Page 44 of Operation K-9 Brothers
“I know.I’ll do it in the morning, okay?”
“Good.With that business out of the way, I have other things in mind.”He waggled his eyebrows like a silly cartoon character.
“Do you now?”
“Oh yeah.”He scooped her up and carried her to his bedroom.The dogs followed, and after lowering her to his bed, he pointed at Dakota’s bed.“Sleep,” he said.Rambo followed Dakota, curling up next to her.With the dogs settled, he turned his attention to Nichole.
It should scare him how much he liked seeing her in his bed, but he couldn’t deny the longing to wake up to the sight of her next to him every morning.He eased his body over hers, then nuzzled her neck.
“I can’t get enough of you, Nichole,” he said.“Why is that?”
Wednesday afternoon, after his physical therapy session, Jack walked into the gun range with a smile on his face.It was his best day in a long time.And night,he mentally added.Even his nightmare hadn’t put a damper on his mood.
After Nichole had left, he’d gone to Asheville Service Dogs and worked there for five hours.Although he’d been assigned grunt work—cleaning kennels, giving dogs a bath, and mowing the grass—and not paid a penny, he’d loved every minute of it.
Between spending the night wrapped around Nichole and his time at Service Dogs this morning, he was a happy man.Now he was meeting her brother, and he was even looking forward to that.It would give him a chance to get a bead on the kid.Nichole’s ex seemed to have some kind of hold on Mark, and Jack intended to find a way to cut the ties between Lane and Mark.
Jack arrived at the range thirty minutes before Mark, giving him time to get set up.Since no one touched his guns, he rented a 9mm handgun suitable for beginners, ear and eye protection, and purchased a box of ammo for Mark to use.
He’d use his Glock 19.Nervous about how his arm would do, he headed to the range to get off a few practice shots before Mark arrived.Fifteen minutes later, he packed his gun away in disgust.Before he’d hurt his arm and shoulder, he would have hit the bullseye every single time.Now he couldn’t hit it once.Sure, he’d come close the first few times, but close didn’t cut it.He massaged his upper arm, appalled by his performance and his quivering muscles.
What if the damn arm is never right again?No!It would heal, and he would get back to his team.He just had to work harder, double up on his physical therapy even if Heather didn’t approve.More time at the gun range, too, practicing until he had perfect aim again.
His name was paged, meaning Mark had arrived.Jack picked up his gun case and headed to the front.After the attendant checking Mark in reviewed the rules and procedures, and Mark signed the waiver that he understood and would obey, Jack took him to the range.
“You ever shoot a gun before?”he asked.
“No, but I’m deadly on games.Had lots of time to play them when I was sick.”
Jack set the items he’d rented on the shelf.“Okay, first thing, this is a real gun, not a game.”
“I know that, man.”
“No, I don’t think you do.”He studied the young man staring back at him with a smirk on his face.He was a little under six foot and thin.There was intelligence in the eyes so like Nichole’s, but he had an attitude problem.Nichole had said her brother had been babied most of his life because of the cancer, and he got that.He’d probably be hard pressed not to do the same if it was his kid, but it was time for Mark to grow up.
“We gonna shoot or what?”
“We’re going to or what, and if I think you’ve paid attention when I go over gun care and safety with you, then we’ll shoot.If I don’t think you’re taking this seriously, then we’ll call it a day.”
“Fine.”
“And lose the attitude.”Not giving Mark a chance to answer, Jack picked up the handgun.“This is a nine-millimeter, a good gun for a beginner.The first rule, the golden rule of guns, is to treat every gun as if it’s loaded.”
“Is it?”
“No, but always assume so.Never, ever point a gun at a person while you’re at the range, even if you’re positive it’s not loaded.That will get you banned for life, and rightly so.”
Jack went through his spiel, pleased that Mark’s eyes hadn’t glazed over by the time he finished.“Any questions?”
“Yeah.What kind of gun do you have?”
“A Glock nineteen.”
“That’s a bad gun.Can I shoot with it?”
“No one touches my guns but me.You ready to give this a try?”
“Been ready.”
