Chapter Three #3
With the other hand, she fished out a small, bacon-flavored pellet from the bag in her pocket, her father’s go-to brand she’d lucked into finding at the pet store near her old apartment.
Elizabeth Swann’s head came up out of the melee, sniffing with interest in Delilah’s direction. When she held up the treat, Elizabeth Swann bolted toward her. Delilah threw up her palm and said, “Sit.”
It was a toss-up who was more surprised when Elizabeth Swann did as commanded, Delilah or the dog.
The expression on the Labrador’s face slayed her, so she gave the dog two treats, just because, then slipped the collar around her new friend’s neck, holding tight to the leash so she didn’t have to do this all over again in a minute.
In another shocker, Elizabeth Swann didn’t bolt or scratch at the collar.
She just sat there all wet, tongue lolling out as she waited for her next treat.
“You’re clearly the smartest of the bunch,” she murmured to the Lab, who was quickly becoming her favorite. “Let’s see if the boys can learn some tricks, too.”
She called Captain Jack Sparrow, or the one she thought was Jack, and then Captain Barbossa, both of whom ignored her and the treats.
Will Turner, on the other hand, strolled over without being called, warily eyeing her and the treats as if he’d figured out there was a price for one, but not whether he’d pay up.
“I’ve got what you want,” she advised him and held up the bacon-bit. “It’s all yours if you come over here and act like I’m in charge.”
Her opinion about which dog had the most smarts changed instantly as Will Turner did exactly as she said. The German Shepherd parked it right in front of her, haunches down, head up. His tail thumped once as she tossed the treat into his mouth, which he caught expertly.
“You’ve done this before,” she accused him lightly and didn’t even mind that the dog seemed to be laughing at her.
Did Zero already know Will Turner had undergone some kind of obedience training in the past? Odd her employer wouldn’t mention that if he did. Well, she’d just take it as a lovely surprise in honor of her first day.
The Captains figured out something not terrible was going on over by the human and came around with curious sniffs, their matching light blue eyes laser-focused on her treats.
“You’re brothers,” she announced as she put two and two together, which likely wasn’t news to them. “I bet you are, anyway. That’s why you’re so tight-knit.”
Even if they’d ultimately come from different litters, if they’d been raised together since infancy, the bond would still be there.
Excellent. If she could get one to obey, the other would follow. She held out two treats, one in each hand, and waited to see how they’d react.
The one she thought was Captain Jack Sparrow edged close first, Captain Barbossa paying careful attention to his brother instead of Delilah.
Captain Jack Sparrow accepted the treat from her hand with more delicacy than she’d have expected.
The second Captain Barbossa saw everything had worked out okay for the other dog, he stepped in and took his treat from her hand.
Bingo. Captain Barbossa was a follower. She’d start with Captain Jack Sparrow then, which would cut her battle in half once his brother started copying him.
Within moments, she had collars and leashes on all four dogs, a feat she still couldn’t believe she’d managed. She’d spent so long believing her father when he told her she wasn’t cut out for dog training. Lo and behold, she wasn’t so bad at it after all.
Until she tried to walk four dogs on leashes at once.
Elizabeth Swann took off after a butterfly, while Will Turner refused to stand up.
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa ran in circles, confused about what was happening.
The nylon handles cut into her wrists as the dogs did their best to yank her arms from their sockets.
Woman In Quarters would be painted in blacks and grays with an ominous overshadow, photorealism style.
“No. Stop,” she commanded, which naturally fell on deaf dog ears. “We’re going to walk like normal dogs or no more treats.”
That got Will Turner moving in the same general direction as the others, but judging by the looks he kept throwing her, he wanted his treats now, not later.
Well, too bad, her fingers were currently occupied with holding on for dear life as Elizabeth Swann dragged them all along on her butterfly exploration.
After twenty minutes of this, she finally exerted some authority, also known as heavy bribery, and got the dogs into the barn where she could keep them slightly corralled.
Tag must still be down in the east pasture with Zero, thankfully, so she worked with Elizabeth Swann alone first, easily pulling on memories of watching her father do this hundreds of times.
Sometime later, she got an itch at the back of her neck, like someone was watching her. Bats in the belfry of the barn? She gave Elizabeth Swann one more treat and turned to find she’d gained an audience. One small human. Hunter Bassett.