The other two stars were for my brothers who also served in the military.
Eli was a civilian now and lived here in Rojo. Since he was home safe, I left his star alone.
My brother Luke was still in the army and was waiting to get out when this enlistment term was over. I hoped and prayed that he didn’t get sent overseas before that day came.
I wanted with all my heart to leave that last star alone.
I shook off my thoughts and concentrated on the man across the street. He was a few doors down, but close enough for Neva and I to be able to appreciate just about everything about him.
“His hair is just beautiful,” I whispered. “And that beard? Damn.”
“P. U. R. D. Y.,” Neva spelled out. “He’s just plain purdy.”
“Really?” I laughed. “Girl, you’re still so fucking country, it’s not even funny.”
“What?” Neva’s laughter joined mine. “He’s fucking hot. I’m widowed, not dead.”
Neva and I had worked through our grief together. We had leaned on each other when we needed someone to help keep us on our feet, held each other's hair back after too much wine, and learned together to laugh instead of cry. It had been almost a year and it was getting easier day by day, except when things happened like earlier when Adam reminded us all too clearly that not all of us were moving on at the same pace.
I glanced down the street and saw Heath and Joshua headed our way. We had driven by the park earlier when we went to the grocery store and I’d shown the boys how to get home from it as we drove back. Earlier when Adam had been having his ‘spell’, Neva had sent the younger boys out to play and told them it would be fine for them to ride to the park for a bit as long as they were home before the streetlights came on, which was our usual rule.
I stood up and watched the boys ride closer, the two of them in intense conversation as they pedaled our way.
Suddenly, another huge dog appeared in my neighbor’s yard and he sprinted out into the street as my kids passed him. I yelled and started to run their way as my youngest son Heath got distracted by the dog and went down behind the car parked on the street. Joshua jumped off his bike and disappeared out of my line of vision behind the same car and my heart stopped.
I heard Neva behind me as I rushed across my next door neighbor’s grass and angled my way out into the street. I saw that the man we had been watching was walking slowly across his front lawn, not even phased that his dog was attacking my son.
I ran around the front of the parked car and came to a jolting halt when I saw both of my sons kneeling on the concrete being bathed in slobbery kisses by the big Rottweiler I was sure had already mauled both of them.
I heard Heath giggle as I watched the big dog knock him off balance so that he landed on his butt.
“He’s just a big sweetie,” I heard Joshua say in that way that every dog lover spoke when they were talking to their pet. “Just a big sweet boy.”
“Holy fuck,” Neva huffed out as she bent and put her hands on her knees, trying in vain to catch her breath after our sprint.
I put my hands on the top of my head as I tried to breathe and calm my racing heart; at the same time I wanted to scream at my neighbor for letting his dog scare me that way.
“Overreact much?” the big man laughed as he walked up beside me.
“Overreact?” I growled as I turned to face him. I pointed a finger at him and poked him in the chest as I yelled, “He could have killed one of them!”
“By licking them to death?” the gorgeous asshole drawled with one eyebrow raised. “Really?”
“You,” I screeched, before I drew in a breath and tried to reign in my temper. “How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t hurt them?”
The man laughed and I was furious when I heard both of my sons and Neva laugh, too.
“Maybe by the fact that his stubby tail was wagging so fast he almost lifted off the ground? Or the fact that he wasn’t snarling like some Cujo motherfucker? He was fucking smiling.”
“Dogs don’t fucking smile!” I yelled, as I glanced down and saw the dog smiling at me. Actually smiling. I bet if he could have laughed, he would have been doing that, too. I threw my hands up and yelled, “Jesus!”
“I wouldn’t consider this a religious experience, exactly, but to each their own.”
“You motherfucker…,” I started, but was able to bite the words back. “I swear to God.”
The asshole chuckled and glanced over at Neva.
“I can’t decide if she’s a saint or a sinner. She kind of swings from one to the other in seconds,” he laughed. “Is she always this uptight?”
“Uptight?” I roared.
“Feisty, too,” the man leered. “I like it.”
“Put those dogs on a leash or I’ll call the police.”
The man’s face changed in an instant, from laughing and happy to a dead stare.
“Why you gotta take it too far, firecracker?” he asked quietly. Without another word, he spun on his heel and let out a shrill whistle. The dog left the boys in the street and trotted off with his master. When the dog looked back, I was almost positive he glared at me.
“What was that?” Neva whispered as she watched the man walk away.
“Mom?” Heath asked softly. “You okay?”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized to my boys. They’d only seen me lose my temper once and that was because I saw a man knock an old woman out of his way in the grocery store aisle. That time, losing my temper was warranted. Today, I went a little overboard.
But that dog could have eaten Heath or Joshua in one bite, dammit. I had a right to be a little pissed off. Didn’t I?
◆◆◆
“Stop obsessing about it, Jamie,” Neva told me as she walked past me to go into the kitchen. “Just stay in your separate corners and the next time you see him, just casually apologize.”
“I don’t plan on moving again. Ever,” I pointed out. “And he’s my neighbor. What a way to harbor peace and goodwill with the people around me.”
“Peace and goodwill? Is it Christmas?” Neva laughed. “Just go to bed. Get a fresh start in the morning, maybe write him a note. Or set his car on fire. You were kind of all over the place out there, so I’m not sure which will win out.”
“I’m going to go over there and apologize,” I told her firmly. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Should I come referee or go ahead and get in the bathtub with my wine and book so later I can be your alibi?”
“Wine and book.” I grabbed my keys off the hook by the door and walked outside. I heard Neva lock it behind me before she headed off to her bathroom to relax.
“I’m just going to knock on the door, apologize, and then go home,” I muttered to myself. “I can rein it in for that long, at least.”
I stood there on the porch for a second and thought of what I was going to say. I knocked softly and didn’t get an answer. I knew my neighbor was home because his truck was still parked in the driveway and that gorgeous motorcycle was right beside it.
I put my hand up to knock again, this time more firmly, but just as I did the door was thrown open and that man was standing there glaring at me, shirtless, with the large dogs on either side of him.