“Sorry about that. I was on the treadmill.”
“No worries,” Gabe said. “I was wondering if you and Zane were free this afternoon? I checked with my buddy and he agreed that the two of you might just be a perfect fit for the dog he has to give away.” He paused for a beat. “Although, you might want to bring your checkbook in case you want to make a donation to the cause.”
My curiosity was peaked. “What cause would that be, Gabe?”
He laughed. “You’ll just have to see for yourself. So, you guys free for a little road trip? He’s about an hour away.”
I started to say sure, then remembered Joshua and hesitated.
“If you aren’t interested, or have changed your mind about a dog, I totally understand. It’s a big thing, getting a dog. A lot of work involved.”
“It’s not that. No way is Zane letting me out of this now,” I said. “But I should probably check with Josh to see if he had any plans for later first.” Another brief hesitation. “And we did kind of promise Molly a chance to help pick out the dog too.”
“I take it she’s at work?”
“Yes, she doesn’t get off until the store closes at eight.”
“Hmm. Well, if the two of you like... the dog, maybe we could drive it by the store on the way home? Give her veto power?”
Yeah, like she would veto a dog in hand. Still, we weren’t actually going to pick out a dog, just to see one dog that may or may not be right for us. Totally different, right?
“Okay, I’ll make it up to her somehow,” I said. “What time did you want to meet, and who’s driving?”
“Didn’t you want to check with Josh first?” I could hear the smile in Gabe’s voice.
“Oh yeah.” Duh.
“Give me a ring back when you find out. But if you’re up to it, I can drive us in my SUV. If you do decide to take the dog, it’d be kind of hard to fit it in the trunk of your car.”
Well, there was that.
We hung up, and I found Zane sitting still on his bike staring at me intently. “That was about the dog? When can get it?”
I smiled at him as he eagerly waited for my answers. But a part of me hurt, too, because the pre-Michael Zane would have been off that bike and jumping up and down. And I wondered, not for the first time, what his life had been like with the jackass.
“Hold on there, partner,” I said. “If Josh doesn’t have plans for the next few hours, we are going to go meet the dog. Then we are going to see if both of us, especially me as the grown-up here, think that the dog is the right one. Getting a dog is a big responsibility. You can’t just return them if they don’t work out. Once you bring them home, they’re family.”
A serious look came over Zane’s face and he suddenly looked much older than his few years. “So, it’s kind of like adoption?”
I nodded. “That’s exactly what it is. If we bring this dog home, we are adopting it. So we have to be sure that’s the right thing to do before we do it. Understand?”
Zane thought for a minute and then gave me an all too serious nod. “We want to make sure he’ll be happy with us first. I understand.”
Trust Zane to look at it from the dog’s point of view.
I ruffled his hair and told him to sit tight and finish watching his show while I went up and talked with Josh.
He was bent over the desk in my room, intent on reading court papers, but when he heard me behind him he looked up. “Anything wrong?”
Normally I didn’t bother Josh when he was working.
“No,” I said. “Gabe called and thinks he may have found that dog I promised Zane. He wanted to know if me and Zane were free this afternoon to go meet it.”
He looked distracted, rubbing a hand over his face before answering. “So it’s Gabe now, instead of Sheriff, huh?”
I just looked at him, puzzled, not knowing how to answer. “Well, we have been spending some time together trying to put Becca to rest. So, yeah, first names seemed natural after a while.”
“Believe me, I’d noticed the time you two spent together. I’m not exactly blind.”
Was that anger? He almost sounded pissed-off.
“Look, I’m sorry if that’s a problem for you, but getting justice for Becca is important to me.” I was getting a little angry myself.
His eyes left mine, going back to the paperwork. “Go ahead and go. I’ve got enough work here to see me through the afternoon and then some”
I started to push the issue but decided it just wasn’t worth it. So I left, waiting until I reached the bottom of the stairs before calling Gabe with the good news. For one, for some reason I wanted to be out of earshot from Josh. And for two, I couldn’t dial a phone while desperately clutching the stair rail.
Gabe said he’d be over in thirty minutes or so, so I collected Zane from the garage and sent him upstairs to change clothes.
“Bring me a fresh tee shirt, too, okay?” I asked, not wanting to brave interrupting the angry Josh again. Yeah, send the kid to do it, that was real brave of me. “But be real quiet and don’t bother Josh, got it?”
“Got it,” he said and then he ran up the stairs.
I had a bad feeling that unless that dog took an immediate and fierce dislike to one of us, this evening our family would have grown by one four-footed creature.
Zane came back down, dressed respectfully enough in jeans and a tee shirt with a button-up flannel shirt on top. The two shirts even kind of matched. Go, Zane.
The shirt he handed me was a long sleeved one and sported a pack of dogs running down a street. The tag line was ‘Who let the dogs out?’ It was interesting to note that the dog leading the pack was a Shepard. Go figure.
I freshened up in the small half bath downstairs and when we heard the SUV pull into the drive, we were ready. I locked the door behind me and we went out to meet them.
Gabe actually got out and opened the car doors for us. Matt was already firmly buckled in the back and Zane climbed in beside him, chattering about the dog.
With a grin at Gabe, I lowered myself into the car, shaking my head.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Dakota's Homecoming (Colin)
I was a bit surprised when we ended up at a police academy for dogs. They called it something else, but that was what it boiled down to.
“Why would this place be giving away a dog?”
Gabe shrugged as he parked, then turned to look at me. “I know the guy that runs this place. He’s ex-special services too, you should like him.” His eyes turned to take in the compound.
You would think the place would be pretty much empty on a Saturday evening, but it must have been social and feeding time. Made sense to me. You don’t just take care of animals from Monday through Friday.
“Jake lives here, in that small cabin over there. And no, normally he doesn’t have dogs to give away. But from time to time dogs just don’t pan out.”
I smiled at him. “So your idea of the perfect dog for us is a Canine Force reject?”
Gabe grinned back. “Yup. I thought about taking her myself, but with my crazy hours it simply wasn’t feasible.” If possible, his grin got even bigger. “Of course, I’ve heard that writers pretty much set their own hours. So, that would make you the perfect owner.”
“Yeah, but what makes her the perfect dog?”
“Well, she’s been through the biggest part of the training here and she’s good. She would have been top of her class, but there was an accident involving a delivery truck and an idiot driver. Bottom line, the dog is fine, but she’s got a permanent limp. Which puts her out of the running for a job with the force.”
“She limps?” Zane asked. I looked back to see that he and Matt had unbuckled themselves and their heads were now squarely between the two front seats. “Like Uncle Colin?”
“Pretty much, except that they don’t make canes for dogs,” Gabe explained and then looked back to me. “The training is pretty much fully in place and the leg is healed, but there is the possibility that when she gets
older, there may be a problem with arthritis. Can you handle that?”
How could I say no when I’d pretty much be facing the same thing as I got older too?
I was surprised when Zane turned out to be the doubting Thomas of the group. “I don’t know. Can a girl dog with a limp still take down bad guys?”
Oh yeah, the dog was for my protection. So, I looked to Gabe too.
“Why don’t you meet her and decide for yourself? You might even talk my friend Jake into running the dog through her paces to see her in action.”
We did just that, more to alleviate Zane’s fears than anything else. Dakota was very impressive. In every conceivable way.
Her coat was a short and sleek jet black, with one small white tuft of hair on the very tip of her tail. And, limp or no limp, she would have made a hell of a canine officer.
“The limp doesn’t seem to both her in the least,” I said. “So why is she out of the program?”
“The force can’t take chances. This training isn’t cheap, and the sooner they wash out a dog the less money it costs and the sooner they can start another dog training.” Gabe’s eyes met mine. “It might not sound fair, but that’s just the way it is. The good news is that now Dakota gets to live a happy life with a real family.”
I had watched Zane’s face as he took in Dakota running through her commands. Like I said, she was impressive. The only thing that kept her from being one hundred percent perfect was the fact that she was a girl dog.
“Look at it this way, Z-Man, Molly could use another female around the house. Right now, she’s surrounded on all sides by us guys.”
He chewed the side of his lip, then nodded. “Yeah, and for a girl, she can really kick butt, can’t she?”
“Oh yes,” I said. I looked up to see Jake and Dakota heading for us. Dakota only had eyes for the boys, and her black tail was wagging as hard as possible without affecting her walk.
Jake gave me a questioning look, and I smiled and nodded. He released her from her heel command and she ran up to Zane, rubbing her full body against him, and then sat between him and Matt and presented her head to be petted.
Zane giggled, quickly recovering from being almost knocked down by the greeting, and rubbed her head. Matt, on the other hand, took a couple of steps closer to his dad. Probably another reason Dakota wasn’t a good fit for their house.
I noticed that the dog, while sitting, was almost as tall as Zane, standing. Not a small dog by any means. And her limp hadn’t been all that pronounced.
“So,” I said, turning to Jake. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t give a fine dog like this away for free. How much for her?”
Jake looked to Gabe and then back to me. “Actually, I’m pretty damn fond of this dog. Putting her up for sale would imply that anyone with money could buy her. And that is most definitely not the case. I want her to have a very special home.”
I could understand that. I smiled at him. “I can promise we’d do our best to give that to her.”
Zane looked up at Jake grinning ear to ear as Dakota nudged his hand for more pets. “Uncle Colin says if we get a dog, we’ll be adopting it and it’ll be family. And we’ve got a pretty nice house, and a fence and everything.”
Jake watched Zane with Dakota for a minute more before saying anything. The two were best of friends already. I reached down and scratched her behind the ear. It was nice that doing that didn’t even require me to bend over.
“Sheriff Green and I have been friends for a lot of years. I reckon if he figures you two would be a good match for Dakota, I can trust his judgment. Besides, sounds like the two of you could put her to pretty good use. She needs to be useful as well as loved. The training does that to them.”
Jake met my eyes. “You willing to put her through her paces every now and again? Keep her limber?”
I thought back to watching them and nodded. There didn’t seem to be much I couldn’t do. “I’ll need to know the commands, though.”
He pulled a small notebook from his jacket pocket. “It’s all in here. Everything down to the food and treats she prefers—well, at least that I prefer for her.” Then he grinned at us. “But the occasional bite or two of table food won’t hurt her, just don’t make a habit of it. In big quantities, it isn’t good for her.”
“So don’t let her eat a whole pizza, got it.”
After one last hard look at both me and Zane, Jake finally nodded. “Okay, you can have her.”
Zane threw both arms around Dakota and hugged her tight. She didn’t seem to mind it one bit, her tail flying.
“Wow,” Zane whispered. “I have a sister.”
A sister? Startled, I looked up to see Gabe and Jake grinning. Jake slapped Gabe on the back.
“Yup. I think they’ll do just fine.” Then Jake’s grin got a shade bigger. “Oh, and did I mention she’s extremely fond of kittens? You should totally get her one.”
Heaven help us. I’d just given Zane a one hundred and ten pound furry sister. One that needed its very own pet.
We had thought about dropping by the store to let Molly meet Dakota but then decided to just wait until she got home. After all, the damage was already done. Dakky dog, yes Zane had already given her a nickname, was a family member now. She’d just have to win Molly over.
I didn’t figure it’d be too hard for her to do.
And there was always the consolation prize of picking out a kitten. Provided Molly liked cats, of course.
But there was another person for her to meet first. I called up the stairs for Josh, but there wasn’t an answer. Then my cell phone rang. Josh’s number on the screen.
I excused myself and went into the kitchen to take the call.
“Hey, Josh, what’s up?”
“Look, I know this is really crappy of me to do this right now, but I just can’t handle it anymore. I thought...” he trailed off. “I thought I could make you love me like I do you, but I was wrong. You don’t and you never will. Don’t worry, I’m not such a jackass that I’d risk you losing Zane. Molly is off tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday I’ll swing by and pick up Zane before work and bring him home at six like I have been. According to the schedule on the fridge, Molly should be home by then.” He stopped and there was silence.
“Josh, I’m sorry. I wish...”
There was a short laugh. “I know. You’ve always been a straight shooter with me, so this is all my fault. You can’t force someone to love you. But I gave it a hell of a try, didn’t I?”
“You know if you ever need anything, I’ll be here for you, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, I know. But for a little while anyway, I think I need some space. So, could Molly maybe have Zane waiting for me in the mornings?”
“Sure. I’ll stay out of it. I really appreciate you helping me get Zane. It would be really bad if he was still with Michael and Joan right now.”
Gabe and I had made a pact not to talk about what we’d learned with anyone. The one obvious exception was the prosecuting attorney. Gabe had needed his advice about whether or not the evidence would hold.
“Yeah, well, I guess I needed that time together, too, for closure. I had to be sure. Now I am.”
“There is someone out there for you, Josh. I’m sorry I took so much of your time from finding him.”
Another laugh. “See, that’s where we differ again. I’m not sorry for a minute of what we had. Only for the minutes we won’t have going forward.”
I stayed silent. What was there to say to that?
“Take care, Colin,” Josh’s voice broke, then there was empty space on the line.
I was single again.
Back in the living room, Gabe was teaching Zane how to give the simple obedience commands of sit, stay, and down. Looked like my Z-Man was a fast learner. Or maybe the fact that Dakky was a very special dog had something to do with it too.
“Is everything okay?” Gabe asked as I walked in. Damn, I guess I’m not as good at hiding my emotions as I thought I was.
I nodded, not meeting his eyes. “Yeah, just a few changes happening, that’s all.”
Gabe gave a quick glance up the stairs. “One of those changes Josh?”
“The root of most of them, actually.” Then I raised my eyes to Gabe’s in defense of my now ex-lover. “But he made sure we were covered with Zane before he left.”
Gabe nodded. “I wouldn’t have expected any less from the man.” He paused, then looked away. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you two. You’re both pretty great guys.” He shrugged. “Seemed like a good match.”
“It should have been. But there was just something missing. I take the full blame for that. Maybe I’m just not capable of giving everything to another man. And Josh wanted everything.”
“He deserved it. You both do. When you find the right person, giving everything isn’t an issue anymore. You’ll see.”
I doubted it but left it at that.
“Come on, the boys are safe in here with Dakota. I’ll help you bring in the supplies.”
Before we left the compound, Jake had loaded us down. We had a full bag of dog food, Dakky’s favorite toy—a stuffed police officer—and a leash. We’d been told that although Dakota was trained to walk without a leash, state law still required them.
This one was of a lightweight nylon and had about six feet of length. I was really hoping that Dakky was as well behaved as promised because there was no way that leash would hold her. For that matter, there was no way I could hold her leash if she decided to run.
Gabe must have seen the concern in my face. “She’s a good dog. If Jake believes in her, you can too.”
I grabbed the leash and the toy and Gabe hefted the fifty-pound bag of food like it was full of feathers. It was kind of nice to watch his muscles react to the lifting. Gabe was definitely a man I’d like to watch work out. His muscles bunching and moving could do things to a man.
Good things.
I looked up from the awesome view to find Gabe grinning at me. “Mind opening the door for me?”
Yeah, that might help.
When we walked in, Zane’s eyes lit up when he saw the leash in my hand. “Can we take her for a walk? Can we, please?”
All About Zane (Travis County Legal Book 1) Page 11