“I just wanted to make sure you were fine,” he said, which was the truth. He really was worried about what might be happening with Piper. He’d seen no evidence that anything was going on, but Piper had been well and truly freaked out that something was wrong.

  “I am. Thank you. Have a good night,” she said and did a little wave.

  He returned the wave and started up the car but waited until she had snapped off the light and disappeared from view before he drove off and back to the campground where his RV was parked.

  “We’re home, Decoy,” he said and popped out of the pickup, Decoy quickly following him into the RV. He paused by the kitchen area to make sure Decoy still had fresh water and then pushed through to the back of the RV and his bedroom.

  The sheets and comforter were a tangle he straightened out before stripping and climbing back into bed. A chill spring breeze, tinged with the scent of pine and fir, swept through the open windows of the RV. The breeze was strong enough to rustle the branches of the evergreens and a nearby stand of aspens.

  He breathed in deeply, the scent calming. The soft whisper of the breeze and sounds of the branches soon lulled him to sleep again.

  But other sounds and smells soon intruded again. The roar and heat that had filled the air when the car bomb had gone off. The rain of concrete and glass that became a deluge as the building collapsed on him and the soldiers he had been training.

  The deafening silence that had followed as he lay there, his body aching in so many places he couldn’t tell where one hurt began and another ended. The slow awakening of sound: the ringing in his ears; the calls of searchers; the screams and cries of the wounded. Pain sluggishly came to life as well and became focused on his right shoulder, which howled in agony.

  He had been screaming. Calling out in the hopes of being found until he was hoarse and drained of energy. He’d passed out but woken to the bark of a dog. Decoy’s bark. A lick on his hand and soft fur beneath his palm.

  He woke up then, the sheets tangled all around him again. Decoy standing at the side of the bed, nudging his hand. Finding him once more. Saving him again as Shane moved over in the bed and patted the space beside him.

  Decoy jumped up as commanded and snuggled into Shane’s side, his presence and warmth comforting. Bringing him peace as he finally drifted off and slept.

  * * *

  THE GROUND BENEATH the tent was hard. Unyielding as he tried to get comfortable.

  The only thing that made the small space of the tent habitable was the breeze blowing in through the open tent flaps.

  Just a little bit more time, he told himself, only he suspected it would be longer than he would like.

  He had thought he could get into the woman’s home and search it right away, but so far he’d had no luck. Which meant he had to find somewhere more comfortable than the tent to stay in.

  He’d been watching the place and had seen her coming and going. Pretty thing. David had been a lucky man.

  Well, lucky except for dying on that mission, he thought.

  He didn’t want any problems with the woman, just what he was entitled to and David had taken from him and Buck. That’s all he wanted, but so far he was striking out.

  And now there was a man around. He’d seen him stop and help the woman after he’d tried to find a key to get into the house. The man had been there tonight as well, damn it. He’d seen him when he’d been hiding in the woods nearby, hoping to figure out how and when he’d be able to get into the home.

  Not anytime soon with the woman obviously worried something was happening and the man dropping by way too often.

  He’d have to wait it out. Give it a couple of days or more for them to relax so he could find an opening for getting into the house.

  David owed him and he intended to get what was his. Once he did, he’d have enough money to finally get on with his life.

  He just needed to get what David had given his wife. He was sure she had it and he intended to get it back no matter what it took.

  * * *

  THE LICK OF a tongue along the underside of her jaw woke Piper from a deep sleep.

  “G’morning, Chipper,” she said and rubbed the puppy’s head.

  The puppy jumped up on her midsection and continued licking Piper’s face. “I love you, too,” she said, but nature was calling. Probably as well for the puppy.

  She hopped from bed and quickly relieved herself, then clipped a leash on Chipper’s collar and walked her into the backyard, where the puppy decided to nose around the potted plants, exploring.

  Piper shivered in the chill of the morning air and wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold. “Chipper,” she said sharply, drawing the puppy’s attention, not that the puppy would understand.

  “Sit,” she said, and the pup obeyed. Smiling, she rubbed Chipper’s head, earning that corgi smile in her tan-and-white face. It dragged a smile to her lips and a laugh.

  She was surprised she could laugh after what had happened yesterday, but her spirit was lighter today. Not as worried, she thought as she glanced around her yard and saw that everything seemed normal.

  It was a beautiful mid-April morning. The sun had just risen, painting the meadow behind her home with shades of rosy-pink and yellow light that brightened the colors of the wildflowers.

  A tug on the leash drew her attention to Chipper, who had walked off the deck and was finally relieving herself on the nearby grass. She scratched and kicked up the ground in the area, marking her territory in typical canine scrape behavior.

  “Come, Chipper,” she said and swayed her palm in her direction, trying to reinforce the verbal command with the hand signal.

  The puppy sat, ears perked up, and Piper repeated the command.

  The dog immediately came to her side and Piper scooped her up, rewarding her with her attention. Once they were back inside, the sliding door locked behind them, she grabbed a treat from a canister on her kitchen counter and gave it to Chipper.

  Removing her leash and letting Chipper settle into a dog bed in the living room, Piper rushed into the shower to get ready for another day at the DCA.

  Another day with Shane, she thought as she washed.

  It was hard to deny that maybe part of the reason she wasn’t as worried was that she knew Shane was around.

  But Shane wasn’t going to be around forever. His training program was scheduled to last four weeks and then he’d be off for more intensive training with a search and rescue group. Not that the DCA couldn’t provide that training since they often did. Emma had been working with a local group, Mountaintop SAR, and Dillon Diaz, one of the members of the Jasper PD force, to improve their SAR techniques and keep abreast of any new methods.

  But Shane would be leaving, she reminded herself as she dressed, leashed Chipper and made the short walk from her home through the meadow to the DCA.

  Unlike the other day, she had no sense of being watched. Detected no odors that were out of the ordinary. If anything, it was just another beautiful day, filled with the fresh scents of pine and fir, the rich colors of the evergreens and aspens in the nearby stands of trees and up on the mountain, and the wildflowers.

  The ground was still moist with morning dew and wet the hem of her jeans as she walked. Luckily, she’d worn her waterproof boots to keep her feet dry and warm.

  As she arrived at the DCA, she caught sight of Tashya coming out of Emma’s home. Tashya was one of the young people whom Emma had fostered as a way to honor the Danielses, who had fostered her. Since Tashya’s return from vet tech school in Boise, the young woman had been living with Emma. A second later, Tashya’s boyfriend, Jason Wright, also came out of the house.

  “Good morning, Tashya. Jason,” she said, smiling at the handsome young man who had also been one of Emma’s fosters and was now a rookie police officer with the Jasper PD.

  “Good morning, Piper,” they both answered in unison, but Jason quickly added, “I just stopped by to have breakfast, but it’s time I headed to work.”

  He dropped a quick kiss on Tashya’s lips and rushed to his car, leaving Piper and Tashya to start their morning routine. They checked in on their rescued puppies and the dogs in the kennels. Tashya remained behind with them while Piper went to check in with Emma and Barbara to see if there was anything new for the day.

  As she walked out of the DCA offices with Emma, Shane pulled up in his red pickup. He parked and hopped out, Decoy following behind him.

  He sauntered to them, his walk that of a man confident in his own skin. His blue gaze warmed as it settled on her. In a morning-husky voice, he said, “Good morning, Piper. Emma.”

  “Morning,” she said and clasped her hands before her, unsettled by his attention.

  “Morning, Shane. How are you today?” Emma said, looking between the two of them as if to decipher what was happening.

  “I’m fine. Looking forward to today’s training session since I learned so much yesterday,” he said and once again glanced at her.

  “Good,” Emma quickly said. “I hope you won’t mind that Officer Callan will be joining you today.”

  “Not at all. Anything for local law enforcement,” he said and rubbed Decoy’s head as the dog sidled up to his leg and sat.

  “Then let’s get going,” Piper said and gestured in the direction of the training ring.

  * * *

  SHANE FOLLOWED PIPER into the ring, and they were soon repeating and reinforcing the commands they had worked on the day before. The “Sit” and “Look at me” commands, both verbal and hand signals.

  To his pleasure, Decoy immediately responded to the commands, earning his rewards and Shane’s affection as he complied.

  “Good boy, Decoy. Good boy,” he said, getting down on one knee to rub the dog’s head and a special spot that he’d discovered behind his floppy ears.

  The sound of a vehicle approaching drew their attention.

  A Jasper PD police car pulled up and two officers stepped out of the vehicle along with a black-and-white shepherd dog.

  Piper walked to the fence to greet them, and he trailed behind her.

  “Shane. Meet Officers Callan and Diaz,” Piper said.

  Shane shook their hands. “Shane Adler. Nice to meet you.”

  “Ava,” the pretty officer said. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun as taut as her smile, clearly uneasy.

  “Dillon,” the other officer said. They were of a like height and build and his hazel-green eyes were filled with laughter as he gestured to the dog at his side. “This is Bentley, my unofficial K-9.”

  “Dillon’s part of the local SAR group, Mountaintop,” Piper explained.

  “I understand you’re interested in SAR,” Dillon said.

  “I am,” Shane confirmed. “Decoy’s very good at finding things and I’m hoping we can use those skills to help.”

  “Just like we’re hoping that Ava can learn to work with Lacey,” Piper said, clearly hoping to draw the young woman into the conversation since she’d been standing there awkwardly during the exchange.

  “I hope so,” Ava said, but it was obvious she was less than happy with the situation.

  “It’ll be fine, Ava,” Dillon said, not that it relieved any of her anxiety.

  “If it works out Chief Walters will be happy and if it doesn’t, Captain Rutledge will be pleased, so I guess you’re right,” she said with a shrug of slim shoulders.

  Dillon laughed and shook his head. “You nailed that right, Ava. If you’ll excuse me, I have to run. Brady will be back later to pick you up,” he said and walked back to the police car.

  “Emma is going to bring Lacey over for you, Ava. She’s a wonderful German shepherd we’ve trained here at the DCA,” Piper explained. “You can work with her so she learns to listen to you while Shane works with Decoy and I train this little girl here,” she said and bent to scoop up Chipper.

  The ghost of a smile drifted across Ava’s face at the sight of the little puppy. She reached out and patted her head. “She’s a cutie. Is she one of the puppies Macon rescued?”

  “She is. We’ve been training them and thanks to the newspaper article, we’ve placed them with various families in town,” Piper explained.

  “Good to hear,” she said just as Emma came over with a German shepherd.

  “Officer Callan. Nice to see you,” Emma said and shook Ava’s hand.

  “Ava, please,” the young woman said.

  “Meet Lacey. She’s a two-year-old German shepherd. Friendly. Attentive. She’s good at finding things, so we hope that’ll be a help to you and Jasper PD,” Emma explained and rubbed Lacey’s long brown-and-tan fur.

  “I hope so,” Ava said, but it was clear to him, and probably also to Emma and Piper, that the young officer was less than pleased at being paired with Lacey.

  “Great,” Emma said and handed over Lacey’s leash to Ava. “I’ll leave you to it,” she said with a broad, welcoming smile, obviously hoping to put the woman at ease.

  “Let’s get to work and welcome, Ava,” Piper said. “We’re really looking forward to having you with us.”

  The young woman forced a smile but nodded and slipped under the fence railing to join them, Lacey at her side.

  In no time they were going through the first commands they’d taught Decoy, reinforcing those commands for his dog. Letting Ava bond with Lacey, who already understood the instructions and teaching them to Chipper, who was a little ball of energy and those Corgi smiles that could melt any heart.

  Like they were melting Ava’s together with the clear affection that Lacey immediately had for the young officer. By the time the other police officer showed up to take Ava back to police headquarters, a bond had clearly been developing between the officer and Lacey, and even with Piper. The officer seemed more relaxed around her.

  Unlike how he was around Piper.

  He seemed attuned to every little nuance about her. The way she’d rake her fingers through her hair to pull it off her face as she worked. The flush that would sometimes paint her cheeks when their gazes collided. The gentle but firm way she had with the animals as she reinforced the commands.

  When the officers left, it was just the two of them in the ring, but instead of continuing there, Piper motioned to the agility course behind the training area.

  “Ready to try something different?”

  He was sure her idea of different would present a challenge, but he liked that. He liked how she made him feel and as he walked with her to the course, he realized he’d follow her anywhere. He hadn’t planned on that, but some said God laughed at men who made plans.

  Still, this unplanned attraction was downright scary. Possibly even more scary than the dreams that came way too often.

  But the military had taught him not only how to plan but how to handle it when things went south, so he’d find a way to handle Piper and keep them both from getting hurt.

  Chapter Five

  They spent the last hours of the day working on the agility course, letting Decoy explore the various obstacles on the course. An A-frame ramp, seesaw and elevated dog walk.

  Piper was pleased with how easily Decoy handled those challenges and took Shane and Piper over to what were sometimes more difficult elements. A tunnel, chute and tire jump.

  Decoy hesitated at the entry to the tunnel, but then pushed through and actually seemed to enjoy it with her at one end encouraging and Shane at the other end with a treat and affection. The chute, with its long tail of nylon where the dog was basically running blind, frightened Decoy, putting an end to the training session.

  “Easy, boy,” Shane said and kneeled on one knee to calm Decoy. “Easy.”

  Decoy settled down, especially as Chipper edged close to the older dog, demanding attention, which Decoy gave, licking the pup and placing a paw on her head to keep her down.

  Piper laughed, enjoying the interaction between the two dogs. “They’re so good together.”

  “They are. And Chipper’s a fast learner,” Shane said and straightened.

  She was hit again by all that imposing masculinity, but also by the tenderness he showed toward the dogs and his restraint around Ava. The young officer had clearly been standoffish, hiding behind a wall she’d built around herself.

  Shane hadn’t pushed, as if knowing that would only make her build that wall higher. Maybe because he had his wall as well. She’d seen it at times when they were getting too close, both physically and emotionally.

  Like they were now.

  “Decoy’s a fast learner as well. I’m sure that by the time we’re done with training, Decoy will be able to handle all these obstacles,” Piper said, building her own wall so she could handle the fact that Shane and Decoy would one day be leaving.

  “I think it’s time to call it a day,” she said. The agility course had tested Decoy and being with Shane was testing her.

  “I think so, too,” he said and when he met her gaze, it was obvious he was feeling much the same.

  “See you tomorrow,” she said and rushed from the agility course, but she could feel his eyes on her as she entered the DCA offices.

  He was gone by the time she finished chatting with Barbara and Emma and started the walk home.

  Her mind was filled with satisfaction as she thought of the progress they’d made with all the dogs. With how Ava had finally let her in, just a little. Of Shane and how quickly he was learning.

  Shane. Shane. Shane.

  Stupid to think about it since, as she’d told him, he’d be leaving once his training was done.

  She drove him from her thoughts, telling herself to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary as she approached her home. But there was nothing. No tracks except those of her own coming and going through the meadow and the scents of pine and fir as a spring breeze swept across a nearby stand of trees.