Second Chance Soldier

by Linda O. Johnston

  “But though I liked your demonstration with them yesterday, I do want to see you give them more of an official pre-K-9 class soon”

  Okay, so Amber was again making it clear she was in charge, and knew it—like a commanding officer. Somehow, that didn’t change his inappropriate attraction to her this day.

  Maybe the way she acted around his upcoming regular class now would handle that. He hoped.

  “Of course,” he responded. “Soon, but not today.”

  The students began to arrive. Two cars headed up the sloped driveway toward them, a boxy SUV and a nicer sedan. Two students in each with their dogs?

  The SUV stopped first. A woman had been driving, and her passenger was a guy. Both got out and opened the rear doors to let out two dogs.

  The sedan’s situation was similar, although the people inside were both men.

  Evan took a deep breath and approached, Bear still at his side. At the same time, Amber skipped down the porch steps, followed by her mother and Lola.

  “Hi, everyone,” Amber called. All four people shouted greetings back, each scrambling to leash their dogs.

  Evan’s first impression was that training classes appeared necessary. Good.

  “Follow me,” Amber said, then, instead of the paved area she’d said was mostly used for K-9 classes, she entered the large fenced lawn area through the gate. Sonya held back with Lola, watching for now, from near where the cars were parked.

  When they were all inside the gate, Evan half expected them to let their dogs loose, but they didn’t. Each had metal correction collars on their dogs, a good thing for training—as long as they used them correctly, without choking the canines.

  “Okay,” Amber called but didn’t have to. All four people, dogs at their sides, formed a straight line on a relatively flat area of the lawn and smiled toward her.

  “We’re ready,” called one of the men, twentyish with a goatee as dark a brown as his Doberman’s coat. “You want us to go through our paces?”

  “Not yet.” Amber faced them. “First, I want to introduce you to our excellent new instructor.” She motioned for Evan to join her. It was too early for the surge of pride he felt as he reached her, but she had already complimented him even before he showed these dog owners his merit. “Everyone, this is Evan Colluro. Evan, I want you to meet Grady Jermann, and that’s his Dobie, Mambo.” She gestured toward the guy who’d been talking with her. Then she introduced the others: the woman, Julie Young, and her golden retriever mix, Squeegie; Aaron Perkins and his Belgian Malinois, Baxter; and Stewart Saule and his sheltie mix, George.

  “And this is Bear,” Evan said when he was done shaking the humans’ hands. He was amused when Julie got Squeegie to sit and give her his paw.

  “Hi, Bear,” they all called, and the wonderful dog at his side stood in acknowledgment but didn’t otherwise move.

  Amber then said, “Everyone, I want Evan to watch your initial training exercises today first, but, Evan, feel free to jump in and do some teaching. Okay?”

  Of course it was.

  For the next fifteen minutes, the group, mostly led by Grady but also sometimes by Julie, put their dogs through their paces. “This is the way Corbin taught us,” Grady said solemnly when he was in charge. His knit beige shirt looked tight, though he didn’t appear to have much in the way of muscles beneath. “He was a good guy.”

  “That’s for sure,” Julie said. She looked a little older than the others and wore a long-sleeved blue dress that reached just below her knees. At least her white tennis shoes looked comfortable. Her golden retriever, Squeegie, seemed fairly relaxed as Julie ran him through his paces. So relaxed, in fact, that he sometimes needed several repetitions of the commands before listening.

  That would provide fodder for the short class Evan intended to give at the end of their demonstration.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet Corbin,” Evan responded, then glanced down at Bear as the two students both began to look him in the face. Damn it. If he was going to be effective here, he needed to cast aside his discomfort with having eyes on him, even with four strangers.

  He glanced toward Amber. Unsurprisingly, she was watching him. Scorning him? But, no, she actually appeared supportive. And emotional. “I think my dad would have liked to meet you, too,” she said huskily.

  Evan made himself turn back to the students to stop himself from approaching Amber and giving her a hug.

  *

  Standing inside the fence in the soft sunlight of afternoon, arms crossed, Amber was happy to watch the class members go through their exercises with their dogs.

  She had grown fond of all of them. These same people had shown up at the ranch with their pets in support of her mom even before Amber had been able to speed home after her dad’s death. She had stayed for only a week then before returning briefly to her San Diego apartment, arranging for all her belongings to be shipped here, quitting her job and hurrying back to Chance permanently.

  And this group had reappeared a day or so after her return to resume their classes—on their own, helping each other and their dogs without an actual instructor.

  She observed their paces now, how they all demonstrated some of the simplest of the exercises Evan had shown her earlier with Bear, as they had done weekly since she’d moved back here. Each took a turn at being in charge, sometimes leading the others into a more tricky exercise just for fun.

  Did they know enough of her father’s training methods to be interviewed if Evan and she actually did try to write a book? She’d have to see and ask questions, though not today.

  But she loved the idea of that kind of tribute to her dad.

  When she’d told these students a few weeks ago that she was seriously looking for someone to take over teaching the classes, she’d half expected them to criticize her for even considering attempting to replace her dad—but they’d all been supportive and said they would give her new instructor a try.

  So now, how would they do with that new trainer?

  At the moment, Evan stood not far from her and her mom, who was also observing. He’d indicated he wanted to check out these students first, see where they were in their training, then determine how he could best help them.

  But she really wanted him to do more than just watch, even now. When would he take over?

  She found herself watching him from the corner of her eye even more than she looked at the students and dogs. His expression was serious and he seemed to concentrate on what he was seeing, even if he was conscious of her presence.

  Sometimes he smiled. Sometimes he frowned. He seldom looked straight at any of the students, but occasionally moved slightly as if he wanted to jump over the fence and tell them what to do.

  Which, to Amber, was a good thing. But for now she would just wait and watch both the class and Evan’s reaction to it.

  She’d give them all a bit more time. Soon, though, as the end of an hour approached, she would step in and tell Evan to show them a command or two.

  And show them all, if necessary, that she remained in charge.

  Chapter 7

  Evan enjoyed watching the group, though some of the things they did made him cringe.

  At least Bear, at his side, helped to keep him cool despite his internal irritation. His dog was well trained and simply watched.

  Still… Evan made himself stand casually near the fence no matter what. There were times Aaron was too rough with the prong collar if his smart but energetic Malinois, Baxter, was too distracted to obey right away. Sometimes trainers taught that method, but it wasn’t Evan’s way, and he’d gathered from how the other students worked that it hadn’t been Corbin’s, either.

  But he stayed still, at least at first. This class was to be a demonstration to him before he took it over.

  In addition to Bear helping to keep him steady, he was very much aware of Amber standing nearby watching him, as well as the dogs. He was interested in the class—but he was also interested in her. The imp
ression he made on her. It had to be good, and he realized he didn’t feel that way entirely because of the job.

  Did she want him to jump in faster? She glanced at him often as if that was her intent. In any case, he might decide to just take over, especially to encourage this group—one member, at least—to be kinder with their dogs as they engaged in lessons.

  “Everyone heel,” shouted Julie. “Then let’s run!” Her dog, Squeegie, leaped forward beside her with apparent glee.

  Even Bear moved a little but calmed when Evan said softly, “Stay.” Bear looked up at him, and Evan praised him with a “Good boy.”

  The entire class group followed Julie, dogs at their sides, and fortunately all moved at a good pace that didn’t require correction.

  But then she called, “Stop!” The three others gave the same command to their dogs but, unsurprisingly, Baxter didn’t immediately slow. Aaron pulled on his leash, tightening the collar, and Baxter’s head seemed to turn toward his master before the rest of his body.

  That had to hurt. And it angered Evan.

  He kept his temper in check, though, as he tied Bear to a wooden slat of the main fence, then climbed over without looking at Amber.

  “Hey, everyone,” he called as he hurried toward them. “You’re all doing great.” A little lie didn’t hurt if it got their attention, even the most aggressive student’s. He reached the group and looked straight at Aaron, then looked away. “I’m enjoying watching all of you, but you know I’m here not only to observe. I have some suggestions, especially for you.” This time, he addressed Aaron directly, knowing his tone was stern. Then he looked at the others. “Are you all ready?”

  “Sure,” Julie said. Grady and Stewart also responded affirmatively.

  Was Aaron? Evan asked, “And you?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Aaron grunted.

  Great. Evan let his breath out a bit. He could be as assertive as necessary to achieve an important goal like this one, no matter how much it bothered him inside. But he much preferred that things remain noncombative in all respects.

  In all respects. The other thing he’d been doing during his observation was to key in on the pet owners’ personalities and how they interacted with each other. This wasn’t the most likely situation for him to determine if any of them was aggressive enough to kill their instructor because of a disagreement or something else, but it was at least an introduction.

  So far, the only one he found potentially too aggressive or unkind was Aaron, but a few inappropriate tugs on his dog’s leash didn’t make him a killer.

  Or a threat to Amber or her mother, and that was Evan’s even larger concern.

  At the moment, the other three kneeled and hugged their dogs, praising them. That didn’t mean any of them couldn’t have killed Corbin, either. If any had harbored a grudge, possibly because of how he treated, or had them treat, their dogs…

  That still seemed a stretch. He had no idea why the dog trainer had been killed.

  Not yet.

  “So what will your first lesson here be?”

  Hearing Amber’s voice behind him, he turned. “Bear and I will give our own demonstration of this kind of heel-and-stop lesson—with no tugging on a corrective collar.”

  Her expression seemed irritated. With him? With these students?

  With the world?

  It wasn’t his job to make her feel better, no matter how much he wanted to. But it was his job to provide a lesson.

  “Great idea.” Her face softened, and she smiled at him, then turned to look toward Bear at the fence. Her voice was low as she added, “I think you two can teach these students some really good lessons.”

  *

  Amber felt sure that what she’d said was true. Despite not having seen him work before with any group of people, she trusted Evan.

  After all, she had seen him in action—with the pups, and with Bear and her.

  Nevertheless, she saw Aaron’s questioning look toward her. He had been criticized, after all, though in a benign way. But his first impression of Evan probably hadn’t been great, despite it being his own fault.

  She watched as Evan had them line up, dogs all leashed loosely at their sides as Bear was beside him, also leashed.

  Amber glanced outside the fence toward the gate. She was glad her mom felt comfortable enough to be there with Lola, watching but staying back.

  “Now,” Evan called, “here’s a demo of some of the elementals of what military and police K-9s are taught that you can use with your pets. You used some of it before and, like I said, you mostly did a good job. But take a look at this.” The exercises he ran Bear through now were similar to what he’d shown her that morning and had turned into a class for her.

  Some were also similar to what these students had demonstrated earlier, although the heels and turns and sits were much crisper without any tugging on Bear’s leash. He ran with Bear beside him, too, like what Julie had had the other class members do, but Evan was smoother and Bear seemed to watch his every move as he ran at his handler’s side.

  There were a couple of additional exercises, as well, like a brisk walk broken up by several quick “sits,” and a “down,” where Bear had to remain on the ground without moving while Evan hustled around him.

  After Evan was through with this display, he took his tug toy from his pocket and, after releasing Bear from his leash, tossed it for the dog to fetch. Bear worried it in his mouth before bringing it back to Evan, who accepted it with a “good boy.”

  Evan then told the students some commands to try.

  “Great!” That was Grady, who went first. His Doberman, Mambo, seemed highly attuned to what his master wanted. Then came Julie with Squeegie, and Aaron with Baxter. Stewart went last with sheltie George.

  They all did fine, except that Amber believed Aaron was still too rough with Baxter. It wasn’t up to her to correct him. At least he’d eased up a bit on his yanks on Baxter’s leash.

  Amber watched the nonverbal interplay between Evan and Aaron, too. She had no idea if it was hard on Evan, but he observed every move Aaron made, a critical scowl on his face. He even looked Aaron in the eye for part of it, impressing her since she realized that might be difficult for their new trainer.

  Finally, they were done. “You’re such a wonderful dog,” Julie said, kneeling to hug Squeegie. “Right, Evan?”

  Evan laughed. “That’s not exactly the praise I’d give, but if it works, it’s fine for a pet, though not for a K-9. At least not while they’re being trained on duty. Now, you’ve all gotten your dogs to obey, at least somewhat. How about a special ‘good dog’ to each of them and we’ll end this for today.”

  “But what about a new trick?” Julie asked. “Corbin always taught us one new trick at the end of a session.” She looked straight into Evan’s face, and he turned his head, appearing uncomfortable.

  “Er…this is an initial get-together,” he responded. “For us to meet each other. Maybe next time I’ll come up with a new command to teach, but I don’t fully know those you’ve already been taught.”

  “We’ll tell you. Right, guys?”

  “Sure,” Grady said.

  Amber liked that idea. But for now, Evan looked as if he needed this class to end.

  “Great,” he said. “But that’s for next time.”

  Julie didn’t look completely pleased, but she, Grady and Stewart followed through with their praise.

  Aaron placed himself in front of them and their dogs, allowing Baxter to hang back without tugging on his leash. “But you see how my dog doesn’t obey like yours even with commands he’s been taught,” he said to Evan, sounding so plaintive that Amber almost wanted to hug him in sympathy. Almost. He might well have trained poor Baxter to respond only when he was harsh. “I don’t want to tell him ‘good dog’ now. How do I get him to listen to me without tugging hard on his leash?”

  Evan didn’t hesitate. “Well, let me give it a try, okay?”

  “Sure.” Aaron handed the end o
f the leash to Evan, who told Baxter to heel, holding the leash loosely. Baxter followed but didn’t exactly remain at his side despite his clear heel command.

  Not at first.

  But once they were a short distance from the rest of the crowd, Evan told Baxter to sit, which he did. Evan bent to lavish praise on him while looking him straight in the face—which Amber realized must be easier for Evan while staring at a dog.

  Baxter’s tail wagged, and from then on he followed all of Evan’s commands.

  “Now you try it,” Evan eventually said, handing Baxter’s leash back to Aaron. Baxter clearly knew he was back with his original trainer, and he sat and began panting.

  Would Aaron get frustrated again and hurt him? Amber was ready to pounce if he did.

  Instead, though, with a sheepish look on his face Aaron looked down at Baxter, then stood beside him. “Baxter, heel,” he said. When the dog instead laid down as if expecting to be choked, Aaron again said, “Heel.” This time, he pulled on the leash until the prong collar tightened but didn’t yank on it. Baxter looked up at him…and stood. When Aaron started walking slowly, the dog stayed at his side, looking up, then straight ahead. And as he’d done with Evan, Baxter obeyed Aaron’s commands.

  Aaron soon stopped and said, “Sit,” then kneeled and hugged Baxter. “Good dog,” he said, and everyone—his fellow owners and Evan and Amber—clapped their hands and congratulated Aaron and Baxter, too.

  Amber knew for sure she’d done the right thing in hiring Evan.

  She glanced toward where she had last seen her mother with Lola, wondering if she’d observed what had just transpired. Sonya was, in fact, where Amber had last seen her, but she and Lola weren’t alone. Their neighbor Nathan was with them.

  Well, fine. It was a good thing for Nathan to know that things here were going well, that classes might ramp up and the possibility of his getting more hotel guests who were students here had also possibly gone up.

  But Sonya and Nathan were talking, not looking toward the handlers and dogs, at least not then.

  Which made Amber cringe. She could still be misinterpreting it, but was her mother actually heading into a relationship with their neighbor?