Page 59 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHASE

“Today we have not one, not two, but three very special guests with us.” The chirpy voice of Kyle’s teacher, Mrs. Elliott, has me shifting my weight from one foot to another. I brush my palm over the side of my leg, forcing my lungs to open, and suck in so much-needed air.

It’s just a group of kids, I chastise myself.

Shadow glances up at me, her body brushing against my leg in silent comfort.

I run my fingers through her fur, letting the motion soothe me.

Teddy, on the other hand, hasn’t stopped wagging his tail and sniffing around.

He’s clearly overstimulated, but before I get a chance to reconsider my actions, Mrs. Elliott glances at me.

“Let’s give a warm welcome to Lieutenant Chase Williams, his partner, Shadow, and their newest recruit, who’s training to be a service dog, Teddy.”

“I guess it’s now or never,” I mutter as the claps come from inside the classroom. “Let’s go.”

I push the door open wider, and both dogs start walking in step with me.

Soft cheers and excited sounds fill the room as we enter, and when I look up, I find more than a dozen pairs of eyes locked on me.

My gaze immediately darts to Kyle, who’s sitting in the middle of the room, his smile blinding when he spots us.

Seeing the sheer joy on his face eases some of that worry as I come to a stop in front of the class.

Teddy spots him immediately and tugs at the leash, but I tighten my hold on him. “Teddy, sit.”

Teddy glances at me before his gaze moves to Kyle and then back at me.

“Sit,” I repeat, and he finally plops his ass on the ground.

I slide my hand into my treat bag and pull out a cookie, handing it to him, which earns us more oohs and aahs from the kids.

Teddy finally notices the other kids and their attention on him, which makes him sit a little straighter—little showoff.

Shadow’s gaze, on the other hand, is razor sharp, her body still as it always is when she’s wearing her working harness.

“Getting straight to it?” The teacher chuckles, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“I’m afraid he’s just young and mischievous.”

“Oh, I know all about that.” The teacher tilts her head at me with a smile. “The class is yours, Lieutenant.”

I nod to the older woman and clear my throat. “Thank you.”

Shifting my attention back to the class, I find all the little eyes zeroing in on me. Or, well, better said, the dogs who are sitting by my side.

Taking in a long breath, I clear my throat.

“My name is Chase, and these are Shadow and Teddy,” I introduce slowly, my hands shaking slightly as I sign, trying hard to spell out every letter correctly.

I can feel all the kids’ attention on me, their curious glances making my neck prickle, but I try to push back my discomfort and focus on one thing.

Kyle.

His familiar blue eyes are locked on me, they’re wide, mouth open in surprise as he watches me sign. My fingers feel sweaty, movements stiff. Maybe his surprise is because I’m failing miserably, and he can’t understand a word of it.

Why did I think this would be a good idea again?

I’ve been learning ASL through videos and sign cards I bought online for the last few weeks.

So far, I’ve learned the alphabet and some simple signs, but since Kyle asked me to come, I’ve been trying to practice in front of the mirror.

However, it’s one thing to do it at home, all alone, than in front of people.

Even if those people are just a group of seven-year-old kids, they’re Kyle’s classmates, his friends. I don’t want to disappoint him.

“Shadow is a retired K9, and Teddy is a young rescue. Kyle just adopted him from the shelter where I work, and we’re training him to be his hearing dog.”

“A hearing dog,” a boy in the last row scoffs. “All dogs can hear.”

My eyes narrow in irritation at the boy. Not at his question, but the dismissive tone he used.

“Not all dogs can hear or see. Same as people. Some people and dogs are born that way, and others can become that way with age or after an injury. I’ve lost most of my hearing in my right ear a few years ago.”

I watch his eyes go wide, his gaze darting to my scars.

“Is it because of what happened to your face?” somebody asks, drawing my attention from the rude boy.

“Yes. I was close to an explosion, which gave me these scars and damaged my hearing. However, the term hearing dog is used for the dogs that help deaf or hard-of-hearing people interpret sounds. Let’s say your phone rings, or the fire alarm goes off, they hear the sound, recognize what kind of sound it is, and they let you know where you need to go. ”

“Wow, that’s so cool. So that’s what you do? Train hearing dogs?”

“It is. Dogs are the best.” I glance to the girl on my left. “And kind of?—”

“Why do dogs work?” another boy asks, his brows furrowing.

“Some dog breeds enjoy working; it gives them purpose.”

The boy shakes his head, his tone dead serious. “Not my dog. His only purpose is to sleep.”

The corner of my mouth tips upward as the whole class bursts into laughter. “Trust me, he’s not the only one. Some dogs are meant to be pets, but others really enjoy working. You can see how excited they get when they complete a task.”

“How do you know if they’re a working dog?”

“Usually, working dogs have a vest like this one that Shadow has that will show you that they’re a working dog or a working dog-in-training.

When you see dogs like this outside, you shouldn’t pet them or interact with them because it can distract them from what they’re doing.

Even if you see a regular dog, you should always ask the owner if they’re okay with you touching them. ”

I tell them about the shelter and the work we do in general, as well as training.

They all listen intently as I explain it to them, trying my best not to fumble while signing at the same time.

It seemed so easy when I was watching Rose and Kyle sign and speak over the last few weeks, but in reality, it’s fucking hard work.

And after trying it myself, I admire them even more.

“How about we show you what these two can do?”

A chorus of agreements spreads through the room from the kids, so I lead both dogs in a series of simple exercises and tricks. Every time they complete it, the kids clap loudly. Finally, Kyle’s teacher hands me somebody’s sweater that I asked her to grab from one of the students.

“We’ll be borrowing this for a second here and see if Shadow can find who this belongs to.”

Leaning down, I give Shadow the sweater so she can smell it. After she’s done, she lifts her head.

“Find.”

She moves immediately, slipping through the desks as she sniffs the air. I follow after her in case any of the kids get startled or scared when she stops in front of a girl with a blonde ponytail, who giggles when Shadow sniffs her and barks.

“I think this belongs to you?” I extend my hand and give her the sweater back.

“Thank you.”

“That was an amazing work, Lieutenant,” Mrs. Elliott beams as I return to the front of the class.

“Thank you so much for teaching us about working dogs. I’m sure everybody had a great time and learned so much amazing and unique information from what you’ve told us. We’ve had a really great time today.”

“No problem.” I nod just as the bell rings, and I can feel my shoulders relax.

“As always, don’t forget to do your homework,” Mrs. Elliot tells the class as they start gathering their things. “I want y’all to write a few sentences about what was the best thing you learned today from Lieutenant Williams.”

Chairs screech as they get to their feet, the kids’ chatter filling the room and making my ears ring. My gaze darts to Kyle’s seat, but he’s already pushing through his classmates and walking to me, an unreadable expression on his face.

“My signing is that bad?” I joke lamely and rub the back of my neck.

I catch a quick shake of his head before his arms wrap around my waist, squeezing tightly.

I suck in a breath, surprised by the open affection.

Slowly, I place my hand on his back and give him a soft rub as I wait for him to face me.

Finally, he pulls back. His head is ducked, but I can still see him rub the back of his hand over his face before looking up.

“You came.”

“You asked me to come.”

“Mom is the only one who always comes.”

It takes me a moment to realize what he’s referring to.

His mom comes, but not his dad.

I crouch down, so we’re at the same level. “If I tell you I’ll come, I’ll be there.”

“You promise?”

A knot forms in my throat, the memories of the last promise I made, but couldn’t keep, coming back to the surface, but I push it back. “I promise.”

“Thank you for coming.” He flashes me a smile. “And your signing is okay.”

“Just okay?” I ruffle his hair slightly.

“I can help teach you. I’m great at signing.”

“I guess there is that.”

Teddy, not wanting to be left out, barks, demanding Kyle’s attention.

“Thank you for coming, too, Teddy. You were the best,” Kyle says as he leans down and scratches the dog between his ears.

I extend Teddy’s leash to Kyle. “What do you want to do now?”

“Isn’t Mom coming to pick me up?”

I shake my head. “She has book club, so you’re stuck with me.”

“Really?” Kyle’s mouth falls open. “We can do anything?”

“Anything you want.”

“What is going on here?”

I turn around at the sound of the soft voice to find Rose standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest as she stares at us, one brow quirked. Teddy barks happily and gets up to greet her.

“Mom!” Kyle yells. “You’re back home!”

“And here I thought I entered the wrong house,” Rose chastises gently, but Kyle just shoots her a sheepish grin.

“We built a fort!” He jumps to his feet and grabs her hand, pulling her toward the middle of the room. “Look, how fun is this?”

Rose sits down next to me, Teddy joining us as Kyle sits back down in his spot in the bean bag. I found it in Matthew’s room when I was clearing it out recently, but didn’t get around to throwing it away.

“We had pizza for dinner here at the table, and we watched cartoons.” Kyle’s little chest poofs out. “A boys’ night.”

Rose’s face softens at his words, and she ruffles his hair. “As long as you clean up after your boys’ night. How was school?”

“It was amazing!” His grin grows wider, and he’s practically vibrating with all the pent-up energy as he signs. I try to follow the movement of his hands so I can figure out what exactly he’s telling her, but considering my ASL isn’t nearly as advanced as theirs, I only catch a sign here or there.

I poke him gently in his side. It’s not nice to talk about somebody when they can’t understand you.

But you know sign language.

Just a little bit.

Rose’s head turns in my direction, eyes wide as she just stares at me, a stupefied expression on her face.

What?

“You’re signing?” Her words are barely louder than a whisper.