When Opportunity Knocks - 6. Chapter 6

Jett watched with amusement as Kyle flicked his fingers across his shoulder, aiming at an imaginary piece of lint on his shirt. He had already assured the poor man that his family wouldn’t bite, but it looked like Kyle was still a little nervous.

Jett parked his truck in his parent’s driveway and leaned over to give Kyle a quick kiss. “C’mon, it’s nowhere near as bad as you’re imagining it in your head.”

They got out of the truck and Jett let the dogs out. Bruce gave a little whine as he jumped down and Rosie’s tail was a blur, she was so excited to be somewhere new. New places usually meant new people.

As soon as Jett opened the front door and stepped through, they were engulfed in barely controlled chaos as they entered. The space was large. It had to be. In addition to Bruce and Rosie, there were two other dogs, a black Lab and a Chihuahua mix. The littlest critter made the most noise, yapping shrilly at the newcomers, which set off a chain reaction and the other dogs chimed in, none of them really knowing what the hell they were barking at.

All of the dogs, including Bruce, immediately surrounded a younger, much shorter, female version of Jett, who had a box of treats in her hand. “SIT!” she shouted over the noise. It was rather comical the way all four dogs immediately sat. The Chihuahua got knocked over by the Lab, who nearly sat on him.

Jett watched in amusement as his sister made each dog ‘shake’ before giving them a treat. That is, all the dogs except Bruce. He sat there stoically as the treat was offered, not even twitching. His sister looked at him with one of those looks that said ‘Well?’

Jett, in brotherly love fashion, merely said “Bruce, hug.” The big dog immediately stood up and placed his large paws on the girl’s shoulders. Skye was the shortest one in the family and barely reached 5’3”. On his hind legs, Bruce’s head was even with hers. His ears, however, gave him the height advantage. Bruce’s tongue came out and swiped its way across Skye’s face.

“Ewww, knock it off you big lug!” Skye squealed.

Bruce sat back down and this time when the treat was offered, Jett gave him the command and he took it.

“That was mean,” Skye said as she came over to hug her brother. Of course as she did so, she wiped the dog slobber off her face using Jett’s shirt, rubbing the side of her face across the front of it.

Jett saw Kyle holding back a laugh as he squeezed his sister. “It’s good to see you too, Brat. Kyle, this obnoxious kid is Skye.”

Skye smacked Jett’s arm with all the effectiveness of swatting at a fly and missing. “I’m not a kid!” she shot at Jett. “It’s nice to meet you Kyle. How the hell do you put up with this asshat?”

“Skye! Be nice,” Jett’s mom came over, followed by his dad.

“Kyle, these are my parents, Chris and Beth,” Jett said, introducing them.

It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.” Kyle said politely.

Jett’s mom immediately hugged Kyle, “It’s Beth. Mrs. Anderson is my mother-in-law.” Jett saw his mom roll her eyes. She and Nana had sort of a love-hate relationship. They hated to love each other and loved to hate each other. They rarely ever outright fought, but the verbal sparring over the years had evolved into something epic. Sharp barbs, underhanded comments and quick-witted jabs had become their norm. It was awe-inspiring to watch in a way.

Once Jett’s mom released him Kyle turned to his dad and offered his hand. Before he could say anything Jett’s dad cut in with a gruff and non-nonsense voice, “You may call me Mr. Anderson.”

Jett raised an eyebrow at his dad as Kyle didn’t miss a beat and responded, “It’s good to meet you too, Chris.”

Skye snorted. “Damn! I like this guy Jett.”

Chris gave up on the charade, laughing, “I like him too.”

Jett smiled. Kyle had handled everything perfectly so far and he was proud of him. “Where’s Pip?” he asked.

“She’s on her way. She had to stop for gas and I asked her to get some ice. The damn ice maker isn’t working,” Chris said.

The dogs were getting underfoot, so Jett opened the backdoor and let them out into the fenced in yard. Titan, the Chihuahua, somehow managed not to get trampled in the whirlwind of fur and happy tails as the bigger dogs wrestled and romped with each other. Rory, which was short for Rorschach, like the ink blot test, was rolling on the grass as Bruce and Rosie chased each other.

Jett closed the door and gave Kyle a quick kiss on his cheek. “See,” he whispered. "Not so bad, is it?”

Kyle put his lips near Jett’s ear and whispered back “So far, but there’s still one to go.” Jett shivered as Kyle’s tongue came out and barely brushed the shell of his ear. Kyle hummed his approval.

Their little moment came to an abrupt halt with the arrival of Piper. Jett’s middle sister was nothing short of a force of nature. Unlike Skye, Piper was tall, standing 5’11” in bare feet. The short ankle boots she was wearing added two inches which gave her a little advantage over Kyle. Where Skye was petite, Piper was not. She had curves and was solidly built. All of the siblings shared the same coloring. Piper was wearing a pair of bootleg cut jeans that were molded to her curves, the hem stopping right at the top of a pair of black suede, ankle high boots. She wore a bright, hot pink tank top over which she had layered a black, button up shirt, which was currently unbuttoned.

Jett saw her eyes sweep the room and immediately hone in on Kyle. Like a heat seeking missile, she went straight for him with a sly look in her eyes. “Well, well. You must be Kyle.”

Kyle stood his ground. “Well, well, you must be Pip,” he parrotted, deliberately using Jett’s nickname for her.

Piper’s eyes narrowed slightly and she conceded with a laugh, “It’s good to meet you.”

Kyle grinned back. “Same here,” as she gave him a quick hug.

Jett was relieved that the introductions went well, not that he had any doubts.

Piper looked out into the backyard at all the dogs romping around, “What the Hell? You guys opening up a doggy day care?”

“Don’t mind her. She’s a cat person,” Jett commented.

To which Piper quipped, “Cats rule, dogs drool.”

“Dogs are cool, cats are cruel,” Jett zipped back.

“Knock it off you two. I’m sure Kyle doesn’t want to listen to you bounce insults back and forth like a tennis ball.” Beth scolded, giving both of them the evil stink eye.

With that said, Beth issued orders to everyone, setting Sunday dinner into motion. Each person was assigned a task and it didn’t take long before the table was set, wine was poured, the vegetables chopped and put together in a salad and water was boiling for pasta. Chris pulled out a tray of chicken parmesan from the oven and as soon as everyone was seated at the table, Beth started passing around the huge bowl of spaghetti with homemade sauce. Chris had placed the chicken on a platter which was passed around next. The next several minutes were noisy making sure everyone had what they wanted before finally a lull in the conversation was created by food occupying their mouths.

During the course of dinner Kyle was peppered with questions about himself by all of Jett’s family. Jett watched as Kyle fielded every question and he learned more little tidbits about the man who was creeping further and further into his heart.

There were a lot of laughs as Jett’s family told Kyle about some of the antics he had gotten into as a kid and teenager. Jett didn’t take it lying down either, he gave back, throwing his sisters under the bus as he revealed how they were not quite the little angels they pretended to be.

Jett’s parents went with the flow, his dad throwing in the occasional ‘Dad joke’ to make his offspring groan. The kids teased him every time he came up with one. He promised to stop after Piper let out a hearty belch and he quipped, “Bring it up again and we’ll vote on it,” without missing a heartbeat.

“Daaaaddd, stop!” Skye lamented. “That one is older than you are!” even though she was laughing.

“Kyle, ignore this bunch. I swear they weren’t brought up this way,” Beth said, her own laughter filtering through.

“I call bullshit, Dear.” Chris said with a wink. “ These kids probably learned more misbehavior from you than anyone else.”

By now everyone was laughing. Jett loved the way Kyle looked when his head was thrown back, a hint of moisture in the corner of his eyes. He appreciated how Kyle just rolled with the weirdness of his family. It was times like this that Jett missed his brother. Bo always had his back and when the two of them were together it was a free-for-all. Girls against boys.

Jett was really looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year had sucked without his twin. Christmas Eve was always a get together with all of the extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents all made an appearance and the mingling of families always proved interesting. The Anderson clan was loud and boisterous. The Landry’s, which was his mom’s side, well, not so much. Jett still had no idea how his mom turned out the way she did. She was an anomaly within her family.

Everyone pitched in to help clean up and Beth pulled out a pecan pie and a strawberry pie. Six people nearly decimated both pies. Only a couple of pieces remained of each. Skye brought out Cards Against Humanity and they spent the evening in hysterics, each trying to outdo everyone else for the most inappropriate answers.

It was after nine o’clock when Jett and Kyle finally managed to break free. Jett pulled the old ‘Kyle has to get up early’ excuse to bid his family farewell for the evening. Kyle had to promise to come back as often as he liked, even if Jett couldn’t make it. Jett could tell that the offer struck a chord in Kyle.

They gathered the dogs and were on their way back to Jett’s house. Kyle’s truck was there and he really did need to get up early.

“I hope you weren’t too overwhelmed by my family. I did tell you they were crazier than a border collie in a frisbee factory,” Jett said as he drove.

Kyle laughed and answered “Nah, my family was never as nutty as yours, but before the whole adoption fiasco we used to have some really good times together. I’ve missed it and today was a nice reminder that laughter is a much needed stress relief. Thank you for inviting me. I really do like your family.”

“They like you too. I know because my mom has never invited anyone that I’ve dated to come to dinner without me. You must’ve made quite the impression for her to do that.” Jett commented.

“Well, I can be quite charming, you know,” Kyle teased as they pulled into his driveway.

Jett hated having to say goodbye and enfolded Kyle into his arms. He breathed in the unique scent and let it brand his brain. Kyle’s face turned up, seeking a kiss which Jett was more than happy to provide.

Letting go reluctantly, Jett stepped back as Kyle got Rosie situated in his truck. Kyle snuck in one more kiss before getting in his truck and closing the door. Jett and Bruce watched as they drove away.

“C’mon boy, you’ll see them again soon,” he said, reassuring himself just as much as the dog.

Tater was out in the backyard, but there was no sign of Kim on the deck. Jett let Bruce out and Tater came trotting over to greet him. Jett stepped out onto the deck and stood leaning against the rail as he watched the dogs go about their evening business. He heard Kim’s slider open as she stepped out.

They greeted each other and Kim came to stand by the rail next to him. The air was cold, but not quite cold enough to see your breath.

“Dinner with the family?” Kim asked.

“Yeah, it went smashingly well,” he smiled. “ My mom now has a new favorite. He has a standing invitation whether I’m there or not,” Jett shook his head and gave a little eye roll.

“Your mom does have good taste,” Kim teased.

“You all set for your trip next weekend?”

Kim averted her eyes and answered somewhat tightly “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Do you not want to see your friend?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to see her. It’s just that we have a rather, uh, complicated history. Seeing each other rips open wounds that are better off being left in the past,” Kim admitted.

“So why do you still get together every year?” Jett pushed.

“We made a promise,” Kim said softly.

Jett pulled her into a hug. Whatever it was that was in her past he hoped she could eventually move on from. For now all he could do was offer support.

Kim hugged him back, drawing on his strength. It wasn’t often that she showed him this level of emotion and just as quickly as it came, it was gone as soon as Kim pulled away. Her mask dropped back into place as she mentally shielded her vulnerability.

“Have a good evening,” she said as she called Tater, who came at her first call for a change.

Bruce trotted up the steps and waited for Jett.

“Good night Kim,” he replied as he opened his slider and let Bruce through first. He set aside his worry for the time being. Kim was an adult and she knew that Jett was there for her whenever she needed him.

He settled in front of the TV for a little bit, not really paying attention until he figured he was better off just going to bed. His nightly routine of securing the house and getting ready for bed only took about ten minutes. Sleep didn’t find him right away, his mind was still processing the whirlwind of an afternoon and evening with Kyle and his family. He also kept the worry he was feeling for Kim right at the edge of his thoughts. He finally drifted off, his brain slowly turning his thoughts into disjointed dreams, none of which he remembered when he woke the next morning.

The following week was the usual crazy busy that seemed to have become Jett’s current norm. Traffic stops made up a big portion of his week along with a few school visits. Bruce got called in to search for an elderly woman with dementia who had wandered off. He found her several blocks away from her home trying to open a car door. She thought that she was on her way to work. She was transported to the hospital with a mild case of hypothermia as she had gone out barefooted and dressed in her nightgown and housecoat in 40 degree weather.

Jett managed to squeeze in a lunch with Kyle on Thursday. In the middle of eating their sandwiches Jett had a brilliant idea. At least he thought it was brilliant.

“Hey, you’re taking care of Tater when Kim leaves tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, she’s dropping him off in the morning. Why?”

“Well, I was thinking it might be easier to bring Tater back to my place and you stay for the weekend?” Jett offered uncertainly. Once he voiced his idea, it didn’t make more sense, it just highlighted how desperate he was to spend more time with Kyle.

Kyle, of course, saw right through him. “Easier for me huh? I was actually planning on taking a half day tomorrow and taking Tater and Rosie for a hike. Whatever would we do to pass the time at your place?” he teased.

Jett didn’t answer, he just blushed.

Kyle took pity on him, “Well, I guess instead of a nice wholesome hike, I can probably stop at the store and pick up some stuff and make dinner for us. Is that something that might interest you?”

Jett chuckled. “You interest me. No matter what you do. Hiking with the dogs, or making dinner. Makes no difference to me. You do whatever you’d like, but the invitation to stay the weekend stands.”

Kyle leaned over and kissed him, “No reason I can’t do both. I’ll still leave early, stop at the store and get what I need to make a nice dinner and then take the pups for a short hike in the woods behind your house before you get home.”

Jett pulled out his keychain and removed his house key to give to Kyle. “Here, I’ve got an extra key in my truck. You can use this one,” he said as he slid the key over on the table.

Kyle pocketed the key and they finished up their lunch. Jett had just barely finished cleaning up when his radio squawked with a report of a multiple vehicle accident not far from the clinic. Jett responded that he was back in service and en route. He gave Kyle a quick kiss and was gone, Bruce at his heels obediently.

The accident scene was a mess. From what the witnesses were reporting a red Mustang had been driving erratically, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating and speeding. He tried to change lanes quickly and misjudged the space needed to cut in front of a tractor trailer. The massive truck clipped his back end, sending his car spinning and then flipping over several times, hitting three other cars in the process. The tractor trailer driver did his best to maintain control of his truck and would have succeeded if not for the pickup truck slamming on his brakes to avoid hitting one of the cars that had been hit by the Mustang. The eighteen wheeler slammed into the back end of the pickup, jackknifed, and then all hell broke loose.

When all was said and done, fourteen vehicles were involved, multiple injuries and various vehicle parts scattered all over the highway. It was Bruce’s job to search the crumpled vehicles to make sure they didn’t miss any potential victims. Once that had been completed the dog was then cast into the role of emotional support animal. A few kids had been involved, luckily none seriously injured. A few were really shaken up and cuddles from a big furry dog did wonders to reestablish a sense of calm.

The accident tied up traffic for hours. News helicopters hovered overhead, getting shots for up to the minute updates. The last of the mess wasn’t cleared until well after dark. Jett finally got to leave around nine o’clock. Damn, he had hoped to spend a little time with Kim before she was gone all weekend. He hoped she had her shit together for her sake.

Kim’s side of the duplex was dark, a pretty clear indication that she had probably retired for the night so Jett was surprised to see her sitting by the fire pit, the flames set on high to try and chase the chilly air away. He also saw a bottle of whiskey that was much closer to empty than the last time he saw it.

“Hey Jett, I saw the news,” she said, her voice softly slurred. “Guess the port-a-potty really tipped over hard today, eh?”

“Yep, it was a real shitter,” he joked wearily as he plopped into his chair.

Kim offered him the bottle and he gladly tipped it back, the sweet blackberry flavored liquor hitting his gut and instantly igniting a heat that slowly spread.

“The news said only one casualty so far,”

“Yeah, the driver of the car that set the whole thing off. Whatever it was that he was hurrying to get to couldn’t have been that important. Why don’t these kids realize that? He was nineteen.” Jett shook his head. It was such a senseless travesty.

“Kids that age think they’re indestructible, nope, it can’t happen to them. They know everything. Grown-ups are assoles who just need to get off their case,” she ranted. “Until they realize that they can be hurt. They can lose everything that means anything to them. In a heartbeat, one little moment that changes the course of their lives forever. There’s no running, they’re prisoners put on earth to do someone else’s bidding.” Kim rambled.

Jett had no idea what she was referring to, but the bitterness in her voice was clear.

Kim shook her head several times as if trying to erase her memory like an Etch-a-Sketch erasing a crude drawing from its screen. “I’m sorry Jett, a little too much to drink tonight. I need to go to bed. I’ll see you Sunday.” Kim abruptly stood up and went into her darkened house, Tater at her heels.

Jett didn’t really know what to make of her outburst. He grabbed the bottle of blackberry whiskey that Kim had left out and went back inside. Bruce went straight to his water bowl and then after slobbering half of it on the floor he padded over to his crate and tucked himself in. He may have been a polite eater, but he was a sloppy drinker. Jett wiped the floor and threw the wet towel toward the laundry room door to be dealt with later.

He took a shower, letting the hot water ease his tired muscles. Exhaustion hit him hard and he managed to lock up and then brush his teeth before falling into bed. Trying to figure out what was going on with Kim would have to wait.

Jett was still tired as he made his way into work the next morning. He had been restless most of the night, often tossing and turning. The briefing given by his sergeant was difficult to follow. His Captain called him into his office after the morning briefing and told him to finish up his report from the previous day and to report with Bruce to the training field and work with him on some new exercises. The K-9 head trainer had just gotten back from a workshop and had some new things he wanted to teach some of the dogs.

Jett was grateful. He knew he would be distracted if he had to spend the day in his SUV. This would give him something to focus on and both he and Bruce would get some exercise. It took him a couple of hours to complete his reports and he was relieved to hit ‘send’ for the final time. He had found out that most of the people who had been taken to the hospital yesterday had been discharged. There had not been any more casualties, although two people had needed surgery and were still in the ICU, barring any complications, they should both pull through. Jett was glad. He had already seen too many fatalities. It was inevitable in his line of work.

Bruce was raring to go as they walked over to the training field that had been created behind the barracks. Drake, the lead trainer greeted them. There were two other teams that were taking part in the new training. Drake was going to teach them how to take down a suspect without the dogs latching on to an arm or leg. Drake’s dog Kona demonstrated the maneuver, which looked a lot like parkour, only for dogs. Kona ran at the subject from behind, leapt through the air and landed all four paws and ricocheted off the broad back of the officer who had drawn the short straw and got to fill in for the perpetrator.

As soon as the dog hit the guy’s back he pushed off hard, setting the officer off balance and Jett watched in fascination as an eighty pound dog knocked over a man who outweighed him by a hundred pounds. Grant, the officer, went down and went down hard, face planting into the dirt. Drake was there in a heartbeat, gun drawn, shouting to stay down. Kona trotted over and guarded his partner.

Jett and the other officers spent the next few hours practicing the various steps that needed to be done in order to master the maneuver. Bruce picked it up faster than the others and Jett knew that Grant was going to need a shitload of ibuprofen when this was over. Grant said that getting tackled by 115lbs of fast moving shepherd was like getting hit by a train. Drake took pity on him and let himself be hit a few times and Jett and the other officers stood in as well. Even with the protective gear they had worn, they were all going to need some painkillers when they got home.

Jett made it home on time and was excited to see Kyle. He was impressed with the dinner that Kyle had made. Broiled salmon, lemon herb rice and buttered asparagus. Dessert was a serving of naked Kyle. They spent the weekend learning more about each other, likes and dislikes. Kyle still wasn’t ready to take the last step and Jett was perfectly OK with that. He meant it when he had told him that he would wait. Kyle was worth it.

Sunday came much too quickly. It was a nice day so they decided to do the loop around BWI airport. There was a paved trail that followed the entire perimeter of the airport. It was twelve miles and with the three dogs it took them not quite four hours. Tater had to be carried the last couple of miles. His legs were much shorter and he had tired out somewhere around mile nine.

Back home they ordered pizza, neither man felt like cooking. After they ate they sat on the deck to watch the sun set and enjoy each other’s company. The sky was ablaze with oranges and reds when they heard a door slam in Kim’s house. It wasn’t more than a minute later when Kim appeared at her slider. As soon as she stepped out, Jett took one look at her and jumped up, quickly enfolding her in his arms.

She seemed to instantly deflate and tears poured down her face as silent sobs shook her body.

“Why?” she cried. “Why can't the past stay where it belongs?”

Jett looked over at Kyle who was now standing right behind Kim. Fuck. This was not good. Not good at all.