Second Chance Option

Chapter 1

Chapter 1It was a view Cade Maguire hadn’t seen in almost fourteen years. The trees on the edge of the South Carolina National Forest showed signs of spring as the branches sprouted buds. If memory served, the forest would be a riot of color in a few weeks.

“What the hell are we doing here?”

Not surprisingly, neither of his Bernese Mountain Dogs responded. Sonny and Sam were great companions but hadn’t mastered the art of speech. Yet.

Mostly black with patches of light brown and white, they were almost identical. The only way to tell them apart was the white strip of fur between their eyes. Sonny’s was a little narrower than Sam’s. Their light brown eyebrows sometimes made their expressions almost human.

He dropped the last of his boxes in the front room of his new cabin. All his worldly possessions fit neatly into the small corner between the bay window and the back wall. The boxes he was expecting from his grandfather would probably fit in the hall closet. Moving around his entire life had taught him not to hang on to things, but this was pitiful.

The year lease he signed made him jumpy. Especially because that agreement had him living in King’s Folly, a town he’d never in a million years thought he’d see again, much less plant roots in. But stubborn didn’t pay the bills and the chance to get back in the game was too good to turn his back on because things had ended badly here.

The room was bare except for the boxes. Someone had come through and cleaned recently. Hardwood floors shone in the early morning light. There wasn’t a dust mote to be seen in any of the rays of sun shining through windows so clean birds might smack in to them. A fresh coat of white paint covered the walls and left behind a smell that reminded him of being transferred to a new base.

Thanks to the Navy, he’d had access to three squares and a place to sleep for the last fourteen years. Starting from scratch wasn’t new. Usually, his assignments came with furnished apartments, not bare rooms with no amenities.

Shit. I don’t even have a coffee maker.

He rifled through his duffle bag, which had the necessities and found his planner. It was an old school, leather bound, refillable notebook, a gift from his grandfather after his graduation from Officer Candidate School. A little something from one type A personality to another. The book was the one thing that had survived all his moves and deployments. The list of things he needed to make this cabin more habitable was a mile long. It wasn’t like he knew where to buy some of this s**t, either. When did he ever think he’d have to buy kitchen appliances?

“I guess Maguires never say never, right boys?”

Sonny barked as if in agreement and Sam pressed against Cade’s right leg burrowing close, careful not to put too much weight in to his comforting move. It always amazed him how attuned they were to the residuals of his injuries.

He reached down and scratched them both behind the ears. They were still puppies at almost a year old, but they were big. The three of them had been through a lot together since he’d gotten them six months ago.

“On to the next adventure.”

They chuffed their agreement and followed him as he limped toward the door. Sonny and Sam danced around him, clearly looking forward to another chance to go outside and play. He didn’t blame them. The three of them had been cooped up in his truck for the last three days driving from San Diego to South Carolina, only stopping long enough to get a few hours of sleep when he needed it or a bite to eat when they all got hungry.

As he opened the door, the dogs bounced outside like they were spring loaded. He inhaled taking in the smell of pine and yellow jessamine, trying to ignore the faint hint of sea salt in the air. The sound of woodpeckers in the distance was oddly soothing.

A pair of barks signaled that the boys had found something to occupy them. The muscles in his back and side pulled tight sending an ache along the edge of his nerves. It was one of those days that he felt closer to a hundred years old instead of thirty-six. Rotating at the waist helped and he studied his new quarters as he worked out the kinks left behind by the long road trip.

He’d deliberately avoided the beach properties. Too many memories. Instead, he’d found a two-bedroom cabin at the edge of the woods. Plenty of room for Sonny and Sam to run and fewer ghosts for him to trip over. Maybe he could figure out what it meant to make a place a home.

The first notes of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” interrupted his thoughts. He pulled out his phone, then hit ‘accept.’

“Ed.” He greeted his former coach, first true mentor, and new boss.

“You in town yet?” The old man got right to the point.

“Yeah.” Cade stretched, trying to work more of the pain and stiffness out of his right side. After so much time driving, his scars were tight. He was going to need to use that lotion his physical therapist had hooked him up with. “The boys and I got here a little while ago. Just finished unloading the truck.”

“The boys?”

“My dogs.” An itch at the back of his neck made him go taut. He took a quick look around.

Where did Sonny and Sam go?

“Right. I hate to bug you since you just got to town.”

The itching sensation intensified. “What’s up?”

“We’ve got a situation brewing. We need to meet this afternoon in Ron’s office.”

“I’ll be there.” He needed to get off the phone. Something was up.

“Knew I could count on you.” Ed disconnected the call.

Always a man of few words. It was one of the things that made the man a great football coach. When he had something to say, you listened because Ed King used his words so sparingly.

The dogs weren’t barking anymore, which meant they were sniffing after something. Probably on the trail of some local wildlife. Still, he needed to find them. They weren’t familiar with the area and there were wild animals in the forest around them and swamp land not too far from here. The problem was figuring out which direction they went.

A sudden screech of tires followed by a yelp and the sound of a vehicle peeling away came from the direction of the road and catapulted Cade into action. He ran down the driveway toward the sound. His heart beat like a pair of hummingbird wings and his chest felt like it might explode. When he got to the spot where his land met the road, he found them. Sonny lay motionless, but whimpering. Sam hovered over him barking at the retreating SUV as it screeched around the corner.

Cade dropped to his knees. Sonny’s breathing was shallow, and there was blood. A lot of blood. Too much blood.

“Hey. That truck just took off.” A lanky kid came out of nowhere and took a knee on the opposite side of Sonny and reached out as if to pet him.

“Don’t touch him,” Cade barked, fear coiling in his stomach like a viper waiting to strike.

“I know where the nearest vet is. It looks bad, but the Gallagher clinic is the best. If anyone can patch up your dog, they can.” The kid sounded out of breath, but confident.

Cade nodded. He knew something had to be done, but he was, for the first time in his life, incapable of action. Things were moving too quickly for him to think.

The next few moments were surreal. It was like he was watching the scene unfold through a Vaseline covered lens. The kid hustled Sam into the cabin and locked the front door after he’d closed it. Then he rushed back to Cade and helped him bundle Sonny into the backseat of Cade’s truck. His dog’s whimpers tore through his body like the IED that had ended his Navy career.

Looking at his buddy fighting for life made his stomach turn. He’d seen more than his share of blood, but this? This much blood? Because some stupid asshole couldn’t slow his f*****g car down?

Cade buried his fingers in the long black fur at Sonny’s neck, careful to avoid his obvious injuries. He curled over until his mouth was next to the pup’s ear.

“Easy, boy. I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay.”

Please, God. Please, let it be okay.

Sonny’s whimpers echoed through the cab of the Avalanche. The truck must have been moving. He heard the engine and felt the movement as the kid rocketed around corners like a race car driver.

Cade didn’t care about the truck. All he cared about was getting Sonny to help.

“We’re almost there, boy,” he whispered. His voice sounded like he’d been gargling shards of glass.

Please God, let us be almost there.

Sonny and Sam had gotten him through the worst days of his life. Recovering from career ending injuries had taken him to the edge. The puppies had pulled him back from it and helped navigate his new normal. There was no way he wanted to map out another one. He was too old for that s**t.

The viper coiled in his gut balled up tighter and settled as if waiting for the perfect moment to lash out and destroy everything. He didn’t know what he would do if Sonny didn’t make it.

Please God, don’t let me find out.

Ninety-nine point nine-nine percent of the time Tess Gallagher loved her work. Being a veterinarian was her calling. She loved animals and taking care of them was a joy and a privilege. Serving her community at the same time was the gravy on top of the French fries.

However, since hiring her part-time assistant, there was that other point zero one percent of the time.

“Is it just me or does this new cage make Mr. Wigglesworth look fat?” And there it was. Her former nemesis, unlikely new friend and recently hired employee, Delilah Derringer, and her total lack of a filter struck again.

Tess glanced over her shoulder to make sure she’d closed the door to the examination room. The last thing she needed was for Mrs. Milton to hear any insults to her beloved parakeet.

“Really?” These were the moments she wanted to smack the sass right out of Delilah. “You know how Mrs. Milton is about this bird.”

Delilah shrugged. “She hates me anyway. I ran into her in the grocery story last week, and she spent fifteen minutes telling me what an embarrassment I am, and it was my lucky day when ‘that nice Tess hired my lazy behind.’” She held up her fingers to make air quotes and mimicked the woman in question perfectly.

Tess closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and counted to ten, letting the slightly antiseptic smell of the room soothe her.

“It’s hard enough to get some of our older clients to take me seriously. All we need is for Mrs. Milton to start telling the entire town we were making fun of her baby.” She’d worked hard to build her reputation and didn’t want Delilah’s lack of tact to tear it down.

Delilah laughed. “You really need to lighten up. You don’t want to main line Pepto-Bismol again.”

It was probably wrong to want to strangle her. No, it was definitely wrong. Still there were moments, like this one, where Tess gave it serious thought. Instead, she focused on Mr. Wigglesworth’s annual physical, counting to ten again, and once more for good measure.

“How old is chubby anyway?”

Tess studied the soft pink plumage of the gentle bird and did her best to focus on her patient and not the woman who seemed to delight in tormenting her, even though lately it was good natured instead of nasty.

“He’s fifteen. His initial appointment was one of the first ones I assisted Dad with before I started vet school.” Tess smiled at the memory. She’d been thirteen and a mixture of excited and terrified that had made her want to shout and puke at the same time.

“Fifteen? I thought parakeets only lived like five years.”

“Technically, this is a Bourke Parrot, but their called parakeets. The average life span is fifteen to twenty years, depending on whether they receive the proper diet and care.”

“Well, the whole town knows Mrs. M is a fanatic about the care and feeding of anything but husbands.”

Tess couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped. She tried not to encourage Delilah’s more outrageous commentary, but sometimes she couldn’t help herself. The woman was funny. Unfortunately, halting one of her rants against some of the more disapproving citizens of King’s Folly, South Carolina was like trying to stop the bulls at Pamplona. Since they had gone from enemies to friends, she had learned that it was essential to distract Delilah before she got on a roll and from the look of her, she was winding up for one hell of a tantrum.

“Speaking of husbands, any word on your divorce?” She felt a little bad using her friend’s personal drama to change the subject, but these days it was the easiest way to put the brakes on the freight train that could be Delilah’s mouth.

“Did I tell you what that c**k knocker is doing now?”

Tess tuned out the rest of the speech, because yes, in fact, Delilah had told her what her soon be ex-husband was up to now. In excruciating detail. Three times. This Morning. By the time she finished her examination of Mr. Wigglesworth, the room had gone strangely quiet. She turned around. Delilah was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, a spark of irritation in her blue eyes.

“What?”

“You did that on purpose.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tess kept a gentle grip on the parakeet as she turned to put him back in his cage before returning her attention to her irritated friend.

“You brought up the lying, double-crossing bastard so I would stop making fun of the bird.”

“That doesn’t sound like me.” She maintained eye contact with Delilah. There wasn’t time for a staring contest, but there was less time for the drama. After a moment, her friend smiled and stepped away from the doorway to let Tess pass.

“I have no idea how I always got the better of you when we were growing up. Can’t get anything by you these days.”

“When we were growing up, I thought you were scary.” Tess stepped outside of the exam room, knowing her words would, oddly enough, soothe her friend. Given that she was the one who had gotten Delilah worked up over her ex, it made her feel better to be the one to calm her down.

Tess had to admit that since she started spending more time with her three younger brothers and Delilah she was getting better at picking up on people’s more subtle social cues and expressions. It was still a lot like trying to decipher an ancient, unknown language, but more and more she was building a translation key.

She took her patient back to reception where Mrs. Milton and Sheila were still trading the latest and greatest in local gossip.

“And do you know what the uppity English teacher said to me?” Mrs. Milton broke off from her tirade when she spotted Tess coming down the hall. Her pink tinted lips, the exact same color as her bird tilted up and, with a high-pitched coo, she moved away from the receptionist’s desk and waddled towards Tess, who held the cage out for her client.

“And how’s mummy’s wittle baby waby?” She smashed her nose up against the cage and made kissy noises.

“Mr. Wigglesworth is doing very well, as usual. You’re taking excellent care of him.”

Mrs. Milton beamed at Tess and pinched her cheek. “You’re a good girl.”

Tess smiled and ignored the fact that Mrs. Milton spoke to her in the same tone she used with her bird. It was better than the people who spoke to her like she was still a child. “Thank you. You keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll see you and Mr. Wigglesworth next year.”

As Mrs. Milton and her parakeet left the building a black Avalanche screeched to a halt in front of the clinic, smoke blowing from the tires. Tess had a split second to appreciate the large, muscular man who jumped from the back seat of the truck before all her attention shifted to the large, bloody animal cradled in his arms.

She threw open the door. The bitter smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

“I need a doctor.” His voice sounded raspy and thick.

“I’m Dr. Gallagher. Follow me.” She led him to the nearest empty examination room and watched closely as he laid what she could now see was a Bernese Mountain Dog down on the table as if it was the most precious thing in the world to him.

With years of experience she ran her hands along the dog’s body and found the source of the bleeding and looked up to see her veterinary technician, Charlie, and Delilah, standing in the doorway, waiting for instructions.

“Charlie, prep the OR and have the portable x-ray standing by. We’ve got internal bleeding and possible broken bones. Delilah, bring in the gurney, we need to get…”

She focused on the man, whose oddly familiar, piercing green gaze never left his dog.

“Sonny.” He seemed to know what information she needed.

Tess nodded. “We need to get Sonny in to surgery.”

The next few moments passed in a flurry of activity. Sonny was quickly transferred to a gurney, then wheeled back to the OR. There was no question that her staff would settle the distraught, and sexy man out front. This wasn’t their first ball game.

Once in the operating room Tess and Charlie worked in concert to save the big dog’s life. Delilah stood by the door, eyes looking anywhere but at the injured dog, hand over her mouth, doing nothing to disguise the gagging noises she was making. She waited for an update on Sonny’s injuries that she could share with his concerned owner.

It took Tess a few minutes to study the x-rays they had taken while Charlie finished making sure Sonny was prepped for surgery. Tess hoped she could send Delilah out to the waiting room with an update before she tossed her cookies.

“Let him know Sonny has a broken right hind leg and some internal bleeding. The break is in two places, but it’s clean so we are going to set the leg after we stop the bleeding and repair the internal damage. He’s welcome to wait, but this is going to take a while, three to four hours at least.”

Delilah left the room like someone lit her ass on fire.

“I still don’t know why you hired her.”

Tess smiled beneath her surgical mask. She and Charlie had been friends since infancy and she wasn’t ready to give Delilah the same pass Tess had. “She needs the job and she’s a hard worker.”

“She can’t stand blood, she’s disrespectful to the clients, she’s…”

It was a familiar refrain. Tess tuned it out momentarily when she spotted a bleeder. “Retract this.”

Charlie didn’t stop her litany of complaints against Delilah as they continued the surgery. She paused occasionally to take Tess’s direction and the occasional breath. Llately Charlie reserved her diatribes for the OR because she knew no one would overhear her. Tess sighed.

“You do know the definition of insanity, right? Cauterize that.”

Her assistant expertly followed her instructions. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

“Right? How are his vitals?” They’d been growing steadier as the bleeding was controlled.

“Stable. So, I’m insane now?”

She set the last clamp in place, confident she’d identified all the bleeds. “Let’s stitch up these bleeds. You do keep repeating yourself.”

“What type of sutures are we using? I’m worried about you.”

“Internal, absorbable.” Tess held out her hand for the sutures. “I know you’re worried. I even understand why you keep bringing it up. I have, historically, been very slow with social cues and Delilah has, historically, been nasty to me.”

“But you think she’s changed.” It was a statement, not a question. Charlie checked Sonny’s vitals.

“I believe in second chances and I think she deserves one. If I’m wrong – ”

“I’ll kick her ass.”

Tess laughed. Charlie had always been her biggest defender and was far from convinced that Delilah had turned a corner. “And if I’m right?” She scanned the now closed incision, pleased with her work. Sonny’s vitals were stable, and he’d responded well to the anesthesia.

Charlie sighed. “I guess I’ll have to be friends with her.”

“You already are friends. I know social situations aren’t my forte, but I believe the two of you enjoy baiting each other. Let’s cast this leg.”

The two women worked in concert to finish Sonny’s treatment. Now that he was clearly out of danger and Charlie’s latest issue with Delilah had been dealt with, Tess took a moment to focus on the man who had brought Sonny in. Those familiar green eyes had finally sparked a memory.

Cade Maguire.

He was back, and he had great taste in dogs.