LITMIR.BIZ

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the adults. “I was just imagining the future if something happened to me.”

      “Well, something won’t, so cut it out.”

      “If something did—” he cleared his throat and continued in a hoarse whisper “—would you consider becoming Patrick’s guardian?”

      “Me?”

      “I know it’s a lot to ask, but...”

      “I’m not refusing. I’m touched, that’s all.” She eyed the content child and smiled. “He’s the most important person in your whole life and you’re offering to trust me to take care of him. Of course I’d do it.” She placed her free hand over where theirs were joined, and sniffled.

      The moisture glistening in her eyes brought a similar reaction in his as he said, “Thank you.”

      Next to them, grinning and sticky with syrup, Patrick giggled and echoed, “Tank you,” interrupting their moving exchange and destroying the romantic mood.

      Zoe recovered first, pulled away and pointed to the boy. “Your daddy will clean you up while I clear the table.”

      “I will?” Sean lifted an eyebrow.

      “Oh, yeah. I may have offered to look after him in an emergency, but I’m not starting now. You fed him pancakes, so you get to wash off the sticky.”

      “You drive a hard bargain, Officer Trent.”

      She laughed. “You’d better believe it.”

      Sobering, Sean lifted his son into his arms. “You meant what you said? You’ll step in if...”

      “Absolutely. And if you’re as serious about it as I am, we need to see an attorney and make it official.”

      It occurred to him to tease about marrying her, instead, then decided it would be cruel to even suggest such a thing. He was not going to place her in an untenable position, nor was he going to take the chance she might actually agree, for Patrick’s sake.

      “Fine,” Sean said, as he left the kitchen. “You make the arrangements, and I’ll keep my head down until it’s legal.”

      “You’d better plan on keeping it down a lot longer than that,” Zoe shouted after him. “I understand puppies a lot better than I understand little kids.”

      * * *

      It was a delight to tour the training facility with Patrick. Every dog excited him, especially the pups he saw when Zoe kenneled Freya.

      Crouching, she pointed to a pile of K-9 vests. “Remember how Freya acted different when she was wearing a police jacket and badge like those? Some of the dogs we have here are not very friendly even when they aren’t all dressed up, so you shouldn’t try to pet them without asking first. Understand?”

      Patrick’s head bobbed, his expression solemn. “Uh-huh.”

      “Good. Now let’s go find my friends.” She stood and offered her hand. “We need to introduce you and your daddy to Angel.”

      Judging by the way his eyes widened and he tugged on her hand, Zoe assumed the reference had confused him. She explained. “That’s her name, honey. She’s not a real angel, like in the Bible.”

      He seemed to be searching for a word. “Wings?”

      “No, Patrick. No wings. She’s just a really sweet dog. Come on. The trainers are waiting for us.”

      A wry smile on Sean’s face reminded her that Sophie and Ellen had warned him about possible problems. If he wasn’t open to accepting Angel, Zoe wasn’t sure he’d have a second chance. Of course, he wasn’t the only one who needed to display camaraderie. The dog’s reactions were as important as the human’s.

      “I’ll take care of Patrick for a few minutes while you go with Ellen,” Zoe said as soon as pleasantries had been exchanged. “We’ll be right out here, watching.”

      He eyed her casual attire. “You’re not armed today.”

      “Not visibly. This place is always full of officers, so there’s no need to worry. Most of the previous rookie class is still here, working for the DVPD, and some of those in my group stayed over to sub so officers like Shane Weston could go home to Flagstaff for Christmas. I think you’ll like Tristan McKeller when you meet him, too. I mentioned him—he’s a former soldier, same as you.”

      “The same? I doubt that.” He hesitated. “You do understand why I won’t carry a gun, right?”

      “Because you don’t want to have a flashback episode and make a terrible mistake. I get it. But if you think about all that’s happened here and the way you’ve been protected, you’ll see there’s no need to be armed.”

      “I suppose gut feelings don’t count.”

      “Not if they’re yours. Sorry,” she said, smiling to soften the comment even more. “Give it time. Heal. Work through your nervousness with a service dog by your side. Then you won’t even want to be armed.”

      Sean sighed noisily. “I hope you’re right.”

      “Haven’t you heard? I am always right.” Nudging him through the doorway after Ellen, she lifted Patrick and balanced him on her hip. “Wow. You’re heavy today. Must be from all the pancakes you ate.”

      “Uh-huh.”

      As his small arms circled her neck and squeezed, Zoe felt a surge of emotion she had not anticipated. He was all shampoo and soap and syrup and...and love. How had that happened? She’d liked him from their first meeting but had attributed those feelings to her friendship with his father. This was different. This was personal. And very dear.

      Toting Patrick to the one-way viewing window, she told him to watch while his daddy met the dog that might provide their deliverance. Having a bond develop during an initial meeting was iffy, at best. The quirk on Angel’s side was her overabundance of love. She could track fairly well, but was more likely to lick a criminal she apprehended than to growl or bite him as she was supposed to. That was what had ultimately washed her out of the K-9 cop program.

      Sean was seated in a chair in the center of the room. A side door opened. Sophie started to lead Angel in and was almost jerked off her feet when the dog realized there were other people present.

      “You may as well release her,” Zoe heard Ellen say.

      “Da!” Patrick didn’t take his eyes off the leaping, dancing, pulling canine. “Da-gh.”

      Zoe gave him a squeeze. “That’s right. Dog. Very good.”

      “Daddy.”

      Tears pooled in Zoe’s eyes as she watched the scene unfold. Unleashed, Angel left the trainer at a run, made a dash to Sean and almost knocked him over backward, chair and all, when she tried to jump into his lap.

      Of course he did everything wrong after that, including hugging the affectionate dog and letting her lick his face. She made several circles around the room, her nails scrambling on the slick floor, then returned to him to greet him with more exuberance.

      All Zoe could do was whisper, “Thank You, Jesus,” and swipe at her damp cheeks. They still had a lot of work ahead of them, but Sean and Patrick Murphy had their service dog. They would be staying in Desert Valley for training.

      * * *

      The two trainers had managed to corral Angel, fit her with a working harness and put her back on a long leash so Sean could walk her in the fenced training yard.

      “How did you know she’d take to my son so fast?” Sean asked Zoe.

      “She loves everybody. That’s her problem. She’d rather give and receive affection than settle down and work.”

      “And that makes her good for me how?”

      “We’ll have to

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