In fact, she’d stopped by Wilde & Organic today to talk to the owner about carrying her organic goat cheese, which Savannah made in small, artisanal batches. Clara Jean Walker had been kind and enthusiastic, and she’d scheduled a visit to Llama Mamas for the second week of January.
She parked and got out, only to open the back door and gently rouse Sequoia with, “Hey, sweetheart, it’s time to wake up.” She started to unbuckle the girl as she came to full consciousness.
She blinked and smiled at Savannah. “Mama.”
“Hey, darling.” She leaned down and kissed the girl, then lifted her out of the car. “Remember, you promised to feed the ducks after we got home.” She set her daughter on the ground, half-expecting a fight.
“Yep.” Sequoia skipped away, already singing to herself.
Savannah grinned after her, because of the two, Sequoia was definitely the more agreeable. She was older by five and a half minutes, and she often stuck up for Gallery—just like she had in the floral shop.
Savannah peered across the bench seat to Gal, who still slumbered. Honestly, she wanted to let her sleep, because a happy-Gal always had enough to eat and enough sleep, and Savannah didn’t think she got either at her father’s.
She rounded the SUV and opened Gal’s door. “Come on, baby,” she whispered. “Let’s go see if Grandma made butterscotch chip cookies while we were gone.”
Gal whimpered as Savannah unbuckled her and lifted her into her arms. She groaned and stumbled under the weight of her five-year-old. “You’ve gotten so big, my love.”
Gal lifted her head then, still a bit sleepy in her eyes. “I can walk, Mama.”
Savannah set the little girl on her feet. “Come on, then,” she said. “We have to take in the groceries, and you can help.” She changed course and moved to the back of the SUV, lifted the tailgate, and picked out a bag with only a carton of eggs in it for Gal. “Take that inside, then come get something else.”
Gal ran away, the eggs in the bag swinging, and Savannah tore her eyes away. If she didn’t see the dozen eggs get dropped, then it didn’t happen. Her mother would help Gal once she got inside anyway.
Savannah hunkered down into her jacket as she loaded up with groceries, but she took an extra moment to breathe the fresh air and look up into the heavenly sky. Clouds covered Texas today, but Savannah didn’t mind. She got to spend the hours in her day how she wanted, and she counted every one as a blessing.
Once she got all the groceries in, had checked in with her mother, and then unloaded all the animal feed over in the llama barns, Savannah returned home and parked in her garage. She always did a sweep of the car, because the girls could leave chunks of cheese, boxes of chicken nuggets, or old milkshakes in the car, and those stunk.
Savannah’s eyes landed on the red rose on the passenger seat, and her heart stopped. She could clearly see Wilder’s face in her mind’s eye as she reverently reached for the long stem.
Be careful of the thorns, he’d told Sequoia.You can pinch it right here, so you won’t get stuck.
She lifted the rose to her nose and took a long breath, somehow getting a hint of cowboy cologne with the deep floral scent. A smile came to her face, and Savannah took the rose into the house to gift to Gal for all her help with carrying in the groceries.
As she did that, she couldn’t help hoping that she might run into Wilder Glover again one day.
31
Mitchell Glover downed the last of his coffee just as the lights in the kitchen flashed. Someone had just rung the doorbell, but Mitch made no move to get up and get the door. He already knew his guests would be his father, Chaz, and Link.
Still, all of his hearing dogs alerted, and he waved them away. But hey, they could alert to the doorbell now, something that had taken some time and serious training to achieve. He absently patted William, who he was training to be Jacob’s hearing dog.
In fact, after Mitch and Lacy returned from their honeymoon, Mitch would move most of William’s training to Jacob, so they could start becoming a pair.
Sure enough, Chaz entered the back of the house first, fully dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and bright blue tie. The dogs stayed right at Mitch’s side, as they should.
You’re not even dressed, Chaz said, his smile wide.
Mitch glanced at the clock, his perpetual enemy.I have time, he said.
Daddy came next, and the canine energy at Mitch’s side increased. Sunshine particularly loved Daddy, and she barked, setting off Mitch’s watch, and jogged toward him. William,Maven, and Mitch’s long-time hearing dog, Champ, stayed at his side.
Daddy, also dressed in his wedding-day suit, crouched down, his laughter also triggering the alert watch Mitch wore to let him know when sound had been made. He scrubbed Sunshine’s ears and head as Link entered the kitchen too.
Time to get dressed, cowboy, Link said.
Mitch knew Lacy had put Link in charge of making sure he arrived at the altar on time, and he saw no reason to cause anyone any trouble today. He left his coffee cup on the table and went with his brother, cousin, father, and dogs into the master suite.
This room had once functioned as his office forSigns for Success, but he’d since moved into the administration building on campus. Lacy had an office right next to his, and she’d moved in with her brother at the beginning of the month while the construction crew Mitch had hired worked on the house.
