Saving Easton by Kaci Rose
Chapter 1
Paisley
"I know, Molly, I love coming here, too," I say to Molly. She's a therapy dog and loves coming to Oakside. Mostly because I’ll let her off her leash to play on the back lawn when we’re done.
This is only our second time here, and we both already like it more than the hospital. Don't get me wrong, we both enjoy helping injured soldiers, but Oakside feels more like a bed-and-breakfast, or like someone's home than a stuffy hospital.
I come to the side of the building via the staff entrance with Molly, and everyone stops to pet her. Downstairs they can pet her, but once we go upstairs, she’s working. She cuddles, plays, or listens to the veterans for whatever they need. As a therapy dog, if she can bring even a small smile to their day, then we have done our job.
I knock on Lexi's office door. She and her husband, Noah, run the place. I met Lexi one day at the hospital, and we seemed to keep bumping into each other, so when she opened Oakside, she asked me to make a few stops here each week.
"Hey, just checking in to see where we’re needed most," I say.
"Paisley! Well, hello there, Molly. Are you ready to go play?" Lexi says.
Molly is a golden retriever, so she isn't a small dog by any means, and her hair is a bit longer than most, but she’s really smart and well trained. She already knows Lexi is the one with the treats.
Lexi supplies treats for the guys to feed Molly, if they wish. Whatever isn't used, we take home, and Molly can enjoy tonight and tomorrow.
Molly sits looking over at the bookcase Lexi got the treats from, and Lexi just laughs and pulls out the bag.
"Today's flavor is cheese biscuit," Lexi says to Molly. Cocking her head to the side, Molly looks like she’s trying to figure out what she has to do to get the treat. Molly is well trained. She has to be around these guys.
"I know they sounded good to me, huh, girl. Play shy." Lexi says.
Molly bends her head and brings her paw up over her nose, earning her a treat from Lexi.
"I didn't teach her that one. She came already knowing it," I say.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you what you look for when looking for dogs to train?" I also train therapy dogs for soldiers. They can be trained to do just about anything. Everything from reminding the owner to take their medicine, sensing when a panic attack is coming on, or helping calm or sensing when they are having nightmares and wake them up. I've trained some to sense PTSD attacks and help pull the person from their own heads. They’re trained to bring a phone to their owner in an emergency, as well as many other ways to help someone function with just a little help.
"Well, one that already has some training is best. They should be housebroken and know not to jump or chew, you know, the basics, so we can start on the harder stuff. It’s important that they don’t scare easily and are good with everyone from adults to kids and infants. They should play well with other dogs, cats, and animals as well. They should also be okay with car rides. Everything else is trainable. Why?"
"Well, I have a few leads on some military police dogs, and they’re retiring due to injury. A few of their owners have passed, so they’re looking for homes, but the dogs are already trained. I'm wondering if we can complete their training and bring them here full-time for the guys." Lexi says, while petting Molly.
"I think that's a great idea. The guys here will love it. The MP dogs are one of them, even if they have four legs, instead of two," I say.
"Okay,” Lexi says. “Try the guy in room four today. Though, he probably won't even let you in, but I want to see if maybe he will let the dog near him."
"Sure, anyone else?" I ask.
"Nope, everyone else is fine, so just room four. Noah has taken it upon himself to help this guy out, even if he has to drag him kicking and screaming."
We say our goodbyes then head to the stairs, where I put on Molly's vest, and her posture turns serious. She knows she’s working now. We go upstairs and make the lobby our first stop. I love this lobby. It's like a massive living room with a stone fireplace and large floor to ceiling windows that look out over a courtyard between the lobby and the east wing of the building.
I walk slowly, letting Molly take account of everyone in the lobby, who mostly look like family members. As we head down the hallway towards room four, Molly takes off at a full run right to the guy, sitting at the window with his back to me. He’s in sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt, even though it's the dead of summer in southern Georgia.
Molly sits there, and the man gently reaches down to pet her. The moment he does, Molly climbs into his lap. What the hell is wrong with this dog? She never misbehaves like this.
"Molly, you can't run off like that." I scold her, as I take a quick assessment, making sure being in his lap isn't causing any issues. He doesn't seem to be missing any limbs or be in any pain.
At the sound of my voice, the man slowly turns his head, and my heart skips a beat. It can't be him, it just can't be.
"Easton?" I ask, my voice shaky.
This man in front of me just stares at me, while he pets Molly. I take a few steps into his room to get a better look at him, and sure enough, this is Easton Mathews, my brother's best friend growing up.
This is the boy I had a crush on all through my school years, and the boy who chased all the other boys away without even trying, because they didn't compare to him. Only he isn't a boy now, he’s a man. He's bulked up, and even through the t-shirt, I can tell he has some serious muscles. His black hair is a few inches longer than he normally wore it, and he's grown out his beard enough to hide most of his face. But his ice, gray eyes are still the same.
Why is he here? If he's here, that means he was injured during his military time, which I didn’t even know about. What did Lexi say downstairs? Noah has been visiting him, even if he didn't want it? I need to get back to Lexi and find out why he's here.
"Hey, um, I need to use the restroom, and she won't go in there. Will you watch her for me for a few minutes?" I ask.
It's a lie. Molly will go wherever I go, but he’s doing well with her, and I need to go see Lexi now. I also want an excuse to come back.
Easton looks at me like I might be crazy, but gives a small nod before I turn and flee the room. I run back through the lobby and downstairs to Lexi's office.
"Room four. It's Easton." I say a bit out of breath, and Lexi and Noah both look at me like I've grown two heads.
"Yes..." Noah says.
"Where’s Molly?" Lexi asks.
"Molly is with Easton. Easton is my brother's best friend. Well, he was growing up." I say, and Lexi and Noah look at each other. "Why is he here?"
Neither says anything.
"Molly has never met him, but as soon as we got to the door, she ran right to him. The moment he started petting her she crawled up in his lap."
"He let her?" Noah asks, looking shocked.
"Yes, she's still there. I used some lame excuse of needing to use the bathroom to come back down here," I say.
Lexi sighs, "He's fine physically, but Easton was a prisoner of war for a year. We don't know much other than what’s in his file. He doesn't let anyone in his room. Other than to his doctor and to Noah, he doesn't really talk either. When he was a POV, he had no human contact for a year, except for the fully masked men, who tortured him. So, Easton having Molly in his lap is huge. If you knew him before, you might be able to push him to finally heal."
"But don't push too hard," Noah says.
I nod. "I should get back up there."
Lexi and Noah follow me up. We stand quietly in the doorway and watch Easton stare out of the window while petting Molly, who is still in his lap.
When I look over at Noah and Lexi, they both nod, so I take a step into the room, which perks Molly's head up. Easton turns his head to look at me, before staring back out of the window. I sit on the couch at the opposite end of the room and look back at the door to find Lexi and Noah gone.
I'm not sure what to say, but since I had no idea he even joined the military, I think that’s a good place to start.
"What branch of the service are you in?" I ask him.
"Was." He says, and even in the one word, I can tell his voice has gotten deeper.
Just that one word has my body tingling. How the hell did he do that?
"What?" I ask, trying to clear my mind and focus.
"What branch was I in. This happens, and they were pretty fast to discharge me." He says with a hint of anger in his voice.
"I'm sorry I didn't know," I say softly.
The last thing I wanted to do was anger him.
"Marines." He says at the same time he turns his head to look at me.
"I didn't know you joined.”
Only he doesn't look at me, he's looking past me.
"How long have you been bringing Molly in?"
"Well, this is only our second time here, but we have been visiting the hospital for almost three years now. Lexi and I met when Noah was in the hospital." I give him more info than he asked for, but it's better than the silence before.
He nods and keeps petting Molly, who has her head on the armrest of his chair and is looking at me.
"You know, she's never taken off on me like that, much less climbed into anyone’s lap, even mine," I tell him.
"Why me?"
"I think she can sense you need it. It's what she’s trained for."
More silence. I've never been good with silence, especially with how my nerves are on overdrive. For something to do, I take a look around the room. Easton sits in a brown leather chair he has pulled over to face the window in front of his bed.
The room is long, and Easton and his bed are on the far wall. In the middle, is a living room area with a dresser and TV on top, a second chair to match the one he’s sitting in, and a matching leather couch, where I’m sitting. The door is on the opposite wall of the bed, and there’s a small desk on one side and the bathroom on the other.
A quick glance out of the window shows he has one of the best views. It looks right out the front of the house. To the right is the long oak tree-lined driveway and to the left are the gardens.
"Would you like to go for a walk with us?" I ask, thinking at least then there would be something else to concentrate on other than the silence. Plus, the gardens are really pretty this time of year.
"No," he says. One simple word, but he sounds so irritated. Does he even recognize me? Probably not. Why would he remember his friend’s silly, younger sister?
Not wanting to upset him, I ask, "Do you want me to stop talking?"
He takes a deep breath, "No." This time it’s a very different no. It's much softer and not as harsh.
Then he says, "Tell me about Lexi and Noah.”
So, I launch into how I met them at the hospital when Noah was healing from his burns and regaining muscle strength. I tell him how I met Lexi and about our talks, as she was setting up Oakside. How she lived in this old southern plantation home by herself for a few years, before she had the idea to make it what it is now. I tell him how I fell in love with the place the moment I walked in the door, and how Molly loves playing in the backyard when we’re done.
All the while, he’s staring out of the window with no reaction.
"You know, this place almost became a B&B," I say with a laugh, but still nothing from him.
"I know it doesn't seem like there’s much to laugh at right now, and things seem dark, but it will get better. You’ll like it here."
He finally looks over at me again but says nothing.
"I’ll be back in a few days. Can I come back to see you?"
When I walk over to get Molly without thinking, I place my hand on his shoulder.
"Goodbye, Easton." He flinches so hard from my touch that Molly goes almost into a panic state, trying to help calm him.
"Please, don't touch me," he says.
I give him a sad nod. "I won't again. I'm sorry."
I head out and visit a few other patients, but I can tell our time with Easton took a lot out of Molly, so we cut the visits short. Before I leave, I stop by and see Noah and Lexi, giving them a report.
Once outside, I change directions and go to the front yard with Molly. When I turn and find Easton in his window, I offer a small wave, before I take off Molly's vest and leash, letting her run.
I pull her ball from my bag, and she takes off at a full run across the yard. Just like Easton taught me all those years ago, I throw the ball as far as I can.