Chapter 1
C age Shelton answered the phone with joy in his heart. “Hey, Kat. How’re you doing?” he asked, with a beaming smile. “Does this mean you got Jason’s new legs in for him to try?”
Kat chuckled. In a smooth, soft tone, she replied, “Not yet. I know I said any day , yet it won’t be today. I’m still expecting it anytime though.”
“Just not today?” Cage could barely keep his disappointment out of his tone. He looked outside, happy that his younger brother was shooting hoops from his wheelchair, happy as a bug, as he always was when he could play outside.
“Yeah, but I was calling about something else. It’s a… not really a favor, but maybe it is,” she began.
Any hesitation in Kat’s voice was unusual, so Cage stated, “Anything for you. You’ve been there for us every step of the way.”
“Hey, Jason is an awesome guy,” she noted, with a smile easily coming through her tone of voice. “It’s easy to help him. He’s always willing to do what’s needed.”
“Well, you’re doing a ton for him, so if I can do something to help pay it back, I’m in.”
“Outside of paying the bills, you mean?” she teased.
“The bills just go with the territory,” he acknowledged, “and you always go way beyond anything you charge us for.”
“Well, I try to help,” she murmured. “Do you have any experience with War Dogs?”
He frowned. “War Dogs. That’s an interesting question.”
“Why?”
“Well, in a way, all us military types have had experience with them because, when we are out there, deployed, they’re all around us. I haven’t had any training experience, but I’ve certainly been there with the K9s, and I’m definitely comfortable with them, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s partly what I’m asking about,” she replied. “I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about some of the work that we’ve been doing with War Dogs…”
“Working with War Dogs? With… prosthetics?” he asked in confusion.
She laughed. “No, although there is a War Dog that I’ll be working with coming up that’ll potentially get a prosthetic from me—depending on how I can make the hip socket work.”
And knowing that she was about to break into explanations that would completely go over his head, Cage interrupted her. “Whoa, whoa, before you go down that pathway—”
“You know me so well,” she admitted, with a sigh.
“At this point, I think I do. The minute anything comes up about your line of work, you get so into it, so intense, that you leave us all in the dust.”
“Hardly in the dust,” she clarified, chuckling, “and you’re definitely no dummy when it comes to this stuff.”
“If I’d realized a field in this area could be a profession before I joined the military,” he shared, “I probably would have gone into it myself.”
“I wish you had,” she noted ruefully. “I could really use some help.”
“I don’t think I have the training and the temperament now.”
“Well, you’re an engineer, aren’t you?”
“I am, and a mechanical one at that, but you need a whole lot more than what I am trained for.”
“But you could learn,” she stated.
He burst out laughing. “Maybe when things get a little more settled.”
“How are you doing recovering from your accident?”
“I’m doing fine,” he said, with a cheerful tone. “I’ve got a lot of experience dealing with injuries and with injured people,” he pointed out, with a wry look outside at Jason in his wheelchair.
“I know, but you can’t spend your whole life helping Jason and putting your own world on hold.”
“It was hardly on hold. I went into the military and was gone for a big part of Jason’s life,” he corrected. “Now that I can’t go back to that same line of work, it seems to be the perfect time to reconnect and to help him out.”
“You’ve been helping steadily,” she protested, “and he knows it.”
“I hope so.”
This conversation always made him feel guilty. He’d gone to serve his country, leaving Jason with their mother, which should have been fine, except their mother had gotten involved with a drink-loving ex-husband. Then Jason’s accident had happened, while Cage was overseas. Things had gone downhill for his little brother ever since. Eventually their mother sobered up, so Cage signed up for another four-year tour. Later, both parents died in a car accident, about the same time Cage was in rehab, getting fitted for his first prosthetic. So it had been abundantly clear that it was time for Cage to come home permanently, not just on leaves here and there, and to reconnect fully with Jason.
Years ago Cage had been rather desperate to leave home and to have a life of his own, but, looking back, now he wished that he hadn’t left Jason behind. Cage should have stayed and helped Jason get through some of the tougher parts of his life. However, it was what it was, and Jason was acclimating fine now.
“Thoughts?” Kat broke into his reverie.
Cage gave himself a headshake. “Ha, you know, just the usual what-ifs.”
“Can’t change them,” she noted. “No matter how hard we try, we cannot change those.”
“Would you ever really want to?”
“Sometimes, yes,” she declared. “I’m a human. Just as you are. I’ve got things that I wish I could have done differently, yet I can’t change it now. However, some things I can change. We can improve our situation, usually by helping other people.”
He burst out laughing. “Well, if that’s your pitch, convincing me to agree to help you, I already told you that I would.” He could almost see her grin as she laughed.
“I’m just checking to confirm you’re still really there for me.”
“Absolutely I am, and, if I can do something, I would love to repay you for all you have done for us,” he admitted sincerely. “I’m not sure about leaving Jason behind though.”
“Ah, right, and I wasn’t thinking about that,” she conceded. “Maybe this isn’t something you can do.”
“Hey, now,… hang on a minute. That doesn’t mean Jason doesn’t have a place to go for a few weeks because he does. Can I finish the job in that time frame? He’s got a sports camp coming up.”
“A sports camp?” she marveled.
“Yeah, he’s sixteen, but he’s hell on wheels when it comes to basketball.”
“Literally hell on wheels,” she teased.
“Exactly.” And he knew that she understood.
“Barring unforeseen circumstances, you could be done in less than fourteen days.”
“Good.” Cage nodded. His brother had been in a wheelchair since… jeez what? When he was eight years old now? Cage shook his head, trying not to remember that point in time either.
“Well, I’m glad that he’s doing so well. It makes being in that wheelchair a lot easier.”
“Yeah, but we also know how desperate he is to get up walking again.”
“Of course,” she agreed. “I understand, from the notes I received from his doctor, that the surgery went really well.”
“Yes, it did,” Cage confirmed with a bright smile of relief, that went along with the conversation. “So, what’s this call really all about?”
She sighed. “I have a missing K9,” she began, “and one we want to reunite with a young boy,… if possible. I don’t know if that’s possible, but, at the very least, we want to confirm that the K9 is safe and in good hands.”
“What does that mean exactly?” he asked, a little surprised to even hear about it. “I remember hearing something about you working with K9 dogs, but I didn’t realize you were trying to set them up with homes. Is that a rescue thing?”
She chuckled. “That’s the last thing I would think we are, but, in another way, it’s morphed into that,” she explained. “Let me explain.”
She then went through an interesting but sad tale of a young boy who had spina bifida. “They applied for a dog for him, lucked out and got a War Dog that, although jumpy around loud noises, had a very gentle disposition. Apparently the boy and the dog took to each other, and it was such a wonderful bond for them, but sadly the parents were killed in a car accident, and the boy was put into the foster care system because nobody in the remaining family was willing or able to take him on. Meanwhile, the War Dog disappeared, and nobody really knows what happened to it.”
Cage frowned, wondering how the dog just disappeared, especially if it’d been a family pet. But considering how panicked child services would have been when they showed up to tell a grieving boy about his parents who had died, on top of dealing with his change in circumstances, Cage could imagine it was tough all around.
Long after the phone call ended, Cage realized there was absolutely no way he could say no to helping out with this. He didn’t even have a chance to respond to her request because she’d been called away. Yet Cage promised to think about it and to get back to her. As he looked out once more at Jason playing basketball on the court at the back of their family home, Cage realized it was wonderful timing.
He stepped outside, and, sensing his presence, Jason turned and waved.
He rolled over, sweat rolling off his face. “I can’t wait for this camp, dude.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cage replied, staring down at his brother with a big smile. All that Jason had gone through had made him grow up fast. Yet he had always been a wise old soul, even from birth. He had to be the adult, when their mother was not so responsible. Cage sighed. “The only thing that bothers me is that I’ll have to leave you all alone.”
“Why? I’ll be at camp, not exactly alone,” Jason quipped.
“Yeah, but I won’t be here at home. I’ll be out of touch for a while. You can still call me though, should anything come up.”
“Like what? Somebody running over me?” he teased, giving his brother a big goofy smile. Then Jason’s tone turned serious, as he stared at his brother. “Not again.” Jason nodded and added, “I’m a big boy now. I’m an adult, and I’m good with whatever life throws at me.”
“I know you are,” Cage agreed. “The young man I see today is a long cry from the boy I used to know.”
“You’re damn right,” he declared, then eyed Cage curiously. “What will you do while I’m gone for a couple weeks?”
“Rest, relax, and hunt down a missing K9,” he shared casually.
Jason nodded, then did a double-take. “What? What did you just say?” Cage laughed and told Jason about Kat’s phone call. “Well, if Kat asked you to do it,” Jason noted, staring at his brother hopefully, “you won’t turn her down, will you?”
“I won’t turn her down,” Cage declared, with a smile. “She’s done so much for us that it only makes sense to return the favor.”
“Ha,” Jason said. “You’re looking forward to it, and it’s got nothing to do with returning the favor, I’m sure,” he suggested, as he rolled his eyes. “If you have the chance to go help somebody, you will.”
“I will, yes,” Cage confirmed, with a nod, “but it’s also nice to know that you’re doing well enough that I can leave.”
“Absolutely you can.” Jason gave a wave of his hand. “Go on. Get lost.”
“Not yet. You leave for camp tomorrow though, right?”
“Yep, I’m all packed up and ready to go.” He tossed a smile at his big brother. “As a matter of fact, I’m hungry. Do you want to order pizza for dinner? I’ll go grab a shower and get changed, then double-check that I’m all ready to go.”
“What time are you pulling out in the morning?”
“At six a.m.,” Jason called back.
“Oh, that’s early.”
“Yeah, so you can be up and at it even faster than you thought,” Jason pointed out, laughing. “I know the way your mind works. You were already figuring out how quickly you can pull out. By the way, where’s this kid at?”
“He’s not in town but local enough—Detroit.”
“Oh, interesting.” He turned to face Cage, mischief in his gaze. “Risa is there. You could run into her.”
“Maybe, but I won’t be talking to her.”
“Do me a favor and say hi for me, if you do see her. She was always nice to me.”
“She was always really nice to everybody,” he admitted to Jason and shrugged. “That’s got nothing to do with it.”
“Actually it does. You know as well as I do that it has everything to do with it.”
He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t.” He tried to make it sound as if he wasn’t open for this discussion, but Jason just laughed at him.
“You can’t hide forever.”
“Sure I can,” Cage muttered, as he watched his little brother wheel himself into his bedroom, thinking to himself that it had worked so far, so why the hell wouldn’t it work any longer?
And, with a headshake, Cage went to tell Kat that he was in, but, rather than calling her, he pulled out his phone and sent her a text. I’m in. Send me the details you’ve got, and I’ll confirm when I arrive in town. Jason leaves for camp at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, so I’ll head out shortly afterward . He got a thumbs-up back from Kat, and moments later the file arrived.
He really loved that about Kat—how organized she was. She always seemed to be on top of everything. Even if you didn’t think you needed or wanted it, she was right there getting it. You had to love that in somebody.
Whistling, he searched his Contacts and ordered pizza. It would be his and his brother’s last night together for a few weeks, so they might as well make it a good one.