Page 9 of The Sunny Side (Rojo 2nd Generation: Rojo Police Department #3)

B RAWLEY

I raised the end of my recliner and settled the ice pack on my knee before I leaned back and started looking through the papers Mrs. Proctor had put on my desk while I was at lunch.

Obviously, she knew I’d get my ass kicked if I didn’t study up, and I appreciated her more than ever when I glanced over the first page and realized I’d forgotten more than I’d realized.

“Shit,” I muttered as I ran my hand through my hair. “This is really gonna suck.”

Max stopped gnawing on his toy long enough to lift his head and stare at me in question. Since I’d never really been a fan of studying, I decided to work with him on some skill building while I was immobilized with the ice pack.

“Want to play?” I asked. When he jumped up, his tail was wagging so fast that it was just a blur. I said, “Tell me what you want to play.”

Max sprinted across the room to his button board and scanned it before he pushed, “Go. Park. Ball. Please.”

“Park later,” I said as I pointed at my knee. “What now?”

Max stared at the board for so long that I thought he must have lost his train of thought. Just when I was about to repeat my question, he pushed, “Learn.”

“Okay. Go get me the tub.”

Max took off for the bedroom where I kept his equipment.

Before I started training to be his handler, I thought dogs needed very few material things - a collar, a leash, food and water bowls, a ball to play fetch with, and some chew toys.

That small inventory might work for most dogs, but not Max.

Of course, Max had all of those things - except he didn’t just have one collar and leash, he had many.

He had his regular collar that held his tags and several harnesses and covers that proclaimed him a working dog, as well as another that had cargo pockets to hold supplies like paw covers, wipes, goggles, and a muzzle.

So far, we hadn’t needed to use any of those, but they needed to be at the ready.

Of course, he had a food bowl and water dispenser in the kitchen, but he also had those things in the cargo area of my patrol car and my personal SUV. There was also a bed and a blanket in both cars and shades for the windows to keep him out of the sun.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, he had about a million things here at home to help him relax and unwind after his shift - just like a human would.

After he moved in, I cleared out a bedroom just to hold everything Max-related.

There was a crate in there that he only went into when he was scared, nervous, or overstimulated.

I never sent him to sit in his crate - it stayed open for him to use as he wanted.

He also had a bed that was so luxurious I’d actually checked to see if the company made mattresses for humans.

There was also an assortment of blankets for him.

He chose which one he wanted to sleep with for no reason that I could discern other than that’s the one he wanted at that moment.

And the toys. God help me, the toys. He had a basket full of stuffed animals and chew toys that he chose at random, depending on his mood. Even more than the toys, he had the button board, which was what his previous handler had used to train him to communicate - and communicate he did.

All the freakin’ time.

It was like having a toddler who was just learning to talk and rarely ever stopped. Max asked questions and made requests. He even gave orders unless I reminded him to use his manners, and then he would grudgingly add the words “please” and “thank you.”

Just like a kid.

And much like a kid, he was eager to learn. He was currently pulling a plastic tote down the hall toward me so I could work with him on learning some new words. I wasn’t sure why a dog needed to know how to identify so many things, but then again, he enjoyed it, so why not?

“Good job, Max,” I said as he pulled the tote up beside the recliner.

I leaned over, picked a random item from the tote, and lifted it up before I said, “Blue. Cube.” I turned it around and touched all the sides before I repeated myself.

“Blue. Cube.” I handed it to Max, who took it with his mouth and then set it down on the floor before he inspected it.

He sniffed it, pushed it around with his nose, and flipped it over with his paws.

After about three minutes, he sat down and looked at me again, ready to learn something else.

For a minute, I wished he could learn this shit from TV like most kids seemed to do these days, but then I remembered what a gift it was to have him with me and how he’d given me the opportunity to stay with a job I loved, even though it wasn’t exactly in a role I would have chosen.

I picked up another item and smiled as I held it up so I could explain it to him.

Just like a kid, Max depended on me. And much like I imagined it would be to have a kid, I learned as much from him as he learned from me.

◆◆◆

CLANCY

“Thank you so much for taking care of her today. I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble.”

“I shudder to think of how needy and high maintenance your children will be,” Darcy said. “I’m in the business of animals, and she is the boujiest dog I’ve ever taken care of.”

Of course, I knew she was just saying that to give me grief because she was holding my sleeping dog in her arms like an infant as she complained.

“I’m running out of food, and she’s only got one bag of treats left. It’s those blueberry ones that you were testing out, and they’re not her favorite. She’ll eat them, but it’s grudgingly.”

“Oh, the horror!” Darcy gasped dramatically as she put the back of her hand on her forehead. “Whatever will we do?”

“Tansy, your niece needs food and snacks!” I said loud enough for our sister to hear.

“God, you’re so needy!” Tansy yelled from the backroom.

“We’ve got some you can take home. I don’t blame her for not liking the blueberry treats. They weren’t my favorite either.”

As odd as it was to hear that Darcy and Tansy tested out the treats and food they made for their animal customers, I knew that was their passion, just like the business they were preparing to open would become.

“Can you please try to keep her out of the paint from now on?”

I gave my sister a sheepish look before I said, “She was sleeping in her carrier, and I didn’t even realize it was getting on her.”

“That is somehow both weird and understandable, but how did you not realize that your glasses are covered in specks?”

I looked around, focusing on my lenses rather than what was in front of me, and groaned when I saw she was right. I pulled them off and frowned before I asked, “Can I use your sink?”

“How’s the house going, anyway?” Tansy asked as she came out carrying a bag of food and two smaller bags of treats. She set them on the counter next to my purse before she said, “I finally bought some dishes.”

“We’ve been here for two weeks, Tansy! What have you been eating?” I asked as I used my fingers to scrub the paint off my lenses.

“There are these miraculous things called drive-thrus, and I’ve been getting myself acclimated to the restaurant scene around Rojo.”

“Did you buy dishes, or did you buy paper plates?”

“They both hold food until you eat it, so aren’t they the same thing?” Tansy asked as she handed me a soft rag that she pulled out of a drawer.

“Good grief! Tomorrow, we’re going to go shopping and outfit each of your homes with the necessities.”

“I’m not going to waste your money on stuff I don’t need,” Darcy said firmly.

I put my glasses on so I could see my sister better before I said, “First, it’s not wasting money when it’s things you need, and second, it’s my money to spend on what I want, and what I want is to give each of you a housewarming gift.”

“Isn’t that usually a bottle of wine or something?” Tansy asked as her forehead creased.

“I’ll either do it with your input or without, but it’s happening,” I warned. I looked over at Darcy and asked, “Is there still a T-shirt on your bathroom floor instead of a bath mat?”

Darcy picked up her water and took a long drink before she changed the subject and asked, “Are you ready to go out and meet people yet, or are you still in your hermit mode?”

“I’m getting my house in order.”

“You need to leave it and do something . . . anything , Clancy. How many friends have you made since we moved here?”

“We’ve only been here for two weeks!”

“And in those two weeks, we’ve befriended at least a dozen people. Tansy has even been on a date!”

“You have?”

“It wasn’t really a date. It was more of a group thing.”

“Did you kiss everyone there or just him?” Darcy asked. When Tansy glared at her, Darcy smiled and said, “That’s what I thought.”

“Hand her over before she gets traumatized by being in the middle of one of your arguments,” I ordered as I reached for my dog.

She opened her eyes and saw me, then snuggled in to continue her nap, oblivious to everything else but her immediate needs.

“I’m going home, but I’ll see both of you bright and early tomorrow morning for our shopping excursion. ”

“I don’t want to go shopping,” Tansy whined.

“Be at my house by eight!”

“Tomorrow is Saturday!” Darcy exclaimed.

“Okay, ten o’clock.”

“You’re so damn bossy,” Tansy muttered as she walked toward the backroom. “Bye!”

“Ten!” I yelled after her.

“We’ll be there,” Darcy said grudgingly.

“What do I owe you for today?”

“Technically, we’re not open yet, as if I’d charge you anyway.”

“I’ll buy your coffee in the morning and even spring for lunch.”

“That works,” Darcy said as she walked me toward the front door. I had just walked outside when she asked, “Will you do me a favor, sis?”

“Sure!What’s up?”

“Please leave your house for a while this evening. Even if you don’t talk to anyone, just go touch some grass or something, okay?”

“You worry too much, but yes, I promise I’ll go outside.”

“Good. And we worry about you because that’s our job.”