Page 10 of Nora
When she finished with Hagen, she thanked Willa, then made her way to Craig’s room.
“Miles, stay,” Craig snapped after she knocked on the door two rooms down from Willa’s. After a beat, he called, “Come in.”
She stepped inside to find Miles sitting properly. He was still as a statue, except for his tail which was swishing across the floor. There was also a light in his eyes that was hard to miss. This one was going to be a heartbreaker; she recognized the type. The type that performed his job exactly as needed but waited for the moment he’d be released to frolic and play. This was a dog that, not unlike Lucian in his younger years, lovedeverythingabout life.
Craig stood three feet behind him. With his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face, he looked none too happy.
“Everything okay?” Nora asked, setting her bag down. “May I?” she followed up, gesturing to Miles.
Craig nodded. “Miles, friend,” he said, then he answered her question. “Miles is young. He’s just a little more excited about being somewhere new than I’d like him to be.”
Miles was two. Not that young for a working dog. Still, Nora knew nothing about him other than his medical records and what little Ingrid and James had told her. And what she’d gleaned from in him the past fifteen seconds, an observation based on years of experience. She withheld her judgment on Craig’s statement, though, as she held out her hand for Miles to sniff. He leaned forward, but dutifully remained sitting.
“I understand you applied to this program with a different dog,” she said, her gaze moving between Miles and his handler. Pain flashed across Craig’s face, and he gave a tight nod.
“I applied two years ago with my prior dog, Annie. She was amazing. She would have loved every minute of this training.” He paused, and his gaze dropped to the floor before meeting hers again. “She was killed chasing a suspect. He was running and I sent her to chase and subdue him. He bolted into the street. She’d just gotten hold of him when they were both hit by a car. She died. The man did not.” He paused again, his jaw ticking. “At least he’s in jail now. Not for what happened to Annie, of course, but for all the drugs and women he was trafficking.”
Nora let a quiet moment pass before speaking. “I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been to lose a partner.” She considered offering a platitude about Annie dying doing something she loved, but she stopped herself. It was such a stupid thing to say to people who’d lost someone. Or in this case, a partner. It was like telling them they shouldn’t feel so bad about their loss. But the truth was, it didn’t matter how their loved ones died; they were still gone. She also suspected Craig might be feeling some guilt about Annie’s death. She wouldn’t have been in pursuit unless he’d ordered her.
Craig nodded in response. Her hand rested on Miles’s head, then she knelt in front of him. “You are a handsome boy,” she said, rubbing behind his ears. “I know looks aren’t everything, but you were still blessed with them.”
“At least he’s pretty,” Craig said. The derisive tone in his voice brought her eyes up. He offered her a half smile. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Just an inside joke. My ex-wife is beautifulandan extremely talented artist. But she has a lot of learning disabilities that made school hard for her growing up. Her parents didn’t help. One of the things they used to say to her was ‘at least you’re pretty.’ It became a joke between the two of us.”
Nora smiled, not entirely sure Craig had meant it as a joke.
“So what kind of check do you do?” he asked.
She reached for her bag beside her on the floor and pulled out her stethoscope. “Nothing invasive,” she answered. “Vitals and a blood draw, that’s it. I like to get a baseline and compare it to the before-flight reports. The more information I have the better we can care for the dogs should anything happen.” Miles sneaked a lick on her face, and she dropped a kiss on his forehead. “Not that we anticipate anything happening, of course.”
She listened to Miles’s breathing, then his heart. It was a little higher than his preflight count. “When he had his preflight check, was that at your usual clinic or on base?”
“On base,” Craig answered. “We’d trained during the day, then had the check before going home. Why?”
“It’s a little higher than normal, but not high by any stretch,” Nora said. “I was trying to figure out if being here had him a little more excited than when he had his other check.”
Craig grimaced. “Likely. He’s an excitable dog.”
Nora studied Miles as she pulled out her blood draw equipment. Looking into his eyes, he appeared eager. But like the well-trained dog he was, he remained seated and at attention.
A few minutes later, the check was complete, and she was packing up the few items she’d taken out. Craig had released Miles, and he lay sprawled on his back in front of her, his tail sweeping the floor and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She smiled and gave him a belly rub before rising.
“Two more tonight?” Craig asked.
Nora nodded. “Just Raum and Lena.”
“Jonah and Collin,” Craig said. She nodded. “Jonah will hit on you. Collin will try to convince you he knows more about veterinary medicine than you.”
Nora hid a smile as she zipped her bag. She’d suspected as much about Jonah, but the insight on Collin was new. “Not a big fan?” As she spoke, her phone buzzed with a text from Collin letting her know she could stop by when she was ready.
Craig shrugged. “They’re good with their dogs. That’s all I care about. I don’t need to be best friends with everyone on the program.”
If Nora were younger, she might have thought the comment callous. But with her years of experience, his approach was practical, if a little blunt. “Well, I’ll be sure to watch my step,” she said. Then she rubbed Miles’s head one more time and nodded to Craig. “I don’t anticipate finding anything, but if I do, I’ll tell you straightaway. If not, I’ll see you tomorrow. And good luck,” she added as she headed toward the door.
A few minutes later, she was standing in Collin’s room meeting Raum. Nora knew better than to be taken in by a pretty face, but Raum had a gorgeous sort of bad-boy look that made it hard not to admire him. His thick coat was a glossy black, and his bright yellow eyes tracked her as she crossed the room to him. He remained sitting, as Collin had ordered him to, but even in that position, his head came up to well above her waist.
“I’m sure you get this a lot, but he’s quite arresting,” she said, after getting Collin’s permission to approach Raum. She rested her hand on his head, her fingers sliding into the silky fur. Raum’s expression didn’t change a bit at the affection. Which was a striking difference from Miles. Miles’s eyes had lit up when she’d spoken to him or given him a rub.
“He’s the best. Knows it, too,” Collin said.
