Laura Scott - Battle Tested

Aiden lifted his head, his gaze darting anxiously around the room, and instantly zeroing in on Isaac and Tango standing near the door. “Who is he?” Aiden asked harshly, his expression contorted in a mask of anger. “Why is he here?”

Her heart sank as she realized how Aiden had struggled in her absence. Eagle came out of the kitchen to greet her, but with her hands full, she couldn’t give her canine protector the attention he deserved.

She stayed focused on Aiden. “This is Captain Isaac Goddard, and he helped me bring the puppies home. Maybe you could hold them while I find a box to put them in?”

Aiden’s gaze remained fixed on Isaac for a long moment before he finally noticed the squirming animals in her arms. Her brother’s expression softened and he rose to his feet.

“Where did you find them?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“In the bushes near Webster and Viking,” Isaac said from the doorway. “Four pups. I’m sad to say their mother seems to be missing. We’re hoping she’s getting care at the vet.”

She wished Isaac would have remained silent, concerned that Aiden would become upset again from simply hearing his deep voice, but she needn’t have worried. Aiden’s gaze locked on the puppies and he came over to take one of them from her hands, bringing him up to his cheek.

“They’re so soft,” Aiden whispered. He met her gaze. “There’s really four of them?”

“Yes.” She handed him the second pup and then stepped back, subtly swiping at her damp eyes. The way her brother responded so positively to the puppies was more than she could have hoped for. “I’ll find a box.”

“There’s one full of old movies next to my bed,” Aiden said. “Just dump them on the floor.”

She took a moment to give Eagle a welcoming rub between the ears before hurrying into Aiden’s bedroom to empty the box of movies. When she returned, she was shocked to see that Isaac had come farther into the room and was standing less than three feet from Aiden.

What was he thinking? Shouldn’t he have stayed near the door? What if Aiden freaked out again?

“Found it,” she said as she rejoined them. Isaac set his two puppies in the box first, then her brother did the same. When she realized she’d been holding her breath, she let it out in a soundless sigh.

Tango and Eagle sniffed at each other curiously, but both dogs were trained well enough not to growl. Tango in particular was a calm, sensitive dog, the kind she’d hoped to get for Aiden one day.

“The pups might be hungry.” Aiden’s expression was full of concern.

“You’re right,” Isaac said in a low, nonthreatening tone. “They’ll need warm milk for starters, but I’m not sure if cow milk is good for them. Vanessa, why don’t you call the training center to see what you’ll need to do in order to care for the puppies?”

“Good idea.” She picked up her bag and dug out her phone. The call to the training center was immediately picked up by Master Sergeant Westley James, the training center operations director.

“This is Lieutenant Vanessa Gomez. Captain Isaac Goddard and I found four puppies, without any sign of the mother. We’re not sure what breed they are, maybe a cross between a Lab and a rottweiler. We’d like to foster them, if you’ll allow it.”

“Found them where?”

“Less than a block from my house on Webster.” She glanced at Isaac, then added, “Captain Goddard is going to head out to find the mother, see if she’s somewhere close by. In the meantime, would you like us to bring the puppies into the vet?”

“That would be good. I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay, but if you don’t mind, Aiden would really like to help foster the puppies.” She knew Westley was aware of Aiden’s need for a therapy dog and how miserably her brother had failed with Ruby. “It would be a great experience for us. Please? Just tell us what you’d like us to do.”

There was a pause then a sigh. “Okay, you and Aiden can foster them for now. But I’m warning you, it’s a time-consuming process. Any idea how old the puppies are?”

“We’re not sure,” she admitted. “But they’re bigger than newborns. Maybe a few weeks?”

“I hope you’re right, because we have a better chance of success if they’re at least three to four weeks old. Once we determine how old they are, you can get the appropriate commercially prepared puppy formula and instructions on how to start solid foods, along with how to housebreak them.”

“We can do that. Thank you.” The wave of relief was overwhelming. She disconnected the call and smiled at Aiden. “Westley gave us permission to foster, but warned me it’s a lot of work.”

“I don’t mind.” Aiden held the cardboard box in his arms as if he wasn’t ever going to let it go, the expression on his face full of wonder and joy.

“Great. Then we’ve been ordered to bring them to the vet, and they’ll provide everything we need.”

“Okay.” To her surprise, Aiden looked at Isaac. “We should probably take my sister’s car, right?”

“Good idea.”

Vanessa blinked the sting of tears away at Aiden’s tentative acceptance of Isaac. Already they were bonded by the puppies and with that as a foundation, it was possible that Isaac’s willingness to talk to Aiden would also help him learn better coping strategies.

Being attacked by Boyd Sullivan may have been the worst part of her day, but finding the puppies turned out to be the absolute best thing to have happened.

There was no doubt in her mind that these four tiny balls of fur were exactly what Aiden needed to help battle his illness.

And she’d do anything in her power to see her tormented brother relax and smile again.

Anything.

Isaac easily saw himself in Aiden’s demeanor, from the tense anxiety emanating from the young man’s very being, to the fear and anger darkening his brown eyes, replicas of his older sister’s.

The kid was young, barely twenty from his estimation, and suddenly Isaac wished that the minimum age to enter the military was older than a mere eighteen.

Not that he wasn’t proud to serve his country, because he was. After all, he’d gone straight into the Air Force Academy in Colorado, and from there to flight school to become an Air Force combat pilot. By the time he’d served his first tour overseas, he’d been twenty-three.

Now that he was thirty, his first tour seemed a lifetime ago.

There was no way to prepare for being deployed, although the various branches of the military did their best. Logically, he knew it wasn’t as if every airman, soldier, marine or seaman experienced combat, but still, the exposure to violence certainly took its toll.

Which was why he still hadn’t signed the paperwork to reenlist. Returning to the air as a pilot wasn’t an option now. He’d never risk other lives by flying with PTSD. Which left a huge question mark on his future.

But that was not a problem to solve tonight.

As they stepped outside to Vanessa’s car, he did a quick sweep of the neighborhood, looking for any sign of the puppies’ mother. Tango helped, but he came up empty-handed.

He climbed into the car beside Vanessa, and she drove directly to the veterinary clinic. The vet, Captain Kyle Roark, greeted them when they arrived.

“Westley called me about the puppies. I think I may have the injured mother inside. Someone turned her in a few hours ago. She suffered a rather serious animal bite that required surgery to repair. I think she’ll be fine, but I’ll need to watch her closely for the next few days for signs of infection.”

“Is she one of the training dogs?” Isaac asked.

Kyle shook his head. “No microchip. But I’m concerned there may be a link between this dog and the person who let the others go.”