Her phone rang. It was her stepfather.
Of course. Because he had a sixth sense for when she was implementing positive changes in her life. And would call—not to support or encourage either.
“Jones speaking.”
“You have caller ID. You know it’s me.” Her stepfather sounded irritated.
“Our last phone conversation didn’t start off on the best of notes so I thought I’d try answering the call in a different way.” There. Perfectly reasonable. And she thought she’d managed a positive tone too. Sort of.
Okay, at least neutral. She didn’t do fake cheer and he’d have recognized it for what it was anyway.
“You are late on your status reports.” He sounded distracted.
At least he hadn’t insisted she call him “Father” before he’d gotten to his point.
“We took Atlas on an extended behavioral training trip, socializing him in multiple public environments with varying crowd types.” Truth was always the best way to start these things, but it was so much easier to leave out the bits she didn’t want to share via an e-mailed status report as opposed to phone conversation. Spoken out loud, she lost some of her confidence with her stepfather, always.
“An extended trip takes more than a day?” And there it was, the doubt and inevitable censure in his voice.
“Multiple.” She would not waver on this. “We stopped at various places both with suburban surroundings and crowded city areas. Indoor and outdoor. It’s good to see what he’s still sensitive to and what kinds of crowds he’ll need further exposure to in order to get him back to his former level of training.”
There was a long silence.
“I see.” And the hesitation this time—if she could believe it—was doubt on his part. “I’ll admit I haven’t paid this close attention to the military service dog training program in the past. I’ve only recently become responsible for public perception on high-profile veterans within the last several years. The majority have been of the human persuasion.”
Somehow she was surprised, actually. Her stepfather was detail-oriented if nothing else, and she assumed he’d keep himself thoroughly informed on the particulars of any project. Most especially one in which her performance, or that of any other contractor, could and would reflect on him. After all, he’d provided the extra support she’d needed to get this contract in the first place. Otherwise, David Cruz and his partners made much more sense in working with a high-profile military service dog regardless of background.
Of course she’d made her arguments but to be honest, she’d understood her chances were slim initially. It’d been why she’d swallowed her pride and coordinated with her stepfather in the first place. She’d completely expected to be in the red with her stepfather for something close to forever for this particular support from him. His hesitation was unexpected.
She pushed her advantage. “Atlas is a multi-purpose trained dog. He’s not just explosives detection or search or drug detection. He’s got to be flexible and adaptable to step up to anything the team needs him to do. His missions could take him through crowded populaces as much as remote locations so he needs to be able to move through those and anything in between while still being able to focus on the task he’s been given. I want to be thorough about his rehabilitation.”
“Of course.” Her stepfather had recovered apparently and managed to get irritable in the bargain. “I’m aware of the value this asset represents. The steps required to return him to full working status, however, seem to be unorthodox.”
She counted to five, figuring she didn’t have until ten to get back on firm footing with him. “An unusual approach has proved effective, as my previous status reports demonstrated. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“He’s made progress.” Not complete, but he’d allow at least that much.
“Rehabilitation has renewed Atlas’s drive in a way simple retraining wouldn’t. He’s eager to work again and almost one hundred percent responsive.” Her pride for Atlas’s progress seeped into her tone. “David Cruz has also been very generous in sharing his expertise in training technique. I’ve found the information he’s shared valuable as well.”
In a whole lot of ways.
“According to his records, David Cruz is a creditable trainer. He wasn’t directly assigned to a military service dog while he was on active duty, though. I find it interesting that he’s chosen this profession now.” Her stepfather would have access to David’s service record. Somehow that was downright predictable.
Come to think of it, though, she didn’t know exactly why David had come to Hope’s Crossing Kennels. Funny. Each time he’d shared with her, she’d thought she’d learned so much about him. And then a moment like this demonstrated how much of his background was completely undiscovered.