Page 42 of Rescued By the Dog Trainer

The sun comes hard off the snow, and the three-note song rises out of me again, the low one I brought home from Germany.

Maren goes still in the middle of taking my hand. One breath. Two. Then her fingers close hard around mine.

"You're humming." Her voice comes out carefully.

"It's a good day for it." Barnaby falls in at my heel, and we walk toward the sound of the dogs. "First one in a long while. Let me show you where we're building the new runs in May."

"Show me." Maren looks down at our joined hands. She hesitates as her fingers tighten against mine, then lets out a breath and steps out into the snow beside me.

THIRTEEN

Endings

MAREN

The afternoon sun blazes off the metal roof of my 4Runner, sending steady streams of meltwater dripping onto the slushy gravel of the shelter yard. The mountain air smells of cedar shavings and pine needles, with fresh earth breaking through two feet of packed snow. I toss my duffel bag into the back seat and pull the heavy door shut until the latch catches.

Juno leaps into the passenger seat with her claws clicking against vinyl before she sits upright. She keeps her dark ears forward as she scans the driveway ahead.

"Pass is clear down to the cut." Jason steps up to the driver's side of the truck. His boots crunch in the slush.

A quiet hand signal sends Barnaby to stay by the lodge porch step. Steam curls into the cold mountain air from the stainless travel mug in his hand. He rests his gloved hand on the window frame while his eyes stay fixed on mine.

"County cat cleared the lower horseshoe turn an hour ago, but watch the shade past the timber bridge. Black ice likes that corner."

"I've handled worse mountain roads than Angel's Peak." I offer a quiet smile, resting my wrist near his on the cold metal door and listening to the steady hum of the engine. "I know how to read black ice."

"You have." The mug glides through the window into my hands. His fingers brush mine before his hand slides behind my neck to pull me close.

His mouth finds mine through the open window in an unhurried kiss that cuts straight through the afternoon chill. The scent of cedar on his jacket anchors me against the cab seat. He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes, thumb resting along my jaw while my pulse quickens.

"How's the knee holding up after yesterday?" His voice drops into a gravel register.

"Twinges when the temperature shifts." I clear my throat and meet his gaze. "Nothing I can't manage."

"Don't push it on those hospital stairs." He reaches into his canvas vest pocket and hands me a small box of liver treats for Juno, along with a thermos of water and a dry pair of wool socks. "Keep the passenger bribed. Mabel's sending a pot of beef stew up with Griff this afternoon. Dinner's at my table when you get back."

"Count on it." I set the thermos in the console cup holder and smile. "I'll be back at the ridge by seven."

"Drive safe." Jason taps his knuckles twice against the metal roof above my window, stepping back into the slush to give the truck clearance. A flat palm against his thigh brings Barnaby flush to his knee.

The warm touch of his thumb lingers on my jaw as I shift the 4Runner into drive. In the rearview mirror Jason stands by the lodge porch with Barnaby flush at his knee, watching my truck until the pine trees swallow the view.

The drive down the mountain is quiet. Angel's Peak slides past the windshield. The PickAxe tavern, then Mabel's Guest House.

I pull in.

"Two minutes." Juno stretches across both seats. She's heard my two minutes before.

My room smells of pine wax and cold linen. Seven days of living out of a duffel, and the room still looks like nobody lives here. I open the nightstand drawer.

The Bible. The manifest notebook under it. The rubber band around the cover.

I sit on the edge of the bed with the notebook on my knees. The deal was always simple. Fly them, write them down, let them go. Two hundred and fourteen people I never had to know.

Yesterday I sat at the PickAxe down the street and didn't come look. Jason was beside me the whole trip. That's the excuse. The truth is, I wasn't ready to know.

I slide the rubber band off.