It felt like it took forever, and Lacy and Mitch would be able to watch him on their doorbell cam later. But when he got to the door, he didn’t see a camera. Thankfully.
He leaned on his cane and reached to push the doorbell. He heard nothing from inside, as the heavy oak door kept the sound contained. Several seconds later, it finally opened, and Lacy stood there.
“Ty,” she said, grinning at him. “It’s so great to see you.” She stepped out and gave him a quick hug. “Mitch is already around back, so I’ll take you that way.”
“Thank you,” he said, and he eyed the lip up into the house.
Lacy stepped back and then turned and walked away, acting as if Ty could do everything himself. Surprise moved through him, because most people he encountered acted like he shouldn’t even be out by himself.
He managed to get into the house and close the door behind him, then he followed Lacy through a doorway into an expansive kitchen with huge windows along the back wall. “Wow. This place is nice.”
Lacy smiled at him over her shoulder. “Yeah, we really love it here.”
“I can see why,” Ty said.
“I’m sorry about the stairs.” Lacy opened the back door, and this time she did wait for Ty to go past her. “I should’ve texted you that I’d just meet you around back, and you wouldn’t have had to climb up and then go back down.”
“It’s all right,” Ty said though he wanted to throw something. “I have a phone that works too.” He stopped at the top of the stairs. “Besides, my momma would say this is good for me. I can’t expect to live in a world without stairs—or the world to accommodate my every need.”
“Mitch and I actually believe in total accommodation,” Lacy said as she came to his side. “We’re always advocating for those who need more accessibility to have it.”
Ty grunted as he started down the steps, once again discombobulated, because now it was easier to put weight on his left leg and step down with his right, when the opposite had been true on the front steps.
His mood had only darkened by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, and Lacy indicated he had to walk across a wide field—probably fifty yards—to get to where Mitch stood with an army of dogs around him.
“He’s so happy you want to do this,” Lacy said. “He started working with my brother too. And don’t be surprised if you end up with a fully trained hearing dog after this.”
She gave a light laugh, and Ty didn’t know how to respond, so he simply started across the field with her. It actually wasn’t that hard, as a well-worn path had been carved through the grass. Lacy walked slightly ahead of him and on his right side, chattering about their farm, the pond, and the fact that Mitch wore a watch that alerted him of sound.
“I really do think it’d be best if you learned some sign language though,” she said. “You’ll be able to communicate so much better with Mitch and Jacob.”
Ty grunted once again, and then Lacy opened the gate and let him go first into the pasture where Mitch worked with his dogs. Another man—Lacy’s brother Jacob—stood off to the side with one dog, and Ty expected the canines to run toward him, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d been around Mitch and his hearing dog, and Champ never left his side.
“When are you getting the puppies?” Ty asked.
“Not for another couple weeks,” Lacy said. “You think we have a lot of dogs now.” She laughed again, and Mitch turned toward her. His face brightened, and when Lacy reached him, he swept his arm around her, laughed, and leaned down and kissed her as if they were alone.
Ty probably should’ve looked away, but he didn’t. He’d thought he’d had a love like that once, and watching Mitch and Lacy interact planted a tiny seedling of hope in his heart. Maybe he could find love like theirs in the future.
Then Mitch started talking. His signs moved far too fast for anyone to even understand, but Lacy said, “He’s really glad you’re here. He got a new dog sent to him from another facility, and he thinks she’s going to need one-on-one training.”
Ty nodded, looking between her and Mitch. Mitch moved quickly, his hands forming shapes, touching his face, flitting here and there. His facial expressions made himsoanimated and charismatic, and Ty really liked basking in his presence.
“He’ll expect perfection,” Lacy said. “But he’s watched some of your rides online, and he knows that you’re the kind of cowboy who expects the same thing.”
Ty nodded. That was true. “All right,” he said. “I don’t need to be paid or anything, but I’d love to do this.”
Mitch watched Lacy speak, and then his hands flew into motion again.
“Oh, you’ll be paid,” Lacy said. “Mitch just got a grant from Hands to Hear, this amazing foundation that facilitates services for the Deaf. And this isn’t something you show up to do once a week for a couple of hours.”
Mitch wore a very stern expression, waited for Lacy to finish, and then started again.
“You’ll have to take the dog home with you,” Lacy said. “And she’ll live with you and go everywhere with you. You’ll train her to do things as if you can’t hear every sound that’s made, and you need to be alerted of it.Sheshould alert you—that’s her job.”
Ty nodded, making sure to make eye contact with Mitch as he continued to sign and Lacy continued to interpret.
“Mitch wants you here every day from seven a.m. to nine-thirty, which is when he does his training with his dogs. And then it’s just living your life with the dog and expecting the dog to do certain things.”
