Broken Heart Mended by Jenna Hendricks
Chapter 4
Sam watched as Nelly left the coffee shop. “She’s gonna be trouble, ain’t she.”
The moment Sam and the guys made it back to the ranch, they were put to work and didn’t have a moment to even think about Nelly. Wedding preparations took all day long, then Sam had to shower and put on his monkey suit. The entire time he readied, he did nothing but complain.
“All I’m doing is helping people find their seats. Why do I need to dress up? This is a ranch wedding, for Pete’s sake. We should all be in our denim and boots. Maybe a nicer button-up shirt with a bolo tie, but that should be all.” Sam complained to anyone who would listen, but everyone just smiled and shook their heads. Anyone who’d been around the ranch for at least a month knew Sam was more hot air than anything else.
But the moment Sam saw Dana in her wedding dress at the end of the aisle, and then turned to see Jerod all teary-eyed, his complaints stopped. While he wouldn’t be caught dead marrying anyone, he did know Jerod and Dana were madly in love and they deserved their day. Sam wasn’t about to begrudge them their happiness.
As Dana walked down the aisle, Sam felt a tickle in the back of his throat and then his nose burned. He clamped his eyes shut and thought about mucking out stalls. No way was he going to get emotional over someone else’s wedding, even if it was the joining of two of the nicest folks he’d ever met. Sam had never seen two people more suited to each other.
It'd been about a year since they’d met. At first, Sam wondered what Dana saw in Jerod. The cowboy wasn’t much nicer than Sam. Well, that wasn’t true. Jerod was one of those cowboys who would literally give someone in need the shirt off his back.
When Sam opened his eyes again, Dana and Jerod were holding hands under the arbor where the preacher stood. While his hearing was just fine, no thanks to the bombs that went off all around him when we was in the Middle East, he couldn’t hear the words the preacher spoke over the sound of rushing water in his head.
It took running his hands down his face a few times and then shaking his head to clear up the noise. Sam was just grateful he had a seat in the back of the crowd. His throat was tight and a headache had begun, but after a few seconds he got himself under control.
The panic attacks had lessened a great deal since Dana had arrived and worked with him, but crowds and loud noises still weren’t his thing. If he had been up front, he was sure he’d have passed out from all the eyes on him. That was the worst thing, ever.
When people stared at his arm and he saw the look of realization on their faces, he got mad. But when it happened in front of a large group, he got dizzy. Sam knew what they were all thinking…he was half the man he once was. And they all had that look of pity in their eyes. The look that said they wanted to tell him everything would be alright.
But everything wouldn’t be alright. Nothing would ever be alright.
His mind jerked back to the parade, a happier time before he’d left for war.
Some called out his name and said how proud they were to have one of their own joining the war on terror. But that was over ten years ago, when Americans had spirit. When they loved their country and their servicemembers. Sure, even today there were still a lot who had a patriotic spirit, but lately it had become unfashionable to support the military, or even the police. And that hurt.
Not just because Sam had planned on being a police officer when he exited the service, but because his exit wasn’t the way he’d planned it. And now that dream of working hard to keep his hometown safe would never happen.
Hewould never happen.
Who would want a shell of a man patrolling their streets? One who didn’t even have all of his limbs? No, Sam was no longer a real man, and the atmosphere in his country only made it worse.
Now he was a shell of what he once was, and no one even cared.
An elbow nudged him in the ribs, and he scowled at Mike.
Mike smiled and pointed to the happy couple who had turned around. Somehow, he had missed the entire service. Sam didn’t even get to hear them both say, “I do.” He stood when everyone else did and clapped for the newlyweds.
All of the pictures and speeches had taken so long that by the time he finally ate, Sam’s stomach was growling more than he was. Sam walked over to a group of the residents from the ranch. “Hey, does this mean we’re done for the night?”
Dixon, one of the vets who also lived at the ranch, grinned and shook his head. “Nope, now it’s time to take everything down.”
Grumbling, Sam got to work folding chairs and putting them in the back of a big box truck. They had rented all the party furniture the wedding needed, and now they had to get it back to the rental company.
“Congratulations, Jerod and Dana. I do wish you the best.” Sam finally smiled at the wedding couple and wished them well when they took off to a hotel in Missoula for their wedding night. The next day, they were headed to Florida for their honeymoon.
Once the happy couple left, Sam turned to Skeeter. “Who does their honeymoon at Disney World? Why not take a cruise, or rent a beach house?”
***
It was Thursday by the time Sam heard from Nelly again. And that was only by accident.
“Sam? Is that you?” Nelly stared at the clean-shaven man who had resembled more of a mountain man than a cowboy when she met him.
Sam had just put his hot cup of joe to his lips and was about to take a sip from the nectar of the gods. Instead, he turned around to stare into the deep brown pools of Nelly Wilson’s eyes and his heart dropped into his stomach. His eyes widened and he heard himself ask, “When did she get so pretty?”
When Nelly’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, he realized his mistake. After speaking mostly to himself for the past two years, he had gone and gotten himself into trouble by uttering his thoughts aloud. Thoughts no one wanted to hear.
Trying to think of something to say, he took a long drink of his coffee and sputtered it out when it burned his esophagus. “So sorry.”
A brown stain was already making its way down the front of Nelly’s shirt. Sam reached for a stack of napkins and dabbed at the mess until she swatted his hand away.
“Just want do you think you’re doing?” Nelly put her hands in front of her chest.
A growl emanated from a dog standing next to her, baring his teeth at Sam.
“Whoa, now. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sam put his hands in the air and stepped back two paces, more to put room between him and Nelly than him and the dog. The one thing he still enjoyed was animals, and they usually took an instant liking to him as well.
But now? He’d probably made two enemies for life. What was new?
Nelly put her hand, palm down, in front of the dog next to her. “Fuss.”
Sam had heard that command many times in the field. He narrowed his eyes and took another look at the dog next to Nelly. He was a service dog, and he was on duty. The dog had a desert camo vest on with the words SERVICE DOG embroidered on the sides. He knew from his time in the sandpit that any time a dog had on one of those vests, it meant he was working and no one should come up to the dog. He wasn’t a pet, he was an employee.
Sam gave a nod to the dog, who’d probably served himself. Maybe he was semi-retired now? Nelly didn’t have the look of a soldier, so he wasn’t sure why she had a military service dog next to her. But he’d be sure to give her and the dog a wide berth moving forward. The dog was a beautiful black retriever with white spots on his head, and they usually had an easygoing temperament. But the military dogs were also trained to protect their handlers. If he wasn’t careful, he’d have this dog taking a chunk out of his leg. Or worse, pulling his prosthetic arm out of his shirt sleeve.
Nelly turned her soft brown eyes on him and sighed. “I know, Sam. It’s just”—her arms flailed in front of her—“this has been one awful week. It’s probably a good thing I came early, but at the same time, I wish Jerod was here so we could get started.”
Sam tilted his head. “Started on what? Your ranch? I told you, I can help you while Jerod’s on his honeymoon. Should I come over this afternoon and take a look at what you need?”