Her next words confirmed it. “Snickers has a new home. It’s not up for discussion.”
I had long ago given up on arguing or fighting back at that point. Every time I did, I was called a crybaby. Or too emotional. My family would roll their eyes while mine filled with tears. My mom and dad would catch each other’s gaze from across the table, smirking, and shake their heads.
Arguing with a brick wall might’ve given me more results and certainly would’ve hurt less.
I stalked from the kitchen and knew that my future would be with animals. And one day, I’d have a house full of animals. Every day since had been spent working toward now. A clinic that was booked daily and a training class with a wait list. I only had one cat at the moment, but maybe I could take on a second pet if I hired another veterinarian.
I shook myself from my trail down memory lane and focused on the pups in front of me. “Let’s start where we left off last time. Give the command to sit, give a treat once they comply, and then the command to stay. Walk fifteen feet with your back turned. Don’t look back at them, and count to twenty.”
“I’m nervous to let Buckley go. What if he runs?”
Buckley was a King Charles Cavalier and had the sweetest face. He was the most well-behaved dog in this class, but he still liked a little bit of trouble whenever it suited him.
“We’re the only ones here in the dog park, and the fence is high enough that they can’t jump over it. Some of your dogs may take off the second you let the leash go and command them to stay, but they are contained to this immediate area, and we just bring them back their spot and try the command again. I promise it will be okay.”
I walked to the fence and shook the gate. “It’s locked tight and we will all keep an eye on them. We’re in a controlled environment, and our work here will help if you’re ever in an uncontrolled environment.”
Buckley’s mom nodded and lifted her chin with a stubborn and determined set to her jaw. I had no doubt Buckley would get this down on the first few tries.
“Give the command,” I said.
Each dog parent gave the command to sit. Some of the dogs plopped their behinds on the grass immediately, and others took a couple of tries. Pepper Jack was a completely different story. He’d plopped down. But not on his butt, on his back. He went all the way down, rolling over, and wiggled all over the grass. His tongue lolled out to the side, and he was biting at the air, ready to play instead of ready to work.
Kiernan had his fists on his hips and commanded Pepper Jack to get up and sit. Everything Kiernan said was ignored. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Kiernan was issuing the command correctly. His posture and voice were firm, and most dogs would’ve complied immediately.
Not Pepper Jack though.
He had it out for his new dad. “Give the next command,” I said to the rest of the class and strode toward Kiernan while keeping my eye on the progress of the others, mentally noting which pups stayed and which tried to run as soon as their owners dropped the leash.
“I would have the problem child,” Kiernan muttered.
“Weren’t you voted class clown a time or two?” I could remember Kiernan in high school. He’d joked around in classes. During lunch he’d always been surrounded by people, laughing, with a huge grin on his face. To me, a quiet person who often went completely unnoticed and forgotten, he seemed larger than life, and I was fascinated. He made high school look easy while, even though I was an A+ student, some of my teachers couldn’t remember my name. I wasn’t picked on and I had some friends, but I went unnoticed. Always.
Or until Katrina arrived in high school; then I was known as Katrina’s sister.
“Yes,” Kiernan admitted. “Pepper Jack fooled me though. The first couple of days with him, he was sweet, docile, and only wanted to lie on the couch. And then, on the third day, he unleashed hell. I’m not sure what I did to make that happen.”
“You gave him a safe place where he could be himself.”
Kiernan’s gaze shifted away from Pepper Jack, now sitting and giving me his full attention as his tail whipped against the ground. Kiernan scanned my face until he met my eyes, staring at me with an intensity I wasn’t used to. I felt like he saw too much when he looked at me. “Dammit,” he whispered. “Now I can’t be mad at him.”
I chuckled and shook my head. I reached out without thinking and patted Kiernan’s bicep underneath his shirt. His skin was warm beneath my palm. I removed my hand and fisted it at my side while taking a step back, putting a little space between us. I shook out of my Kiernan stupor and looked around at the class, still working through the stay command.
“He’ll get there,” I said. “Now that he’s sitting, try telling him to stay.”
“I know you said the dogs couldn’t jump over this fence, but I think Pepper Jack might try to prove us wrong.”
“You chase after bad guys
