LITMIR.BIZ

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tone. “They’ll need warm milk for starters, but I’m not sure if cow milk is good for them. Vanessa, why don’t you call the training center to see what you’ll need to do in order to care for the puppies?”

      “Good idea.” She picked up her bag and dug out her phone. The call to the training center was immediately picked up by Master Sergeant Westley James, the training center operations director.

      “This is Lieutenant Vanessa Gomez. Captain Isaac Goddard and I found four puppies, without any sign of the mother. We’re not sure what breed they are, maybe a cross between a Lab and a rottweiler. We’d like to foster them, if you’ll allow it.”

      “Found them where?”

      “Less than a block from my house on Webster.” She glanced at Isaac, then added, “Captain Goddard is going to head out to find the mother, see if she’s somewhere close by. In the meantime, would you like us to bring the puppies into the vet?”

      “That would be good. I’ll meet you there.”

      “Okay, but if you don’t mind, Aiden would really like to help foster the puppies.” She knew Westley was aware of Aiden’s need for a therapy dog and how miserably her brother had failed with Ruby. “It would be a great experience for us. Please? Just tell us what you’d like us to do.”

      There was a pause then a sigh. “Okay, you and Aiden can foster them for now. But I’m warning you, it’s a time-consuming process. Any idea how old the puppies are?”

      “We’re not sure,” she admitted. “But they’re bigger than newborns. Maybe a few weeks?”

      “I hope you’re right, because we have a better chance of success if they’re at least three to four weeks old. Once we determine how old they are, you can get the appropriate commercially prepared puppy formula and instructions on how to start solid foods, along with how to housebreak them.”

      “We can do that. Thank you.” The wave of relief was overwhelming. She disconnected the call and smiled at Aiden. “Westley gave us permission to foster, but warned me it’s a lot of work.”

      “I don’t mind.” Aiden held the cardboard box in his arms as if he wasn’t ever going to let it go, the expression on his face full of wonder and joy.

      “Great. Then we’ve been ordered to bring them to the vet, and they’ll provide everything we need.”

      “Okay.” To her surprise, Aiden looked at Isaac. “We should probably take my sister’s car, right?”

      “Good idea.”

      Vanessa blinked the sting of tears away at Aiden’s tentative acceptance of Isaac. Already they were bonded by the puppies and with that as a foundation, it was possible that Isaac’s willingness to talk to Aiden would also help him learn better coping strategies.

      Being attacked by Boyd Sullivan may have been the worst part of her day, but finding the puppies turned out to be the absolute best thing to have happened.

      There was no doubt in her mind that these four tiny balls of fur were exactly what Aiden needed to help battle his illness.

      And she’d do anything in her power to see her tormented brother relax and smile again.

       Anything.

      Isaac easily saw himself in Aiden’s demeanor, from the tense anxiety emanating from the young man’s very being, to the fear and anger darkening his brown eyes, replicas of his older sister’s.

      The kid was young, barely twenty from his estimation, and suddenly Isaac wished that the minimum age to enter the military was older than a mere eighteen.

      Not that he wasn’t proud to serve his country, because he was. After all, he’d gone straight into the Air Force Academy in Colorado, and from there to flight school to become an Air Force combat pilot. By the time he’d served his first tour overseas, he’d been twenty-three.

      Now that he was thirty, his first tour seemed a lifetime ago.

      There was no way to prepare for being deployed, although the various branches of the military did their best. Logically, he knew it wasn’t as if every airman, soldier, marine or seaman experienced combat, but still, the exposure to violence certainly took its toll.

      Which was why he still hadn’t signed the paperwork to reenlist. Returning to the air as a pilot wasn’t an option now. He’d never risk other lives by flying with PTSD. Which left a huge question mark on his future.

      But that was not a problem to solve tonight.

      As they stepped outside to Vanessa’s car, he did a quick sweep of the neighborhood, looking for any sign of the puppies’ mother. Tango helped, but he came up empty-handed.

      He climbed into the car beside Vanessa, and she drove directly to the veterinary clinic. The vet, Captain Kyle Roark, greeted them when they arrived.

      “Westley called me about the puppies. I think I may have the injured mother inside. Someone turned her in a few hours ago. She suffered a rather serious animal bite that required surgery to repair. I think she’ll be fine, but I’ll need to watch her closely for the next few days for signs of infection.”

      “Is she one of the training dogs?” Isaac asked.

      Kyle shook his head. “No microchip. But I’m concerned there may be a link between this dog and the person who let the others go.”

      Isaac didn’t like the sound of that.

      Kyle took the puppies into an examination room to assess their condition. He returned a short while later with good news.

      “They’re all surprisingly healthy, and they look to be about four weeks old.” He glanced at Vanessa and Aiden as he continued, “I’ll give you some supplies you’ll need to foster them, okay?”

      “That would be great,” Vanessa agreed.

      Isaac had noticed how protective Aiden was of the puppies, and hoped Vanessa was making the right decision allowing him to help foster them. Not that he thought Aiden would hurt them in any way, but Isaac knew how horrible it was to be separated from an animal you’d bonded with.

      He missed Beacon with an all-consuming intensity. For several days, after Beacon had saved his life in Afghanistan by dragging him by the back of his flight suit away from the burning chopper, he and the dog had hidden together in enemy territory while waiting to be rescued. Losing his best friend and Beacon’s handler, Jake Burke, had been horrible. During those endless hours after the crash, Beacon had been his only source of comfort. Although even Beacon’s reassuring presence couldn’t keep his guilt at bay.

      Then the USAF search-and-rescue chopper had arrived. The pilot had done a routine flyby, then circled around to land on a small level spot close to where he and Beacon had holed up. Getting into the chopper hadn’t been easy, but by the time the rebels had begun firing at them, the pilot had gotten them airborne.

      At first, he’d been overjoyed at being rescued, but when they’d landed in Kabul and he was separated from Beacon, his whole world had come crumbling down.

      Not only had he failed Jake by crashing the chopper that caused his buddy’s death, but he’d failed in keeping Jake’s K-9 as he’d promised when they’d first begun flying together. Six months of red tape and politics and he still didn’t have Beacon home.

      But tomorrow was the day. Less than twenty-four hours and he’d have Beacon home where he belonged.

       I’m trying, Jake. Just like I promised. I’ll bring Beacon home!

      Before the crash that had taken his buddy’s life, he might have reached out to God for solace. But not anymore. These days, he didn’t feel much like talking to God.

      “We’re ready to go,” Vanessa said, pulling him from his troubling thoughts. “Isaac? Is everything okay?”

      He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yep.

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