Chapter Eleven
“Find her!”
Kade’s command cracked through the crisp morning air, sharp and authoritative, a stark contrast to the lazy atmosphere that usually hung over the ranch when no one was working.
Leaning against the rough cedar post of the corral fence, Josh crossed his arms and watched the master at work.
Or rather, the masters. Brady, the Sweet family’s retired Military Working Dog, didn’t look retired today.
The moment the command registered, the German Shepherd’s posture shifted.
Josh watched the dog’s tail—low, focused, not the happy wag of playtime but the serious wag of a working animal.
Brady lowered his nose, taking in a deep draft of air, filtering through the scents of horse manure, gasoline, and dry dust to find the one specific track he’d been tasked to locate.
“He’s still got it,” Josh murmured to himself.
If Brady could still do what he was trained for after all he’d been through, including retirement, maybe there was still hope for Josh.
A week ago, standing this long without holding onto the fence would have sent the horizon tilting sideways.
Today, the world remained mostly upright, though he kept his shoulder against the post, just in case.
His attention remained mostly on the dog working a zigzag pattern across the open yard, ignoring the distractions of hands working in the barn and the distant lowing of cattle. It was impressive.
The exercises had Josh’s mind drifting back to rehab at the hospital. Stepping off to the side, out of earshot from the folks on the porch, he dialed the hospital.
The phone in Boglioli’s room rang twice. “Hello.”
“Hey, man. How’s it going?” Josh tried to infuse his voice with positive energy.
Aiden sighed. “Besides feeling like a flipped turtle? Could be worse.”
Josh could almost see the guy shrugging on the other end of the line. “Flipped turtle?”
“You should see some of these floor exercises. It’s crazy. And the names! I mean, who thought dead bugs was a good name for a recovery exercise?”
He shouldn’t have laughed, but he couldn’t help it. “Dead bug? I’m going to agree with you on that one. The important thing is to be making progress.”
“That I am, Sarge. Off the crutches. I’m supposed to be set free soon.” His voice seemed to lift a bit.
“Good. Very good to hear. Where to next?”
“My case worker hasn’t told me yet. Honestly, I’m not sure she knows. How about you? How’s the ranch treating you? Got your balance back yet?”
“Getting there.” He was almost afraid to say he felt better for fear the universe would jinx him and throw something new at him. “A man can get used to the way they take care of you here.”
“Really?”
He could certainly get used to one particular person here at the ranch, but that wasn’t what Boglioli was asking. “Even Colonel Sanders can’t beat Mrs. Sweet’s fried chicken.”
“Oh man, don’t mention food. I swear whoever the chef is here, the guy graduated from the Garbage Collectors Culinary School.”
For the next few minutes they chatted about the other soldiers caught in the blast, about the hot Texas weather, and how there wasn’t a single place in the state to get a decent marinara sauce.
“Got to go. Atila the Hun is here for my next workout.”
Something in his tone told Josh this Atila was of a feminine nature. “Blonde or Brunette?”
“Redhead.” A smile came through in his voice. “See you later, Sarge.”
And with that, Josh grinned and returned his attention to the training session across the way. Brady was one heck of a dog.
Satisfied with the scent cone, Brady accelerated, heading straight for a large mound of loose hay and empty feed sacks stacked near the equipment shed. He circled it once, let out a sharp, confirming bark, and his stance stiff and royal like a pedigree dog on point.
“Good boy!” Kade beamed at his former K9 partner, hurrying to catch up to where the dog alerted.
A pile of burlap sacks shifted, dry leaves fluttered, and like a jack in the box, Cassie burst from her hiding spot, laughing at Brady’s enthusiastic tongue bath and playfully scratching the scruff of his neck. “Okay, okay! You found me! You’re the smartest boy in the whole world.”
Josh wasn’t sure if it was Brady or Cassie that had Kade beaming down at his wife and dog. Absurd. Of course he knew Kade loved his dog, but he adored his wife. Heaving a deep sigh, Josh’s gaze drifted naturally, inevitably, toward the ranch house porch and the two women enjoying the show.
Sitting in one of the dark green rockers with a bowl of garden fresh green beans in her lap, Kade’s mother smiled softly at her son and Brady.
But the one who had him looking over his shoulder was Katie, sitting on the top step, her eyes twinkling, her smile, wide, and her cheers for the work dog worthy of a pro sports team.
When their gazes briefly collided, the unexpected expanse of that already wide grin made his heart do a little somersault. Had just a smile ever had him on high alert? Made him want to smile and not stop?
“Earth to Josh.”
He blinked, turning back to find Kade standing three feet away, Brady seated proudly at Kade’s heel, looking pleased with his morning’s work. “Good boy, Brady.” Ignoring the cheeky grin on his buddy’s face, Josh leaned over and scratched behind the German Shepherd’s ear.
“Doesn’t matter how gray the muzzle gets, the drive is still there.” Kade reached down to gently pet the top of his former partner’s head.
“He did good.”
“He did.” Kade sighed, the humor fading into a look of reluctance. He glanced at his watch.
“Time to go?” he asked.
“Almost.”
The reality of the moment settled between them. Kade was going back to the unit, back to the work they both loved. Josh was staying here, fighting a war against gravity and inner ear fluid.
As if his longtime friend had read his mind, Kade lifted his chin at his buddy. “You’re looking better, man. Only a week and you’re standing straighter. Less… green around the gills.”
Only a week. Seven days. Seven days of small victories.
Raider eating more and walking without the belly strap.
His own balance improving in increments so slight he almost didn’t notice until he did.
“I’m getting there. Slowly.” Too slowly for his liking.
He still needed to move carefully, avoid nodding or shaking his head, and fast turns remained out of the question.
Almost vibrating with restrained energy, Brady nudged Kade’s leg.
“Okay, boy.” Kade laughed.
Cassie came up on Kade’s side and his arm immediately looped around her waist. “You up for another run?” Kade posed the question to his wife, but Brady was the one dancing around his former handler as if he’d won the doggie lottery.
“All right, boy.” Cassie squatted down and with a hand on each side of the dog’s head, rubbed his neck and kissed the top of his head. “Close your eyes and count to ten.”
Chuckling softly, Kade shook his head and rolled his eyes, eyes that brimmed with love for his wife. Even Josh found her silly joke amusing and had to bite back a laugh.
Kade handed Josh the leash. “One more time. Keep him looking away a few minutes.”
Turning away from him and the dog, Cassie lightly leaned into him.
Together they walked away toward the barn.
How well they fit, the synchronization of their steps despite the difference in their heights, the sparkle in both their eyes as if they were the only two people in the state of Texas, reminded Josh of what a lifetime partnership should look like.
He couldn’t help it, the thought had him looking toward the porch.
The scene of total domesticity, a throwback to the days of Norman Rockwell and the American Gothic portrait, sent an odd sense of longing rushing through his veins.
His gaze shifted to where Kade and Cassie had disappeared around the barn then back to Katie chatting easily with Alice. Some things a soldier like him had no business considering—Katie deserved more than what he had to offer.
Snap. The crisp sound of another green bean meeting its fate in Alice’s bowl punctuated the simple ways of life on a Texas ranch.
Katie honestly didn’t think anyone snapped the ends off green beans any more.
Shielding her eyes from the sun to get a better look at the man by the fence, Katie couldn’t help but smile.
The whole training exercise had been fascinating to watch.
Now, Josh was doing an admirable job of holding back a hundred pounds of eager German Shepherd.
The dog’s gaze was fixed on a distant point, his muscles were sharp and tight, and even though she’d never trained a service dog, she knew Brady was just waiting for his next command.
She remembered Kade mentioning in passing one day that service dogs needed structure and a job to avoid poor behavior.
Not that Brady ever displayed poor behavior, but he clearly loved having a job to do.
“That dog is amazing.” Alice tossed another bean into the bowl.
From this distance, she couldn’t hear what Josh was saying to the dog, but she could see his ears flick and then his rear end settle into the dirt. That dog had patience to spare.
Kade came walking back to where Josh and Brady waited and gave the dog a wad of red cloth to sniff as Josh handed the leash back to him.
“I wonder where Cassie’s hiding this time.
” Katie tried to see what the cloth was, but they were standing too far away.
So far Cassie had hidden behind the barn, under the leaves, and earlier she’d actually been laying flat on the tool shed roof.
Though how the heck she’d gotten up there without anyone noticing Katie didn’t have a clue.
The dog stopped sniffing and pulled hard against his leash.
Unclipping the restraint, Kade pointed ahead. “Search!”
She’d noticed that he didn’t always use the same word. Later, she’d have to ask him why he didn’t simply say ‘find her’ as he had before.