Page 19 of The Gunnery Sergeant's Ready-Made Family

“I’ll think about it,” Stevie agreed.

Ranger chose that moment to burst through the front door and launch himself at Stevie, laughter breaking free from them both.

“Uncle Chase and I are going to go shopping today, would you like to come with us, or would you like to stay with Gran?”

“Gran, gran!” Her nephew's shouts filled her ears.

“Well then,” Stevie winked at Chase, “let’s go and see if she says that's okay.”

“Gran,” Ranger jumped up and thundered off ahead of Stevie, in search of his great-grandmother. As she had expected, Stevie’s gran was more than happy to have Ranger and Finn stay with her, shooing Chase and Stevie out of the door and urging them to take their time. Stevie was at a loss as to just what exactly her grandmother thought that she and Chase would be doing, but put it out of her mind, she knew her grandmother was hoping for more than friendship between her and Chase, but Stevie knew that would never happen. Still, if her grandmother wanted to daydream about it, who was she to shut her down? At least it gave her grandmother something to focus on, instead of her grief for Kyle.

It wasn’t until the fourth car yard that Stevie finally saw a car that she liked, a solid Mitsubishi Colt in a fire engine red colour with ample space in the trunk. The sticker price was two and a half thousand dollars, which was within her price range. Chase had called it old, but Stevie thought it was reliable, solid, and safe. It was exactly what she was looking for, and after their test drive, Chase had to agree with her.

“Is this the one?” Chase asked as Stevie parked the car.

“This is the one,” Stevie agreed.

“Okay, let me go and see if they offer any discounts for veterans, you never know, every little bit helps.” The salesperson didn’t know and went to find the owner, a robust man who walked towards them with purpose.

“Are you the veteran?” He addressed Chase.

“Yes Sir.”

“It’s a pleasure to shake your hand soldier, where are you stationed?” The two men chatted for a while, sharing tales of service before he turned back to the car. “This the one you want?”

“Yes sir, for my wife, something safe, reliable, for when I deploy.” This was the first time that Stevie had heard Chase refer to her as his wife, and a warmth spread through her.

“Done.” The owner nodded. “I’ll give it to you for one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, half off.

“Sir, that’s too much!” Chase protested, but the owner waved his protests away.

“Nonsense. My whole family serves, I can’t tell you how many times complete strangers have stepped in to help my family through tough times, my wife especially, particularly during those early first days while I was away. I always knew that I wanted to repay it when I was able to, and now I can, so please, let me do this for you.”

“Thank you, sir, we really appreciate it.” Chase shook his hand, and with that, Stevie was the proud owner of a Mitsubishi Colt. Chase waited while she adjusted everything to her preferences, and then he followed her in the truck and they headed for the local animal shelter.

Stevie had never been to an animal shelter before and was surprised to see chickens and goats alongside the cats and dogs. They followed the signs to the enclosure housing the puppies, a large, roomy shed, and started browsing the pens. Stevie discounted the older puppies, wanting to get one that could be trained, if and when they decided to get a puppy. There were a few that Chase seemed fond of, picking them up and inspecting them eye to eye as Stevie looked on.

“The thing we need to look for, really, is a dog that will be protective, so nothing miniature.” Chase’s comment earnt a perfectly timed howl from a chihuahua named Fifi.

“Sorry Fifi, it’s nothing personal.” Stevie consoled the pooch as she followed Chase further down the row of stalls, her eyes roaming across the cages, coming to stop suddenly as she spotted something tan and white. “Oh, Chase, look!” Stevie exclaimed. “Isn’t she perfect?” If Chase noticed the way her voice softened as she spoke or the enamoured way in which she was looking at the puppy, he certainly didn’t mention it.

“They certainly have spunk,” Chase commented, laughing at the young pup’s antics as they tried to climb the cage to get to Stevie.

“Excuse me,” Stevie called a worker over and pointed out the puppy that had caught her attention, “is that puppy there a boy or a girl?”

“She’s a girl,” the worker confirmed.

“May I hold her please?”

“Of course,” the worker entered the pen and scooped the puppy up, passing her to Stevie. The puppy started licking the side of Stevie’s face, trying to get closer and closer, snuggling into the side of her neck.

“Oh, Chase, look, isn’t she darling!”

“Oh boy. Whatever happened to just having a look today?”

“I am just looking.” Stevie defended, snuggling into the warmth of the puppy.

“Okay then, put her back,” Chase said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

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