Finally A Bride

So when he glared at Haley, she glared right back.

* * *

Gavin Thomason had thought taking the seven-year-olds from his cabin for an adventure hike would be a great way to enjoy the crisp October afternoon.

The Claremont Community Church had bought the kids new coats, hats and gloves this afternoon for the upcoming winter months. Knowing the boys had been eager to try out their new things, he’d thought the hike had seemed like a great idea.

So, after assisting all of them with their homework, he’d given each boy a sheet with photos of leaves to find and told them they could don their new winter duds for the adventure, even though the temperature was in the midsixties. He’d planned to talk to them about the different trees God created, about the leaves changing color and about how God gave us seasonal weather to enjoy throughout the year. He’d anticipated this leading into the afternoon devotional, focusing on how, in God’s world, things change. And, more importantly, on how change didn’t always mean something bad.

Since all the kids at the children’s home had gone through tremendous life changes, he’d thought the devotional would be well received. That it would help them deal with their unique circumstances, whether they’d been orphaned, abandoned or neglected by their families.

But once Eli had heard that puppy’s cry, all Gavin’s plans for the afternoon had flown out the window.

Mark Laverty, one of Gavin’s fellow cabin counselors, had taken over today’s activity so Gavin could take Eli and what appeared to be a dying puppy to the vet. Gavin had prayed the whole way here because, of all the boys in his cabin, none had been through as much pain as Eli. And none had touched Gavin’s heart like he had, because he’d lost everything that had mattered in his world...

Just like Gavin.

“Do I have to leave him here?” Eli turned away from the vet to direct the question to his cabin counselor. “I don’t want to leave him, Mr. Gavin. He’s scared.”

The vet, whom Gavin had barely acknowledged until this point, glanced up from where she crouched next to the boy. Gavin focused on the woman who, at this moment, could hurt the child more than anyone else if she didn’t help this pitiful dog. And he wasn’t all that certain of her ability to do so. She certainly didn’t look like any vet he’d ever seen before. She was young, probably a little younger than Gavin’s thirty-one, with vivid green eyes amid a pixie face, pale pink gloss on heart-shaped lips and long blond hair that hung well past her shoulders.

How hadn’t he noticed her before now? And why had he picked today, of all days, to become even remotely aware of an attractive female?

Regardless, he wasn’t ready, or willing, to let his mind start noticing such things as green eyes, glossy lips or silky hair.

Not yet. Maybe not ever.

God, help me.

“Buddy needs to stay here, if you want him to have the best chance...” Her voice drifted off, but Gavin knew where the statement had been headed.

...for survival.

Then his mind honed in on the fact that she’d called the dog by name.

“Buddy?” he asked. Was she familiar with the pup? Did she know the owner? Or whoever had abandoned him?

Eli sniffed. “That’s his name. That’s what you called him when we found him.”

Well, what do you know? Gavin had unintentionally named the pup. He’d merely told the little tuft of fur, whining in a pile of leaves and pine straw, We’ll take care of you, buddy.

And now, thanks to Gavin, they had a “Buddy,” and one that Eli didn’t want to leave behind.

He did his best not to notice that the vet was even lovelier when she looked at the puppy and boy with such compassion. Steeling his heart for her answer, he asked her directly, “Are you able to heal him?” He didn’t want to get Eli’s hopes up if she knew the tiny dog’s chances were slim to nil.

Her cheeks twitched slightly, eyes narrowing the slightest bit.

Gavin noticed.

But he didn’t care.

He wanted an honest answer about the dog’s chances, because he wouldn’t lie to Eli, not about this puppy or anything else. The little guy already had enough tough blows to last a lifetime, and Gavin wouldn’t allow this young doctor to cause him more unnecessary pain.

She looked away from Gavin, her features softening as she placed a hand beneath the puppy’s scruffy chin. “He’s severely malnourished, and it’ll take time to get him back to a healthy condition. He’s undoubtedly been on his own for a few days.” She looked like she wanted to explain further, but Eli emitted another sucking whimper that made her pause and drape an arm around him.

“But, yes, I do know what to do to try and make him better.” The last sentence was delivered to the little boy beside her rather than the man who had asked the question.

Gavin prayed that the woman who sounded so convincing...hadn’t just lied to the kid.

“But I have to leave him here?” Eli repeated, this time his lip quivering through the words.

“So I can take extra good care of him.” She tenderly brushed a tear from his cheek. “Is that okay, Eli?”

“But what if—what if he dies? What if he goes to Heaven, too?” He looked toward Gavin and then back at the doctor. “What if I was too late—again? Like I was too late when Mommy and Daddy died?”

Gavin felt punched in the gut. Last year, the kid, at only six years old, had tried earnestly to save his parents, even after all the adults around him had given up.

The vet bit down on her lower lip and Gavin could tell that she was trying to control the emotions pressing forward at the hint of Eli’s tragic past. And he recognized the same deep sorrow that he felt every time he thought of the way this little boy had been left, all alone, with no one to care for him.

Much like that little dog in the woods.

“I’m going to do my very best to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she promised.

“Can I come see him, though? Like, every day?” Eli shifted the quivering dog to one arm and wiped the opposite red mitten across his cheek to knock the tears away before returning it to cradle the pup. “Can I come after school? He needs to know that I love him. It’s important. I’ll need to show him.”

She blinked twice, held on to that lower lip a long beat before finally speaking. “That would be very nice, and I know it would comfort him to know you care.”

Eli nuzzled the puppy, who had fallen asleep in his arms. “Can I, Mr. Gavin? Can I come see him every day until he’s better?”

“Yes,” he said gruffly, as if any other answer would escape his lips. “I’ll bring you after school, after you finish your homework. But you need to give the puppy—Buddy—to Dr....” He’d noticed her name embroidered on her white jacket, but from this angle, he couldn’t read the script.

“Calhoun,” she supplied, and then she softened that clear, lyrical voice, looked at Eli and said, “or you can call me Miss Haley.”

Haley Calhoun. The name sparked a hint of a memory, something he’d overheard recently, but he couldn’t recall what was said.

Gavin shook the scattered thought away and nodded to Eli. “Now give Buddy to Dr. Calhoun, so she can take care of him and help him get better.”

Eli eased the lifeless animal toward the doctor. “O-kay.”

Her eyebrows dropped, fingers probing gently as she took the puppy.

Trying to divert the boy’s attention from the doctor’s sudden look of concern, Gavin pointed to the schoolbag Eli had dropped near a chair by the door. “Eli, why don’t you grab your backpack and get ready to go? We’ll come see Buddy again tomorrow.”

Gavin’s phone rang and he saw that Savvy Evans, who ran the children’s home with her husband, Brodie, was on the other end. No doubt she wanted an update on the mistreated puppy. He answered, “Hey Savvy, we’re still at the vet.”

Eli halted his pace toward the backpack. “Can I tell Miss Savvy about Buddy?”

Gavin nodded. “Savvy, Eli wants to talk to you.” He gave him the phone and listened as the boy recited every detail, from holding the puppy on the way to the vet to everything Haley—Dr. Calhoun—had said since they’d arrived.