The Marine's Mission Read online

  “They died about five years ago, driving in the mountains on a dirt road with hairpin curves. Sometimes you can’t see what’s right around the corner because of the mountain paths. You’re supposed to honk and wait for a response, but from what investigators said, my dad didn’t do that. Or he didn’t wait long enough if he did honk. He caused the accident that killed both him and my mom on impact and sent their SUV rolling down a steep mountainside. Thankfully, the other driver was only minimally injured.”

  “That’s why you want this military contract,” Aaron concluded for her. “To help men and women like your father so maybe they won’t pull away from the world. You’ll not only be saving them but their families.”

  “Like my father. And my high school boyfriend Daniel. He came back so angry—not the same boy I knew at all. He’s in prison now.”

  And that, Aaron realized, was exactly the path he’d been on before coming to A New Leash on Love. Hiding from the world and wallowing in his pain, both internal and external.

  Shutting down.

  Sometimes letting his anger overwhelm him.

  Tears cascaded down Ruby’s face. She sniffled and dashed them away with the corner of her blouse, but her cheeks were still damp. Aaron reached out and brushed her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

  “Service dogs really do make a difference,” she said, pulling herself back together. “I know they do. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes enough times to believe that with all my heart. I’ve worked with many injured clients in the past, although you’re my first marine.”

  “Don’t hold that against the marines,” he joked, trying to tease a smile from her.

  It worked. One moment his heart was squeezing with the weight of her sorrow, and the next her radiant smile lifted both her countenance and his.

  “I’ve said this before, but if you really try and work this program, Oscar may make all the difference in the world to you.”

  At the moment, Ruby was the one making the real difference in his life, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

  Instead, he pressed his lips together and nodded in agreement. “Yes, ma’am. One thing you ought to know about me—I may not agree with all my reasons for being here, but I’m a perfectionist. I’ll follow the program to the letter. Not so much for me but for my military brothers and sisters who will be following me in this program when it becomes a success. I understand how important it is to get Major Kelley to sign off on this thing for the benefit of other veterans.”

  “I’ll take it,” she said, removing her hand from underneath his and standing, commanding Tugger to her side. “But Aaron?”

  “What?”

  “If you’d give Oscar half a chance, he’ll work for you, too.”

  He didn’t know that he’d ever completely believe that, but Ruby was so adamant, her light blue eyes sparkling with such warmth and confidence, that he couldn’t help but agree, if only to make her feel better.

  “I’m sure he will.”

  Chapter Four

  Ruby wasn’t at all sure what to do with Aaron. He was still the same grumpy marine with an attitude and a half who’d pulled up in her driveway the first day and who disagreed with practically everything she suggested, yet he was laser-focused on exactly what he needed to do to pass this program and help Ruby gain her military contract.

  Not for himself, he often reminded her—as if she would forget what he’d said to her on that first day. He wasn’t the one who needed help. This was all about those who would come after him who would actually find assistance using a service dog. Although Aaron was following the training she was offering him, that wasn’t good enough for Ruby.

  She wouldn’t be happy until Aaron understood the benefits he was receiving from her program—until he admitted to her that Oscar was an essential and enduring part of his life and always would be.

  She would keep working until Aaron truly believed in what she was doing here and acknowledged not only how it changed his life but also how it might help other veterans. And not just because Major Kelley said it must be so.

  “I’ve been working with Oscar in our off-hours just like you taught me,” he informed her, sounding as if the whole idea bored him. At the sound of his name, Oscar, who’d been sitting patiently at Aaron’s heel, perked up. “Check this out.”

  He then put Oscar through a series of vocal commands, following each with a click from the clicker and at random times following his instructions with a treat. They’d started right out at the beginning with clicker training so the dog would know the exact moment he’d done what he’d been commanded.

  Sit. Down. Stay. Heel.

  And Oscar was already doing all of this off-leash. The pup appeared enamored of his new marine, but then again, how could he not be? Yes, Aaron needed a serious attitude check, but who wouldn’t, after everything he’d been through?

  Aaron released Oscar and he bounded away to run, stretch, bark, roll over and wiggle to scratch his back. Though Oscar was born to work, he also enjoyed break time when he could just be a dog. Ruby hoped Aaron appreciated those moments, as well, but she suspected it would take him some time to adjust to having a service dog—a friend and a playmate as well as a helper.

  Ruby couldn’t help but be impressed with how much progress he’d made with Oscar in just a few days. They’d been busy with paperwork and talking Aaron through the process of the entire program. In addition to what the military had given her in regard to Aaron, she’d needed to know what he expected out of the program, everything he wanted Oscar to perform for him and precisely where he felt the most physically vulnerable.

  It hadn’t been easy to get Aaron to open up and talk to her. She had the impression he didn’t even know why he was here, other than that he was just following orders. She needed him invested in what he was doing and wasn’t sure how to get there from here. It was a problem she hadn’t ever run into before. All her previous clients had come to her eager for a service dog. Aaron was the total opposite.

  They’d spent most of the day hashing out the details so she could create a program that would best fit Aaron’s needs. It was emotional trying to pry information out of Aaron, and it had worn both of them out. They’d finally finished in the middle of the afternoon and she’d let him off early, so she hadn’t had time to have Aaron run Oscar through his paces, as important as that was.

  She’d suspected Aaron wouldn’t be forthcoming with his needs, which was why over the weekend she’d created a questionnaire specifically for Aaron. It was her little secret. She wasn’t about to tell him he was the only one who would use this written questionnaire and that it wasn’t her usual way of doing things. But she would do whatever she had to in order to discover what he needed out of the program without putting him on the spot. After he’d finished filling it out, they’d discussed his answers in detail. It had turned out to be a much easier process than verbally pressing him for answers, but it was still deeply emotional.

  She had a feeling he was going to be surprised to discover how very much of a difference Oscar was going to make in his life. Every day, she intended to show him a little bit more until he was completely comfortable with his new service dog and couldn’t imagine his life without Oscar.

  “I’m impressed,” she said after Aaron had finished running Oscar through his general obedience paces. “It’s only been four days since I’ve seen you working with him, and it looks as if you’ve already got all the basics down. And off-leash, too. That’s a wonderful start. I can tell you and Oscar have been busy. Are you ready for a little bit more of a challenge today?”

  Aaron’s chocolate-brown eyes lit up with interest and he grinned. “Now you’re talking.”

  Why wasn’t she surprised that Aaron would want to ramp things up a notch? As a marine, Ruby imagined Aaron’s whole life had been about facing down challenges. Why stop now?

  “Okay, then
. Put Oscar’s lead back on him and give me a minute. Let me grab a few of Oscar’s friends, and we’ll add some distractions to your workout.”

  She selected three well-trained dogs with whom Oscar was familiar as part of his pack and brought them, still on their leads, into the building next to Aaron. Oscar immediately responded to seeing his friends, his tail wagging so wildly it made his entire body quiver in excitement as he greeted the dogs. He definitely wanted to be let off the lead to play.

  Aaron’s brow furrowed and his grip tightened on Oscar’s lead. “He’s not going to go all uncontrollable on me, is he?”

  “That’s actually the point of this exercise. Oscar has to be able to stay focused on you no matter what distractions may come his way, including these dogs who are part of his pack. That’s also the reason I insist you take him everywhere with you, up to and including church.”

  “And how do I get him to stay focused all the time? That sounds hard.”

  “First, you need to remain relaxed. As soon as you thought about Oscar running off on you, your shoulders tightened, as well as your grip on Oscar’s lead. Oscar is going to pick up on it when you tense up as you just did. That’ll only make him more likely to misbehave because he’ll misread your signals and think you are in trouble. You used to command the men in your unit. I suspect this is similar. You’ve got to have a certain amount of trust in your dog that he’ll make the right choices. That’s where continued training will come in. For now, though, let’s see what happens when we test him out. Call his name to get his attention and let him know it’s time to work.”

  Aaron said Oscar’s name, and despite the other dogs in the room, the poodle immediately moved to a heel position at Aaron’s left side and sat, his full attention on him.

  “Perfect,” Ruby encouraged. “Just like you practiced, see? He knows what he’s supposed to be doing. Now, let’s see what happens when we release Tugger here as a distraction.”

  Ruby unleashed the exuberant brown-and-white pit bull without giving him any commands. Tugger was one of her most playful pups, which was the reason she’d selected him to throw a wrench into Oscar’s training.

  Tugger bounded off and ran around the perimeter of the training facility, his tail wagging and a big bully smile on his face as he sniffed every corner. When he’d checked out the entire area, he returned and play bowed to Oscar, his tail wagging a mile a minute.

  “What’s he doing?” Aaron asked, his brow lowering.

  “It’s called a play bow. He’s enticing Oscar and encouraging him to join him for a puppy romp. But Oscar is better trained than that, and you have him under your command right now. Until you release him, he shouldn’t move out of position. Try to relax your shoulders more so he doesn’t pick up on your anxiety.”

  “It’s not anxiety,” Aaron snapped back.

  Clearly not.

  Ruby bit back her amusement and refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing it would only put Aaron in more of a snit. He was so far out of his comfort zone it wasn’t even funny, but he would never admit it in a thousand years, so there was no reason to point it out to him.

  And they were only at the beginning of their training. It was going to be a long four weeks. Aaron was definitely Ruby’s biggest challenge to date, bar none.

  “Here comes Dandy,” she said in an enthusiastic tone, unleashing the black Labrador retriever. Dandy joined Tugger, bolting across the room at full speed. They play wrestled with each other and barked up a storm.

  Oscar was clearly interested in what was going on around him with the loose dogs. His tail was still wagging, but his hind side was firmly on the floor, and he hadn’t moved an inch, despite his clear desire to do so. Instead, he looked up at Aaron, awaiting his next word.

  “Give him the down command,” Ruby said. “That’ll bring his focus completely back to you.”

  Aaron’s jaw tightened but he followed her instructions. “Oscar, down.”

  Oscar immediately flopped down next to his heel, and he used the clicker to let the poodle know the moment he’d done as he’d been told.

  “Wonderful,” Ruby praised, half to the dog and half to the rugged marine. “I have to say again how proud I am of the two of you. I can really tell you have been hard at work during your off-time.”

  “Isn’t that the whole point?” Aaron asked with a wry half smile.

  “Indeed, it is. It’s just that I don’t usually see such fine progress so quickly. Well done, Aaron.”

  “It’s not all on me. You already had Oscar trained before I ever showed up here. You did the hard work. Oscar just has to get used to me and my way of commanding.”

  And for you to understand your service dog, Ruby silently added.

  Ruby couldn’t imagine how many hours Aaron had put in with the poodle, but Oscar had clearly already bonded with Aaron. Yet Aaron was still looking at Oscar as a mountain he had to climb, a mission he had to accomplish. There wasn’t yet any personal connection between them, and that was the key to a successful relationship between a human and a service dog.

  But maybe that was it. Ruby was really good at training dogs, but this time it wasn’t about the dog. It was about the human.

  She wasn’t speaking Aaron’s language. If she approached the whole dog-training thing as if she were giving Aaron a mission, he might better understand what she was attempting to do.

  Except the thought of ordering Aaron to do anything was intimidating, to say the least. His insides were as tough as his outside appeared. There wasn’t any softness in US Marine Sergeant Aaron Jamison.

  Mission impossible.

  * * *

  Aaron walked Oscar down the main street in town, Lone Elk Avenue, partially to continue the training from earlier in the day with the street full of distractions in the form of people, cars and a variety of sounds, but also so he could get to know Whispering Pines a little bit better. It made him nervous to be out here, but he forced himself to greet those he’d met at church and ignored any curious stares that were shot his direction.

  He didn’t usually spend much time in public. He hated that people might stare at him, whether out of curiosity or because of his disability, and he was afraid Oscar might pick up on his nerves. But he knew he needed to practice, and what better way than in a situation in which he was uncomfortable?

  He spent all his free time with Oscar, going over what they’d learned so far in training to prove to himself that he hadn’t completely lost his edge, and yet hawk-eyed Ruby had no qualms about pointing out every mistake he made, every error, no matter how small. The last time he’d been under this kind of microscope had been at Parris Island marine corps basic training. And he’d felt far more self-confident there than he did now.

  He’d been a whole man back then.

  Ruby didn’t bark out commands like a drill sergeant. Just the opposite, in fact. She was soft-spoken and smiled a lot, and her corrections were firm but gentle. She used positive reinforcement rather than putting him down. He wasn’t used to seeing happy faces, especially pretty female ones, and her smiles made his nerves crackle and his skin itch. Oscar might be easily distracted by his doggy friends, but Ruby was Aaron’s real distraction, and he knew he needed to work through it just as he was working Oscar through his.

  The only change was the scenery—from a dry stark brown desert to the scent of pine and green everywhere. He’d gone from spending his time with big brutes as cold and tough as he was to hanging out with, of all things, a froufrou dog and a beautiful woman.

  Even though Ruby had given him a notebook full of instructions, it was a lot to remember, and he’d quickly learned if he hesitated, he would lose Oscar’s attention. That’s why the clicker was so important—so the poodle would immediately know when he’d done the right thing.

  It had been a long day, and his stomach was growling for some dinner. At first, he’d intended to go back to
the bed-and-breakfast where he was staying. They didn’t typically serve dinner there, but they had a well-stocked community refrigerator. He’d purchased deli meat and sandwich fixings when he’d first arrived, but his nose had just picked up the smell of fresh pizza, and he was salivating in earnest.

  “Do you smell that pizza, boy?” he asked Oscar, then felt his face rapidly heating along with the beat of his heart.

  He let his nose guide him down the street past a hair salon and a store that sold souvenirs both for Colorado in general and Whispering Pines in particular. He spent a moment window-shopping and made a mental note to return and purchase a Whispering Pines hoodie before he left.

  Finally, he found the pizza joint from which all those wonderful smells were emanating.

  Sally’s Pizza.

  The place was packed, which he supposed made sense, as it was a Friday evening. When he glanced in the window, he realized there wasn’t a free table anywhere. The food clearly tasted as good as it smelled.

  No matter. He’d just grab a pizza with everything except anchovies to go and relax back at the B and B.

  And then he remembered he had Oscar by his side. Church was bad enough, but a restaurant? There were no signs specifically banning dogs from entering, but at the same time, he was fairly certain there must be state or federal laws against such things. Wouldn’t the health department pitch a fit if he were to walk in with his dog?

  He sighed internally. No pizza for him, then.

  Bummer. He’d really been looking forward to it.

  Suddenly, a black truck with a dual cab pulled up next to the curb, parallel parking in front of the pizza restaurant even as the electric window on the passenger side came sliding down.

  To his surprise, it was Ruby—and Tugger, who immediately popped his head out the window and barked a happy hello at Oscar.

  “I see you had the same idea as me,” Ruby said with a chuckle. “You’re probably at least as hungry as I am after all the work we did today. I guarantee you that Sally’s pizza is the best you’ll ever taste. And tonight is open mic night, so you’re in for an extra treat. My brother Frost brought his guitar.”