Over the past few months working with Jaris, she’d found herself imagining what it would be like to be with him and Chance. Why not? She was from Destiny, a place where women were allowed to dream of love with two or more men.
Who couldn’t love Jaris? The guy was a hero. Handsome. Charming. And funny. He was so good to the boys and wonderful with the dogs.
Who am I kidding? I’m falling for Jaris, too.
Getting behind the wheel of her truck, she glanced at the men who were invading all her nighttime dreams. As much as she would like to be in their arms, it wasn’t going to happen. She had deeper feelings for Chance than he had for her. She’d almost lost him as a friend for good because of those feelings. She vowed not to make the same mistake with Jaris.
Feelings can’t be trusted.
* * * *
Chance held Rosie’s and Rex’s harnesses. He could hear Jaris and the other two dogs up ahead about ten feet on the path. All four dogs were doing great, but he still felt odd being without Annie. If Annie and Sugar had remained close, they would’ve taken the lead in this test, skewing the results for the new dogs.
Going for help when necessary had to be learned by every service dog. This test would verify these dogs were fully trained to seek aid when their masters were in trouble. He and Jaris had run several exercises with the four and were confident they would pass Kaylyn’s standards today.
Kaylyn was two miles back beside her truck.
“The time is 8:29 a.m.” One minute to go until the final part of the test.
He could hear the waterfall that he and Jaris had passed after leaving Kaylyn. During the entire walk from the truck, the dogs had accomplished their tasks perfectly. They were all completely focused and so far had done exceedingly well on every part of the test. None of the distractions that Kaylyn had planted along the path—raw steak, noisemakers, or toys—had been able to pull Rex, Blue, Rosie, or King from their jobs. He was filled with pride for the four dogs, nearly done with their training and ready to meet their new owners in the next few days.
“The time is 8:30 a.m.”
“Now, Jaris.” Chance spread out on the ground, hearing his friend do the same.
Rosie and Rex both sniffed and licked him, which was expected. He held his breath and remained motionless.
The two dogs ran off. He heard King and Blue bolt after Rosie and Rex.
Chance waited for a minute before sitting up, making sure the dogs were down the road. It was important not to distract the canine students. They needed to run all the way back to Kaylyn.
Hearing Jaris roll onto his side, Chance turned his direction. “Man, these four are going to make their new owners very happy.”
“Just like Annie and Sugar make us happy, buddy.” Jaris’s tone was filled with admiration.
He smiled. “I hope so. That’s why we’re working so hard with them.”
“It won’t be long before Kaylyn will be back with the dogs and the truck to pick us up. I wonder what score she’ll give them.”
“You know we’ll have to give her the results of the preliminary tests during the walk before she comes to a final decision.” Kaylyn was one of the top service dog trainers in the country. People from around the world sought out her dogs. “But I’m sure they will all get A-pluses.”
Suddenly, he and Jaris heard the four dogs yelp as if they were hurt.
“What the hell was that?” Jaris leapt to his feet.
He did the same. “Don’t know, but we’ve got to get back to Kaylyn.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.”
They started down the path together when they both heard a gunshot.
Chance’s gut tightened. “What the fuck?”
Jaris came up beside him. “It sounded like a rifle to me.”
They both knew that Kaylyn had a pistol in her truck but not a rifle.
“Shit. We’re not alone, Jaris. Someone else is in the woods.”