Saving Easton (Oakside Military Heroes Book 2)(11)

He stares at me for a moment, before he speaks. "I know how you feel. When you came in here after your brother’s party, I felt it and wanted to hold you so badly."

Watching him, I nod, and he slowly relaxes.

"I'm trying, Paisley. I'm trying... for you." He says, and my eyes snap to him, but he's looking out of the window.

I almost wonder if I imagined it, until his eyes meet mine, and in them, is a vulnerability that I know is hard for him to show.

"I’ll be here every step of the way," I tell him.

***

After my visit to Easton and Oakside, I head home to drop off Molly and pick up Atticus, and then go to Amanda's house. Amanda is the one who got me into training dogs. She’s a friend now, and the one I always turn to for help.

In the beginning with Atticus, she helped me train him. Now that I think he's ready, we’re going to put him through his paces. She has this obstacle course set up at her place, but it’s not a normal obstacle course.

This one is designed with noises, distractions, and tests to see if a service dog is ready. It's not foolproof, but it's a good indicator.

I love my time with Amanda, though. We talk about anything and everything, and I really want to get her to take on Easton, because I'm feeling a bit guilty about keeping it from my brother, even though I'm still mad at him.

"Hey there, Atticus," Amanda says, as we get out of the car. She always greets the dog first, as she is so much more of a dog person than a people person.

"Hi, you." She stands up and hugs me.

Amanda is in her early forties. Older than me, but not quite old enough to be my mom. Well, I guess if she had been super young, maybe. She has blonde hair that is turning to gray at the roots, and is a very easygoing person, who always prefers to be comfortably dressed.

"Let's put Atticus through his paces. He can nap, while we chat. You're staying for dinner, right? I have a pot roast slow cooking you’ll die for."

"Well, if I wasn't I certainly am now." I joke.

We both know there’s no way I'm passing up some of her home cooking.

We take Atticus to the obstacle course and run him around obstacles, distractions, loud noises, and things that would scare most dogs. We have him react to commands, interact with other dogs, and more.

He passes his tests with flying colors. I fill her in on the pool test, and how he did with Easton.

"I think he's ready to start training with his new owner."

"I thought so. I’ll let him know," I say.

The next step will be to work one-on-one with his future owner, so they’ll get to know each other. Teach his owner all his commands and cues, and then find the best ways Atticus can help him. This is my favorite part of the whole job.

We spoil Atticus with some attention, before heading inside to give him some water and treats, as well as get ready for dinner. I help set the table, and before we even sit down to eat, Atticus is already passed out on Amanda's couch with his feet in the air, head hanging off the couch, and tongue hanging out of his mouth.

I snap a few photos and send them to Jake, Atticus' owner.



Me: Passing his training test was hard, but he passed with flying colors.

Jake: Really? What's the next step?

Me: Training with you every day that’s possible.

Jake: I'm ready. Let's do it.



"Well, Jake is excited to take the next steps," I say, as we sit down to eat.

"So, tell me about this Easton."

I've been texting her highlights here and there, and how I took Atticus to see him, so now I fill in the bits. I start at running into him at Oakside, and a bit of his history as a POW. I talk about how Molly took to him, and the progress he's making.

She studies me for a minute. "There’s more to it than that." She points her fork at me.

"Easton was my brother's best friend growing up. They lost contact over the years and with his deployments."

"And?"

"And I had a crush on him for years, and I guess I still do," I say.

"And does your brother know he's there?"

"Nope. He doesn't want him to know. At least not yet. There’s a reason they lost contact, so when he's ready he’ll reach out."

"He’s doing good with Molly?"

"Yeah, I think he’s more interested in Molly's visits than mine, but he talks to me. I'm the only person he lets in his room other than his nurses and doctors as needed."

"That's because he knows you. You’re from his past life, the one before his military time. You’re safe. Have you thought about getting him his own dog for when he gets out? I’m sure it would be a good thing, and give you a reason to be around him, when he gets out. Just a thought." She smiles.

We dig into our dinner some more, before she starts up again.

"Now, what happened at the pool party? I only got the Reader’s Digest version." She says.

By the time I'm done telling her about getting pimped out by my mom, hit on by the drunk guys, my brother encouraging it, and then my leaving in a yelling fit, Amanda is laughing hard.

"I'd have paid anything to see that," she says. "When I was in school, the frat boys were all the same. A few friends of mine would get together, and we'd go to the frat parties just to watch them, and it was the best entertainment you could get."