Facing Redemption (41 page)

“Aren’t you a cu
rious thing?”  Anne laughed and

reached down.  She offered her hand for it to sniff.  It stepped through the chaos of dogs jumping around and licked her hand.  That was it for Anne.  She turned to one of the workers with a smile.

“Can I pick this one up?”  The worker reached in for her and grabbed the baby and handed it over.  “What kind of dog is this?”  Anne took it in her arms and looked underneath.  “And I see you’re a boy.  Well hello handsome.”  She nuzzled the dog.

“This is a cheagle.” The volunteer pet the dog, as Anne held it to her chest.  Anne looked at the volunteer’s nametag, which read ‘Patti’.

“Never heard of it.  Does he have a name?  And why is this little baby here and not with a family?”

Patti sighed.  “Sadly little puppies come here every day.  Families with small children think they’re ready for an animal, and don’t realize the work it takes to raise a dog.  They bring them here and we hopefully find a good home for them.”  She smiled down into puppy’s eyes and talked to him.  “This little guy’s name is Baxter and he’s a mix between a Chihuahua and a Beagle.  He’s a really well behaved dog.” 

             
That sealed the deal for Anne.  She had already fallen for Baxter and knew she couldn’t go home without him.  She filled out the adoption paperwork the worker provided, and took him home.  It had been four days and Baxter had adapted really well.  He’d slept through the night from night one, and made himself at home.  It made the transition of the empty house an easier one for Anne.  She had herself a new best friend, until she could branch out and find some human ones.

             
“I’m going to have to get a life again.”  Anne stood looking at her reflection.  “You can do this Anne … and I’m talking to myself.  Great.”  Anne snorted and turned away. 

             
Anne walked across her living room to turn on the television.  She would never admit it, but she was a closet television junkie, but only for a couple of leading men.  Her two favorite shows were
NCIS
, with Mark Harmon, and
Hope’s Miracle
, with Chad Chambers, who played Dr. Hank.  Both shows were a weekly staple in her schedule and if she had to admit - Dr. Hank, who was the leading surgeon at Hope Hospital, was her secret obsession. 

To her, both Mark Harmon and Chad Chambers seemed so genuine … not that she’d admit that to anyone.  The only person who knew her secret was Chastity, and now Baxter.  Anne thought Dr. Hank seemed more real than Guy the groomsman slash heart surgeon. 
Guy seems like more of an actor than Chad does
.  Anne laughed to herself. 
             
Now here she was days after the wedding, and she felt back to herself.  Just being ‘Guy-free’ gave her the peace she needed to settle back into her life again, and she was never more thankful to get someone out of her life, other than Brent, for good.

“Goodbye Dr. Guy and hello Dr. Hank.”  Anne said, turning up the volume.  She tucked her legs underneath her, settled into her easy chair, and pulled her favorite quilt across her.

“Come here Baxter.”  Her little cheagle puppy jumped into her lap faster than it took for her to invite him there.   It was fast becoming his favorite place to be, and he was quickly becoming the most faithful man in her life.  Baxter jumped up and laid his paws on her chest to lick her face.  Anne laughed and pushed him back down.

             
“You know better than that … but thank you for the sentiment.”  Baxter’s suddenly ears perked up and he let out a fierce growl.  The fur along his spine stood up, as he jumped down from Anne’s lap and raced to the front window barking. 

“Well, no one will sneak up with you around – huh, boy?”  She got up, and scooped him in her arms just in time to see the FedEx driver approaching. 

             
Anne opened the door as the doorbell sounded, which didn’t help Baxter calm down any. 

“Give me a minute please.”  Anne hollered through her screen door.  She firmly sat Baxter down and pointed her finger at him.

“Be good,” she commanded before shutting the door tightly behind her. She could hear him running from the front bay window of her home, to the front door in an effort to defend her from the FedEx woman. 

“Hi. Sorry about that.”  Anne reached for the envelope. “This for me?”

“That depends. Are you Anne LaSal?”  The driver checked her notes.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay then. It says a signature is required. Please sign here.”  They made the exchange and the FedEx lady jogged back to her truck.  Anne scanned the return address, which read
Janz Productions. 
She walked back in and took her seat.  The TV was paused on the handsome face of Dr. Hank. She smiled at his image on her screen, before tearing open the thick envelope. 

             
Perplexed, she pulled out all the papers inside and started with the letter on top.  It was a personal letter from a Ned Struthers, who said he was the director for the new dating reality show called
Broadcast Affair
.  He invited her to be a contestant based on his friend, Guy Master’s, suggestion.  It went on to explain that since she was a friend of Guy’s, he’d taken the liberty to send him a picture of her.  It then went on to explain the concept of the show, but Anne didn’t get that far. 

Anne didn’t check the rest of the packet to see a contestant application.  She didn’t even care to read the part that said she should check the production company’s website, which would give her a bio on the current bachelor selected for this season.

             
All Anne could do was zone in on the name, Guy Masters.  “Ugh! Seriously?!  Wait until I tell Chastity … and Timothy!” Anne promptly set the packet at the bottom of her junk mail.  “No thank you Mr. Guy! I’m not going to respond!”

Anne tucked her legs underneath her, settled into her easy chair, and pulled her favorite quilt over her.   Dr. Hank and Baxter were the only men she had room for in her life at the moment.

Chapter 59

Jesse checked his iPhone app once more to track Chastity’s flight.  Timothy was supposed to call him before they boarded their plane, and so far no call.  He reached for his cell for the fourth time in three hours.

             
“It hasn’t rung all day. There’s no way they could have called.  They’ve been on a plane!”  Lauri shot him the same look he’d been receiving for days.

             
“They have those in flight phones on board planes.”  Jesse urged.  “Since I took Timothy’s car home after the wedding, he promised he’d call before boarding to let me know if they needed a pick up.”  Jesse looked at his watch.  “And their plane lands in an hour.”

             
Lauri glared at him.  “You know why they haven’t called.  Probably because someone let it slip where they were staying on their honeymoon.”

             
“Are we going to get into this again?”  He sat down and ran his hands through his hair.  Jesse looked up apologetically.  “I got carried away with actually having conversations … real conversations with my brother.  How was I supposed to know he’d run with that information and do something with it?”

             
“You don’t. That’s the whole point.  That’s why you don’t have a conversation with him about it to begin with!”  She raised her voice an octave.

             
“Don’t be mad at me.  I wouldn’t even know about it if we hadn’t received Chastity’s voicemail this past week!”  Jesse sounded miserable.

             
His niece had called him first thing after they checked in, to thank him for the upgrade to their hotel.  Although he was sorry he missed her call, he was happy he wasn’t able to answer once he heard her message.  He didn’t upgrade their room to the five star suites, but he had strong suspicions who did.

All it took was one phone call to his brother to confirm, which left Jesse feeling like there was a rock sitting in the pit of his stomach. For almost a full week, he’d dreaded talking to his niece for obvious reasons.  And to make matters worse, his wife hadn’t let him live it down. 

Now that the couple hadn’t called him to give them a ride home from the airport, it was easy to assume they were upset because they knew the truth.  Jesse hoped, however, that they simply forgot to call and still were going to call when they landed.

Chastity and Timothy took over two hours of their nine-hour flight talking about what course to take with John.  By the time they landed, they were both exhausted.  Although nothing sounded better than a ride home from the airport, Chastity wasn’t sure she was ready to be around anyone just yet.  Timothy respected her wishes and called for a cab as soon as they landed.

Within that two-hour window Chastity went back and forth between anger and resignation.  She was furious John would impose on her honeymoon, which was one of the happiest times in their life.  Timothy fell in line with that line of thinking.  She was his wife now and he felt like giving John a piece of his mind. 

The other side of Chastity felt tired of being angry.  Knowing that John and his wife were about to have a child, Chastity’s own flesh and blood, she was curious about what it would be like to be a big sister.  Over the last few months, she’d finally come to the conclusion that she wanted to be a part of that little baby’s life and if that meant being around John in some way, then so be it. 

When she shared this with Timothy, she could tell he wasn’t thrilled about her entangling their life with John’s, but in the end he told her he’d support her either way. 
             
So for the rest of the flight, they got some sleep. They knew they had time to sort it all out.  All they needed was to clear their minds, get some sleep, and get home.  The rest would take care of itself. 

             
Jesse was far from having any peace of mind.  The flight tracker software, on his smart phone, had confirmed they’d landed safely.

             
“Lauri, should I call them?”  Anxiety was written all over Jesse’s face.

             
“If they’ve not called you by now, I think it’s best you leave her alone.  You should know Chastity by now to know she’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”

             
“But I want her to know it was an accident.  I didn’t mean to divulge anything that would give John any info on where they were staying.”

             
“You don’t even know if she found out that information.”

             
Jesse gave her an incredulous look.  “There’s no other reason for her not calling me and raving about what a great time they had!  She has to know.  I know she knows.  I feel it in my gut.”

             
“Well they very well could be jet lagged and ready to come home and rest.  She’ll call you tomorrow.  Until then…chill out.  Go upstairs and play with Alex. He needs a break from the video games anyway.  I’ll call you if I hear from her.”  She reassured.

             
Jesse put his phone in his pocket and started to walk upstairs, when he heard his phone ding.   He slid it back out and checked to see if Chastity had texted him.

             
Took Andie to hospital…Something’s wrong with her.  Baby coming C-section now.  Please pray.

             
Jesse’s face dropped.  “Oh my gosh.  Lauri, call Ms. Adams and ask her to watch Alex.  We’ve got to go to Virginia right now.”  He texted back, before handing the phone the Lauri.

We’re on our way.  Text us address of hospital.  Be there as soon as I get a plane out.

“Honey, please text Chastity.  I’m going upstairs to get us a flight out.  You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I have to be there for my brother.  If he loses either of his girls, it …” Jesse’s voice trailed off. 

“Nope.  I’m there.  I’ll text her for you.”

Jesse walked upstairs to his home office.  His brother wasn’t the only one with connections.  He had a few friends who could get him a charter flight within the hour.  Jesse noticed his hand was shaking when he reached for his office line.  He felt like someone had dropped a forty-pound weight on his chest.  His head felt fuzzy and his hands were wet.  This was the same feeling he had the day his own mother didn’t come home from the hospital, and he prayed John wouldn’t have to go through what Jesse already knew too much about.