Prologue
Remember Helen of Troy? She caused an epic ripple effect with just her beautiful face. Some women have that power, and they don’t even know it.
***
Louisville, Kentucky
Lily Drummond sat at her kitchen table writing ‘thank you’ notes for wedding gifts. It had been only two weeks since their lovely wedding and three days since they’d returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii. She felt happy and relaxed, and she loved her new tan. She’d have to start working again on Monday, but for now, she could still feel like a bride. The only thing bothering her was the note that her beloved Andy had left on the refrigerator before he’d gone to work that morning.
Babe, I’ll be home late. There’s something important after work. Don’t wait for me for dinner. Love you, A.
A knock at the door interrupted her writing, and Lily stood, glancing once again at that note. It irritated her, and she wondered, as she walked to the door, what could be more important than coming home. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her blond-haired, green-eyed hunk of a new husband. He had all that gloriously tanned skin over his ripped muscles! The thought made her positively tingle.
Lily opened the door to find Frank, Andy’s paramedic teammate and best man at their wedding, looking at the ground. Next to Frank stood a police officer. Lily instantly felt chilled, as if her heart had suddenly shattered into a million shards of ice.
The officer went through his formal procedure for informing the next of kin and expressing his condolences.
Frank raised his reddened eyes and sobbed, “Lily, I’m so sorry. Oh, God... I’m so sorry. The guy came out of nowhere, and it happened so fast. I can’t believe it.”
He handed her Andy’s wallet and cell phone. And his wedding ring.
Lily felt her knees give out and both men helped her to the couch. Frank offered to call someone to come stay with Lily. She croaked out, “Thanks, Frank. My sister Molly.” Then she began to sob, “Oh, God, what am I going to do? Not Andy. Not my Andy! He was so good, so sweet. He was good to everyone! We just got married! How can something like this even happen?!”
Frank held her in his arms, and they both sobbed together for a long, long time. Frank had also lost his best friend in the worst way possible. He’d watched Andy die.
Lily was a complete mess. Two weeks ago had been the happiest day of her life, and this day surely had to be the worst. Her wonderful, sweet Andy… gone forever. At only twenty-four years old, she had become a widow.
So, now the time had come to plan another big event. But this would be a funeral instead of a wedding. Lily didn’t know if she could do it.
Phone calls from someone named Amber kept lighting up Andy’s cell every few hours. Lily remembered the calls he’d stepped out of the room to take, always returning with a funny look on his face. It had been as if he were trying not to look too happy. Lily had another new ache in her heart. She kept thinking the man she loved with her whole being might have been dishonest with her. The note about being late for something important also kept bothering her.
Lily finally answered the phone. “What do you want?” she croaked out in a defeated voice, thinking the worst of why he’d said he’d be late. It almost felt good to be angry rather than grieving.
“Oh! Sorry to bother you,” a soft voice answered. “I’m Amber from Solasta Gordon Setters in Lexington. I’m the breeder with your puppy. Andy never showed up to get her. Is he there?”
Lily dissolved into more tears and choked out, “Andy was killed on the job yesterday.”
Amber gasped, “Oh no! You must be Lily. I am so terribly sorry for your loss. Please don’t worry about the puppy. I’ll send you a refund check for her, and I have a waiting list. So, she’ll still go to a great home. I promise.”
“No! I’ll come get her. Please don’t give her to anyone else! Just give me your address and let me get through the funeral. Then, I’ll get my brother or sister to drive over with me.” Lily couldn’t help being relieved, touched to the core, and deeply saddened by this news all at once. She knew instantly she had to have that puppy. It had been her dream for as long as she could remember, and now Andy would never know. As she realized that, her heart broke for the millionth time. She said goodbye to Amber through a fresh bout of tears.
Now Lily understood why Andy had been so set on renting a house with a fenced yard and a pet-friendly lease.
A few days later, Lily’s brother David drove her to Lexington to pick up the delightful ten-week-old puppy that was supposed to have been her wedding gift. Lily cried and laughed as she cuddled the beautiful little black and tan charmer.
“I just love that he wanted to give you a puppy for a wedding gift, and I was so touched by Andy’s story that I registered her name, Solasta’s Wedding Bells,” Amber said. “She answers to the name Bells. And, dear, I know it must hurt terribly, but I have to tell you that I’ve never seen a man quite so in love in my life. He told me he wanted the sweetest and prettiest puppy for you because you were the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world.”
“When was that?” Lily asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“He’d already been on the list to get a female before they were born, but he came about four weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon to pick one out. The puppies were all playing, and Bells came right up to him like she knew she would be going home with him. Right then and there, she became Solasta’s Wedding Bells.”
Lily realized Andy had fibbed about the basketball game he was supposed to have been playing with Frank and some of the other paramedics that day. He had driven to Lexington instead. She asked, “So, is Solasta your last name?”
“No, it’s the kennel name. I wanted a Scottish word for my Gordon Setters that sounded pretty. The word Solasta means shining or luminous, and these dogs have beautiful, shiny coats.”
“Perfect, Amber. Thank you.”
“I also want you to understand, she is going to need a lot of training. Gordon Setters are independent dogs who need to be well-socialized, especially around children. Bells will be loyal to you, but she may be aloof to other people unless you let her know right away that someone is a friend. She’ll probably be around 65 pounds when she matures. That’s how big her mother is, and her father is about 90 pounds. Both of her parents have very sweet natures.”
For the next couple of weeks, friends and relatives kept showing up, offering food and help. The offers for help were usually vague and left Lily feeling uncomfortable. She didn’t know what she needed help with. She needed Andy.
The only people she felt truly relaxed around were her siblings, Molly and David. They made sure she had the right supplies for Bells. They fielded calls from people who were also crushed with grief over the tragic loss of a young, wonderful man. No one, it seemed, knew how to deal with it.
Andy’s parents had basically closed their doors to anyone and everyone as they grieved for the loss of their son.
Lily’s parents were involved in their own lives, and it was difficult for Lily to know how they felt because they never offered her any emotional support.
Lily also discovered, much to her dismay, that the press wanted to hover around to see the young, devastated widow. As much as they could, Molly and David tried to shield her from the worst of it, but the story was too good for the media to give up too quickly. For days, the reporters rehashed the grizzly details:
Louisville Daily News:
Three Fatally Shot After Undercover Op Is a Bust
Louisville- Three shooting-related fatalities occurred at the Melrose Arms Apartments in the Park Hill neighborhood Monday afternoon. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing Dwayne Christopher Williams, 19, shoot undercover police officer, Gregory Chambers, in the shoulder, wounding him. Officer Chambers was shot as he exited a first-floor apartment.
Several calls went to the 911 dispatch center after the shot was fired. Williams fled the area after discharging his weapon. He is presumed to have been hiding nearby after shooting Officer Chambers.
Responding to the 911 calls, local police and a Louisville Paramedics team arrived at the apartments. The paramedics were lifting the wounded officer onto a gurney when Williams charged forward and shot paramedic Andrew Baker. Baker was leaning over the victim when he was shot from behind. A second shot hit Officer Chambers. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. Police opened fire on Williams, and he was also pronounced dead at the site.
Paramedic Frank Monroe, Baker’s partner, was not harmed. He reported that this was Baker’s first day back at work since his honeymoon. Baker, 24, is survived by his widow Lily Drummond, also 24. Ms. Drummond has been unavailable for comment.
Officer Chambers, 39, also leaves a widow, Tonya Chambers, as well as two sons, ages 5 and 3. Mrs. Chambers has also been unavailable for comment.
Williams had been seen in the company of known gang members. It is assumed that Officer Chambers’ undercover assignment was gang or drug-related. This has not been confirmed by the Louisville Police Department.
Plans for memorial services for Officer Chambers and Mr. Baker have not yet been finalized.
The story spread everywhere. Lily couldn’t get away from the horror of it. Finally, three weeks after the shooting, a governor’s wife was seen in the arms of a married senator in a public display of passion. The vultures had found a juicy scandal which resulted in her being left alone at last.
Over the following weeks and months, Lily went through the motions of living. The only thing that kept her from losing it was the fact that she needed to care for Bells. They went to vet appointments, puppy classes, and obedience classes, and they took walks every morning and evening. She answered people when they spoke to her, but she had little interest in anything they had to say most of the time. She went back to working as a web designer but was fortunate enough to be able to do her job from home most of the time. Sometimes, she just stayed in her pajamas and pulled a coat on over them to walk Bells. Bells had become her solace.
Fortunately, finances weren’t a terrible issue for Lily. Andy’s insurance policy provided enough to take care of her living expenses, and her job paid well.
Lily called Amber a few times with questions about Bells. Amber was always thoughtful and kind with her responses, and assured Lily she should feel free to call anytime. Lily was full of questions about the best way to care for Bells’ long coat. Bells was growing quickly, too, and she had quite a personality! Lily could not imagine life without her. Amber even got Lily in touch with the rest of the puppy owners from the litter, and it delighted Lily to hear about the antics of the other puppies. They all shared photos and stories via group text messages. All of Bells’ littermates were a bunch of characters, it seemed.
Gradually, her visits with Molly and David dwindled to happening every week or so. They both offered to puppy-sit any time she needed a break. To Lily, though, the constant cuddling, daily walks, and the repetition of enforcing proper training was a godsend. Caring for Bells really helped her begin to feel grounded.
David, a fantastic artist, made a gorgeous small bronze bust of Andy. This was his way of using his amazing talent to help out his baby sister. He thought having it around might bring some peace to Lily. When he presented it to her, she burst into tears and told David how touched she was with both his thoughtfulness and generosity.
Privately, she found the bust extraordinarily difficult to look at. It was an incredible likeness of Andy. However, Andy had been bright colors and warm skin and green eyes that had looked at her with love and passion. He’d had a soft, deep voice that murmured his love for her into her ears at night. Everything about Andy had been sweet and gentle; he’d been such a giving soul. As beautiful as the artwork was, this thing looked… well… dead to Lily. She put it away for when she could maybe someday enjoy it for what it was, and she told David she’d keep it in her bedroom. She did. It was just in her bedroom closet and not out in the open.
One evening, Molly came to visit Lily and the two of them relaxed over a glass of wine. They heard Bells, now ten months old, scampering down the hall towards them and discovered she had hold of one of Lily’s bras. She growled at it and flung it from side to side as she ran. By the time they got to her, Bells had chewed it and coated it liberally with slobber. Lily laughed and admitted she’d probably left the laundry basket where Bells could get to it again, and also admitted she was running out of bras. Bells seemed to prefer them over her chew toys. This gave Molly an idea.
Gradually, over the next several months, Molly began to bring samples from her shop, The Spice Closet, for Lily to try out. She started by bringing all sorts of sexy pieces of lingerie for Lily to wear when she wanted to feel beautiful. Lily had spent too much time in sweats and PJs recently, and, according to Molly, it was time to embrace her feminine side again. Molly also brought Lily samples from her shop that were of the... personal variety. Lily became a little embarrassed about the collection of toys she was accumulating. She’d never really used anything like them before. In college, there’d been no privacy. So, she had never even considered it. After that, she’d had Andy in her life, and he’d certainly never suggested playing with toys.
She wasn’t particularly interested in looking at them for a while. Finally, one night she was relaxing with a particularly steamy novel by her favorite author, Dolly Gunn. The book made her wonder about some of Molly’s more personal gifts, so she poured herself a glass of wine, took a bubble bath, and then headed to her bedroom. She opened the drawer of toys and pulled out two at random. One was noisy. She gave up on that one immediately. However, the other one...
Relaxed and blissfully sated, she drifted off and finally had the best night’s sleep she’d had since her honeymoon.
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