Eight months have passed since she last smiled. What gives you the impression that a dog will alter that?
As the tattooed biker entered the children’s ward, holding a quivering golden puppy in his arms, the nurse muttered her thoughts.
He remained silent. He simply crouched next to the wheelchair, where a young girl with thin skin and dead eyes gazed out the window.
The dog squirmed loose, staggered over to her, and laid one small paw on her lap.
There was no breathing.
The doctors, no. The biker wasn’t present. Not the girl, either.
Her lips then started to quiver.
The next thing that transpired caused everyone in the room to cry uncontrollably.
It began as any ordinary day would. The hospital had the fragrance of rain and antiseptic. In the lobby, nurses were whispering about the motorcyclist as they proceeded silently down the hall.
Former soldier Jake Lawson is now a man who outran his ghosts by traveling the wide roads. He had a wet jacket and red, sleep-deprived eyes. There was a tiny golden retriever puppy in his arms, wrapped in a towel, who was no older than eight weeks.
When the nurse behind the desk finally looked up, he waited.
In a low voice, he inquired, “Can I see her?”
“Who?”
“Emma, room 204.”
The healthcare provider scowled. “Are you related, sir?”
Jake was hesitant. “I promised to visit her father.”
Her face warmed. She doesn’t smile or say much. Since the accident, no.
His head nodded. “I brought him because of that.”
The bundle in the nurse’s arms caught his attention. “A puppy? ”
Jake grinned a little. Yes. His name is Hope.
Emma did not move when he entered the room. She was sitting in her wheelchair near the window with her little hands limp on her lap and one leg missing under a folded blanket. She had a loose braid on her thin hair.
Jake
On unsteady legs, the dog staggered forward, its tail swinging wildly. He cocked his head and gave a single, tentative, faint bark.
Emma’s eyes blinked. Just once. Twice.
Jake squatted next to her. “His name is Hope. I discovered him in a highway ditch. I assumed that since he persisted, you would too.
Whimpering, the puppy pawed at her knee.
Emma’s trembling hand slowly went up and caressed the silky golden fur. The room became quiet.
She trembled her lips. Tears were streaming from her eyes.
She then grinned.
It was real, despite its small size and fragility.
With a gasp, the nurse at the door covered her mouth. Jake said, “There you go, kiddo,” and his throat constricted. That’s what I discovered.
Hope got on her lap and licked her chin. The antiseptic room was filled with the sound of Emma’s weak, broken laugh, which seemed like sunlight.
Jake was frozen where he was when she said that.
“He reminds me of my father.”
Jake’s eyes blinked. “What are you saying, my love?”
She gave the puppy a head rub. “Daddy said he would send someone to hold my hand if he couldn’t be present.”
Jake’s hands were shaking. He swallowed forcefully. “Your dad said that, right?”
Emma made a nod. “Didn’t you know him?”
With burning eyes, Jake turned away. Yes. Yes, I did.
He gazed out the window as the storm outside began to light up. “I’ve never known a braver man than him.”
Whispering, “She hasn’t spoken his name since the accident,” the nurse moved forward stealthily.
With a sigh, Jake let the tears fall from his eyes.
A delicate, graceful brightness filled the space.
But when he got up to go, Emma said, “Hold on! Stay put. He gets afraid while you’re not around.
Jake went around. Hope was safely nestled in her lap, eyes closed.
Despite his tears, he grinned. “Then I suppose I’m stuck here.”
Jake sat next to Emma’s bed that night. Curled up against her thigh, the dog slept, breathing small breaths. Even when the storm subsided, his thoughts remained stuck in the past.
He had been great friends with Emma’s father, Captain Ryan Hayes. They had served in the same country. Ryan lost his life rescuing Jake from an explosion, something Jake can never forgive Ryan for.
Months had passed while he held onto the man’s dog tags, waiting for the ideal moment to give them.
Emma was sleeping now, so Jake pulled them out of his pocket and looked at the engraved name.
From the doorway, the nurse said, “You were with him when it happened, weren’t you?”
Jake took a nod. He instructed me to find his little kid if he didn’t return home. to let her know that he loved her and to ensure that she would always be able to smile.
A tear came to the nurse’s eye. “And the puppy?”
Jake grinned a little. On the day Ryan passed away, he was born. He was found famished beside a truck stop. I reasoned that perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence.
The tags were on Emma’s bedside table when she woke up the following morning. She took them in her hands, followed the letters, and turned to face Jake.
“Were they your father’s?”
Jake took a nod.
Emma cradled them against her chest. “So I believe he sent you too.”
Jake gave a quiet laugh. “He might have, child. He might have.
Jake came every week after that day. With a prosthetic leg, Emma’s hand steady on his arm, and Hope trotting next to them, Steve assisted Emma in learning to walk once more.
By spring, her laughter reverberated throughout the hospital corridors as she ran across the therapy yard.
Physicians referred to it as a miracle. Jake simply referred to it as love.
The nurses gathered to observe Emma’s eventual return home. “I want to ride a Harley like you when I grow up,” she replied, turning to face Jake.
With a laugh, Jake gave her a tiny leather patch. “You’re already one of us, then.”
She smiled. “What is it saying?”
He grinned. “Angels on the road.” Because you and Hope are just that.
Emma gave him a tight hug while the workers dried their eyes. “I appreciate you making me smile again.”
Jake started his bike, which roared like thunder but now sounded more like a heartbeat.
He took one last look at himself in the mirror as he rode off. Emma held the dog in her arms as she stood by the window and waved.
Additionally, Jake no longer felt as though he was jogging for the first time in years.
This is because not all journeys conclude on the road.
Some people die in their hearts.
