”
“Here.” I take it from her and fiddle with the latch. The woman in the gift shop showed me how to undo it. Matilda holds out her arm, and I wrap it around her wrist. After snapping it into place, it makes a soft jingling noise as she plays with it.
“I’ll cherish it.”
“Well…” I’m suddenly speechless again. “I’m glad you like it.” Pushing open the screen door, I step through but turn before taking the front steps down to the sidewalk. “Goodbye, Matilda.”
“Goodbye, Alec.”
I jog down the steps and swallow hard, doing my best to ignore all the weird feelings churning around inside me.
ChapterFourteen
Matilda
Three MonthsLater
