Second Chance Soldier. Linda O. Johnston

nodded, then called to Evan, “We’d like to discuss a possible job offer with you.” She walked toward him and added, “Please shut the pups into their enclosure, then let’s go into the house and discuss it, okay?”

      “Okay,” he agreed—and Amber knew her responding smile was even larger than her mother’s.

      Unsurprisingly, after more commands, followed by petting, verbal rewards and a few more tosses of toys, Evan got the three young pups to sit and stay while he locked the chain-link fence gate behind him, as if the dogs lived to obey him. Amber could only grin about that.

      But surprisingly, rather than join them directly, Evan held back as they walked toward the house. Amber turned often to look at him, admiring the wide smile on his angular face that was leveled only on the two canines still with him, Lola and Bear.

      Maybe it was a good thing he was so wrapped up in communicating with the dogs...for now. Once they reached the house, only the humans would be speaking.

      “I’m really surprised,” Sonya whispered from beside her. “I’d figured we’d find the right choice thanks to one of your dad’s cop contacts.”

      All the others who’d come to try out for this job had either been sent by nearby police departments after Amber had contacted them, or were recommended as skilled trainers by the law-enforcement associations her father had joined because they had K-9 handler members.

      But none had worked out. And this guy, from what Amber had seen online, had appeared potentially perfect.

      She knew from his résumé and the references he’d provided that Evan Colluro was in his early thirties, a couple of years older than her. His credentials were impressive: seven years in the military, the last three working in a K-9 unit. He had earned several commendations and had left the military just over a year ago after an injury.

      “Hey, I know you’re not an internet fan,” Amber replied softly, smiling as she looked down at her mom. “But sometimes people even meet their true loves thanks to websites. It’s worth a shot at trying to find the right employee there.”

      Amber winced at her own words. She had badly misstated her thought. A shot? How stupid of her to use that term.

      But, of course, she thought about gunshots constantly since the morning two months earlier when her mother had called to tell her that her dad had been killed.

      She hazarded another glance at her mom, who was shorter than Amber and somewhat heavier. Her wavy auburn hair—which, unlike Amber’s, was not its natural color—blew in the breeze.

      Amber had worried about her mother, too, before she’d returned home, since her dad had been killed for no apparent reason on the ranch’s grounds. She still worried about her but had seen nothing threatening since she’d gotten back. And the local cops seemed to think the killer could have been a former student, since her dad wasn’t always as nice to the people he taught as he was to the dogs, or maybe it was a robbery gone wrong.

      “So how are you going to handle this offer?” Sonya asked, fortunately not latching onto how Amber had misspoken.

      “We’ve discussed some terms in emails,” she told her mother, focusing again on what she needed to. “He must be okay with that part, at least, since he’s here.” But however she phrased the actual offer, she wanted to make sure the guy liked it. They needed him to accept it.

      Of course, despite that impressive demonstration, no one could ever be as good at training as her father had been. No one could ever fill his shoes. He had worked alone, with no assistants, and had been wonderful at it. But Dad was gone. Dead.

      Murdered.

      By...who?

      The K-9 Ranch was still here. And thanks to her dad’s loner attitude, there was no one skilled enough to take over where he had so abruptly, and terribly, left off.

      Amber had no intention of closing the ranch and ceasing the dog training that had been so important to the whole family. Unfortunately, she’d never been taught the necessary skills. She could only hope that Evan Colluro was the right person to take over as their first new trainer, to make sure that the Chance K-9 Ranch survived. “We’ll see.”

      They reached the base of the porch and she turned to face the potential employee, who was only a few steps behind them. She tried to look him in the eye, but though he seemed at first to mirror her smile, he quickly lowered his gaze back down to the dogs.

      Interesting.

      Was this really going to be a wise decision?

      * * *

      Evan knew he should be more outgoing, talk about all his experience and what he could do here, rather than walking behind the two women as if he only wanted to be in contact with the dogs. Which, in some ways, he did.

      But he ought to make small talk, thank this gorgeous and sexy woman who’d communicated with him online and invited him here to possibly teach dogs and other trainers and, most important, to also train police K-9s and their handlers, and perhaps eventually service or therapy dogs, too. He’d have some learning to do himself to accomplish it all, but it was still his ideal situation.

      He at least thought his audition had gone well.

      Even so, was this a bad idea?

      He’d been wondering that before, particularly as he’d driven here from Los Angeles. That was where he’d hung out over the last months, to be near its veterans’ facilities, as well as police K-9 units and instructive handlers. He’d taken some classes himself, and eventually landed jobs teaching others how to train dogs.

      But he hadn’t felt comfortable there.

      Well, here he was. This sounded like the perfect long-term job for him—working with dogs and some human trainees, way off the usual grid of stress and having too many people around.

      And Bear was with him. Dear Bear. They’d saved each other’s lives in more ways than one...

      The two women reached the front porch of the main house on this vast piece of property. They stopped, turning to look at him.

      “Come on in,” Amber said. Before, when he first introduced himself, he had looked her straight in the face only long enough to see how pretty she was, with smooth skin and full lips, and wavy hair that was a pretty reddish color. He’d also noted how intense her deep brown eyes were as they regarded him. That was why he’d quickly looked away.

      He’d observed the rest of her then: Amber was curvaceous in her casual clothes.

      Her mother, Sonya, who resembled her, was an older, shorter version. Again without looking her straight in the face, Evan had observed her. He knew she had recently lost her husband, had suffered pain.

      He identified with that, though the circumstances were very different.

      Now Amber had invited him into their house so they could chat for a while. Discuss a possible job offer.

      And maybe interrogate him.

      Well, she would be his boss if all went well. He had to deal with it. Once, he would have considered how to lure someone as gorgeous as her off to bed. Now, he had to decide only if he could put up with her giving him orders.

      “Fine,” he said. “Is it okay if Bear joins us?”

      The amazing shepherd, at his side, heard his name and snuggled against Evan’s leg. Evan couldn’t help smiling down at the wonderful dog.

      “Sure. I’ll bring Lola in, too.”

      Evan stopped briefly behind the women as they walked up the tiled stairs to the wide porch at the front of the ranch house. It was a two-story home, its facade made of long slats that looked like redwood, with decorative lighter wood arching over the door and around the windows at either side and on the second floor, as well as framing the entrance. The sloping roof was covered with contrasting black shingles. In all, it was a nice place and fit the rural, sparsely populated