Forever My Hero, page 8
Sighing, she turned off the closet light and carried her purse into the living room and set it beside her jacket. The television was on, and as she sat down to wait, she caught the tail end of a weather report and the words tropical storm. They’d been talking about that storm for days now, but something the weatherman said was enough to make her turn up the volume.
According to him, Tropical Storm Fanny was, at the moment, on a dead-on course with the Georgia coast. Alice knew hurricanes happened, but they rarely stayed on one course, especially after the storm began nearing a coastline. She was counting on this storm changing course, too.
Then she heard Dan’s truck coming up the drive, turned off the TV, and was struggling to get into her jacket as she hurried out the front door. She only had one arm in the jacket when she got to the truck, but Dan was ready for her. He helped her put it on, lifted her into the passenger seat, and reached to buckle her up. Before she could get over the feel of his hands around her waist, he shut her door and jumped in on the other side.
“Did you get some rest?” he asked as he backed out of her driveway.
“Yes. I feel pretty good. As long as the pain pills don’t wear off,” she added.
He grinned. “Ah, yes…blessed oblivion is often a good thing—if it doesn’t last too long.”
“Right,” she said.
As soon as he neared the elementary school, Alice directed him to the proper lane.
“This is it,” she said. “Now we wait, and let me say how much I appreciate this help. Once before, I mashed my finger in the car door. It took forever to heal, and of course the fingernail eventually came off, and then it was ugly. Took most of the year for my finger to heal and the nail to grow back.”
Dan was partly listening, but mostly watching the different expressions coming and going on her face, fascinated by the way her eyes almost closed when she laughed. In the middle of her story, he realized he needed to move up with the rest of the cars in line.
“Oops, it appears I’m holding up the process here,” he said, and eased forward.
“It’s pretty much stop and go,” Alice said. “Nobody gets out of line, and the children are loaded up in parents’ cars in order. It’s a bit of a hassle waiting for some kid to come out of the group to get in his parents’ car, but it is certainly a safe way to make sure no kids are darting out into traffic.”
Dan looked again, seeing the procedure from a different perspective. She was right. This was a foolproof way to get kids in the cars without having to move them in and out of traffic.
And then he saw something that made him frown. “Those two big dogs just ran out of the alley. I didn’t think dogs were allowed to run loose in Blessings.”
“They’re not,” she said. “That’s why I’m so grateful for the fenced-in backyard at our house. It gives Charlie’s dog plenty of space, and if it happens to be a rainy day, he has the whole covered back porch for shelter until we get home.”
Before Dan could comment, Alice pointed. “Oh no, those dogs are heading straight to the schoolyard, and the kids are going to come running out of the school. They’re usually squealing and talking loudly. What if that incites the dogs to attack?”
“This isn’t good,” Dan said. “Did you bring your phone?”
She nodded.
“Then call the school. Tell them to keep the kids inside and not ring the bell. I’m going to call the police chief. We need to get these dogs rounded up so it’s safe for the kids to come out.”
Alice’s hand was shaking as she quickly made the call. Dan could hear her explaining what was happening as he got out of the truck to make his call. It rang a couple of times and then Avery, the dispatcher, answered. “Blessings PD.”
“This is Dan Amos. There are two big dogs loose on the front grounds of the elementary school, and it’s almost time for the kids to come out. I think these dogs need to be caught before it’s safe to let the children out of the building.”
“Thank you, passing on the message,” Avery said, and began dispatching officers to the scene.
Chief Pittman was in his cruiser when he heard the broadcast. He immediately responded to the call and headed for the school, along with two more officers coming from different parts of town.
Dan started to get back in the truck with Alice when he saw a bus driver get out of the bus and walk all the way to the back of it, unaware of the dogs’ presence.
Alice saw him, too. “The driver! He doesn’t see the dogs!”
“Stay in here and don’t get out,” he said.
“Be careful!” Alice said as he shut the door.
He was still watching the dogs, and when they stopped what they were doing to suddenly focus on the driver, the hair rose on the back of Dan’s neck.
He knew, even before he yelled, that they were going after the man. He grabbed a rope and a crowbar from the back of the truck bed and started running, yelling at the driver to get back in the bus.
The driver heard someone shouting, but before he could turn to look, he caught movement from the corner of his eye. When he saw the dogs coming at him in a dead run without making a sound, he knew he was in trouble. He started running, desperate to get back on the bus and close the doors, but they were faster.
The bigger dog leaped and took the driver down in midair. The man’s bloodcurdling screams excited the dogs even more as they began snapping and snarling, trying to get to his throat.
The driver had his arms over his face as he began to roll, trying to get beneath the bus. He was almost to safety when the dogs began biting at his ankles and legs, pulling him backward to get him out.
Alice was inside the truck, watching in horror and praying over and over: “Keep them safe…keep them safe… Please God, keep them safe.”
Dan was yelling and shouting as he ran, trying to get the dogs’ attention, but they were in for the kill and blind to everything but the bloodlust.
Parents began getting out of their cars and screaming at the dogs, too. A couple of men were running toward the dogs, but Dan got there first.
He took down the bigger one with the crowbar. It dropped without a sound. When the other one came at him, he swung at that one, too, hitting it hard enough that the dog turned tail and started to run away.
Dan loosened the rope into a lasso and threw the loop, yanking it so tight that it pulled the dog backward off its feet. Before it could get up again, Dan had the rope around the muzzle and the dog tied, one front foot tied to a back foot, like roping a calf in a rodeo.
Chief Pittman rolled up just as Dan was pulling the bus driver out from under the bus. The chief called for an ambulance, then jumped out of his cruiser as two other officers rolled up behind him. “Secure the scene!” he yelled, and ran toward the bus and the driver who’d been attacked.
Alice leaned back in the seat, shaking. “Thank you, Lord.”
She could only imagine what was going on inside the school and hoped Patty wasn’t scared.
* * *
The middle school was unaware of the ongoing drama at the elementary and proceeding as usual. School had been dismissed, and the football team was already taking the field for practice when the coach got a phone call about the dogs.
There were other students sitting in the bleachers who’d come to watch practice, and they were getting similar calls. Before long, word had spread to the players as well that two stray dogs had attacked a bus driver at the elementary school. And, as gossip would have it, someone suggested the kids had been in danger, too, which morphed the story into kids also being injured.
When Charlie heard about it, his first instinct was for his family. He ran to the coach, begging to be excused from practice.
The coach frowned. “You know you’re putting your chance to start with the team in jeopardy by doing this?”
Charlie was struggling to maintain his emotions. “But, Coach, this is my family. They depend on me for everything. I have to know if my mom and little sister are safe.”
“Oh…right,” Coach said. “How about I let you borrow my phone to check on them?”
“Yes! Yes, thanks, Coach.” Charlie took the phone and quickly called his mom.
Alice saw the name and number pop up and frowned. Wasn’t this the football coach? Oh no! What if Charlie got hurt?
“Hello?”
“Mama? Oh, thank goodness,” Charlie said. “Are you and Patty safe? We just heard about the dogs attacking one of the bus drivers. Were any kids hurt?”
“No kids were hurt, honey. Dan brought me to pick Patty up so I wouldn’t have to drive today. We were talking, waiting in line when he saw the dogs. The principal kept the kids inside until it was safe. The police were on the way when the dogs attacked one of the drivers. Dan grabbed a crowbar and a rope from the back of his truck and ran to help.”
“Oh man! Is he okay? How bad is the driver?”
“I don’t know about the driver. The ambulance just arrived, but Dan was the hero of the day, for sure! He took the biggest dog down with the crowbar, and when the other one tried to run away, Dan roped it and hog-tied it like a calf at a rodeo.”
“Seriously?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, seriously,” Alice said.
“Okay, Mama, I’ve got to go back to practice. I’ll be home later. Love you, and you and Patty take care. I’ll make supper after I get home.”
“Okay, love you, too.”
Charlie ended the call and handed the phone back to his coach. “Thank you, Coach.”
“Is everyone okay?” he asked.
“My family is fine. The only person who got hurt was a bus driver. Do you know Mr. Amos? Dan Amos, who is handling Mr. Williams’s rental properties for Mr. Payne?”
“Oh…the cowboy!” Coach said.
Charlie grinned. “Yes, sir. And I guess he proved it today. Mama said Mr. Amos saw what was happening, took a rope and a crowbar from his truck, took one dog out with the crowbar, then roped and hog-tied the other one like a calf at a rodeo.”
Coach grinned. “That would have been something to see. Now get yourself back out on the field.”
Charlie nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you again,” he said, and took off at a lope.
Back at the elementary school, the ambulance left for the ER. The chief called one of the men from the city barn to bring a truck to pick up the dogs. They needed to find a place to lock them up and find out who they belonged to. As soon as they were removed, the principal got the go-ahead to ring the bell.
School was officially out for the day, and parents were standing outside their cars, making sure they were in plain sight today so that their children would not be afraid.
Dan was on his way back to his truck when Alice got out. She waved at him, then stood out on the sidewalk so Patty could see her. She would be looking for their car, not Dan Amos’s truck.
Dan jogged over to where she was standing and tossed his crowbar into the truck bed.
“You were amazing,” Alice said. “I was afraid you would get hurt, too.”
He grinned. “It appears I haven’t lost my roping skills.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “I thought you were a lawyer before you came here.”
“I was once, but I grew up on a ranch in Texas. My parents still live on it, but both of my brothers run it now. When we were kids, we all worked the ranch,” he said.
“So I guess you ride horses, too?” she said.
Grinning, Dan pointed to his boots and belt buckle. “Yes, ma’am. This stuff’s not for show.”
Alice laughed and then heard the bell ring and turned toward the school. Within moments, kids began emerging through the front doors. “Here they come,” she said.
Dan was still trying to get past how her laugh made him feel when the children began coming outside. To his surprise, there was actually a kind of order to their exit. Teachers walked with part of the students toward buses, while other teachers walked with the in-town riders. He was wondering who would be driving the injured driver’s bus when he saw a man come jogging out behind some of the kids and head that way.
“That’s the PE coach. I’ll bet he’s going to be the substitute driver,” Alice said, and then pointed. “There’s Patty! Oh…she doesn’t see my car.”
“We’ll fix that,” Dan said, and once again, he picked Alice up by the waist and swung her up and into the truck bed. Now she was heads above everyone. “Wave! She’ll see you,” Dan said.
Alice’s heart was hammering as she turned and waved, and then kept on waving until suddenly Patty saw her, smiled, and waved back.
“She saw you, right?” Dan asked.
“Yes, she did! Thank you so much.”
“Ready to get down?” he asked.
She nodded.
This time, he let the tailgate down and then held out his arms. She sat down on the tailgate, then he lifted her off and set her on her feet.
“We should have driven my car. Then you wouldn’t have to be helping me up and helping me down,” she said.
“What’s the fun in that?” he asked, grinning as he set her back into his front seat.
She was a bit taken aback by the teasing, then laughed. Moments later, they began moving up in line along with everyone else. Within a couple of minutes, they were at the loading zone. Dan jumped out and opened the back door of his truck.
“One more Conroy girl to load up, and then we’re good to go,” he said as Patty came running.
As soon as she was buckled in the back seat, she started talking.
“Mama, a girl named Shirley threw up on teacher’s shoes at lunch. I got a happy face on my workbook page and skinned my knee at recess! Did you know there were mean dogs at our school? Will they come back? I might be a’scairt tomorrow.”
Dan was grinning. “Does she ever stop to take a breath?”
“Rarely,” Alice said, then turned around to look at Patty. “Good for you for getting a happy face. That makes Mama’s face happy, too. We did know about the dogs. Mr. Amos saw the dogs and ran to help the bus driver. He stopped the dogs, and the police came and took them away. You don’t have to be scared about anything, okay?”
“Okay, Mama. Thank you, Mr. Amos.”
“You’re welcome, Patty.” Then he glanced at Alice. “Do you need anything before I take you home?”
“No, thank you. We have all we need,” she said.
“Okay then,” he said, and turned left at the stop sign by the school.
“Mama, is Charlie gonna have to walk home by himself? Won’t he be a’scairt, too?”
Alice shook her head. “Charlie walks home every day, and no, he won’t be scared. Charlie is a big boy, remember?”
Patty nodded.
Dan smiled as he drove, enjoying the little girl’s chatter and Alice’s calm demeanor. He was actually disappointed when he reached their house and pulled up into the driveway.
“Well, ladies, you’re home. Alice, if you will bear with me one more time, I’ll help you two out and see you to the door like the gentleman my mama raised me to be.”
He circled the truck, helped Alice down first, and then Patty. Once Patty’s feet touched the ground, she was running toward the house and already on the porch, airing her cheerleader skills by running from one end of the porch to the other, cheering as she went.
Dan laughed out loud at the surprised expression on Alice’s face.
Alice sighed. “Don’t encourage her.”
“Is that even possible?” he asked, as he helped her up the steps. “House key?”
She handed it to him. “It’s the one with the pink nail polish on it, remember?”
“Got it,” he said, unlocked the front door, and then stood back out of the way as Patty danced through the doorway and into the house. Dan was still grinning as he dropped the key ring into Alice’s palm. “It has been a pleasure to spend this time with you and your mini me, Ms. Alice. Maybe we could do this again sometime when there’s nothing else calling your attention.”
Alice was so shocked by the invitation that she forgot to answer.
Dan hesitated. That wasn’t the response he was hoping for. “Uh…so, is that a silent yes, or a silent no?”
She blinked. “Oh. I’m sorry. Uh…it’s a yes, and thank you?”
His heart skipped a beat. Here he was, wanting to kiss her again. He settled for a touch on her forearm. “Take care of that hand,” he said, and left before he made a bigger fool of himself or she changed her mind.
He was on his way home before the shock of what he’d done finally hit. “I cannot believe I asked her on a date.” He drove a whole block farther. “I can’t believe she said yes,” he added. He got home and all the way inside his house with one last question yet unasked. Was tomorrow too soon?
* * *
The next morning dawned with an overcast sky and a repeat of the previous day’s update about the tropical storm still out at sea.
Elliot Graham was healing well from the sun burns, but he was still suffering the aftereffects of the concussion. The staples they had put in his head made it sore, and since he lived alone, he was forced to stay in the hospital until the dizziness and headaches completely subsided.
Bored out of his mind and concerned about his home and the accumulating mail, he began pacing in his room, then up and down his hall, then circling the whole floor.
As he did, he took it upon himself to visit with other patients and began calling the nurses’ attention to a dinner tray needing to be picked up in one room, and another patient’s request for pain meds yet to be delivered.
At that point, he was banned from leaving his room again. A penned-in Elliot Graham was proving to be something of a pain in the neck, so when the county sheriff came by just before noon, Elliot was glad to see him coming.
“Mr. Graham, I’m Sheriff Ryman, but you can call me Joe. Are you up to answering a few questions?”
