Page 14 of Surge

She felt her career careening toward the brick wall. “I . . . I know I messed up.” She’d never been good at listening to the small voice of her conscience. “But you said I could train him. And we’d made progress.”

Heath’s expression stayed blank as he zeroed in on her.

She pointed at him, immediately regretting that. “You said we made progress.”

Going into a conversation with Heath on the offense . . .Yeah, real smart, Delaney.Knowing she was likely digging her own burial hole for him, she shut her mouth.

Surge gave one of his nearly-under-the-breath whines, tail wagging as he looked at the men outside the yard.

Heath smoothed a hand over Surge’s head, and the traitorous Mal pushed into his legs, demanding more love. Then Heath pierced her with a look. “The school was too soon with too many unpredictables. Too dangerous with kids.”

Oh snap. Her time here was up—he was going to fire her. She’d crossed too many lines. But she wouldn’t cry. Not in front of the others, but especially not in front of Heath. What, was he going to fire her in front of Crew and the stranger? She glared at her judge and jury, her fingers playing with the hem of her jacket.

This was the job she didn’t want to lose. Ever.

Though she wanted to defend her position and what she’d done, contrition went further with Heath Daniels. “I’m sorry I got in your face about Surge’s progress. Sorry I pointed at you.”

Heath waited.

She rocked back and forth for a minute, like Dad did when their Jeep got stuck in the mud during their off-roading. “I shouldn’t have set up the scent discrimination demo at the middle school without your permission.”

Heath grunted. “Do that again, go outside my purview, I will fire you.”

She gulped. Wait . . . so hewasn’tfiring her today? “Thanks for trusting me?—”

Heath arched a knowing eyebrow. “Surge wasn’t ready for that, and it’s your job to know the difference between his abilities and his history.”

She found no condemnation in his eyes when she opened hers, yet he also didn’t move. “H-he shut down. I shouldn’t have taken him. It was too soon, like you said.”

“A: you’re right,” he said. “It was too early for Surge to work a crowded environment. Going around me is a totally different problem we’ll talk about later. B: Surge wasn’t the problem.”

Delaney frowned at him. “What?”

“You missed the tells—at first. You got it together, but it was too late—he’d triggered. You’ve trained Surge and he trusts you?—better than I’ve seen him trust anyone,” he said quietly, firmly. “But if you want out, then you know where the front gate is.”

She hadn’t missed any of Surge’s tells. Over the weeks she’d been working with him, she’d been steadfast for Surge, and she didn’t want to back down now. But she wanted to earn Heath’s respect more than anyone’s, to learn from him, so she bobbed her head. “I’m listening.”

“You tried to pump him up on the way in rather than stopping to find out where Surge’s problem was. You were focused on showing off. You were more concerned about proving you could do it. We know he can.”

“No. I was trying to show off A Breed Apart.”

“No. You weren’t.” He took a step toward her. “I know because we’ve had this same talk since you were sixteen. Your arrogance killed your attention to Surge. He was near overwhelm. Then when I used my phone to set off the tone?—”

She gasped. “You?”

“—and Surge reacted. You missed it because your focus was on yourself, not on what he was communicating to you.” He angled in closer. “It’s your job to read the dog to protect the dog.”

Her eyes started to sting. “So, I’m fired?”

His gaze hardened. “Do you want to be?”

“No!” She balked. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done, working with these dogs. It’s my dream?—”

“Then quit being an idiot and pay attention to your dog.” He scowled. “I believe in you, Delaney, but Surge demands your focus be on him, not yourself. If you can’t do that, I’ll find someone else?—”

“No!” She had some growl in her voice this time. “I can.”

“—for the mission.”

---