“I need to get to bed,” I finally said, pushing myself to my feet. “Thank you so much again. For everything.”
“Anytime,” Maisie said seriously.
I went into my room, stripping down and throwing on an old flannel shirt before crawling into bed. My mind was a chaotic mess of thoughts, and I knew I probably shouldn’t have had that last drink. I felt inexplicably weepy, like I had somehow already messed things up with Ace. But he had said he would call me. This time, I was sure I would hear from him again.
As long as I was there to answer his call. And this time, as much as it scared me, I planned on sticking around.
As though sensing my distress, Ava came wandering into my room. “Mama?” she asked.
“Come here, baby girl,” I said, patting the bed next to me.
She snuggled up close to me, and finally, I could feel myself relax a little. Everything was going to be all right. I had Ava, and regardless of what happened between her father and me, she was going to be there with me. I had to believe that everything was going to be okay, with her there by my side.
14
Ace
I was at the dog training center on Friday afternoon, doing a little bit of work with Sandy. I was starting to grow slightly attached to the dog, and I knew I needed to stop that, to remember that this was just a professional thing, but I couldn’t help it. She was smart, and she was responsive, and she was just a nice dog.
George, the owner, made his way across the building to talk to me, and I wondered whether he could see that bond between Sandy and me. If he did, though, he didn’t mention it.
George was another former military man, and you’d know it just from looking at him. He hadn’t been on active duty in years now, but he still kept his hair cropped close to his skull, and he stood at easy attention, balanced on the balls of his feet with his hands clasped behind his back.
“You’re doing a really good job with that one,” George said, nodding toward Sandy. “Hard to believe you’ve got her that well trained in such a short amount of time.”
“She’s a sweetheart,” I said, giving Sandy an affectionate rub behind the ears. “And anyway, she’s smart. She’s one of the easiest dogs I’ve ever trained.”
“Still, it’s not just her. All the dogs that you’ve been working with are doing good,” George said seriously. “If you keep it up, it’s only a matter of time before you’re outstripping the other two trainer
s here. And they’ve been here a lot longer.”
I shrugged. “I’ve got some background in this stuff,” I reminded him. “And I’ve just always been good with animals, ever since I was a kid.”
“Hmm,” George said, nodding thoughtfully. “You know, I’m thinking of opening up a second school, and I’m looking for a partner there. Someone that I could really depend on. That one would be more specialized, more for police and military dogs. Is that something you might be interested in?”
I stared at him in surprise. I’d only been there for a week now. He was either delusional or he had some serious faith in my abilities, and although there was something crazy about any ex-military man, George had never struck me as outright insane.
Maybe I really had somehow found something I was good at, really good at.
I smiled to myself. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to start training military dogs. I liked that Sandy and I and the other dogs could be friendly over here, that I could pet them and treat them just like extra-trained house pets. I knew things wouldn’t be the same in the other school.
Anyway, partnering with George. That would involve a lot of work, I was sure. I’d need to figure out more about the details first. About what it would mean for me. It might be too soon, what with the fact that I was still getting used to being back there in the States. And figuring out this thing with Harper.
“Can I have some time to think about it?” I asked politely.
“Of course!” George said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Take your time. Place isn’t going to be opened up overnight anyway.” He paused. “But I’ll make sure and have some paperwork drawn up so you can see all the details about it.”
“Perfect,” I told him.
George nodded and headed back to work.
I was stunned, quite frankly. I looked back at Sandy, shaking my head. “Did you hear that?” I said. “You’re already getting me into trouble.” Her tongue lolled out like she was laughing at me. I had to grin as I scratched her behind the ears again.
I wanted to talk to someone about it, someone who wasn’t four-legged and furry, but when I considered my options, none of them seemed right. There was Stone, of course. But I wasn’t really friends with Stone; we just cohabitated. I was sure he’d be happy for me, but not excited in the way that I’d want him to be. And the only other person was my therapist. I didn’t really need to call my therapist to tell her the good news. That would just be pathetic.
Or… there was Harper. We’d really hit it off the other night. Things had been fun. It had felt surprisingly similar to our time back in Kuwait. But I didn’t want to push it and pretend like we were friends. I still couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
And I was still trying to figure out what I was thinking about all of it. I wanted her friendship, if nothing else. But I knew that the more I hung out with her as a friend, the more I would want her as more than a friend. I wasn’t ready to cross that bridge. Not when she had a daughter. A daughter that I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near.