Chapter Seven
After weeks of therapy and pain, not much happening the last two days was a welcome change.
At the sink in the kitchen, helping Alice with the lunch dishes, something that had become part of his new routine, Aiden kept glancing toward the back porch.
Alice and Sarah Sue had decided Romeo needed time to adjust.
The plan had been to leave the crate close to the house so Romeo could observe the ranch happenings from a safe distance.
Except Alice seemed to be a tad impatient.
The crate—with the always open door—started out on the far corner of the porch the first night.
Yesterday morning Alice moved it a few inches closer to the back door, then again last night, and again this morning.
The dog seemed to not care. Which was the problem all along.
Even Brady seemed to know the dog needed space and time, and kept his distance.
Watching the withdrawn pup broke Aiden’s heart.
Romeo was a striking German Shepherd, thick-chested and dark-faced, but he was a ghost of a dog.
He lay curled up on a thick blanket, pressing against the rear of the kennel, his tail still, his nose twitching slightly as he processed the new scents.
The crate may have moved bit by bit over the last couple of days, but the dog had not.
Barely eating or drinking, exactly as Sarah Sue had described.
“That’s enough.” Alice turned off the faucet and dried her hands on a nearby dish towel. “Brady has been patiently waiting for his afternoon fetch session.”
Brady had enjoyed the game of fetch so much the other day, that every afternoon, after lunch, he patiently sat by the back door. Not lying on the floor, sitting. Like an ancient palace guard. Patient, silent, but definitely waiting.
“All right, fella.” Aiden opened the back door. “Go find a stick.”
The dog didn’t need to be told twice, he dashed out the door, across the porch and down the steps.
Romeo’s eyes followed the movement, but he never lifted his head from the blanket.
Out in the yard, Aiden positioned himself so he could keep an eye on Romeo, and tossed the branch.
Brady exploded after it, all speed and joy.
Romeo didn’t move, but his gaze followed the throw as if tracking every inch of it mattered.
Somewhere inside the shell of a dog was the alert and well trained German Shepherd, if only Aiden knew how to help him come back from the brink.
Brady came back, branch in mouth, and dropped it at Aiden’s feet.
Another set of tossing back and forth and this time when Brady returned with the stick, he nudged Aiden’s hand.
“You’re a good boy,” Aiden murmured, scratching Brady’s scruff.
Leaning into Aiden’s touch, the sage shepherd jerked his head away and plopping his bottom on the ground, looked to the porch.
The surprise of it almost knocked Aiden on the ground.
The dog—Romeo—was out of the crate. Well, not fully out.
His two front paws and his head were definitely out of the crate and definitely watching Aiden with Brady.
Not sure what to do, Aiden threw the stick again, and dutifully, Brady tore out after it and brought it back, dropping it at his feet.
“Here you go, boy.” Raising his arm, Aiden threw it as far as he could. Romeo inched further out of his cage.
At that moment, as he considered what had Romeo venturing out into the cold dark Texas world, a rumbling sound he recognized as Colleen’s engine carried from the front yard. Romeo must have heard it too because he carefully retreated several inches, more inside than out of the makeshift kennel.
“What is it, boy? You wanna come here and play?”
The dog’s ears perked up, leaving Aiden more confused than before.
“What is it, boy? Come here.”
Something in the way Romeo watched him had Aiden thinking the dog really wanted to join the fun, but instead of inching further out of the cage, with his head hanging low, Romeo retreated until only his head was exposed from the crate.
“It’s your voice.” Standing a good distance away, Colleen spoke softly enough so only Aiden and maybe Brady could hear her.
Aiden wasn’t sure if he should look away from Romeo or maintain eye contact.
“Call him again, watch his ears.”
“Romeo, come here, boy.” Aiden noticed Romeo’s ears seemed to twitch as if he were radar on a ship detecting a signal. “Come here, boy,” he repeated. Again the ears moved.
“Alice has been watching you guys. She said to tell you that’s the most response she’s seen from Romeo in two days. Wants to know if you’d be willing to try and get him to eat a little more.” Colleen’s hand stretched, a bowl in her hands. “It’s carrots and beef and sweet potato.”
The dog ate better than he did—well, before coming to the ranch. Apparently Alice believed in equal opportunity meals—dog and man alike ate very well at the Sweet Ranch.
“I’ll try.” He closed the gap between them and took hold of the bowl. “Smells great.”
“Let’s hope Romeo agrees.”
Right now, this very moment, there wasn’t anything he wanted more than to see Romeo chow down. Glancing at Colleen, his mind did a double take. Actually, maybe one thing he might want more.
Dark eyes fixed on Aiden, Romeo didn’t move, didn’t flinch, he merely stood perfectly still.
Colleen watched the dog as intently as he watched Aiden.
The concentration shown told her that this dog must have been very good at his job once upon a time.
Though that would be true of any military K9, she had a feeling this one might have been special.
What was the old cliché? The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
She suspected in his case, the better he is the harder he would fall.
“Come here,” Aiden repeated, inching slowly forward. “It’s okay, buddy.” Aiden’s voice was soft, but with a gravelly timbre that resonated in the quiet afternoon air. “Come here. Just a little bit. It’s safe here, boy. You must be hungry.”
“That’s it,” she spoke softly. “Keep talking to him. Slow and easy. Don’t look directly at him, let him come to you.”
“Don’t look at him? It’s a little late for that don’t you think?” a teasing tone cushioned the words.
“Maybe.” She couldn’t help smiling.
“Romeo,” Aiden said softly, stopping his forward movement and crouching down close to the ground.
To her surprise, the dog actually moved forward, not one step, but two, then three, then he was off the porch standing on solid ground. It took everything in her not to throw a fist pump and Whoop like she was back at A whatever reason, the dog chose Aiden, and frankly, from what she’d just watched, Colleen couldn’t blame the dog one iota.