Honor And Defend. Lynette Eason

glance at the man who drove in silent concentration. Just ten minutes ago, they’d picked up three puppies from Sophie Williams. Not only was Sophie a trainer for the Canyon County K-9 Training Center, she also worked with the Prison Pups program. A program Lee Earnshaw, the man behind the wheel, was intimately familiar with, since he’d been part of it up until two weeks ago when he’d been released from prison. Framed. Set up by a dirty cop, he’d lost two years of his life. He’d developed a new hardness and more lines around his eyes than when she’d last seen him.

      Two of the dogs they’d just picked up from the prison program were ready to start training to be assistance animals for Ellen’s clients—adults and children with disabilities. In addition to being a K-9 officer with the Desert Valley Police Department, she also ran the Desert Valley Canine Assistance program she’d started a few weeks before Lee was released. Already she and her four employees were making a difference in the lives of the people in their community, training the dogs to be service animals for the disabled.

      Thanks to Sophie’s generosity, Ellen hoped to have the two older puppies ready for the summer camp she planned to offer next month. The younger puppy needed more work—a job Lee would take on as soon as they got back to the facility. “You’re awfully deep in thought,” she said. “Are you all right?”

      Lee blinked and sighed. “I’m fine. I just wish we had some better leads on who might have killed Veronica.” Veronica Earnshaw, Lee’s sister, had been murdered a little over three months ago. Her killer still walked the streets, and Ellen could tell Lee’s frustration level was about to boil over.

      “I know. We’re working on it, Lee—we really are.”

      He scowled at her, then turned his attention back to the road. “That’s what everyone says, I wish I could see evidence of that.”

      Ellen grimaced. She wished she could, too, frankly. “An investigation like this takes time. It’s unfortunate, but it just does. At least you’re out of prison now, and that happened as a result of this investigation. Look at the positive side.”

      His lips quirked. “You would look at it that way.” The puppies in the travel carriers in the back barked and yipped. “I appreciate your giving me this chance to work with you and the pups. Not everyone believes I’m innocent, in spite of the press conference and Ken Bucks’s arrest.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      Former Desert Valley sheriff’s deputy, Ken Bucks had been arrested and, in order to secure a deal and a lighter sentence for himself, had confessed to framing Lee and sending him to prison two years ago for a robbery he didn’t commit. “I just really want to put it all behind me.”

      “I’m sure you do.” Probably easier said than done. This was Lee’s second day on the job. Two days ago, after much self-examination and encouragement from Sophie, she’d approached Lee about working for her, and he’d been reluctant. With their history, she couldn’t say she blamed him. They’d dated in high school. Until she’d allowed her mother to chase him away. Her jaw tightened. She didn’t want to go there.

      Instead, she remembered the flare of attraction she’d felt just from being in his presence again. Just from talking to him and looking into his eyes. Eyes she’d never been able to forget.

      Eyes that looked years older and much harder than she remembered. But she’d shoved aside her attraction—and her pride. After some fancy talking, he’d agreed to give working with her a trial run. She figured his love of animals and training had convinced him. She didn’t care what it was, she was just glad he’d conceded. He’d started yesterday with a tour of Ellen’s assistance facility, which connected to the Canyon County K-9 Training Center. “You know, I was thrilled when Veronica said she was fine with me leasing the unused portion of the K-9 training center.”

      “Veronica never was one to turn down money.”

      “Well, whatever her reasons, I’m just glad she let me.”

      Coming from a wealthy background, Ellen knew people looked at her differently, had various expectations of her, some good, some bad, most wrong. But at least she’d done something good with some of that wealth.

      She’d started the program with money from her trust fund. And then listened when Sophie Williams insisted that Lee Earnshaw would be the perfect person to hire to help train the dogs.

      Today she could see his eagerness to get started working with the new animals. “Sophie said when it came to working with the dogs at the Prison Pups program, you were the best she’d ever seen. She called you a dog whisperer.” After Veronica had been killed, Sophie had taken over the program that trained dogs and rookie K-9 officers. She often used inmates at the prison to help with the training of the puppies until they were old enough for the center. Lee had been one of those inmates.

      He gave a low laugh then frowned. “A dog whisperer?” He shrugged. “You know me. I’ve worked with animals all my life. I like them and they like me. The Prison Pups program was the only thing that kept me sane these past two years.”

      “I know. And I’m sorry.”

      “Yeah. I am, too, but it is what it is. I’m trying to move on.”

      “You’re not bitter?”

      He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “I’m bitter. I just fight it on a daily basis, hoping I’ll eventually win the battle.”

      “You will,” she said. “Whatever happened to your plans to become a vet?”

      He sighed and shrugged. “Life happened.”

      “But you graduated from college.”

      “Yes, with a degree in biology. I even started on graduate school, then everything kind of went south with Dad and I had to help him pay bills. Breeding and training dogs was the way to do that.”

      “Do you have plans to finish school?”

      “Yes. One day. Ken Bucks kind of messed that up pretty good. And then Veronica was murdered...”

      Ellen heard the unspoken end of the sentence—and her killer is still out there.

      She couldn’t help studying his features. Brown hair with a brand-new cut, brown eyes that at times looked hard and cold but were always alive and warm when he worked with the animals His strong jaw held a five-o’clock shadow. She used to kiss that jaw on a regular basis. She cleared her throat and tried to shake her memories, but they just wouldn’t leave her alone. Memories of being his girlfriend, the vicious conflict with her mother. And then Lee had walked away from it all.

      Now she was back in town and he was out of prison and she was working in Desert Valley. For the time being. Thanks to her mother’s stipulation that she and the other rookies had to stay in Desert Valley until Veronica’s murder was solved or she would withdraw the funding she’d given the department. Funding the department couldn’t afford to lose. Ellen planned to have a few words about that with her mother when she woke from the coma she’d been in for the past three months. Someone had broken in to her home and attacked her, almost killing her. “I can understand your frustrations, Lee. I feel the same way about my mother’s attacker.” Ellen desperately wanted to find out who did it.

      “I know, it’s just—”

      The back windshield shattered and Ellen gave a low scream of surprise. Lee jerked the wheel to the right. “Get down!” Outside sounds rushed through the missing window. Someone was shooting at them!

      Ellen ignored his order and turned in her seat to look out the back. “He’s coming up on your five o’clock. Coming in for another shot.” It was the perfect place for an ambush. On a back road that didn’t see much traffic just outside a small town.

      Ellen’s tension mounted and she was extremely glad she’d left Carly, her golden retriever K-9 partner, at the training center for this trip. It was supposed to take no more than two hours all in. An hour to the prison and an hour back. And while Lee had been as tense as she’d ever seen him at