Now the dog was up on all fours, his tail wagging happily from side to side and Josh didn’t have the heart to tell him not yet. Instead he looked to Katie. “Is it okay if we go a little early? We could hang out at the park or something to kill time.”
She shrugged. “Works for me.”
It didn’t take long for Katie to transfer her tea to a travel mug and grab her purse, while Josh located and hooked the leash onto Raider’s collar. Everyone, including the dog, was all smiles.
Another few minutes and they were strapped in and on the road to town.
“It’s getting to you, isn’t it?” Leaning against the passenger door, Katie tugged at her shoulder strap and smiled at him.
“That obvious?” He kept his eyes on the road.
“That you’re as restless as Raider here?” She nodded. “Yeah. I recognize that look. Same one I had after I’d rearranged my closets and cabinets and cleaned out my drawers.”
“Alphabetically,” he added with a smile, hoping he hadn’t said the wrong thing and delighted when she let out a sweet laugh.
“And alphabetically,” she chuckled softly.
“Were you always that meticulous?”
“Thank you for that. My mother called me neurotic. For a while she worried that all my dolls were lined up on the shelf from shortest to tallest and that when I was old enough to put my own clothes away, all the clothes in my drawers, and closets, were color coded.”
“Impressive.” He nodded. “You would have done well in the military.”
“Doubtful. I’m also allergic to rising before the sun.”
“Yeah,” he chuckled softly, “that would pose a problem.”
“Not one you have?”
He shrugged. “As a teen I could sleep all day with the best of them, but no, I don’t mind rising with the sun. Or before it.” Waking early was as common in the Army and Marines as it would be to find a bear in the woods. He just hoped he could go back to the work he loved. His gaze drifted to Katie still smiling at him. Then again maybe it was time for a change…
As soon as they rolled into town, Katie noticed something a little odd. The few times she’d come down Main Street there were always people milling about. Honeysuckle, after all, was a tourist destination. Today, however, was different. There seemed to be more people and all of them ambling about, were staring at the ground. “That’s odd. Don’t you think?”
Josh must have not only noticed, but agreed with her. His gaze darted from one person to the other, all moving slowly like the march of the wooden soldiers, and all watching the ground. “Something is definitely up… or down,” he teased. “Let me drop off the prescription and then we’ll see if we can figure out what’s so fascinating about the sidewalk.”
“Works for me.” She kept her attention on the people along the street. If she didn’t know better, she’d say she was swept into an episode of the oldTwilight Zonetelevision show.
Plenty of room for parking in front of the drugstore, Josh hurried around the hood of the ranch truck and had taken hold of her door before she could climb out on her own. She had to admit, there was a lot to be said for the chivalrous nature of the men around here. Whether it was because they were ranchers, or in a small town, she had no idea, but either way she wasn’t going to complain. Especially since helping her out of the truck meant an excuse to hold Josh’s hand, even for a little while.
As soon as she was on the curb, Josh opened the back door of the old quad cab and latched Raider’s leash onto his collar again. Wrapping his arms carefully around the large dog, he helped ease him out of the vehicle and onto the curb. It was sweet how he realized the dog would need help; a lot of men would have made the poor animal jump on that weak leg. She also found herself wishing that she was the dog, Josh’s strong arms carryingher out of the truck. How foolish was that? All these silly hopes and dreams, anyone would think she was a teenager again.
The walk inside took a little longer as Raider needed to register and file away every new scent, and clearly there were quite a few in the several feet between the car and the pharmacy door. She loved how patient Josh was with the dog and smiled at the bond the two had built. As soon as the door opened, Katie realized something was off.
Apparently, so did Raider. The dog stiffened, his nose to the air and his tail stopped swishing. Immediately, he tugged at Josh, pulling him to the right. Josh’s gaze shot to Katie as a low wailing sound came from the direction Raider was moving.
Around the corner of the last aisle, the problem became clear. Huddled on the ground a little boy, maybe six or seven years old, had his hands on his ears and was rocking forward and back, making a low whaling sound. Standing over him, a woman hovered, bargaining with the child. “Luke, how about a new unicorn lovie, you like unicorns.”
Beside her, the clerk stood with a small square blanket about the size of a one foot square floor tile with a small stuffed animal head in the center. Probably the unicorn the mother spoke of.
Between the wails, and the mother’s coaxing, the child repeated in a sharp shrill voice, “Not mine, not mine, don’t want unicorn.”
Katie didn’t have to be an expert in child psychology to realize this wasn’t an ordinary temper tantrum. The look of pain on the clerk’s face and something akin to desperation on the mother, told Katie this was definitely way more than one spoiled child.
“We shouldn’t intrude,” Josh whispered, trying to tug Raider in the opposite direction.
The dog was having nothing of it. He pulled, and tugged, and began wiggling about until he had Josh so twisted up that he’dhad no choice but to let go of the leash. Before Josh could grab hold and untangle it, the dog had bolted forward, knocking Josh off his feet in the process.
“Josh!” Katie dropped to his side. “Are you okay?”
