Second Chance Soldier. Linda O. Johnston
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old issues behind, plant himself firmly in this new life with all its promise.
“See you at six,” he said to her, then noticed a man walking up to the small house next to his along this row. He nodded toward him. “Who’s that?” he asked.
Both Sonya and Amber turned. “Oh, that’s our ranch hand, Orrin Daker,” Sonya said. “Come on. We’ll introduce you to him.”
Another new acquaintance? The idea felt unsettling to Evan, yet meeting someone else he should know as long as he lived here would be another step into his new existence.
“Thanks.” With Bear at his side, he followed the two women and their dog past the nearest houses to where Orrin, who’d apparently seen them, waited.
“Hi, Orrin,” Sonya said. “I’d like you to meet our new dog trainer, Evan Colluro. Evan, this is Orrin.”
“Hi, man,” Orrin said. Probably in his early twenties, the guy had a tall head of light brown hair and a matching beard and mustache. He wore a red Chance, California, T-shirt over scruffy-looking jeans. He stared—no, glared—at Evan as if he was an interloper out to steal his job and his home.
Which made Evan highly uncomfortable, yet he stared right back at the guy despite the effort it took—at least for a few seconds.
“Hi. Good to meet you. Make sure you let me know what you’re up to if you think it’ll affect my training here, and I’ll do the same with you.”
“Yeah. Right.” Orrin then slipped into his house.
“He’s really a nice guy,” Amber said unconvincingly. “He does a good job for us, and my dad even used him sometimes when he was all dressed up in a protective outfit as the guy the K-9s he was training attacked. His family has lived in Chance forever but his being right here on the ranch makes it easier for us to let him know what we need to have done.”
“Makes sense,” Evan said. It also made sense, judging only by this first, uncomfortable meeting, that they might want to fire the guy and get someone more personable and accommodating.
Did Orrin really like being an agitator during training sessions, or did he feel forced into it?
Well, Evan would find out. He was the newcomer. He was the one with the most to learn—and, hopefully, would have the most to give—in his new position.
Amber was standing beside her mother, and appeared impatient as she looked at him.
“Like I said, see you at six at your house,” Evan told her, hoping this entire situation wasn’t a big mistake.
Bear sidled up to him as if feeling his unease and wanting to make it go away. He hadn’t been trained as a service or therapy dog, but his effect on Evan these days was similar.
“Come, boy,” Evan said as the women and Lola walked off in the direction of their home. He began to follow at a discreet distance. He needed to move his car along the driveway extension they’d shown him behind the houses and park behind his new place. Then he could unload the clothing and few other items he had brought along.
He was about to start his new life—and that night, while he was with Amber, he would find a way to ensure he get along with her—and also turn off any totally inappropriate attraction he felt toward her.
His job here was to work with trainers...and dogs.
* * *
It was nearly six o’clock. Amber waited outside in the cool, brisk air beside her silver SUV, which she’d retrieved from the garage at the rear. It was now parked at the front of the driveway, near her house, right beside the main dog-training area, as she watched for Evan to appear. He had apparently moved his car since it had previously been parked right here. She assumed it was behind his new quarters. Good. For now, it should stay there.
This would be an interesting evening. For one thing, her new employee had invited her to join him for dinner. Her mother, too, of course, although that wasn’t now the situation.
Earlier, after returning from showing Evan his house, she had left her mother watching her favorite afternoon talk show on TV, and, in her own bedroom, used her laptop to do some online research about PTSD to see what she might learn about Evan.
From what she read, PTSD could involve quite a few different symptoms, from ongoing nightmares and depression and even suicide wishes, to just wanting to avoid people, including family members—and strangers.
But he’d invited his new employers to join him in a strange environment for dinner. Though Amber didn’t know what went on in Evan’s mind, his avoiding eye contact a lot indicated he wasn’t much for socializing.
That suggested he really wanted to work here. Maybe it was because he’d be dealing with dogs even more than people. That was fine with her.
Her mother had driven her own car to go meet Nathan a short while ago. That was good. He hadn’t come to the house to pick her up—which would have appeared more like a date, highly inappropriate considering how recently they’d lost her dad.
Just before Amber got ready to leave, she’d brought the pups in training inside the home, along with Lola. She enclosed the pups in the family room that her dad had outfitted to accommodate young dogs, since her mother would be gone, too. It contained crates and dog beds, and a washable linoleum floor. Fortunately, the dogs were all trained well enough already to be loose and not closed into crates for now.
She spotted Evan striding up the walkway in front of the employees’ houses. He cleaned up well, she thought as he drew closer. His interview and demo outfit had been nice but fairly casual. Now he had on a beige button-down shirt tucked into brown slacks, though he still wore athletic shoes.
She, in turn, had donned a blouse and midlength skirt, both in pale green. Her shoes were casual pumps with low heels.
They were both dressed as if this was, in fact, a date. Well, she’d make sure he remembered, as the evening progressed, that she was his employer.
“Hi,” she said as he approached. As they’d decided earlier, he hadn’t brought Bear, and she had left Lola in the house with the pups. That would give them more leeway about the restaurant they chose. She had a pretty good idea where to suggest. First, though, she asked in jest, in an attempt to ease any tension Evan might feel about spending this evening alone with his new boss, “What? A dog trainer without his dog?”
She liked his quick smile and shrug. “And a dog-ranch owner without her dog?”
She laughed. “Come on. I’ll drive us to town.” She motioned toward the passenger side of her car. An expression she couldn’t quite read passed over his face but he said nothing. Surely he wasn’t some male chauvinist who expected to drive, even under these circumstances, when she knew the town a lot better than he did?
Or...was that somehow related to his PTSD? Had he somehow been injured in a car?
She wasn’t about to ask.
“I intended to meet you here first to make sure we were still on for tonight, then go get my car,” he said.
“No need.” She motioned for him to get into the passenger’s side, and with only another second’s hesitation, he complied.
Amber started the engine and headed down the country road toward town, only a ten-minute journey. They soon passed the resort owned by Nathan, and Amber wondered how things were going with her mother’s non-date with him.
Evan remained silent. “How’s Bear doing?” Amber finally asked, determined to cast aside thoughts of her mom.
“Fine. I left him in the kitchen, though he’s a good boy and should do fine with the run of the house in the future.”
“I’ll bet.” She searched her mind for another