Page 149 of Cohesion

“Where are we?” Will asked, looking around and turning in circles. “It’s nice out here. Peaceful.” He paused. “Was that a dog barking?”

Peyton shielded his eyes against the sun as he read the sign on the front of the house out loud. “Stop, Drop, and Shoot.” He raised an eyebrow at Jericho. “I’ve heard of this place. It’s a gun range. The guy who owns the place—Jasper Fencer—is ex-Navy, and he trains military and police dogs. What are we doing here?”

“Fencer owes me a favour. C’mon, he should be inside.”

Jericho took Will’s hand and tugged him along toward the house, Peyton trailing behind them more slowly. Jericho could see the way his brain worked overtime as he searched the area. As if it could give him any clues as to why they were there. Whatever he thought was going on, he was wrong.

“Are we going to shoot?” Will asked. “Because I’d be here for that.”

“Not today,” Jericho said, chuckling. “But remind me to come back here with you sometime.”

“It’s a date.”

Jericho liked the sound of that. A date, with Will. They’d get food somewhere, too, he was sure.

Jasper Fencer, on older man with grey at his temples and a sunny smile, came out the front door before they could reach the porch. A beautiful black German shepherd walked with him on one side, a lighter-coloured one on the other side of him.

“Jericho,” he said in greeting, coming down the stairs and shaking Jericho’s hand vigorously. “These your men?”

“Half of them,” Jericho replied. “Peyton, Will, this is an old friend of mine. This is Ren, his personal companion. And this isXena.” Her pure-black colouring was rare, and she’d been worth every dollar he’d paid for her.

“You’re the lucky new owner, right?” Jasper said, shaking Peyton’s hand. “She’s one of the best I’ve ever trained. She’ll take great care of you.”

Peyton faltered, his hand dropping when Jasper let go. “What?” He turned to face Jericho. “What does he mean by that?”

“She’s for you,” Jericho said. “She’s a trained therapy dog. She can help you when you need it. Be a constant companion for you when it’s hard. And she’s a great guard dog. That was my requirement.” Could never be too lax on safety.

Peyton visibly swallowed, a sheen in his dark-blue eyes. “You didn’t have to—”

Jericho held Peyton’s face between his hands, pressing his thumb against Peyton’s lips. “I don’t ever have to do anything. I want to do what’s best for you and give you what you need.”

“I don’t need—”

“Needing help doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you. Having demons to fight doesn’t make you less. She’s going to help you, without making you feel like you’ve done something wrong, because you’re gonna be her whole world. See? Quinn has us booked into therapy. It’s a start, not a solution. Xena here”—Jericho gave her a pat on the head and she tilted it, seeking more—“she’s gonna be with you every step, and you can take her with you everywhere. To therapy. Even to work.”

“To work?”

“Jericho told me a bit about you,” Jasper said. “Your experience. You commando boys are crazy, but I’ve seen Navy pilots fling themselves off aircraft carriers and then land in a small space that planes shouldn’t be able to land on. No one can beat that.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Peyton said, laughing.

“One of my best friends, Misha, does that,” Will piped up with a smile. “He’s nicer thanmebut definitely up there on the crazy-adrenaline scale.”

“Misha is… one of a kind,” Peyton agreed.

Interesting company they kept. Jericho looked forward to meeting all of them.

“My boys use to help out with the dogs, and the range, but they’ve both headed off to college now, and it’s just me on my own. I could use an extra pair of hands.”

“Me?” Peyton said, lips parting in surprise. “I don’t know anything about training dogs.”

“You’ve worked with them before, right?” Jasper asked.

“Sort of. I’ve gone into a few places with MPD and the special-operations dogs. But I haven’t done any of the handler training or actively dealt with them. Standing beside them on an op isn’t really the same thing.”

“That’s what learning is for, isn’t it? Happy to help you navigate the ropes. I train dogs for all three branches of the military and the K-9 units for the NSWPD. We do specialised courses for military and police handlers who want to get extra training in with their dogs, but the general handler courses are done through the specific branches themselves.” Jasper absently patted Ren’s head. “And I presume you know your way around a gun. We do basic maintenance and gun-safety courses here. The range is open three nights a week and two full days.” Jasper pulled a treat from his pocket and gave one each to Ren and Xena. “No pressure. The job’s yours if you want it. We can do a three-month trial basis and see how you work with the dogs. We can split your time between the two, or if you prefer one over the other, that works too.”

Peyton bristled. “Because Jericho owes you a favour? No, thanks.”

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