Nerves all but forced me to stand as I waited outside the gates at the Meridian Country Club in my usual attire.
Today I was wearing a skin-tight AC/DC shirt that’d seen better days—I hadn’t had time to go home to change—and my well-loved tan work pants that clearly showed that I worked outside. My boots were oily and covered in hydraulic fluid from today’s maintenance work.
My hands had oil and grime all over them, permanently etched there after working with my hands instead of in gloves. And I had so much dirt underneath my fingernails that I’d be cleaning them out for days.
But nothing could hide my excitement as I all but bounced on my toes.
Two-fifty-nine.
Just as three o’clock hit, an older model Ford diesel pulled into the parking lot and parked at the back. A pristine Ford that looked like it was coming right off the factory lot, only in the nineties instead of 2026…
My heart leaped into my throat when a brown head that I knew so well poked out of the door that the driver had opened.
The driver, a large man wearing a blue flannel shirt, reached in and clipped on a leash and urged the monster down out of the truck.
The truck door slammed, and I didn’t know who to look at first.
My gaze automatically chose my baby love, Brawny, though.
But I did notice that the man holding the leash was also the same man from a few days ago.
The one that I’d run into after having it out with my sister and mom.
My heart, however, was truly focused on one thing and one thing only.
“Brawny!”
My baby’s head snapped up so fast that he tripped on his own feet.
He started running before he’d had a chance to really process, but the man’s hold on the leash stopped him from going much farther than the lead would allow.
The man, however, did jerk as he forced the dog to wait.
My poor baby.
I hurried across the parking lot, and the man barked at me to stop.
“Don’t move!”
I came to a stop at the sudden, forceful sound and blinked at him owlishly.
That’s when a car sped past, making my heart pound.
I felt my cheeks heat.
“Sorry,” I murmured when he started toward me. “I was excited.”
“I can see that,” the man muttered as he got closer.
I dropped down to my haunches when Brawny was close and threw my arms around his neck.
He howled in delight, kissing me and loving me just the way he used to do.
“Oh, Brawny Boy,” I cooed as he covered me in so much slobber that it dripped off my nose. “I’ve missed you so.”
The man waited patiently for our reunion to finish before he said, “Sorry for yelling at you.”
I looked up at him, Brawny’s tongue still licking away at my face, and said, “Oh, I understand. I should’ve looked. I was taught that when I was three.”
