Chapter 4
Brody watched as Patch flipped the burgers on the kitchen grill. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he stayed rooted to his spot as Cole commanded. Yet, his mouth watered at the scent of the patties sizzling to perfection.
Patch’s phone rang and he picked it up. “What’s up, Doc?”
He listened for a minute before he moved to the counter.
“When did it start?” He paused again. “I’ll text Leo and let him know I’m heading home.
No, Claire. I’m not having this conversation with you.
The last time you fixed the heater, it cost us twice as much to repair it, and you voided the warranty.
I’ll be home in about half an hour. Wrap up in a blanket and stay warm.
Did you call out today? You promised when I showed you your temperature reading,” he growled.
“No. Picking up paperwork and returning home doesn’t constitute staying home.
Let me finish cooking lunch and I’ll be home soon. I love you, Doc.” He hung up the phone.
Scooping up the hamburgers onto a plate, Patch paid no attention to the dog, who already planned an op. He placed the platter on the kitchen counter and put his utensils in the sink.
“Damn, I don’t have time to clean the grill.
Claire will have the whole dam furnace dismantled,” he mumbled as he went to work, scrubbing it while the steam rose in the air, carrying the delicious aroma of freshly cooked meat.
Adding everything to the dishwasher, he texted Leo and rushed for the door, leaving the prize for anyone to take.
Brody whined impatiently and listened for his master.
He pawed at the floor and crawled closer in stealth mode.
His nose reached the counter as he sniffed the charred mouthwatering beef.
He stood on his hind legs and his ears perked up as he listened for any sign of Cole.
His snout scooped up one of the patties and chewed furiously, wolfing it down.
Another took its place and then another until the empty plate contained nothing but the juice.
Brody’s tongue soon cleaned it up, leaving a perfectly washed plate.
Returning to his position in the corner of the dining room, he waited patiently for his master to return.
Cole entered the hallway, smelling freshly made burgers.
His eyes grew wide as he recalled leaving Brody.
Hamburgers amounted to kryptonite to the dog and he only hoped he didn’t beg any from Patch.
He knew he grew lax with Brody’s training after the night he came home during a thunderstorm to find him hiding behind the couch.
Every sound of clashing thunder sent the poor animal over the edge.
From the appearance of his living room, Cole knew Brody recalled the explosion, which took his handler’s life.
People say dogs don’t remember, but Brody proved them wrong.
The only way he coaxed him down from the ledge came from bites of Cole’s burger he picked up on the way home.
As a trainer he knew better, but seeing the trauma in the dog’s eyes broke him to this day.
“Patch must’ve done a good job this time,” Marcus said, entering the kitchen. “The smell’s making my mouth water.”
Taco followed and grabbed a bunch of plates.
Seeing the one on the counter, he added it to the stack and took it to the table.
Scarlett grabbed the buns from the cabinet while Saint grabbed glasses for drinks.
Whiskey pulled out a pitcher of tea, some sodas, and water.
The team worked in sync, getting everything out.
Cole glanced at Brody, who sat perfectly in the corner.
Leo grunted toward the dog. “Wow, he didn’t move an inch.”
“Brody’s one of the best,” Cole said, relieved at seeing the dog behave himself.
“Where did he put the burgers?” Knight asked, searching the oven, microwave, and fridge. “I can’t find them.”
“He texted his furnace went out again, and Claire’s home sick. Check the cabinets. You know how he gets when Claire says she plans on fixing things. She can’t help herself,” Leo said while sitting next to Cole.
Sparky moved out of the way, taking Ice to the opposite end of the table. Taco and Shadow checked all the cabinets. “There’s nothing,” Taco reported.
“I can smell cooked beef. He must’ve stashed them somewhere,” Scarlett offered.
“Wait a minute. Did he take them with him?” Knight asked.
“Surely, not,” Whiskey brushed off the idea.
“He’s not that big of an idiot,” Shadow gave Patch a little credit.
Cole’s head swiveled over to the perfectly poised dog.
Brody refused to meet his gaze, making him suspicious.
His eyes narrowed in on the animal as he searched around the area for any sign of Brody the Burger stealer.
The canine grinned at him with his special smile, and Cole tapped down the urge to strangle the dog.
“I guess we’ll make a trip to the community center. Cole can meet Tess and the townspeople of Serenity. We can talk when we return. Taco, why don’t you call Tess and see if she can help us out? If not, we’ll drop by Ty’s.”
“Will do, boss,” Taco said, pulling out his phone.
“Do you have a spot for me to take Brody for bathroom breaks?”
“Yeah. Knight, why don’t you take them back?” Leo asked. “By the time you return, we’ll have a plan.”
“You got it. I hope you stick it to Patch real good. He probably took them with him because Claire’s sick and he didn’t want to make dinner,” Knight grumbled before turning to Cole. “He’s my best friend, so I can say without a doubt, he’s an asshole.”
Cole grinned, liking the team already. Signaling for Brody to follow them, he turned back to Knight, who welcomed him to the team and described his experience since joining them.
Leading Brody to the fenced-in area, he pulled out a bag and waited for his friend, the burger stealer, to do his business. When he finished, Cole cleaned up after him and threw it in the trash. He returned inside to wash his hands and met his new team.
“Tess and the women have rescued us from starvation. They can’t wait to meet you. If you follow us down, we can show you to your living quarters. We can help you unload after lunch and we can chat at your place,” Leo said, walking toward his vehicle with folders in his hand.
“My place?” he asked.
“Yeah. Kassie lets us borrow the cabins for the new hires for six months until you can find a place of your own. The first month, you’ll work part-time.
I want you settled and ready to work within thirty days.
Housing in Serenity can be scarce due to the hospital’s need for visitor housing and the town’s small size.
When something opens up, the realtor notifies Kassie, and she lets me know.
Don’t panic if something doesn’t open up at the end of the probationary period.
Kassie won’t kick you out. We haven’t experienced any issues yet, but I imagine as the team grows, we’ll run into some problems,” Leo explained.
“We do have extra bunks at the facility if it comes to it. With you working with the dogs, we picked a cabin near the dog training yard.”
“Thanks. I never expected to work part-time. I can start full-time. It’s only Brody and me and I didn’t bring much stuff,” Cole said as he opened the door for Brody to hop in the passenger seat and secured him.
“No. You’ll take the rest of your free time getting to know the residents on the mountain and in town.
After the last few months, we’ve tightened security.
The residents still need to see us as safe and reliable.
We do acts of service in our small town.
We have veterans delivering food to those who can’t drive or visit the community center.
We’ve recently worked jointly with the hospital and purchased a bus to run every two hours.
Seniors can use it to go shopping or hang out at the community center.
This way, we know they’ll return home safely,” Leo informed him. “We’ll talk more later.”
Cole climbed in his truck and shot Brody an angry stare.
“Oh, don’t look all innocent.” He leaned over, smelling the dog’s breath.
“Yup, exactly what I thought. You ate them, didn’t you?
That’s why the empty plate sat on the counter.
Patch didn’t put away the meat before he left because he assumed you followed commands.
Oh, crap. Taco put the plates on the table.
Thanks to you, one of my new team members will be eating off a plate of slobber and I can’t say anything,” his voice turned stern.
Brody whined and pawed at Cole’s sleeve. His paw covered his nuzzle as if apologizing for his rudeness.
“Nope. I’m cutting you off. No more hamburgers for you,” he ordered. “You jeopardized my new job. How could you, bro? I thought we made a deal.”
Brody stretched his neck and a loud belch resounded in the truck. Cole rolled down his window as he sent a disgusted glance in his four-legged partner’s direction.
“Dude. Seriously?” he complained. “You’d better be on your best behavior the rest of the day.”
Brody smiled, making Cole groan. He didn’t know how he’d survive the day if he lost his job after driving this far.
Not to mention, he felt like he was supposed to be here.
He didn’t know why, but it felt like the mountain beckoned him from the first time he saw it online.
Now, he only needed to discover the reason.