Page 3 of Austin (The K9 Files #29)

R ox deserved a medal for staying calm, controlled, and collected.

She was really proud of herself for managing to sit through this act of civility, gathered around the table, sharing awkward tidbits about their lives, eventually discussing the missing War Dog with Austin.

She had shared how she continued to listen for his barks in the nighttime, rode the ranch during daylight every chance she got—especially where the War Dog had last been seen.

Rox loved all the animals on the ranch and beyond, but she had her favorites. Cowboy was one of them. She sighed.

By the time Austin stood up and looked at his watch, he announced, “It’s late. I’ll head into town, grab my motel room, and, if you’re okay with it, I’ll be back out in the morning, and I’ll check out Cowboy’s last movements.”

“Can it wait that long?” Rox asked.

He turned to her. “You tell me. How long has the dog been missing?”

“A couple weeks,” she admitted. “I’m the one who called the War Department because I’m really worried about Cowboy. He’s a damn good dog, and, if you remember one thing, you should remember that I’m all about animals.”

“I do remember that,” he conceded, “and, from what I know of Cowboy, he should have decent survival training, so if he’s got an opportunity to fend for himself…”

“The thought that he might not have the opportunity to fend for himself is killing me,” Rox admitted, trying hard to keep her voice even, but knowing that she was failing.

He caught the break in her voice, looked over at her, and gave her a nod. “Let’s start now then,” he suggested, as he sat back down again. He frowned as he looked at his watch again, then told Amie, “I don’t want to interfere with your dinnertime, but this is important.”

She waved him off. “That you would even worry about that in my house,” she replied, “makes me very sad. And don’t you even think about staying in a motel or insulting me by not staying for dinner,” she snapped, glaring at him.

He stared at her for a long moment.

Rox realized the position he was in because Amie had always loved him. It had broken her heart when they had split.

Finally Austin gave her a nod. “Fine, thank you very much for your hospitality.”

His tone was so formal that Rox watched her mother’s gaze crinkle with a mix of hurt and pain.

Amie took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re welcome.” With that, she turned and marched herself into the kitchen.

Rox looked over at her father, staring at Austin with a puzzled smile. “Not too many men get away with that from Amie,” he noted. “You were always the only one.”

“I never tried to hurt anybody,” Austin stated, as he stared at Jake. “I was only doing as I was told.” With that and not even a look in Rox’s direction, he pulled out a notebook. “Now let’s get the details. Which one of you has been dealing with the War Dog?”

When Jake nodded toward Rox, she knew she would be up next.

Austin twisted so he could face her. His first direct look at her was like a shot right through her gut.

She took a deep breath and began, “I was working with Cowboy on a daily basis. He was with me when we were out trail riding with guests or just working the ranch. Either way we were usually with two other guys, our ranch hands, Carlos and Raul. We had six visitors at the time,” she added.

“They were all from Switzerland. On day three, we got up in the morning, and Cowboy was just gone.”

She bit her bottom lip, remembering the pain and the horror of realizing she would have to go back over all this again for Austin.

“I spent as much time as I could searching the ranch for Cowboy, and I also sent Raul off to look for him. We called for him. We set out dog food in random places, but the wildlife would eat it if Cowboy didn’t.

We notified the local veterinarian, in case someone found Cowboy and brought him in to be looked over.

We did everything possible that we thought of, but there was just no sign of him. ”

“Tracks? Bear, cougar, anything?”

“No.” She looked over at her father. “Nothing. There was nothing.”

Jake nodded. “When she says nothing, she means nothing.”

Austin just looked at her and nodded.

He surely remembered that the animals were an important part of her life, and she was only dealing with visitors because it brought in the money that they needed to keep everything else going.

Things had been much better in the last few years, and a part of her wanted to ditch the whole tourist ranch thing.

But it still brought in money, and, after COVID had taken a hit to their pocketbooks, she didn’t want to cause too much uproar and change things right now.

She wanted to keep at the trail riding, until they were sure that they were over the hump and didn’t need that side income.

Yet she also knew that it made no sense that Cowboy disappeared in the night.

Austin stared down at his notes, and Rox could see the wheels turning in his head.

He’d always been really good at that sort of thing.

Analyzing info, sorting out things, looking at all the possibilities, then coming up with something that nobody else ever thought about.

As she settled back, she realized she felt a sense of relief, a sense of calm, because, if she trusted anybody to find Cowboy, it was Austin.

And, damn, that pissed her off.

The conversation continued through dinner, less stilted now, but Austin didn’t get much more in the way of information.

He stayed and ate dinner, knowing full well that another fight would be coming, so he decided that he would defuse it right off the bat.

It would mean staying around Rox, but, since she was being civil and more or less staying to herself over the entire ordeal, it was the least he could do to ease the strain still evident at the table.

When he got up to take his dishes into the kitchen, Amie followed him. “Your room is ready.”

He stiffened ever-so-slightly, then looked at her and nodded. “As long as it’s not the same room.”

She smiled up at him. “It’s not the same room.”

He nodded. “Then that’s fine, and… thank you for your generosity.”

She sighed. “I don’t even know what went so wrong,” she muttered, “but it broke my heart when you left without a word.” He just nodded and didn’t say anything. “However, I do understand from Rox that she didn’t give you a chance.”

He just nodded again and waited, knowing that Amie hadn’t followed him into the kitchen, and she would have her say no matter what. He’d always respected her because she’d been fair and open and understanding of everything.

“I just want you to know that I don’t know what’s going on.

I don’t know what happened, and obviously I was devastated over the whole thing,” she shared, “but I’m not one to hold a grudge.

If there’s anything you two have to work out, this is a really good time to do it.

There,” she declared, with a sigh, as she dropped the tea towel onto the counter.

“Now that I’ve said my piece, I’ll leave it for now, and I won’t say any more. ”

He snorted.

She stopped, turned, and looked at him, caught the big grin on his face, and her face lit up with sheer joy.

“You have no idea how much I have missed you.” She walked over, gave him a great big hug again, and squeezed him really close.

“I’m so damn sorry for whatever the hell happened.

” And, with that, she headed back into the dining room, calling out, “Who wants dessert?”

Jake asked, “Why are you even asking, Mama?”

She laughed as she brought out a pie from the sideboard that Austin hadn’t even seen, realizing that it must be new. He sat back down at his same seat at the dining room table and glanced over at Rox. “Seems I’ll be staying here.”

Rox nodded. “She wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Maybe not, but it’s not what I intended.”

“Of course not,” she noted, a hint of mockery in her tone.

He studied her for a long moment and then just didn’t say any more.

Finally she nodded and admitted, “You’re handling this better than I am.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know what to expect, and the least we can do is be civil.”

“ Sure ,” she replied, with that edge of mockery again.

He contemplated what to say and then decided that the prudent response here was to stay quiet. He ate his pie and focused his thoughts on Cowboy because that was the one thing he could do.

“How the hell did you get assigned to do this, anyway?” Jake asked, staring at Austin, still puzzled.

Austin smiled. “I’m good friends with Kat, who has been doing a lot of the organizing and search and rescue of missing War Dogs for the War Department,” he replied smoothly.

“She knew that I was from this area and thought I would be a good fit for finding Cowboy. She also knew about my naval history and has been creating my prosthetic,” he shared, with a smile.

“History, prosthetic, what are you talking about?” Amie bounded to her feet and raced around to Austin’s side of the table.

“Oh my God, oh my God, are you hurt?” She checked his arms, his face, and then pulled his leg out from under the table hard enough that he winced when his knee cracked against the table leg.

“Amie,” Jake roared. “What are you doing?”

She took a deep breath and asked Austin, “Are you hurt?” Her arms were all over him, checking him out.

“No,” he replied, grabbing her hands to still them, “not anymore. I’ve recovered.”

She searched his face for a long moment and then let out a breath. “Damn good thing. Otherwise I would find out who hurt you and would make a special trip to see them,” she declared in a threatening tone.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and muttered, “I forgot how fearsome you are when you get riled.”

“You better believe it,” she snapped. “Now what’s this about a prosthetic?”

He shrugged. “My leg.”

She looked down at his jean-covered leg and asked forcefully, “How bad was it?”