Page 18 of Kent's Watch
“Sorry, I had an epiphany.” Shaking his head, they started forward. With an idea forming in his head, he would go with it if the need arose. The next time Rita verbally doubted him, he would invite her to go with him the next time he took Tator on a training session. He grinned at himself as he pictured helping her strap into her safety harness before rappelling down the side of a mountain. He knew it was bad of him, but maybe he could cop a feel or two. Shaking his head, he continued toward the training center. During his walk through the parking lot, he hadn’t realized he been stared at the entire way by someone inside the building.
Rita walked up to her father and frowned at him. “What’s caught your attention?”
Without looking at her, Marvin pointed toward the window. “Is that Palmer?”
Rita looked and studied the man walking toward the building. Father and daughter saw how he corrected his pup when he lunged forward on the leash. Sighing heavily, she shook her head. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“He’s good.” Marvin looked at Rita in concern. “You’re sure he’s never trained dogs before?”
“He says he hasn’t. Now do you realize why I don’t quite trust him. Look at how well Bluey, sorry, Tate, is doing on a leash.” Rita had a thought and turned to her father with large eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Kent told me he thought Lisa was giving Charlie treats he hadn’t earned. Could you keep on eye on them for me during training?”
“Yes, but only if you point them out to me.” He looked at his daughter and shook his head. “You’re going to have to learn that sometimes certain people has the knack to work well with animals. Your Kent Palmer just might be one of them.”
Rita looked out the window and smiled. “The Mini Cooper that just pulled in is Lisa’s vehicle. And he’s not mine.”
Marvin turned back and studied the woman as she got out of her vehicle. He noted the other students parked as close to the building as they could, but Kent Palmer parked in the back of the lot. The furthest away from them. He made a silent vow to keep an open mind about all the students he would observe today. He had to remember he was there to observe only.
Five minutes before class was to begin, Rita, Zeke, Marvin, and Tank left her office and headed toward the main room where they would be training that day. On the way, they paused when Julie came out of her office. She did a double take when she saw the man with Rita and grinned as she rushed him for a hug.
“Marvin, what brings you in today?”
“Nothing much, just wanted to see how the new class is doing.” At her skeptical look, Rita laughed.
“He’s here to check up on me, and I’ve told him a few things. He knows about Vickers.”
“Ah,” Julie said in understanding.
“I’m also here to check out Kent Palmer, Rita told me what she thought about his past training experience.”
“He’s good.” Julie didn’t admit to any more than that.
“Can you do me a favor today?” Rita asked her best friend and right-hand woman at CSAR.
“What’s that?”
“I loathe to admit this, but after talking with Sheriff Jim last week, Kent pointed out that he thought Lisa was giving Charlie treats he didn’t deserve.”
“Ah, I can see where that might be a problem in the future.”
“I know. I’m going to concentrate on today’s lesson, Dad’s going to observe, and I was hoping you could keep an eye on Lisa.”
“I can do that.” She turned to walk down the hall with them. “Marvin, will you be doing any training?”
“Only if it’s needed.” He leaned around Julie and nodded to Rita. “I would like to give my speech though, especially about the certification at the end.”
“Ah, I hadn’t gotten that far. Well, I’ve told them about it, but I never told them the ramifications if the dog doesn’t pass.”
“Don’t forget, the student might not pass either.”
“I know,” Rita said on a sigh as they entered the large room where all the students were there with their dogs.
“Good morning, everyone!” Rita called out to get their attention. She noted that as soon as she spoke everyone got into their positions. She saw Lisa give Charlie a treat as he sat next to her once they settled into their spot, but wasn’t too concerned about that now. “I hope you all had a few good days off. Before we begin today’s lesson, I’d like to introduce you to this man right here. He’s not only my father, but he’s taught me everything I know about training and raising dogs, as well as being a search and rescue volunteer. It’s his love of dogs, and wanting to help others that put the fire in my veins to do the same. Everyone, please welcome Marvin Chambers.”
Rita stepped back and let Marvin step forward. At his side was his dog, Tank, a German Shepherd.
