Page 6 of Wicked Healing

As much as she’d been stressing about introducing the dogs it was a bit of a letdown how calmly everything played out. She looked at Sophie. “You must be a little magic gremlin or something dog.”

Sophie ended up being the catalyst that broke Wicked out of his moping bitterness, and in return Erin could see a boost in confidence in the little animal. She had a ninety-pound Belgian Malinois Military War dog backing her up. A couple of times when she got too pushy Erin had to correct her. The little dog cowered when she was issued the slightest correction, so it was easy enough to keep them in line.

Then one day almost three weeks after Wicked had arrived they were all trapped inside by the blazing spring heat. Erin didn’t mind it because it gave her a chance to catch up on her computer work. There was an email from an unfamiliar address in her box. She clicked it open.

Ms. Knox,

I’m in shock! No one told me Wicked was alive! I just assumed he was dead and no one wanted to tell me because of what I was dealing with. Your pictures are the best gift I’ve ever been given.

My family says they had no way to take him in, so I have to thank you for that as well. Right now I can’t argue with much of anything. As soon as I’m able I will take him back.

Is Boss eating ok? How is he getting around? It looks like they left part of the leg. Do they plan on taking the rest? Are there other injuries? Can he still play with the ball? That was his favorite thing to do.

Sorry for all the questions but I literally thought my K9 was dead. He was my 24 hr partner for the past several years.

I don’t know you, but you have a very precious piece of my heart in your care. Any scrap of information you can send my way will be gratefully received.

Luca Carmichael

Erin rereadthe note several times, her heart aching for the man. Why hadn’t they told him the dog had survived? Wouldn’t that have been good for his recovery? Given him something to strive for?

She looked across the room at the dog. “Hey, Boss.”

Immediately his head lifted and his ears came to attention. His laser-focus eyes centered on her. Then he climbed to his feet, bumping Sophie away. He padded toward Erin and she had to grin. Thank you, Mr. Carmichael.

Standing, she crossed to the large coffee table in the living room. She lifted up the top, revealing a treasure trove of toys. All of the dogs crowded around to see what was in the goody box. She tossed a few things out for the others, then found a ragged tennis ball in the bottom corner. As soon as she drew it out, Wicked stared at her even more directly. His tail wagged slowly and she could see the excitement running through his body. Erin hesitated. Would it hurt him to chase it? The stitches and everything were gone, but…

Screw it. This was the most excited she’d ever seen him. Tossing the ball through the air, she gasped as Wicked took off after it, faster than she’d ever seen him move. He hadn’t even hesitated. Rather than bring the toy back to her, though, he padded over to a corner and curled up to chew on it. Wicked used his front paws like hands and held the ball. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she snapped a picture of him, then turned back to the computer.

It’s good to hear from you, Mr. Carmichael. Last I’d heard you were just out of a coma in San Diego. The staff must have thought it best not to tell you about Wicked, though I don’t understand their reasoning.

He’s a gorgeous dog, but I’ll be honest. He’s been depressed ever since I got him. My little terrier-mix Sophie actually bearded him in his kennel last week, and he’s been more open the past few days. Then, when I called him Boss just now he really perked up. I had a spare tennis ball in the toy box and as you can see by the pic I’m attaching, he’s all over it. Thanks for the tip! This is the most animated I’ve seen him in the three weeks I’ve had him. If you have any other secrets you can tell me about him, I’ll take them.

He gets around ok now, but he was pretty shaky at first. They left that part of his leg in the hope that they could build him a prosthetic in a month or so. We have a referral card. Once my regular vet thinks the wound is as healed as possible, we’ll go see the prosthetic doc. I’ll keep you posted, of course. There were a few other cuts across his body and a fairly deep abdomen wound, same side as the leg, but my vet took the stitches out of them just the other day. There were some burns and some bald patches where he may never grow hair back, but no other lingering injuries. Can I ask how he was wounded?

He’s been eating kibble, but I’m sure he’s lost weight. I know these types are lean anyway, but I’ve been trying to get more meat on his bones. I do up a homemade chicken and rice mixture for the terrier, who has a sensitive stomach, and he’s been eating some of it along with his regular food. Vet visit next week so I’ll know then if he’s gaining.

I hope you’re healing well. He tolerates me caring for him now, but I know he’d much rather be with you.

Erin

* * *

Luca wasglad there was no one in the room to see him wipe away the tears running down his face. He reread the woman’s email several times and looked at the picture of Wicked, tracing over every line of his face and body. He couldn’t see the other injuries she’d mentioned, but that was okay. It was nice just to see his partner again.

Anger simmered in his blood and he didn’t understand why he hadn’t been told that Wicked had survived. There was no possible reason why he shouldn’t have been informed.

Unless his parents had said something to the staff. He could see his mother now. Oh, maybe it would be best he just let that animal go so he can focus on his recovery. She would be completely solicitous and sweetly convincing. He’d seen her work people over like that for years in the real estate business, often for millions upon millions of dollars. Luca would like to think that the US Government was stronger than his mother’s will, but he wouldn’t put it past her.

Luca woke the tablet with a finger and Wicked’s dark face came up on the screen. It had been a long time since he’d seen his buddy and he missed him. Bad. The past month had been the hardest of his life and he would give anything to have his Boss beside him.

The rest of his SEAL team had been released already. Hell, they might have been deployed again by now. No, one of them would have told him. Black, his former LT, was retired now, but still kept track of what was going on. Link had texted him the other day but he couldn’t remember if he’d responded or not. The days seemed to all flow together when you had nothing to live for. Wicked being alive was the greatest gift he’d been given in a long time, and he was beginning to come around and realize how much he’d been missing.

Shifting on the bed, he dragged in a lungful of air, though it hurt. When he’d first woken after the explosion, he’d had a tube in his throat and bandages had wrapped him from neck to waist. His eyes were completely covered. They’d kept him in a drug-induced coma for the first week, but one day he’d woken in a panic, wondering where Wicked was. Then he’d looked down and realized exactly how damaged he was. They’d knocked him out again, but subconsciously he’d been coming to the understanding that he’d lost his leg, and his body looked very different from how he remembered. When they let him wake up the next time, it was still a shock, but less than the first time.

It was ironic that they’d each lost their right legs. At the time of the incident, he’d had a grip on Wicked’s harness directly in front of him. The dog had been dancing in agitation, trying to alert them to something, and Luca had just lifted him by the harness to move him when he’d taken a step forward, directly through the trip wire. The IED had been less than twelve feet away to his right, and he and the dog had gotten very similar injuries. Luca had tried to protect Boss as much as possible, so his right side had taken the brunt of the explosion, as well as the bottom right side of his face, exposed by his helmet. But all this time he’d worried that it hadn’t been enough.

From what the woman had told him, it seemed like Wicked had taken less damage than Luca, which was completely okay with him. The dog had saved his life many times over the years. It seemed only appropriate that he finally save the dog’s life.

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