Hero of Mine (3 page)

Dani didn't respond; there was no point. Her mom and dad were older than her other friends' parents and were big fans of saying “shake it off” and “rub some dirt in it.”

Whereas Dani would rather take on another hospital bill if it meant peace of mind.

“You're earlier than I was expecting. Did something happen?” her mom asked.

“Nope, the girl I was covering for finally showed up, that's all.”

“So what are your plans, then?” she asked.

After the emergency room, you mean?

“Noah and I will probably take it easy. Make some food. Watch cartoons.”

“You shouldn't let him watch too much TV.”

Why was it her mom couldn't go one minute without giving her unsolicited advice?

“I don't, but thank you for watching him.” Dani carried a sniffling Noah over to the couch and picked up her diaper bag.

“I only tell you these things to help. I saw this study the other day on television and the effects it has on—”

“Mom! Noah is fine.”

“I don't want to fight with you, Danielle. You're young, and I just thought you'd be interested in what I've learned from raising you, but that's fine.”

Danielle didn't mention that she hadn't exactly grown up to be a perfect, functioning adult. What was the point? Her mother had given her an out, and she was going to take it.

“I appreciate your advice, Mom, just let me ask for it. Okay?”

Her mother nodded regally. “I'll try, but it's hard to break old habits.”

Dani shook her head. Her mother wasn't going to change, but at least she was being reasonable.

Wait . . .

A reasonable mother meant she wanted something.

As if on cue, her mother said, “By the way, I wanted to make sure you're coming to church with us on Sunday.”

Uh-oh, here we go again.
“I haven't been to church in years, Mom.”

“Well then, it's time to start back up. It's good for the soul, you know.”

Despite the innocence in her voice, Dani knew there was something else afoot. “Why now?”

“Because I want you to meet a few people. You're always saying you don't have time to meet men your age, but there are several very nice ones who go to church with us, and I want to introduce you.”

“Mom, when are you going to give up? I am not looking for a husband.”

“Well, you should be,” she snapped.

“And thousands of feminists' heads just spun around in horror.”

“Your father and I won't be around forever to help you with Noah, and it's expensive to pay for childcare and housing and other bills. You get by because we help you, but you need a partner. Someone to take on the burden. And honestly, you need to stop all this volunteering and wasting your time. You should be working more. You can't afford to give your time away, not now.”

Dani took a deep, cleansing breath. “Mom, I volunteer one day a month at the spay and neuter clinic, and it is something that is needed. We are all doing fine, and as far as the future goes, we'll see how everything shakes out, but I am not going to chase down man after man just because you think I should. When I'm ready, and I don't know that I will be, I will start dating.”

“Yes, because you've shown just what a good judge of character you can be.”

Her mom's sarcasm swirled like a bitter brew in her stomach, confirming her own thoughts. “We'll see you later, Mom.”

“I'm only trying to help you,” her mom called after her.

Dani shut her parents' front door, thinking about Tyler and his words of wisdom as well.

“Everybody's just so helpful today.”

T
YLER SAT ACROSS
from Sergeant Dean Sparks on Monday morning, waiting for him to say something. He'd known the minute he told Sparks about the dog he was going to have a meltdown, but what could Tyler do? He couldn't leave the dog to die.

“You don't even know if we can use the dog for the program?”

“Nope,” Tyler said flippantly.

Sparks sat back in his chair, sighing heavily. “Best, I know that we've had a couple of dogs we ended up not being able to train for the program, but we can't spend thousands of dollars on a dog that
might
be a good fit.”

“Alpha Dog isn't paying for him. I am. Once he's out of the vet and healed, I'll temperament test him and go from there. The program doesn't need to be affected unless he passes his test and doesn't have any long-standing injuries.”

“What exactly was so special about
this
dog?” Sparks asked.

Tyler wasn't sure how to describe it, the undeniable connection between him and the big gray dog.
I had to help him
sounded stupid, and Dean would never be able to understand that it was the truth.

Plus, having that pretty tech Dani looking at you like you hung the moon wasn't half bad, either.

Well, for a little while at least, before he managed to piss her off again. Tyler wasn't going to mention the girl, though, and have Sparks give him more shit. Especially since Tyler wasn't really into her.

Then how come she keeps popping up in your head?

Because he hadn't gotten laid over the weekend?

“Look, it's on my dime, and if he doesn't work out, I'll find him a home.”

“Still, this program needs to be functioning in order to succeed. You brought six dogs back with you from the shelter, and we only have four kennels.”

“If a dog passes his evaluation, then I'm bringing him back here. If you have a problem with that, replace me.” Tyler wasn't going to back down on this. Leaving behind dogs who couldn't pass their evaluation was one thing, but there was no way he wasn't going to find room for every dog who did.

Sparks shook his head. “Just when I think you don't have a heart, you do something like this.”

“I never said I don't have a heart; I just keep it heavily guarded.”

Sparks ran his hands over his face and close-cropped dark hair. “Best, I want to save them all, believe me. But we don't have enough kids in here to handle all the dogs you're bringing in, let alone trainers.” Sparks paused to look over one of the other dog's descriptions. “I mean, this dog Bosco is only thirty pounds and looks like a stuffed animal a child would snuggle. Is he going to be a therapy dog?”

“No, he's too high energy, and it would be a waste. The dog is fast as hell, and I guarantee with the right training, I can have him taking down men like a hundred-pound rottie.”

“Meanwhile, where are two of these dogs going to go?” Sparks asked.

“Apollo and Zeus are ready for training, so I'll graduate them from basic. The kids working with them can take over these new ones.”

“So, does that mean you're going to be taking Apollo and Zeus home with you?” Dean grinned evilly. “Casey misses Apollo so much. I think he's actually convinced Violet he needs a dog, but if I tell him you've got Apollo at home, he might forget about it for a while and just start showing up at your place.”

Casey was a graduate of the Alpha Dog Training Program and was Sparks's girlfriend's little brother. Tyler liked Casey, and the kid liked him. His sister Violet wasn't Tyler's biggest fan, probably because he'd slept with her best friend and never called her again. That tended to make women think he was a jerk, but he wasn't out to hurt anyone. He just liked having fun.

“You tell him he's welcome anytime, just text me first in case I have . . . company.”

Dean rolled his eyes at the innuendo. “Get the hell out of my office, player. You've got a date at the pediatric wing this afternoon.”

Tyler left the office and headed back toward where Apollo and Zeus were held. Most of the trainers took turns visiting local hospitals and nursing homes. It gave the dogs excellent exposure and usually brightened the patients' spirits.

Tyler liked visiting the kids, but there was another patient he usually swung in to check in on. Henry Coleson was a sixty-four-year-old Marine with no family or friends to speak of. They had met by chance, and Tyler had started visiting him whenever he could. Henry's body was riddled with cancer, and although he could be a pissy son of a bitch, he never turned Tyler away when he visited.

Tyler passed by one of the moms being led out by a trainer and nodded at her with a smile. “Ma'am.”

She returned his smile, and Tyler started whistling, feeling good. It didn't matter if they were young or old, women liked Tyler, always had. Only a handful had ever shot him down or stood immune to his charms. One of them had been Dani.

Which is good for you because not only is she a single mom, she obviously has some issues.

It was true; she'd been angry, defensive, and rude. In other words, drama. And he definitely didn't need any of that.

You're better off sticking to the lonely and uncomplicated.

D
ANI STOOD IN
her kitchen making coffee, her eyes burning with fatigue. The whole weekend had been a disaster. It was bad enough that she'd picked Noah up on Thursday with the bump on his forehead, but after trying and failing to get in with his pediatrician, they'd ended up at the urgent care clinic. The doctor there had assured her Noah would be fine, but she'd overheard the nurses saying that one of the other little boys in the waiting room had been dehydrated from throwing up for days. Dani had prayed hard that Noah wouldn't get it, but sure enough, Noah had spent most of yesterday throwing up, and she had hardly been able to sleep, worried he'd start up again. She'd slept on the couch, with Bella lying across her feet snoring. She loved the fat pug, really, but her loud snores hadn't helped Dani's insomnia.

The coffee dripped slowly, and Dani tapped her foot impatiently. She'd called in sick for tonight, just to be on the safe side, and her boss had been understanding. It was the first time Noah had ever experienced the stomach flu, and watching his tiny body convulse and retch had been heartbreaking.

Finally, the pot filled up, and Dani pulled down one of the mismatched mugs from the cupboard. The rich aroma made her mouth water as she started to pour.

The soft sound of Noah's feet on the carpet, followed by the trampling of Shasta, their shepherd mix, made Dani put down the coffeepot reluctantly. She turned with a smile, her heart swelling as her son stumbled down the hallway, his brown curls mussed from sleep. Although he still slept in his crib, he had started to be able to climb out. Shasta padded along beside him, pushing her nose into his hand for head pats, but the little boy ignored her, surprisingly. She had brought the dog home the same time she'd found out she was pregnant with Noah, and from the moment he was born, Shasta had attached herself to him, and he adored her. He still must feel pretty crummy if even her demand for affection couldn't make him smile.

“Hey, buddy, you feeling any better?”

Noah shook his head as he climbed up onto the couch next to Bella, who still snored loudly.

“Do you want me to get you some crackers or something?”

Noah didn't answer. Dani went to grab the saltines anyway and heard the unmistakable sound of Noah throwing up. She flipped on the light as she rushed to Noah's side. There was a large puddle of dark vomit on the floor, and Dani stared at it for a moment, puzzled. Noah hadn't had anything to eat in over twenty-four hours except a little chicken broth last night. Why was his vomit so dark?

And then she saw the reddish brown tinge and what looked like . . . What was that congealed junk? Dani glanced up into Noah's pale face, saw the burnished smears in the corner of his mouth and chin, and knew.

Blood. Her son was puking blood.

Dani ran to grab her purse from the kitchen and her hard-soled slippers from the bedroom, panic propelling her like a whirlwind. Finally, she scooped a crying Noah up in her arms and raced out the door.

“It's okay, baby. Mama's got you. We're just going to the doctor.”

Noah sobbed into the crook of her neck as she threw open her car door. Buckling Noah into his car seat, she kissed his cheeks and forehead before closing the door.

When she turned the key in the ignition, there wasn't even a click.

“No, this cannot be happening.” She tried again, begging and pleading with her car, but still, nothing happened.

Noah started gagging again, and Dani grabbed her phone from her purse. As she dialed her parents' home, she turned in time to watch Noah cover the whole front of his pajamas and seat with blood.

Ending the call, she dialed 911 instead. “Hang on, baby. We're going to take a ride in a spaceship.”

H
ENRY
C
OLESON GLOWERED
at Tyler as he held out the spoon of Jell-O to him.

“I'm not a fucking child. So why the hell are you trying to feed me like one, dipshit?”

“Because the nurse said you won't eat and I should try to convince your stubborn behind to take a bite.” Tyler had limited patience for most people, but Henry was different. The battle-scarred Marine had seen a tour in Nam and Desert Storm, served his country forty-five years, and, six months after retirement, found out he had stage four prostate cancer. They'd taken his prostate but found the cancer had already spread to his liver and lungs. He'd gone through chemo and even a few experimental trials, but nothing had worked. He'd finally said enough.

Henry took a few deep, labored breaths, the tubes in his nose fogging. “I'm trying to starve myself, you dumb fuck. Why won't you just let me die?”

“I get that, but here's the thing. I'm not ready to let you bite it yet. I still need you around.”

“For what? The only shit I was ever good at was being stupid and screwing. And you don't got a problem with either of those things.” Henry's laughter turned into a hoarse round of coughing that ended in a few painful wheezes.

“Shouldn't crack yourself up like that. Karma's a bitch.”

“Fuck you,” Henry said weakly.

“See, if you can still cuss me out, I know you aren't ready to die yet.”

“Tyler . . . ” Henry's voice was hoarse, and Tyler met his foggy gray eyes.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“You . . . need to get yourself a life.”

Tyler took a piece of the roast beef off Henry's plate and fed it to Apollo, who sat next to his chair at attention. He was a young dog, but he and his brother, Zeus, were going to make wonderful therapy dogs. Tyler enjoyed bringing them by the children's wing of the hospital and watching the kids' faces light up. He was going to miss them when they graduated from the therapy program and became someone's sidekicks.

“I have a life. I have my place, my job, training the dogs. I even rescued a dog last week—”

“I'm talking about something you can leave behind. Someone who will be there for you when you're an angry old bastard being eaten up with cancer. Who cares if you live or die and cries at your funeral.”

“I care, Henry. And I promise to pour a shot of whiskey on your grave when you go,” Tyler said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Are you deliberately missing the point? You're young now, but eventually you're going to wake up and realize you spent your whole life serving your country and you have nothing to show for it except a broken dick and a lot of bad memories.”

Tyler patted the older man's shoulder. “I'll get married, eventually. Don't worry about it. I'm more concerned with Nurse Hatchet coming back and seeing that you didn't touch your food. She looked like the type that would strap you to the bed and force-feed you.”

“Just let me be, kid.” Tyler had never heard Henry so dejected, and for the first time, he realized that Henry meant it. He wasn't just being a martyr to start an argument.

He was done fighting.

The doctors had given him six months a year ago, but he'd proved them wrong. He'd been beating the odds for a while.

Tyler set the Jell-O on the tray and, unsure of how Henry would respond, took his friend's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Okay.”

“Don't you got some kids to entertain?” Henry didn't shake him off or call him a pussy, like he would have a few weeks ago. It made the grief squeezing Tyler's chest hurt worse.

“I'll get to them soon. Right now, I figured I'd talk you to sleep.”

“What else is new? You can't tell a decent story to save your life. You should try something with bloodshed, intrigue, adventure, forbidden love—”

Tyler scoffed. “When have you ever told a story about forbidden love?”

“That girl I met when I got back from Operation Desert Storm.”

“What girl? You mean the hooker?”

Henry's face turned beet red. “She was not a hooker; she was an exotic dancer.”

“Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but if they accept money and actually let you touch them, they're no longer just a stripper.”

Henry mumbled something under his breath, and Tyler chuckled. “Usually you deliver your insults at a roar.”

“At least I found someone to love. Not everyone does, and some of us don't have all the time in the world, you know.”

It was far too true, and Tyler stared at Henry, the silence between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

Tyler didn't like to talk about the day he got shot, but with Henry . . . Well, he felt like the old guy could empathize. Besides, he'd heard all his battle stories. Might as well share his before Henry was gone.

“Did I ever tell you about when I got shot?”

Henry opened both of his eyes and sat up a bit. “No, haven't heard that one.”

“Wanna hear it now?”

Henry nodded. “Sure, kid.”

Tyler started talking, staring at the wall as he remembered. “I was patrolling with my dog, Rex. He was this big German shepherd, about ninety pounds and smart as hell. We were just walking, and then there was this slicing pain. There were bullets flying everywhere; it took me a second to even realize Rex wasn't moving. I radioed for help and just kept holding Rex as I waited. And then when I was in the hospital, my friend brought me a plastic container full of ashes and told me they belonged to Rex. That they'd burned him and thought I'd want to take him home with me. Corny, right? But I did, even bought an engraved urn and everything. It sits up on the shelf in my room.”

Henry's gaze was heavy, belying his lighthearted insult. “You're still a crap storyteller.”

“I know.” He gave his friend a little salute as he stood up. “I'll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Henry didn't respond, just stared at him for a few seconds. Finally, he returned the salute. “Thank you for making my time here not so shitty.”

Tyler hated how much the words sounded like good-bye.

S
EVERAL HOURS LATER
, Dani stood in the hallway of Mercy San Juan Hospital, outside of Noah's room, talking to his doctor. After X-rays, blood tests, and a mountain of tears from both Noah and Dani, Dr. Barrick finally had answers.

“We believe that Noah got a tear in his esophagus while vomiting yesterday, and it bled into his stomach. At this point, we don't think we'll have to repair it surgically, as these tears usually heal on their own. However, we'd like to keep him a day or so for observation.”

Despite the doctor's almost casual, no-big-deal tone, Dani still had a lump of panic lodged in her throat. “Is there anything I need to watch for?”

“Other than if the vomiting continues, no. He's being monitored by the machines and getting fluids. You might want to grab a couple of things from home to make him more comfortable, but otherwise, I assure you, he's in good hands.”

“Thank you.” Dani could tell that the doctor was anxious to move on, and she wanted to be back in the room with Noah. She could see her mom sitting next to his bed, giving Dani hand cues and mouthing
What's he saying?
while Noah watched
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
, his thumb in his mouth. Dani had been trying to break him of the habit, but today she would let it slide.

She entered the room, walked straight to the head of Noah's hospital bed, and began brushing back his curls. He didn't take his hazel eyes from the screen, but he did reach up with his IV-free hand to hold hers.

“What did the doctor say?” her mom demanded.

“That they want to keep him overnight for observation, but he should be fine.” Dani gave her mom a warning look when she opened her mouth again. She didn't want to discuss what the doctor had said in front of Noah. “Do you mind going to my place and packing a bag for Noah and me? And feed the dogs for me?”

“Of course I can, but I want to know—”

“Mom, I'll tell you a little later, okay?”

Huffing loudly, her mom finally took the hint. “Fine, just text me. Do you want me to bring you back something to eat?”

“No, I'll just grab something from the cafeteria,” Dani said.

“Well, all right then.” Her mom leaned over and kissed Noah's hand. “Mapa will be back soon, handsome boy.”

Noah looked up at Dani, squeezing her hand hard. Reading the panic in her son's eyes, Dani smiled reassuringly. “I'm staying. Mapa is just going to get some things for us. Is there anything you want her to bring back?”

“Shasta.”

Dani laughed. “She can't bring Shasta back, sweetheart. Anything else?”

“Pig.”

Pig was Noah's favorite stuffed animal. Dani had grabbed it for five bucks at some department store with the purchase of the matching book before Noah was born. He dragged that thing around everywhere, so it was no surprise it was the second thing he picked.

“All right, I'll be back in an hour or so.”

Once her mom left the room, Dani let go of Noah's hand to go around and take the chair her mom had been sitting in. Once she was settled, she reached out to put her hand over Noah's, trying to let go of some of the fear that had been suffocating her ever since she had seen the blood. The nurses and doctors had been kind to her, even after she'd yelled at the X-ray technician for making Noah stand for another X-ray after he puked again. She had tried to keep it together so Noah wouldn't see how scared she was, but she had never been very good at holding back her emotions.

And feeling helpless had only made things worse.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the open door.

“Puppy!” Noah cried excitedly.

Dani glanced toward the door and blinked several times as she recognized Tyler Best from Alpha Dog, holding the leash of a black puppy with large floppy ears.

“Hey there, sorry to interrupt, but I have someone who wanted to meet you.” Tyler looked away from Noah and seemed to do a double take when his eyes met hers. “Oh, hi.”

“Hello.” Clearing her throat to get rid of the squeak, she added, “How are you?”

“Fine, just bringing Apollo by to greet the kids. He's in training and needs the socialization.”

Noah was trying to sit up but stopped with a painful grimace, clutching his stomach with a whimper.

“Noah, honey, are you okay?” Dani stood up, the fear once more clawing up and squeezing her chest.

“I didn't mean to upset him,” Tyler said.

“No, he's having stomach problems, so I think it just hurts.” Dani knew it wasn't his fault, yet there was just a thread of irritation in her voice.

Tyler brought Apollo closer and picked the young dog up. “How about I bring this big guy to you . . . ” Tyler looked up at Dani expectantly.

“Noah.”

“Noah, meet Apollo. If you're very gentle, you can stroke his ears.” Noah reached out cautiously, running his hand down the puppy's neck. “Doesn't he just have the softest fur?”

Noah nodded and started to stretch closer but hesitated. As if sensing her son's desire, Tyler put the pup on the bed next to Noah gently and said, “Stay.”

The dog stilled, even when Noah cuddled closer, his hand drifting over Apollo's head and down his back.

Dani's whole body relaxed, warming from the inside out as Apollo turned his head and ran his pink tongue over Noah's wrist, causing her son to giggle softly. Ashamed that she'd been thinking unkindly of Tyler, she had a hard time meeting his eyes as she commented, “Wow, he's really well behaved. There is no way my dog would be that still, especially if she was getting love.”

“He's been training for months and had two different kids working with him. It's just something that takes time and patience.”

As she watched Noah stroke the puppy's shiny black coat, tears pricked her eyes. There were kids a lot sicker than Noah in the hospital, so she shouldn't take up too much of Tyler's time, but it was the first smile she'd seen from her son all day.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

When she met Tyler's eyes again, there was a charge of awareness. The blue depths were the color of those tropical ocean pictures, so bright and clear, and although she'd never really noticed a man's lips before, his were really quite nice and soft looking.

“You're welcome. Like I said, we're just making the rounds.”

Horrified by her thoughts, she stammered, “Oh, well, we . . . We shouldn't keep you.”

“You're not, really. I've been here for hours and already said hi to everyone else today. We've got just one more stop after you before we head home.”

“If you're sure you don't want to get going—”

“Do you want us to leave?” he asked.

Yes!
“No, of course not.” Dani glanced toward Noah and saw that he was turned on his side with his arm wrapped around Apollo, whose head was down on the hospital bed. “Is he asleep?”

Tyler craned his neck and nodded. “They both are.”

Dani ran her hands over her face. “Thank God.”

“If you don't mind me asking, what's going on with Noah?” Tyler asked.

“He had the flu, and they think he tore his esophagus while he was vomiting. He started throwing up blood this morning, and we've been here since about seven.”

“That must have been really scary.”

His expression was filled with such sincere empathy, and it was comforting. “It was. He's my whole world, you know?”

Realizing that tears were spilling down her cheeks, she laughed. “I'm so sorry, I don't mean to cry and make you uncomfortable.” Sniffing softly, she asked, “How's the dog?”

“Good, I'm picking him up Friday. Luckily, just his leg was injured. They did surgery, pinned the break, and put a cast on it, but he's great. He still has to take it easy, but the healing time is only six weeks or so. Hopefully, we'll be able to evaluate him and see where he fits in the program.”