Harris didn’t even flinch. “I have a family.”
Then he closed the door in their faces.
Chapter Twelve
It’s hard to hold it against him.” Lyn climbed back into the car.
Atlas sat up from the back seat and touched her cheek with his cool nose. She reached up to give him a scratch on the side of his head and he leaned into her hand.
David finished buckling himself in and started up the car. “You think so?”
He’d been silent on the walk back to the car. His jaw set but otherwise his features were neutral. Blank, almost. Only to her, he could never be a blank, forgettable face.
“Well, family is a reason a lot of people do a lot of things, even things that aren’t exactly the right thing.” If someone had asked her a few years ago if she’d ever request a favor of her stepfather, she’d have ripped their head off and told them where they could shove it and the very thought of asking. She’d been determined to show him she had the intellect, talent, and determination to make it on her own in a field he’d dismissed as unimportant. But here she was, because she’d swallowed her pride and decided the chance to work with Atlas was worth her stepfather’s patronizing oversight. It’d been a compromise of her principles. She wasn’t sure what David would’ve thought of her choice but chances were he’d made difficult choices of his own.
David didn’t respond to her statement, though. Instead, he was looking straight ahead and guiding the car onto the road.
She sighed. So did Atlas. It would be a really long drive back up to Pennsylvania if David stayed withdrawn. On the other hand, she could understand his wanting to be left to his own thoughts. She could imagine—and it wouldn’t be even close to the reality—what he might be thinking about the dangers his friend had faced without the very men he was supposed to call his teammates guarding his back. If everything around you was likely to kill you, having the team you’re with willing to leave you exposed had to have been terrifying.
Only some didn’t show fear, not in the way she or other people might be expecting to see it. Everything they presented to the world was very possibly different from what was actually going on inside their heads. David was hard to read in general and in this instance completely shut down. He might be angry or upset, sad or scared. But there wasn’t much body language for her to go by. All she had was Atlas and the big dog didn’t seem concerned by David at all as the dog leaned into her. She rubbed her forehead with her right hand since Atlas still had a monopoly on her left.
Humans were complicated. It was why she preferred working with dogs.
“Atlas, af.” David gave the command as he pulled onto the main highway. Atlas looked at him for a long moment, then turned and settled down to lay across the back seat. The delay in obeying commands was still there, but it was getting shorter. At least in response to David.
She turned her head as she mentally did a little happy dance. Baby steps with Atlas. Every improvement, however subtle, was worth celebrating.
Lyn continued to look out the windows and watch the world zip by. No need to reinforce the command for Atlas since the dog had obeyed. In fact, if she’d tried it would’ve undermined David’s authority anyway. Besides, she agreed Atlas shouldn’t be standing up between them on the higher speed roadways. If something happened, the big dog would fly right up into the front seat with them or even possibly through the windshield. Technically, they should have him secured in the back and not just free to lay back there.
“I should consider getting an SUV with one of those cargo nets to partition off the back for dog transportation.” Thinking out loud wasn’t a bad thing. Hopefully.
“Huh?” David didn’t turn to look at her but his response was louder than expected.
“Well, this probably won’t be the last time I need to transport a dog in my career. I should provide a good example. Maybe be ready to make recommendations to dog owners.” Made sense to her. It’d take more saving, though, and a couple of good clients.
“Oh.” David nodded. “I was worried there for a minute.”
She blinked. “Why?”
There was a hesitation. “Well, you know Atlas needs to go back to Lackland. Even if he’s retiring, there’s a process for adoption and applicants are considered in a specific order.”
“Oh.” She’d read about it in her research. “Yeah, I know. Usually handlers or their families have priority, right?”
Another nod.
“But…” She bit down on what she was going to say next.
“Calhoun doesn’t have family. At least no one in a position to take Atlas.” David addressed the difficult topic anyway. She admired his ability to take things head on. ’Course, she liked a lot of things about him. Too many.
“So who would be next in line?”