The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(47)

“Better.”

“Better than Russian cooking? Impossible.”

Charlie loved my Russian dishes, and her enthusiasm only made me want to cook them more often.

When we got home, outside the door, I captured her hand. “Ready?”

She looked slightly scared. “I guess.”

I led her through the house and onto the back deck where Sniper and Tony awaited her arrival. Sniper was a $70,000 German shepherd that weighed 84 pounds and had a shiny, black and tan coat. Tony was his trainer. Sniper sat obediently at Tony’s feet but whined when he saw us.

Charlie looked stunned. She looked at me and then back at the duo. “You bought me a dog?”

“Your husband bought you one of the best protection dogs on the market,” Tony said. “This is Sniper. Want to come say hi?”

She covered her face. I expected her to rush to Sniper’s side, but she turned to me, wrapped her arms around my waist and put her head on my chest. I crushed my arms around her. She felt amazing.

“You got me a dog,” she murmured.

“I did.”

“I love dogs.” She glanced up at me. “Why would you do that?”

I wanted to kiss her. “So you’re safe when I’m gone.”

She looked at me with both awe and gratitude.

“Go say hi.” I reluctantly let her go.

She slowly approached Sniper and bent down, offering her hand. Sniper sniffed, wagged his tail and inched closer to her.

“You’re so beautiful,” she crooned to him.

Tony started telling her about Sniper. I had spent two days researching protection dog services and this one, out of Oklahoma, had been the most recommended. They trained the dogs from birth to be both a family dog and a protection dog with phenomenal skills that matched a K9 dog. They were the Navy SEALs of dogs, willing to fight to their death to protect their owner. I flew Tony and Sniper in this morning. Tony would stay in a hotel for a week and would work with Charlie, training her in how to use all the commands that Sniper lived to obey. Usually, the company vetted their families a lot longer, but I pulled a lot of strings to get them the information they needed, convincing Tony, with a healthy cash bonus, that he needed to make us a priority.

Tony stepped away, letting Charlie and Sniper get to know each other.

“You want a beer?” I asked him.

“Sure.”

He followed me inside. “You gave your wife an amazing gift.”

I cracked open a beer and handed it to him. “The gift was for me. I need peace of mind when I travel.”

Charlie’s laughter drifted in through the open balcony doors. That sound was worth every penny.





*



The next week passed quickly. Charlie brought Sniper and Tony with her to work. Sniper adored Charlie and never left her side. When Tony left to go back to Oklahoma, he told Charlie that she was one of his best students.

My only miscalculation with buying Sniper was that now Charlie had a dog. And that meant, every single night, she went walking with the dog walking group.

Andrew brazenly started knocking on our front door each night to pick her up for their walks, like it was a fucking date.

My only salvation to that situation was that Sniper disliked Andrew.

The first night, Charlie came home from a walk and innocently said, “I don’t think Sniper likes Andrew that much.”

I didn’t lift my head from my magazine, but I was all ears. “Oh yeah? Why do you say that?”

She gave a half-laugh. “Sniper refuses to let Andrew touch him. Every time Andrew tries to pet him, he just backs away or ducks his head.”

Smart fucking dog. “That’s weird.”

“And when we are walking, Sniper insists on walking between us. I even tried switching sides, because Sniper was sort of pushing Andrew away from me, but as soon as I moved to the other side, Sniper nosed his way in between us again.”

I had to work not to show my satisfaction. “Did Andrew do something to Sniper?”

She sounded so confused. “No, but Sniper won’t even play catch with the ball when Andrew is standing beside me. It was only when Andrew moved away that Sniper decided he wanted to play ball. When Andrew came back to stand next to me, Sniper came back and stood between us. So, I had to ask Andrew not to stand near me, otherwise, Sniper didn’t get to play.”

Sniper might be the best fucking $70,000 I have ever spent.

“Well, considering how hard Sniper works, he deserves to play.”

“I agree, although I think Andrew’s feelings were hurt.”

When Tony called for a post check-in, I casually mentioned this to him. “I’m not a big fan of the guy. Do you think Sniper’s picking up on my emotions?”

Tony answered thoughtfully. “Maybe, but dogs tend to make up their own minds about people. They are quick to judge a person’s character, and there are some people they simply don’t like.”

“Charlie said Sniper doesn’t let Andrew walk beside her.”

“Sniper is a pack animal, and you and Charlie are his pack. If he thinks that this guy is trying to nose in on his pack, he’s going to make it pretty clear he’s not welcome.”

Andrew was definitely trying to nose his way in on my pack. “Should I be worried?”