Broken Heart Mended by Jenna Hendricks
Chapter 1
Nelly Wilson parked her Chevy truck outside the Frenchtown Roasting Company and sighed when she took in the scents of coffee and sweetness. She’d just driven twelve hours that day, after three other long days of driving from Georgia to get there in time to have the weekend to settle in, and she was exhausted and hungry. A black coffee and cinnamon roll were exactly what she needed and deserved.
When she exited her truck, the four dogs in the back began to bark and whimper.
“Nein, halt.” Nelly reached into the dog crate closest to her. The dogs had done so well with their travel, but even they were getting tired of the drive. “Braver hund.” She rubbed between Rogue’s ears, and he settled down again. She couldn’t ignore the rest of her pack. So she moved around the truck bed and scratched or rubbed each dog and spoke to them in their German commands, calling them good dogs—“Braver hund.”
Even though she did speak to them in English a lot, she also tried to reinforce their German command training. She’d already successfully placed six different dogs with patients who were doing very well with their service dogs. And these four were on their way to being even better than the rest.
“I promise, once I have my coffee and bun, I’ll take you all for a walk before we find our new home.” She grinned at her dogs, knowing that while they didn’t fully understand what she was saying, they did know she’d take exceptional care of them.
She could only pray that the coffee shop was still open. It was just past six at night, and in small towns the coffee shops usually closed after lunch. When she walked up to the door and noticed the sign still read open, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Lord.”
But when she turned the door handle, it wouldn’t budge.
Nelly pounded on the door and looked through the window. “Oh, come on. I need the caffeine and sugar.”
A barista was behind the counter, and from Nelly’s angle it looked like she was counting her till. Nelly looked for a sign stating their hours. It was Friday night and the sign said they were open until nine, so why was the door locked and the cashier counting out?
“Please, I just need a black coffee and I’ll take any pastry you have. I can pay in cash,” Nelly yelled through the window when the barista looked up at her.
The woman bit her upper lip and looked around. Then she put the cash drawer back in the till and walked to the front door. When she unlocked and opened the door, Nelly smiled and profusely thanked the girl.
“I’ll leave a good tip, I swear. I just need coffee and sugar. I’ll take whatever you have. Even if the coffee is only warm, I’ll be happy with it. I promise.” Nelly held up her hand as though she was being sworn in at a hearing.
“I don’t know. I was supposed to close early tonight. The head barista is getting married tomorrow and I’m supposed to join them for the rehearsal dinner tonight.” The barista looked back over her shoulder at the pastry counter. “All I have left is one cinnamon roll. The coffee is still hot, but I’ve already cleaned the espresso machines, so I can’t make anything fancy.”
Nelly waved her hands and grinned. “That’s perfect. I’m not into froufrou coffee. I like mine strong and black.” An image of her ex passed through her mind, and she tried so hard to block it out. He used to always tease her that the only reason she liked her coffee strong and black was because that was how she liked her men. She didn’t always date black men. In fact, she never really paid much attention to the color of a person’s skin. When she really thought about it, she’d probably dated men from a variety of races. All she cared about was what was on the inside, and if they loved the Lord. She only dated Christians.
Skin color didn’t make the man, it was the heart that made the difference between a good man and a scallywag.
“And a cinnamon roll is my favorite. Can you heat it up?” Nelly looked hopeful as the barista opened the door and let her inside.
Instead of eating in the shop, she respected the girl’s need to get going. The tag on her shirt read Anise. And Nelly didn’t want to keep Anise from joining her boss at the rehearsal dinner.
“Thank you, Anise! I’ll be back for more coffee and treats this weekend. Have fun tonight.” As she left, Nelly was sure to put a generous tip in the jar. And when she got back in her truck, that was when she noticed the handwritten sign stating the shop was closing early for the rehearsal of Dana and Jerod.
A twinge of regret entered Nelly’s heart. She would have already married Mick if she’d not decided to completely change her life. It didn’t do to dwell on the past, and she knew it. It was time to look forward.
Nelly’s forward momentum took her to her new home as she left her past where it belonged.
“Alright, kiddos. We’re home,” Nelly announced when she pulled up in front of her new ranch-style home that also sported a large barn in the back. From the pictures she had seen, it would be perfect for the dogs to kennel in.
The outside wasn’t exactly what she expected. Sure, there was a wraparound porch, but it needed to be scraped and several coats of paint would make it look new again. One of the windows had been broken and boarded up. “Hm, well. Maybe the inside is better than the outside?” She looked down at her dogs and shrugged.
But when she opened the front door of the house, her mouth dropped open and she almost cried.
The dogs did it for her. It was their whines and whimpers that brought Nelly out of the momentary stupor that had claimed her mind.
“How in the world? This is nothing like the photos the Realtor showed me.” The smell hit her before her foot crossed the threshold.
Even Rogue, who was fantastic at making his own disgusting smells, whined and backed out of the house, almost hitting Nelly’s leg.
“Why, that good for nothing…weasel! How could he show me pictures that had to be years old?” Knowing it was her fault for not coming to see it in person, but not actually wanting to admit it, she backed out of the pig sty and covered her mouth.
“No, that’s not right. Calling this place a pig sty is an assault on all pigs. Something, or several somethings, must have died here.” She sat down hard on the porch steps and yelped when a board below her cracked. “Now what?”
Nelly jumped up and walked away from the house. A real fear of the place crashing down around her filled her heart.
Buffy, a chocolate retriever and her only female dog, rubbed up against her leg in support. Instinctively, Nelly reached down to pet the wonderful dog who was lending her support and warmth. Not that it was cold outside, just a figurative warmth that was missing from this place.
On her other side, Spike, a male golden retriever, scootched closer to her. “You guys, and gal, are the best. Thank you. Braver hund.” She patted their heads.
A distant bark caught her attention and she looked around. “Buffy, Spike, Angel. Okay, Rogue is that you?” Nelly took off around the house to see if she could find the source of the barking. All three of the other dogs were at her heels, tongues lolling with the excitement.
The sight was not what she expected. Yes, Rogue was standing there, almost pointing like a pointer who’d spotted a duck. But instead of a dead duck on the ground waiting for her to pick up and put in the pack for supper, she found something much more to her liking, and the dogs—if their wagging tails were any indicator—appreciated it as well.
A large red barn with white trim looked to be in almost pristine shape. Quite a dichotomy from the view of the ranch house. The keychain the Realtor sent her had several keys on it, and she hoped one of them was to the barn. If the outside was any indication, then at least the dogs would have a safe, dry place to sleep that night. And maybe, just maybe, if the good Lord was looking out for her, she’d have a safe place to rest her head for the night as well.
“Well, the doors won’t open themselves.” Nelly looked down to her four dogs sitting on their haunches just waiting for her to do something. She put her hand out, palm down and commanded, “Bleib.” She tried to keep her commands in German as much as possible, even when they weren’t technically working. It was simpler for the dogs and would keep them from misunderstanding.
Nelly took the keys she still held in her left hand and proceeded to open the barn door. With a sharp intake of breath, she about had a heart attack. “Whoa. Not what I was expecting. Not at all.”
Rogue growled behind her, and she listened to his warning. While she didn’t feel a threat, she did sense something weird going on in the barn. Without turning her head, she motioned for them to follow. “Heir.”
In almost unison, with Rogue taking the lead, all four took up positions on her flank.
“Hello? Is anyone in here?” Even though she felt the place was deserted, Nelly wanted to give anyone a chance to come forward. If they surprised the dogs, they might not like what happened.
While all four dogs were trained very well, they were also extremely protective of Nelly. They would feel her trepidation and most likely they’d feel the same way. Especially if a man came from nowhere.
Slowly, she took a few steps and looked around in awe.
If the house had been taken over by animals, this place was surely saved from anything, or anyone. In fact, it looked like someone had been keeping it up quite nicely for some time. The interior was sparkling clean, for a barn. Fresh straw lay on the ground, and each horse stall had a door on it that provided a bit of privacy for the animal.
There were no animals present, other than her dogs. That much she was sure of. Her dogs would have at least whined if another animal was present that they hadn’t been introduced to. Nelly watched her dogs. They sniffed the air but didn’t seem the least bit upset. Other than the growl that emanated from Rogue when she opened the door, they didn’t seem to be the least bit worried.
“Rogue, Lauf.” Nelly pointed forward, indicating the direction she wanted the dog to check. The other three dogs stood there waiting for their directions, and when she pointed where each one was to go, they went quietly and without any issue.
Nelly couldn’t have been prouder if they were her own kids. All four searched their areas without a peep. When they were done, they came back and dutifully sat on their haunches next to her.
“Well, I guess that means we’re safe.” She took a few more steps inside and peered into the horse stalls closest to the barn door. While the sun was in the process of setting outside, there was very little light inside.
Even though it was early June, this was Montana and the sun set close to nine at night, which meant she needed to hurry up and find the light switch. Before she left Atlanta, Nelly had arranged for the power to be turned on at the property. It wasn’t big, just enough space for her dogs to train. But she would need power and water to get started.
Nelly noticed a large propane tank on the side of the barn. She made a mental note to check it tomorrow to make sure she had enough fuel to power whatever ran off propane. Probably a gas stove, water heater, house heater, and maybe even some lights.
It didn’t take long to find the switch; it was located to the right of the barn door. With the flip switched up, she could see even more of the immaculate barn. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think an entire cleaning crew had come through the day before and spruced the place up for her.
As she began a slow inspection of the place, she noticed a set of stairs in the back. When she crested the top of the stairs, she praised God for providing. On the other side of the locked door was a bed. It was only a twin bed, but the mattress looked to be in good shape. She had a box of linens she could make work, at least long enough to figure out what she was going to do for sleeping arrangements while she fixed the house.
There was no way on God’s green earth she was going to sleep in that cesspool of garbage and animal carcasses. “How is it possible this place is so pristine while the house should be bulldozed?” Nelly shook her head.
She unloaded her truck into the barn and got the dogs settled for the night before she went upstairs with a hot cup of peppermint tea. In her search, she also located a breakroom of sorts that had an electric tea kettle and running water in the sink.
Her last thought before drifting off into a dreamless night of sleep was how good God was.