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“Because I’m a woman?” she turned and pinned him with a sharp gaze.
“Because you love them.”
His answer shamed her. “I’m sorry, Gun. Truly. That was out of line. I’m just – this is just a bad moment.”
“Because you love them,” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“Loving isn’t a weakness, Oakley. It’s a strength.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yep.”
She nodded and turned her head to stare out of the window. This day was chock full of surprises, and most of them had delivered an emotional wallop. She hoped there were no more to come. She wasn’t accustomed to an over-abundance of emotion, and right now her plate was overflowing.
And her emotional state of being wasn’t what deserved attention right now. Oakley dismissed thoughts about herself and turned her mind toward what did matter. Honoring a fallen friend.
Chapter Ten
It’d been a while since Gunner put on his dress uniform. Since the last funeral he attended. It almost made him hate putting it on, but then he reminded himself that every soldier knows death is looking for him or her, waiting to claim another soul. They accept that any moment can be their last.
And when that happens, the military pays its respects and reminds everyone that each life matters.
Now, as he placed the hat on his head, he wondered if Oakley felt the same. Her job today would be tough. He’d spoken with people at the service for his and Riggs’ former teammates, and all of them spoke with respect and admiration for Birdman. He saved the ones who survived by literally scaling a wall and killing the man poised on the roof with the assault rifle.
The Chaplin spoke of the bravery of the men, and of the dog who saved the rest of them. Gunner saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes as Oakley listened, but she quickly blinked them away.
He’d hoped to fly to Texas with her, but she’d elected to take the flight home with Birdman’s body. She said it was the last thing she could do for him.
Gunner didn’t argue. She probably needed some time alone. He, Grady, and Riggs took an Airforce flight already scheduled, and were picked up at the airfield and driven to the hangar where the service would be held.
Everyone entered from the rear. The front hangar doors were open, giving a view of the plane with its cargo door open. Gunner assumed the dog’s body was in the plane, along with Oakley.
To his surprise, he, Riggs, and Grady were given preferred positions with the base commander and senior officers. There was no seating. Everyone stood. They waited as the hangar began to fill, every soldier present in their dress uniforms. Once everyone was assembled, handlers arrived with the K9’s.
Gunner was stunned. Soldiers stood at attention, on the tarmac, row after row, column after column, and it was an impressive sight. But what was eerie was the hundreds of dogs who filed in behind a handler, took a position, and lay with legs crossed in front of them.
When attention was called, everyone snapped to, every dog sat heads up and alert, every set of eyes on the people exiting the plane. Oakley and three other officers carried a casket from the plane. They placed it at the head of the crowd. They carefully removed the flag, folded it, and Oakley tucked it under her arm as they raised the lid of the coffin.
Gunner saw the way Oakley’s back straightened as she turned toward the coffin. Just as he saw her shudder, as she placed her hand on the still form in the coffin. She stayed that way for a moment, then turned to face the officers. They saluted her, and once she returned the salute, they turned and assumed a position behind her. Oakley came to attention and saluted the crowd.
Gunner had seen many military events, but he’d never seen anything like hundreds of dogs raise their right paw in a responding salute. It was almost disconcerting. Or maybe it was the way every set of canine eyes was on Oakley.
“Birdman came to us at only six weeks, not ever weaned due to the untimely death of his mother. He was small. So small,” she paused, swallowed, and thencontinued. “All the other vets said he wouldn’t make it. He’d be too weak, too little.”
She looked around, and when her gaze fell in one direction, Gunner looked that way as well. Three men and two women nodded. “We proved them wrong. We knew he had what it takes, even if they didn’t believe. They said he was too rebellious, too reckless, and that he’d rather skateboard than train.”
There was a chuckle from the assembly. “That part was true, in a fashion, and his love of skateboarding earned him the name Birdman, the nickname given to the famous skateboarder, Tony Hawk.”
She smiled at the small group of handlers. “We used his talent for what it was. A gift. No one had the balance of Birdman. With a hand-up assist, he could scale a wall or climb a tree. I always believed if he had wings, he could have flown.
“I suppose now he has, and today we honor him, his service and devotion. Birdman, you will be forever missed, but never forgotten. You died a hero and deserve a hero’s welcome in whatever life awaits you. I will always remember and love you, my brave boy. That I promise.”
Gunner saw the tears that streamed down Oakley’s face, despite her stoic expression and even the slight tremor of emotion when the first sounds of taps stilled all other sound.
When silence fell, she stepped forward and addressed the K9 unit.
