Page 11 of Petals & Promises

“Yeah, baby girl, it’s for real,” Gareth assured me. “Nurse Harlow told us you qualified for a medical alert dog, and I just took it one step further. No matter where you go or who you're with, I want you to feel safe, and I think Waffles will help achieve that.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I gazed down at Waffles and sniffled when those sweet brown eyes looked back. “What do you think, Waffles? Do you want to be part of this family?”

His answer was to boop his nose against my hip, causing me to smile at him. Waffles got to his feet and nudged me again with his nose, harder this time.

“Little lady, I think it’s best if you sit down right now,” Hank ordered. “Better yet, laying down would be best.”

Waffles nudged me again with a slightly worried whine to accompany what I now realized was an alert. I’d been so overwhelmed with emotions I didn’t notice how lightheaded I was feeling. Thankfully, the driveway was paved so I wasn't lying in gravel, but it didn’t mean it was much more comfortable. Once Gareth and Vili helped me lay down, Waffles wriggled his large body under my legs to send more blood to my heart by keeping my feet elevated.

“Rosie, talk to us. How are you feeling?” Ulysses asked, placing a cool cloth on my head.

“I’m a little lightheaded, but that’s about it,” I shared, trying to keep my guys from worrying too much. “Maybe I overdid it with the longer walk after having my accelerator treatment done.”

Yun-Sun kneeled next to me with a cup and straw, offering it to me. “Sweetheart, why is this cup practically full?”

One of the things I had to monitor and adjust to was how much water I needed to drink. Not only would it help keep my blood pressure stable, it was also needed for the accelerator treatments. As my blood was being supercharged to assist with the rapid healing, I needed to flush out all the bad shit, or it could wind me up on the pavement with a dog under my legs.

“So ah, how long do I stay like this?” I asked.

“Don’t worry… Waffles will let you know when it’s safe,” Hank assured me. “When he does, would you indulge me by letting him help you to your feet? This is part of the service he is trained to offer, and I just want you to feel comfortable taking the offered help.”

“Yeah, no problem, but you’ll have to check with these worrywarts to see if they’ll actually let me do that,” I teased, sipping on my special electrolyte water.

Most of my guys gave me scolding looks, but Warrick and Vili just snickered, knowing how accurate what I said was.

“Rosie, this is why we got Waffles. If we don’t let him do his job, then what is the point?” Ulysses reasoned.

Tilting my head, I looked up at him, where he was sitting behind me. “Oh, I’m well aware of that. I just wanted to make sure you guys were on the same page.”

Waffles cut off any further argument as he crawled out from under my legs and shoved Warrick out of the way. Warrick clearly hadn’t been expecting that and toppled over, but thankfully, he’d been crouched beside me so he didn’t have far to fall.

“Sorry about that,” Hank muttered, helping Warrick to his feet. “This particular breed is a one-person-only type. They won’t be a danger or threat to anyone else unless there’s a reason, but I definitely wouldn’t call them a friendly breed.”

“Good to know,” Warrick said, brushing himself off. “Although, I have to say I like that trait for this particular situation. It means that nothing and no one will be a distraction or even tempt him to leave Bailey-Rose’s side.”

“That’s the heart of it,” Hank agreed, dropping to one knee by me. “All right, little lady, I’m going to put Waffles’ harness on him and show you a few key things. Don’t worry if you can’t remember it all. Part of buying a dog from me is that I spend a few days working with you. The most important thing about a working dog is learning to speak the right language.”

Hearing that I would have something purposeful to do made me giddy. The past two and a half weeks had been rough as Dr. Arbour warned me. Although it wasn’t in the way you’d think. I was used to going through various therapies after a long hospital stay, and the pain was the worst I can remember, but the inability to do anything was the real torture—restrictions on how much I could lift, not going up and down stairs, and feeling utterly exhausted after a ten-minute walk. Learning to work with Waffles was going to be the mental game I needed to keep from losing my shit.

“Are you able to sit up on your own, or will you need his help with that?” Hank asked once Waffles was suited up.

“I can do it, but it’s rather painful right now,” I admitted.

Hank nodded and proceeded to show me how to call Waffles over, where to grab the leather harness, and tips to get back on my feet once I was sitting up. It was like I’d climbed Mount Everest with how accomplished I felt to have managed that on my own.

“This is a soft-handled harness, but you can easily switch it out for one with a semi-rigid top handle if need be. Personally, I don’t see you needing it once you’re fully recovered,” Hank reasoned. “I hope I’m not overstepping when I say I think we should call it here for the day. Sounds like you’ve had a lot going on, and it would be good for you and Waffles to just spend time together. I’ll have you take the harness off when you’re ready so you know how. Nothing you do will break or damage it, so don’t be shy.”

“Thank you, Hank. You really have no idea what this means to us,” Gareth said, shaking Hank’s hand. “If you follow me, I’ll show you to the guest house where you can settle in.”

“Oh, there’s one more thing…” Hank admitted, setting Nugget on the ground, who instantly bolted to sit between Waffles’ legs. “I hope you don’t think me dishonest, but Nugget and Waffles are a package deal. Nugget was trained to be a psychiatric service dog, but the poor fella got attacked by a stray, and since then, Nugget has been a nervous Nellie about most things. However, when he’s with Waffles, Nugget is fearless and able to live a happy life. We aren’t charging you for him since you’re doing us and Nugget a favor by taking him on too.”

“Will there be any issues with Waffles doing his job with Nugget around? Or companies, for that matter, having two dogs in tow?” Yun-Sun inquired.

“Not at all. You put service gear on Nugget, and he’ll mind, knowing he’s on the job. The problem is Nugget doesn’t think he can do his job without Waffles. Guess you could say Waffles is Nugget’s support animal,” Hank explained. “One of these days, Nugget might find his footing again, but who knows how long that will take. Either way, he is a fully certified and trained service dog, so you’re not lying or breaking any laws by putting him in his vest. Plus, he’s the snuggler out of the pair, so it’s a nice balance.”

Grinning, I kneeled to pet Nugget, beyond excited to have him added to our family as well. “Welcome to the pack, you two.”

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