Untrusting (Troubled) (7 page)

“No, just a chill.”  He wraps
his arm tighter around me, pulling me against him.  A gust of wind whips
against the side of the truck, pushing it into the other lane.  Bob fights
to bring the truck back to the right side of the road.

“Wow!  We haven’t had any wind
for four months.  I hope it means rain, we can sure use it.”  Bob’s
happy at the prospect of rain.  Steve, on the other hand, is looking out
the window at the sky for lightening since we can hear thunder in the
distance.  The wind’s picking up and it’s getting cooler.  The moon’s
back lighting dark clouds, casting them as silhouettes.  We get a few
splatters on the windshield, but nothing more.  Steve’s still watching the
sky.  Suddenly there’s a cracking sound, like a package of firecrackers in
the distance, with a loud clap of thunder right behind it.  No lightening,
yet, but the thunder indicates its presence…somewhere.  Bob drives faster
trying to get to town before the down pour, or the lightening starts a fire.

Just as we get to town the rain
starts, coming down in sheets of big drops making it difficult to see the
road.  Bob gets us to Maria’s and we get inside, drenched in the few feet
we have to run to get in the door.  Steve grabs the phone to call the
station.  There’s been no report of a fire, just a severe  weather
watch.  I tell Steve I have to get to the office to check on the
dogs.  He won’t let me leave in the heavy rain.  I tell him I have to
be sure the electricity’s on.  He calls the station back and tells me
there’s been no report of the electricity being out.  I tell him the office
is closed up, that includes the windows.  There’re forty dogs in close
quarters, they’ll need fresh air soon if the air conditioning goes off.  I
have to check on them.  I run out the door to my truck, Steve right behind
me.  I drive as fast and as carefully as I can to the clinic, a five
minute trip took fifteen minutes.  It’s almost impossible to see the front
of my truck.  Steve’s out of the truck and darting toward the door as soon
as I stop.  He works his way around to the compressor, that isn’t running,
and comes back just as I get the door open.  We almost jump through the
open door, the rain is pelting us and it hurts.  I check the light switch,
nothing.  We make our way to the door of the kennel room.

The dogs are restless.  I grab
a flashlight, open the door and Chief’s up, moving around restlessly.  I
know that means a real storm.  Steve must think so, too.  He finds
the phone to call the station again, Bob answers.  There’s a tornado watch
in effect for the area, and Steve’s needed at the station.  Steve tells me
and says Bob will be by for him soon.  He tells me to move the kennels to
the middle exam rooms and to stay put.  A tornado watch in August is
nearly non-existent, but I’m not gonna argue after being out in the storm.

I ask about Miss Lili and while
he’s telling me she has an underground shelter the sirens go off with the
warning of the approaching tornado.  Bob comes through the door hollering
for Steve, “A tornado’s touched down ten miles outta town, come on.  The
weather on the radio says there’s three forming in the area.  Sher, move
the dogs to the center of the building and get over to Aunt Lili’s and stay in
the shelter with them.  Maria and Shay are there now.  Go.” 
With that the guys run out the door and are gone.

I’m shoving the kennels toward the
middle of the building when I hear someone in the waiting room.  Maria’s
here to help me get the dogs as safe as I can.  We make sure they’re under
every strong hold and steel table in the exams rooms.  The dogs are restless,
but we have no choice but to leave them.  I grab Chaucee, Chief and José
to take with us.  Maria drives her car with Chief back to Miss Lili’s and
I drive my truck with the other two dogs.

It’s eerily quiet.  No wind,
no rain, nothing.  We have to drive around the trees and limbs blown down
across the road by the wind gusts.  Just as we get to Miss Lili’s, the
wind starts howling like a freight train, announcing the tornado.  We grab
the animals and head for the storm shelter.  Miss Lili lets us in and is
glad to see us and the animals safe.  Shay’s asleep, oblivious to the
whole situation.  There are cots for all of us so we settle down and,
eventually, fall asleep.  In the morning, Shay wakes us up, hungry. 
The shelter is stocked with cereal, dry milk, water, dishes and utensils, so we
feed Shay and Chaucee.  Not wanting to concern or upset Shay, we leave him
playing with the animals, as we venture outside.  There are limbs down, a
few shingles on the lawn and her flowers are beaten down, but Miss Lili’s house
is standing.  We go into the house with her to check things out.  A
broken window, a little debris and things scattered, but the house is in tact.

Now I have to check on my office
and the dogs.  I run out to my truck, jump in and head for the office at
the top speed of five miles an hour.  The roads are more littered,
blocking my way, and I have to weave through the debris to make it to the
office.  The windows are blown out, the shingles are blowing around on the
roof but the building is still standing.  I go through the front door and
can see the back yard through the other side.  I run for the dogs. 
They’re fine, but they’re wet and cold because the back wall and corner of the
kennel room is gone.  Thank goodness I moved them.

The business office and the x-ray
room are in tact and dry.  The records are fine and so are the electronics
and the supply room.  I find the puppies, the older ones are fine, but the
new puppies are cold.  I have to find something to cover them with to get
them warm, but my blankets are all wet.  I step out the front door and
look down the street to see the hardware store still standing.  I jump in
the truck and see the store windows are blown out when I get there, but I ask
for dry blankets anyway.  They have a few that are dry so I buy them and
hurry back to the clinic.  As I’m covering the puppies, Mom, Dad, Miss
Lili and Maria come in.  I haven’t had time to check the back yard so I
can let the dogs out.  Dad checks it for me and declares a small army is
needed to clear the debris before its safe.

Several people come through the
front door to see if they can help.  I can’t take the time to notice who
they are, but if they’re willing to help I’ll put them to work.  They
start clearing the back yard and the kennel room.  I ask Maria if anyone
has heard from Steve and Bob.  She answers a low no and keeps clearing the
debris from the room.

Miss Lili and Dad disappear with my
truck for about two hours.  When they get back they have supplies to put
things together across the back of the clinic and the roof.  I hear saws
going, but I’m too busy with the animals to see what’s going on.  At
lunch, there’s a delivery from the Burger Barn with enough food for all of us,
thanks to Miss Lili.  We sit out back on the concrete patio in the waiting
room chairs to eat, my first time sitting down all day.  I notice the yard
is cleared of debris and the back of the clinic is being framed in for a
wall.  The roof has new tar paper on it and there’s shingles sitting on
it, waiting to be nail on.

I can’t believe so much has been
done, and remember my insurance agent hasn’t been out to survey the damage, or
has he?  When I ask, Dad says Dave, my agent, has been here and is still
here, working.  Everyone here knew about the dogs and came to help. 
They want this put back together as quickly as possible…for the dogs.

A H.P. car stops in the drive,
beside the building, and I go to meet them.  They want a final count of
dogs and I tell them forty, since the last puppies were born.  They found
the owners of the dogs and have them in jail and they have papers saying the
dogs are wards of the court and in my care, until further notice.  That’s
good to hear.  I ask if these were the only dogs he had.  It wasn’t,
but the others are being taken care of by a Vet near Austin, where the puppy
mill’s main facility is located.  These were being transported to a branch
at San Angelo when the accident happened.  The family of the driver
doesn’t want the Shepherd back.  It was strictly the driver’s dog, not a
family dog.  So the dog is mine to do with as I see fit.

They survey the damage and notice
the town is helping me put the clinic back together, so they don’t feel the
need to move the dogs.  Lili steps up when he says that and tells them the
dogs will be spoken for as soon as the court lets them go.  They’ll want
for nothing as long as they stay here.  When he asks who she is and hears
her name he becomes very polite, assuring her the dogs will be staying. 
She smiles and goes back to work.  The patrolman leaves and I go back to
work, too.

The dogs are made comfortable and
blankets and towels are hung out to dry from the storm so we can wash them once
the electricity is on.  There’s a wall with a sliding door, like a barn
door, when supper is delivered.  The roof is finished, too, I notice as I
sit down to eat.  There’s no glass to fix the windows so they’re covered
with plywood.

There’s still no word of Steve and
Bob, so Dad goes to the station to see what he can find out.  When he
comes back he says they’re busy digging out a couple of ranch houses, looking
for survivors.  The houses are abandoned, but sometimes they’re used by
transients.  As a precaution, they’re going through the rubble.  At
least we know they’re okay.

We go back to work putting things
away and by dark the dogs are out again and back in the kennel room. 
There’s still work to be done inside but we’re all so tired we call it a
day.  We’ll finish cleaning tomorrow and be ready to go back to work
Monday.  Hopefully the electricity will be on then.

I go home to a badly needed
shower.  Working in the heat and humidity today was more than any
deodorant could handle.  After my shower I sit down in my arm chair for a
minute, two hours later I wake up and go to bed.

Before church I go by the office
and let the dogs out.  After church, I see Miss Lili walking home and stop
her to ask about Steve and Bob.  They made it home about midnight and were
sleeping the last time she saw them.  She asks me over but, I remind her,
I need to get to the office and get some more work done.  I tell her
Maria’s supposed to meet me there after church.  After the day we all had
yesterday, she should stay home an’ take care of Steve and Bob.  She
agrees.

I get to the office and check the
new puppies, their fine.  That’s when I realize Chaucee, José and Chief
aren’t here.  I’ll have to go after them, but I’ll wait for Maria. 
She comes in ready to work.  I tell her what I’d heard from Miss Lili and
she’s relieved to hear the guys are okay.  I tell her we need to get the
dogs from Miss Lili’s, but first we’ll get a little more done here.  About
two thirty we head to Miss Lili’s in my truck.

Miss Lili’s glad to see us ‘til she
finds out why we’re here.  She doesn’t want the dogs taken away and says
so.  I tell her Chaucee needs to get back to nursing and José and Chief
haven’t been checked out for a few days.  She moves and Chief comes to me,
he’s mobile, despite his ribs and José is close behind him on his three
legs.  I tell her I need to x-ray Chief.  José and Chaucee are part
of the court order so they have to stay with me.  I’d like to leave them
here, but a court order isn’t something I want to get caught
disregarding.  She understands.  I tell her I can bring Chief back,
because he’s not included in the order.  Steve comes into the kitchen and
Chief, tail wagging, goes to him.

Steve has on his jeans, but no
shirt.  Nice.  I lower my head to keep from giving myself away. 
He squats to pet Chief, who’s more than glad to see him…too.  Steve looks
up “Did I hear you say Chief can stay?  What about his broken rib?” 
I tell him Chief isn’t part of the court order covering the other dogs, so he
can stay, but I need to x-ray him to be sure all his movements of the last few
days haven’t caused any problems.  Steve says he’ll bring him over in
about an hour.  Miss Lili brings Chaucee and I pick up José.  I
assure Miss Lili that as soon as I can, I’ll bring them home.

Bob comes into the kitchen as we’re
going toward the back door, dressed the same way Steve is.  I hear Maria
catch her breath.  Bob comes over to say “hi” with a kiss for Maria. 
She’s holding Chaucee, who I grab from her before the puppy gets squashed
between them.  There’s no doubt Bob’s glad to see her and isn’t afraid to
show it.  After the kiss and they come back to earth, Maria and I go back
to the office and check out the two dogs.

They’re fine and Chaucee’s welcomed
back by her foster mama.  José is put in a kennel on the floor and the
kennels are opened for the dogs to wonder in and out the back door at their
leisure.  Maria and I work on getting things back in order after the
cleaning we did earlier.  As we’re finishing Steve, Bob and Chief come
through the door.  I take Chief in for x-rays and Steve joins me to hold
Chief still while I take the pictures.  The x-rays look good and the
incision is good.  Steve can take Chief home, but he has to be kept quiet,
no jumping or running and he’s to be lifted by two people, one at the front and
one at the rear and the splint can be taken off if he’s not moving
around.  Steve nods while I let Chief into the kennel room to go out if he
wants to.  Steve and I follow him to be sure he doesn’t over do.

Steve comes up behind me, putting
his arms around me.  I feel myself starting to tear up so I don’t turn
around.  “How are you?  You seem awfully quiet.”

“I’m fine.  How are you? 
You were the one missing in action for over twenty four hours.”  My voice
sounds strange to me and my throat is constricted.

“I’m fine, now that I’ve had twelve
hours sleep.  You weren’t worried were ya?  I heard ya asked about us
a few times and your Dad came to the station to see if we were okay.” 
He’s still behind me, just holding me.

“I was concerned when nobody had
heard anything by noon yesterday.”  He turns me around to look at me then
holds me to him, tight.

“I couldn’t call anyone from where
I was.  Contact with the station was iffy, too.  I’m sorry you were
concerned.”  He says softly then leans back to find me crying and bends to
kiss me.  I hang onto him like he’d been lost.  When the kiss ends he
says “I should have done this when I saw ya at the house, but Chief needed
attention.  I gotta get my priorities straight, and I want you to be a top
priority.  Forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. 
Chief kinda got in the way and I would’ve been upset if he hadn’t gotten the
attention he needed.  He might have gotten over active and injured
himself.”  We’re still holding each other when Chief nudges at our
legs.  We sit down to pay attention to him.  He’s licking me and
wagging his tail while I scratch his ears.

Bob and Maria come out to join
us.  “Everything better?” he asks Steve.  Steve nods and kisses my
head, because I’m leaning back against his chest.  Maria smiles as Bob
puts his arm around her shoulders and draws her closer to him.  Steve says
Miss Lili is making dinner for all of us so we have to get back to the house
and Maria needs to get Shay.  We get up and Chief objects, but comes with
us as we corral the rest of the dogs and get them kenneled.  Chief checks
on José and Chaucee by putting his nose against their kennels.  Bob goes
with Maria to get Shay and I go with Steve since he insists on coming back with
me to let the dogs out at nine.  Chief sat in the middle, but that’s okay
since he hopped into the truck, with a little help from Steve.

Miss Lili’s glad to see us, and
Maria, Shay and Bob when they arrive a little later.  Over dinner we talk
about the mess the tornado left in town, as it skimmed the town.  Miss
Lili’s going to hire people to put things back to normal.  When we come
out of the house, it’s raining, a slow soaking rain.  Bob took Maria and
Shay home, earlier, before it had started—Shay’s bedtime.  He must have
stayed because he’s not back yet.

Steve and I go back to the office
to let the dogs out again, Chief stayed home this time.  While we wait on
the dogs, I check the new puppies again and all is well.  The runt of the
litter is growing fast and has caught up with the others so she can push her
way in to demand her place at the “table.”  These puppies are going to be
bigger than Chaucee soon.  I’ll have to watch to be sure she’s not pushed
away from the “dinner plate.”  I go out to join Steve, he mentions we need
seats out here, the grass is too wet to sit in.  I agree with him, but
then the seats would be wet, too, since it’s still raining.  He calls me a
“spoil sport”, grabs me and kisses me.  We make out for a few minutes then
realize we’re standing in the rain by ourselves.  The dogs’d had enough
sense to get in outta the rain.  We laugh and go in to close up the
kennels and the office.

Before we lock the office, Steve
takes my arm to stop me before we step out the door into the rain.  I turn
and step to him for a goodnight kiss.  It was amazing.  I’ve gotten
used to the lightening storm in my stomach, but this time my heart did a little
flip, too.  Steve says he doesn’t want to let me go but he knows he has
to.  I have about half an hour to drive home on muddy roads.  He
wants me to be careful going home.  He asks for my phone number so he can
check on me, to be sure I make it home.  I give it to him and he kisses me
goodnight again, just because he doesn’t want to let me go.  We lock up
the office and leave, going separate directions.

The dirt road hasn’t had much
traffic on it so it’s not rutted.   The truck slides once and I
barely keep the back wheels out of the ditch at the side.  After that I
slow down some.  The phone’s ringing as I’m getting out of the truck, but
I don’t make it inside to answer it.  I forget I have Miss Lili’s number
so I don’t call Steve, who I’m sure called, to let him know I’m home
okay.  I call Maria to let her know, hoping Bob might still be there but
he’s already left.

Maria says he’s a bit miffed at her
because she won’t let the kissing go very far.  I tell her to stick to
what she wants for her and Shay.  I listen to her for a while then tell
her I need to go because I’m wet and need a hot shower.  I tell her I’ll
see her tomorrow and we’ll talk about it then.  She should get some sleep
now.

Just as I’m hanging up there’s a
knock on the door.  Steve’s there to check on me.  “You didn’t answer
the phone when I called so I came to check on you.  Did you have any
trouble?”

“No, but I almost slid into the
ditch just as I turned onto the dirt road so I drove slower.  I called
Maria to let her know I was home, hoping Bob was there so he could call
you.  I don’t have your number.”

“He wasn’t there.  He came
home early.  I guess they had a disagreement.  You have Grams’
number.”

“Oh, yes I do, I forgot,
sorry.  Maria said he was miffed.  Does Bob know Maria’s background?”

“I don’t know.  I try to stay
outta those kinda things.”

“Sit down.  Want a cup of
coffee, or a glass of tea?”  I go to the kitchen part of the room.

“I’ll take a cup of coffee. 
Sher, I don’t know that our getting involved will help Bob and Maria.”

“ Maria and Bob are taken with each
other.  I don’t want to but in, I just want to give them a chance to
understand the other before they make a decision about their
relationship.  Can you understand that?”

“Yes.  Okay, what do you want
to say?”  He asks as he sat down at the kitchen table.  I see him
looking around and explain how I happen to be in the bunk house.  “You
know, independence stuff,” I say.  He chuckles at me.

I tell him about Maria’s life in
short terms except for her marriage.  I let him know Maria needs to take
it slow with any relationship she may go into with a man.  She has real
reason to mistrust.  Then I explain I understand Maria so well because I
had many of the same problems.  At midnight, and after talking that long
about our pasts, Steve and I agree to take things slow, too.  He doesn’t
want any mistakes anymore than I do.  He says he’ll try to talk to Bob and
get him to slow down a bit.  I thank him, we kiss goodnight and have a
hard time stopping, but we do.

After he leaves, I shower and go to
bed.  I’m thankful we talked tonight.  Now, if only we can stick to
our agreement to go slow.  I know every time I kiss him my resolve
evaporates in the heat of the moment.  I fall asleep imagining Steve’s arms
around me.