Chapter Seven
Chris
Madison . . . I mean, Emily was not who I expected to see when I went to meet Lucifer’s prospective trainer. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d run into the woman whose face and body I couldn’t get out of my head.
I should be more concerned about Lucifer’s training. And I was to a degree. I was also focused on finding out if there was a reason why I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
I missed Hudson like crazy, and he was my priority. But maybe fate worked in mysterious ways. I could get to know Emily better. And if she turned out to be the kind of woman I hoped she was, maybe I could introduce her to Hudson once he got settled in.
I took our fluke of a reunion as a sign. I wouldn’t let her go now.
It was true that I needed her help with Lucifer. Now that luck was on my side, I would do everything in my power to reconnect with her over something other than our dogs.
For our first three sessions, I purposefully kept everything business-related. My attempts at spending more time with her were thwarted by her “schedule.” When I asked what she was doing for dinner after our initial meeting, she said she had already made plans with her friend. Intuition told me she was blowing me off, but I didn’t push it. Instead, I maneuvered myself into her schedule.
It was Wednesday of the following week, and Lucifer and I were practicing our fetch exercises. We had a couple of hours until our group session with Emily, and I wanted to impress her. Lucifer was no help. He got the concept of play, but he wouldn’t grasp the concept of “no.”
It didn’t matter how many hours I played with him or how many walks I took him on to try and tire him out. All he was capable of was acting like an overexcited fiend and getting into mischief. I couldn’t leave him alone but didn’t want to tie him up.
I was at the point of losing my mind. Yesterday, I thought I finally had some time to myself. Lucifer was snoozing away in his bed. It was foolish of me to think he could be left alone while I took a dip in the pool. When I came back inside, he’d shredded one of my pillows. Swatches of fabric and fluffs of stuffing covered the bed, looking like it had snowed in my bedroom. I called Emily in a panic, worried he ate the insides and needed to be seen by a vet. She assured me it wouldn’t be necessary unless he started showing signs of discomfort or pain.
After our playtime, I brought him inside. We both needed a drink of water, and I needed a shower.
When I found a leftover tuft of stuffing in the corner of my bedroom, I groaned and shot Lucifer a look.
Lucifer didn’t care. He cocked his head and regarded me with innocent eyes.
“Man’s best friend, my ass,” I said, swiping the stuffing off the floor. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”
Lucifer trotted over and looked up at me.
“Sit,” I said.
He wagged his tail.
“Sit,” I repeated a little more forcefully.
He jumped up onto his hind legs.
“Idiot,” I said, chuckling a little. Lucifer might not be mindful yet, but he was adorable. It was hard to hate him when he was so damn cute. Of course, I’d had the inclination to spank him now and again, but I hated the thought. I smacked his snout a few times when he refused to “drop” something—my shoe, my sock, my silk tie.
When he followed me into the bathroom, I locked us inside. At least he’d be confined to a smaller space while I took a shower.
After switching out his regular collar for the head collar Emily recommended for training sessions, Lucifer and I headed over to Emily’s.
We were twenty minutes early and the first to arrive. I stayed in the car, refusing to intrude on Emily’s privacy. I wanted to have a few minutes alone with her, but knew I had to work on warming her up to the idea of spending more time with me. She had walls up, and I didn’t know why.
The knock on my window startled me. Emily, Moose, and Rufus waited on the curb. I secured Lucifer’s leash and rolled the window down.
“Are you going to come in?” she asked.
“I didn’t want to impose.”
“It’s no trouble. The boys announced you. Come around back and help me set up.”
“I wish Lucifer would walk next to me without his leash on,” I said just as he lunged forward. He wanted to be with Moose and Rufus. He didn’t like them like I liked Emily, but I understood his desire to be next to them. “Thanks again for your help with the pillow,” I said.
“Did he eat any of the stuffing?”
“Not that I found. He’s taken three massive dumps since he ripped my pillow to shreds. That was fun digging through.”
Emily’s laugh rang out in the large yard. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Trust me, I’ve had to do my fair share of digging through dog shit too.”
“Well, I used those rubber yellow gloves for washing dishes.”
“Smart,” she said.
When I shuddered at the memory, Emily roared with laughter again.
Lucifer pranced over to us like he deserved a prize. A thick rope hung in his mouth as his tail swiped left and right like a gigantic duster.
“Oh sure, at home, you chew everything but your toys. When you’re with Miss Emily, you follow the rules. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him when I start back to work next week. I still think I should get him a muzzle.”
She shook her head, exasperated. “A muzzle is not necessary. We already talked about this. He’s a good dog, you just have to?—”
“Be consistent,” I finished for her.
“Exactly.” Her cheeks turned rosy when she met my eyes. She cleared her throat and moved her gaze to Lucifer. “Have you considered crate training?”
I looked at my dog, making dopey eyes at Emily, and sighed. “He should be in jail.”
That earned another laugh from Emily. “I mean, for sleeping. But you could feasibly keep him in it while you’re at work as long as it’s big enough. You have to measure him for the right size—length and height of his body, then add a couple of inches.”
“What about a baby gate for the laundry room? It’s a nice size room.”
“That could work, too. Is that what you did in Florida?”
“No. I’d take him over to my parents. My sister would take him if they weren’t available. That’s one of the things I miss most.”
“Having a dog-sitter?”
I laughed. “Yeah. Having my family nearby helped in so many ways.”
Silence stood between us until Lucifer barked. He looked at the rope and then back at us. Emily picked it up, shook it for his pleasure, and tossed it far across the yard.
“You play softball or something?” I asked, impressed.
“Nope. Just a lot of practice throwing for these guys.”
Lucifer ran back over.
“He fetched.”
“Ask him for it. Tell him to give it to you. Squat down, hold your hand out, and tell him to give you the rope.”
As soon as I crouched down, Lucifer jumped up like he wanted to wrestle.
“Tell him down .”
“Down, Lucifer.”
Emily tried to cover her laugh by clearing her throat. “Say it again while you push his butt down.”
“Now what?” I asked when Lucifer sat.
“Hold him in place and take the rope away.” I expected a game of tug-of-war, but Lucifer released the rope without a fight. “Now say, Good dog .”
I repeated the words to Lucifer.
“Moose, Rufus,” Emily called. Like perfect little soldiers, her dogs pranced over. She handed me a tennis ball. “You ready?” she asked.
“Sure.”
She said, “Show Luke the ball like this,” demonstrating what she wanted me to do.
I mirrored her motions and released the ball for Luke as she did for Moose and Rufus.
As they sprinted off, Lucifer chased after them.
Emily nudged me. “Get the ball,” she whispered.
“Get the ball! Get the ball!” I yelled.
Maybe it was a miracle. Maybe he was showing off. Or maybe he wanted to be like Moose and Rufus. Whatever the reason, I didn’t care. I was proud that Lucifer came back, ball in mouth, just like the big boys.
Emily nudged me again.
Together, we said, “Good boy! Good boy!” as we patted our dogs and repeated the process one more time.
Our eyes met. Both of us were smiling. Maybe it was because of the dogs. Then again, maybe it was because of the electric spark.
The only part of Lucifer's training that I didn’t enjoy was having to share Emily with all the other attendees—people, not dogs. The dogs were great, but a few newbies like me constantly stole Emily’s attention away.
The few times our eyes met, I had the feeling that she might be equally as perturbed as I.
When our final practice drill came, I told Lucifer, “Come on, buddy, make me look good.”
Lucifer leaped up, nearly bowling me over, and trapped me in a hug, licking my face.
“Off,” I said, repeating the commands Emily taught me. “Sit.” Lucifer obeyed instantly. He followed my eyes to Emily. I should have known he knew we had an audience. I shook my head and lifted my hands. “He only obeyed because he knew you were watching.”
Her eyes sparkled as she laughed. She clapped her hands.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s all line up. Have your dog sit in front of you.” As she handed us each a tennis ball, she added, “You’re going to practice fetch. Show your dogs the ball before you throw it, give the command, and when they come back, bend down to their level, use their name, and give the command to give you the ball. Make sure you use your happy voice when they obey. Pet, scratch behind the ears, whatever you want to send your pup positivity. And don’t forget to reward with a treat.”
I thought I’d feel silly acting overly excited about a game of fetch. But every time Lucifer succeeded, I felt proud. Using my happy voice came naturally, and at the end of the exercises, I wasn’t the only one smiling. Lucifer was smiling, too.
And so was Emily.
It took a while for everyone to leave. Lucifer and I were finally alone with Emily, Moose, and Rufus.
“You did very good today,” Emily said.
“Thanks,” I said, as my chest filled with even more pride.
“I was talking to Luke.”
“Right.”
She laughed and patted my arm before reaching into her pocket for a treat. She held it for Lucifer to see, holding it right over his head. She extended her index finger and said, “Luke, sit. Sit!” When his butt hit the ground, she said, “Good dog! Good!” She fed him, petted him, and praised him. She pulled another treat out. “Shake, Luke, shake.”
He cocked his head, and she giggled.
She pulled his paw into her hand and shook it. She dropped it back to the floor and repeated the command. “It might take a couple of days of practice for him to get it. But he will. You’re a smart little guy, aren’t you, Luke? Just make sure to repeat the commands and what I just did if he’s not getting it. Eventually, he’ll lift his paw for you whenever you say shake .”
“Command, praise, reward, repeat.”
“Exactly,” she said as she avoided my eyes, pretending to focus on my dog.
“What are you doing for dinner?” I blurted before she dismissed me since class was officially over.
“I have plans with Cassie.”
“Gotcha,” I said as my heart plummeted to the floor.
She chewed on her lip. “Maybe another night?”
“Sure. Just let me know. Thanks again for another great class. Lucifer is coming along.”
“Luke,” she said on a chuckle. “You keep calling him Lucifer, and he’s going to get a complex. If he doesn’t already have one.”
“Huh,” I wondered aloud. Maybe she was right. “I’ll try. As long as he does, too.”
That earned a smile.
Lucifer and I said our goodbyes. As we headed to my truck, my chest squeezed, and an uneasy feeling settled over me. I realized Lucifer wasn’t the only one with a complex.