I set out on a narrow way, many years ago.
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road.
But I got lost a time or two…
~Rascal Flatts~
Chapter One
“We’re sorry, but there’s no room available on any flights to the New York area at this time.”
This was the same speech I’d gotten from all the major airlines at the San Antonio International Airport. There wasn’t even room on any flights out of Stinson Airport, and I partially thought that had a lot to do with Chewie, who was currently napping in his carrier that was like a dead weight on my shoulder.
“When’s the next flight in the sometime foreseeable future that you could book us on so I can just get home? It doesn’t matter, I can fly into Kennedy or LaGuardia, even Newark is fine.”
The exceedingly helpful (and by helpful, I mean NOT) Delta airlines ticketing agent; Kelly--all boobs and blonde hair and Texas twang--took a moment’s pause and checked her computer.
“We’re all booked through the end of the weekend, ma’am. There’s a possibility of stand-by, but your pet will need to be in a hard top carrier…”
“No! He’s too little, I can’t do that. He’ll get sick. The carrier is my carry-on, and the ticketing agent in New York said that it wouldn’t be a problem to bring him.”
She smiled at me, all simper sweet. Oh, gag me-- here it came. “This is why we encourage you to arrive early ma’am. It prevents our passengers from missing important flights.”
Okay, so sue me. For the first time in my life I wasn’t at the airport the designated two hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. My aunt was heading off to her own flight and I thought I’d have plenty of time. Turns out traffic is a universal problem, not just a tri-state thing. Although, Texas traffic was just more…polite.
“So you’re saying I’m stuck here ‘til Monday?” I hefted the carrier up, and Chewie barked a little. Apparently, his Highness had awoken from his nap.
“Yes, ma’am. Do you need a hotel to accommodate you and your puppy?”
“No. I can go back to my aunt’s house. I still have the keys. Could you point me to the car rental counter, though?”
A polished fingernail showed me the way and with Chewie on my shoulder and my rolling suitcase behind me, we set off on a new adventure. Alamo, here I come.
Oh, the irony.
*~*~*~
“Chewie, I’m pretty sure I’m cursed. That’s gotta be the only reason for this.”
So, what were the odds that they’d be fresh out of cars?
Yeah. That’s what I said. So while we were waiting for a kind soul to return one sometime this month, Chewie and I found a nice spot of grass to sit on and wait. The sky was a perfect blue and there was this breeze. Texas was like finding a patch of heaven, wide open spaces and more than enough room to breathe. My aunt had moved out here a year ago and I missed her so much that I had to visit. After the first day, I joked that it was the kind of place you never wanted to leave.
There I go with the irony again.
I brought my puppy, Chewie (or Chewbacca when he was really in trouble), because there was no one to watch him at home. My aunt is also a major animal lover, so she wanted to meet the little fur ball. (Which is coincidentally how he got his name: he’s a mutt, and when I met him for the first time, he was a little poof of brown curly hair.) She had a collar for him, as a welcome present, complete with a tiny charm of the Millennium Falcon. He really liked it, he wagged his little tail and licked her face till she laughed and laughed. He’s a people kind of puppy.
And there was no way I was checking him like baggage.
I had one of those collapsible doggie bowls for him and we were sharing a bottle of Poland Spring. Chewie was beyond thrilled to be let out of his carrier and was currently pouncing shadows, and ignoring me. Must’ve picked that charming habit up from my aunt’s cat.
I tipped my face up to the sunshine, letting it soak in good. New York was currently a miserable, rainy 64 degrees, had been for weeks. Chewie let out a yap, drawing my attention to him.
“Yes?” I asked him, scratching behind his ears.
He bumped my hand with his nose. He really is the cutest miniature walking carpet on earth.
Satisfied that he was, in fact, the center of my universe again, he took a few proud steps away from me. I heard a clicking noise--sort of like raindrops on cement--coming closer and, sighting the sidewalk, I saw its source. A rather large dog was liberated from its owner and heading straight for me and Chewie.
Or, you know. Chewie’s water bowl. Nose first, no hesitation, just help yourself. At least he isn’t making a snack out of my puppy.
Chewie trotted over, all macho-like. The other dog, his (and yeah, I could tell by looking at him) thirst quenched; panted and flopped to the cool grass. He gave my puppy a lick, hopefully not a taste test- and laid his head down. Chewie thought this was awesome, apparently and sidled up to this stranger and cuddled.
Ladies and gents, my ferocious guard dog.
“Hey, honey.” I slowly reached my hand out to the new dog. He gave it a sniff, then a lick and with a few wags of the tail, I was pretty sure he was the friendly sort. Well that, and Chewie really seemed to like him. He had an orange collar on, with the Harley-Davidson logo on it. The tag dangling from the loop said- you guessed it- ‘Harley’.
“Oh, how original.” I snickered. “Well, Harley. Hopefully someone’s looking for you, otherwise I don’t know what we’re gonna do.”
I held his leash loosely in my hand with Chewie’s. They looked so cute, all pooped out together, Harley curling around my little guy. I couldn’t resist, new puppy mommy that I am so I took out my digital camera and snapped a picture. It was getting tucked back into my bag when I heard someone shout out Harley’s name. His left ear perked about a quarter of an inch, but he kept right on napping. Oh, this was one spoiled dog.
Or he was also taking lessons from my aunt’s cat.
Thudding footsteps pounded the pavement and I looked up into the sun as the voice shouted for Harley again. I waved a hand, and the guy came running over, another similar looking dog on a leash dutifully trotting at his side.
“Oh, thank goodness. I thought he got loose on the highway.” He squatted down and got eyelevel with his dog. Harley was happy to see his owner, tail wagging and doggie smile and ‘Who me, I’d never do anything wrong!’ He licked the guy’s enormous hand.
“Nice try, buster. You are in serious trouble. Sadie, sit down next to your brother while I thank this nice lady for finding him.”
The other dog, Sadie, sneezed in understanding. She sniffed Chewie for a sec, Harley looking at her like, yeah he’s with me. That seemed to be enough for the lady and she snuggled the other side of my puppy. He nuzzled her and rolled over. What a mush.
“If you want to get technical about it, he found me. He was thirsty.” I tried to explain for Harley, pointing to the bowl. The guy sat on the grass next to me as I handed him his dogs’ leash.
“Oh, gosh. Harley’s got a bit of the devil in him. He bolted for some reason when I let them out of the car at the short-term lot.” He stopped and saw the puppy sandwich, and smiled with these dimples that probably let him get away with murder when he was little. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. What’s your puppy’s name?”
“That’s Chewie.” I smiled. Wow, this guy was cute. Seriously. And familiar, too. Hm.
“Aw, like Chewbacca from ‘Star Wars’?” He smiled again, readjusting his backwards Hurley baseball hat.
“No, from ‘Firefly’. Of course from ‘Star Wars’,” I kidded in my best laughing voice.
He smacked himself in the forehead.
“Duh, Jared,” he said to himself. Then he smacked himself again. “Goodness, where are my manners? My Momma’d have my behind by now.”
He stuck out his free hand, the one formerly used for the self flagellation. “I’m Jared, by the way. And you already know Harley. That’s Miss Sadie, she has the decency to not run away the first chance she gets-yes, Harley, I’m talking to you. And that’s the mighty Chewbacca, but who can I thank for holding onto my dog when I couldn’t manage?”
Man, he talks a lot.
“I’m Megan.” I told him and took his hand and shook it. Wow. Big. Giant. Hands.
He smiled again, holding onto my hand. “That’s my baby sister’s name.”
Jared, Jared….Why is this ringing a bell? I must be having a brain fart.
“Oh, really? Well, your Momma has good taste.” I smiled. The southern words made my northern wit come out soft. I’d also picked up a bit of the accent while I was here; I always did that when I was in the South for whatever reason.
“Can’t argue with that. Well, Megan. Thank you for getting Harley-Hell-Raiser to settle down for a bit. I’d’ve died if anything happened to him.” And he sounded so serious, and I could see the guilt in his stunning hazel eyes, all because he’d slipped holding the leash for a second.
“Jared? Right, don’t beat yourself up. Nothing happened to him, he’s safe. I would’ve stayed with him until someone came looking for him.” And it was the truth, even if a rental car had come and gone by then.
The flash of gratitude in his smile and his eyes made me blush. And I’m a New Yorker.
“Thank you. Again.” And I knew he really meant it. He reached to give Harley a pet. Chewie perked his head up and whined, jealous. Sadie licked him and gave him a nudge. He burrowed his head into her leg, tail thumping away. She sighed and put her head down again. I got out the camera.
“This is too cute for words.” I held it up. “Do you mind?” I asked Jared.
“Not at all. I’d like a copy, if it wouldn’t be an imposition. You know, like a visual aid for when I have to tell this story a million times over at work and to my friend Jen.”
I snapped the picture. Oh, who am I kidding? I took quite a few, from different angles and viewpoints.
“Not a problem. Write down your email address for me, and I’ll send it to you when I upload them.”
He looked unsure for a second, looking at the camera like it might bite him. “I suppose you want to take a picture with me too, huh?”
And yeah, he was cute. But taking pictures with random guys was something you did for fun when you were in a sorority and on Spring Break in Cancun. None of which I was. And my sarcastic thought process must’ve been clearly expressed on my face, because he chuckled and sighed.
“Wow. Look at me. Jen’d bust my ass for bein’ too big for my britches right about now. We’re always complain’ about how hard it is to go out and just be like everyone else and here you are treatin’ me just like that and I’m all ‘don’t you know who I am?’ on you.” He picked a blade of grass, cheeks pinking a little-either from the sun or sudden embarrassment; I couldn’t tell.
And I looked at him, really looked at him.
Oh.
“Oh.” I said softly. “You’re….Oh! Okay.”
Now I knew where I’d seen him before. On my TV. At the movies. In various porn-tastic dreams I’d had. I swear, I’d be the only person to walk into a celebrity and not know it was them.
“Sorry, I didn’t….”
“It’s more than alright. I was going for low-key, only Harley here had other plans.” He showed me the big Oakleys he’d stuck at the ‘V’ of his open polo shirt. “Shoot, now I feel silly.”
“It’s okay. Honestly. You still put your pants on one leg at a time, right?” I asked him, tucking the camera away.
“Yeah.” He smiled again and how could I have freaking missed the Padalecki dimples? “I guess I still do.”
“Oh, so you mean you don’t have someone to dress you? A big, fancy important man like yourself?” I smacked his knee lightly, laughing.
He laughed so hard, the dogs stared at him. Harley ‘woofed’ and cocked his head like ‘okay, Daddy’s gone off the deep end again’. Sadie seemed to agree. Chewie, however needed to investigate this new sound. He untangled himself from his new friends and trotted over to Jared, little tail going a mile a minute. He reared up on his little hind legs and batted at Jared’s knee. Someone would have to teach him he was not part kitten.
“Aw, he’s so small. Hey buddy. Pleased to meet ya.” Jared stuck his hand out for inspection. Chewie sniffed for all but a second before nuzzling his hand and licking it with his tickly little tongue. “Oh, come here, you sweet little fuzzball.” Chewie got scooped up for a cuddle.
I heard a faint ‘plopping’ sound and knew it was my heart just going. Because, honestly? The sight of him cradling my puppy, big enough to fit one of his hands, while getting his face licked and I was gone. Poof. Done. Goodbye, ovaries.
“So, you’re either coming or going here at the airport. Which is it?” he asked, and through my estrogen enhanced haze I managed to hear him.
“Actually, I’m kinda stuck here. I was supposed to fly out back to New York today, but I missed my flight and they can’t book me home until the weekend is over because I won’t put Chewie in a hard carrier under the plane.”
He sucked his tongue, and continued petting my dog. I put out a hand for Sadie to sniff, before stroking her head softly. She moaned and rolled over, wanting a belly scratch.
“Well, if I didn’t already think you were good people, I’d know it now. My dogs love you.” He smiled. “And I think Chewie likes me.”
The puppy yip-yip-yipped, agreeing it seemed. I scratched Sadie’s tummy, and she made a silly face, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.
“I think he might just move into your shirt there, if he could get any closer. I’d say he likes you, even if he doesn’t know who you are.” I teased.
“Oh, I’m not living that down anytime soon am I?”
“Nope. Not even if my rental car slash chariot comes rolling up sometime this century.”
“Aw, heck. You need a ride, you got it! Why didn’t you just say so?” he was all energy again, happy and electric. It was absolutely contagious. It must be exhausting to be around him all the time, but I was sure I wouldn’t mind finding that out for myself.
“You sure? I mean, it’s not out of your way?”
“No, it’s no trouble at all. I’m heading back home anyway, I was just dropping…” he stopped. He lifted Chewie up and looked at him thoughtfully. “Dropping someone off. So, Chewie. Where can I take you to?”
“I was staying with my aunt, and I do believe I still have the keys to her house. Chewie would like it if you took us there. Me too, coincidentally.”
“Alright then. Harley, Sadie! C’mon! Get up!” he made the kissy noise at them, gently tugging on the leashes. I dumped out the leftover water and folded up the bowl, tucking it away.
“Okay, buddy. Time to get into the bag.” I patted the carrier and the puppy whined at me and pleaded with a whine at Jared. “I know, baby. It’s okay, just for a little while alright?”
He looked at me with his sweet little puppy face as Jared set him down and handed me his leash. Chewie looked at Harley and Sadie, finally on their respective feet and wedged himself between them. Sadie nudged him with her nose and licked his head.
“Jared, your dog’s bad behavior better not be rubbing off on mine.”
He smiled and took my suitcase for me. “I think its pack behavior, actually. He thinks he’s big like them. Don’t worry, Sadie’ll keep ’em both level.”
“If you say so. I just think the pavement’s too hot for him, he’s so little.”
“C’mon. Let him walk and if it gets too hot I’ll scoop him up.”
I nodded in agreement, handed him Chewie’s leash and set off next to Jared. It took me nearly two steps to match his long stride and now that we were standing up, I saw just how tall he really was. The top of my head came just to his shoulder, and I was always described as ‘tall for a girl’.
The dogs walked in front of us, and Jared started babbling away about how he doesn’t like to crate his dogs either but when it’s the difference between not seeing them nine months out of the year or having them there to greet him and make him smile when he’s had a crappy day, he’ll do it; but it doesn’t mean he likes it any.
“I understand. I live alone in my house and before I got the fuzzball-sometimes going home wasn’t my favorite part of the day.”
He takes a minute and slips his sunglasses on. We’re almost at the parking lot and I twitch my nose and look at the dogs. It’s getting hotter as we get closer to the sticky black tarred surface of the garage.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Chewie! C’mere, puppy. Atta boy. Come see Uncle Jared.”
I laugh as the puppy licks the faint stubble around Jared’s mouth and Harley starts to bark. Sadie woofs at him, probably to tell him to shut up. She’s such a lady, that dog and she’s looking at Jared as if for his praise or approval of her handling of the situation.
“Good girl, you tell ‘em. I can see the truck from here, see that grey and blue Suburban?” he points. It’s then I realize he’s got all three dogs’ leashes on one wrist plus my suitcase trailing behind him and he’s holding Chewie.
“Hey, Uncle Jared. Give me that suitcase or something. You shouldn’t have your hands full when mine are empty.”
“A lady shouldn’t have to carry her own bags; my Momma’d have my ass again if she thought I let you carry it. Here, take the Terror Twins. Just…hang onto ‘em, okay?”
He was trusting me with the two things he loved the most in this world, and the pressure was definitely on. He took the key out and pressed the remote. The locks clicked and Harley tried to dash for the door.
“Whoa, chill out chopsticks. We’ll get you in the car.” I gently tugged him back, and he sat by my knee. He looked up at me, so I scratched his head. “Good boy. Just have some patience.”
He leaned on me, pressing his sweet doggie face into my leg. Oh, my heart was gonna break when it would be time to leave these guys. Jared thunked my suitcase in the back of the truck and swung the doors closed. He pulled open the back door and Harley hopped in, Sadie close behind. They sat on the seats, each on their own respective sides of the car. Jared closed the door and there was an immediate press of wet nose to the window glass.
“You want to hold Chewie while I drive?” he asked. I shook my head, no.
“He’s gotta go in the bag. I don’t like the idea of him bouncing around the car. He’s so small, yet you know?”
He held Chewie while I unzipped the bag, then gently placed him in and unclipped his leash. Puppy was a little mad at the both of us, and started barking his head off.
“I have an idea,” Jared said, opening the door to Sadie’s side of the car. She sat there while Chewie yapped his brains out, head cocked to the side. “Here we go. Sit in the middle with your friends here.”
He seat belted the carrier through the loop in the top and pulled it tight. Sadie sniffed it and looked inside and woofed at Chewie. Harley even stopped staring out his window to check this out. He wagged his tail and barked.
Well, if the dogs liked the plan, who was I to argue?
Chewie simmered down, happy I guess to be sitting with the big kids even if he had to be in his special seat. Jared opened the door to the passenger side for me. I blinked a few times, before recovering and thanking him, then climbing in. Wow. People who still opened doors for you? And carried your heavy things? And loved your dog just about as much as you did?
I might just be in love.
With Texas. Yeah. With Texas.
Shut up.
