One call. One text.
Not yet.
But maybe soon.
I drive home the long way again. Past the base. Past the turn-off.
The guard shack is slower now. Evening shift. Quieter.
I keep driving.
All the way home, where Biscuit is waiting and the porch is empty and I still don't have an answer.
But I'm working on it.
Chapter 12
Dean
The German Shepherd puppy in my arms squirms like he's trying to escape a dogfight, and I adjust my grip before he launches himself onto the sidewalk. Again.
"Easy, Maverick," I tell him.
He licks my face.
Great. My grand gesture smells like puppy breath and I've got drool on my collar. This is going exactly as planned.
I've flown missions where one wrong move meant people died. I've landed planes with failing engines, navigated through storms that turned the sky black, and once talked a rookie pilot through an emergency landing when his instructor passed out.
Walking into O'Connor Veterinary Clinic with a puppy and a speech I've been practicing for days might actually be the scariest thing I've ever done.
The bell above the door chimes when I push through. Maverick barks—high-pitched and excited—and I hear movement from the back.
"Be right there!" Callie's voice.
My heart does something that would get me grounded if it happened in the cockpit.
The puppy wiggles harder, his little tail going like a rotor blade. I set him down on the floor and he immediately tries to eat the welcome mat.
"No," I say, tugging him back. "Bad first impression, buddy."
Footsteps approach from the hallway. I straighten up, hands suddenly unsure what to do. In my pockets? No, that's too casual. Crossed? Too defensive. At my sides? That just feels wrong.
The puppy solves the problem by lunging for a display of dog treats, nearly taking me out at the knees.
Then Callie steps into the waiting room and everything stops.
She's in scrubs, hair pulled back, no makeup. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
She sees me. Stops cold.
The puppy barks again, straining against the leash I'm barely holding.
"Dean." Her voice is careful. Guarded.
"Hey." Smooth, Mercer. Real smooth.
She looks at the puppy, then back at me. "What are you doing here?"
