Page 27 of No Bones About It

Kimi knew Marcus had needed his foot amputated overseas, but she’d never heard details and had never asked for them. She suspected few people even realized he wore a prosthetic, but when she’d been fiddling with something to help a sheep, Marcus had shown her how his worked to help her improve her system.

She brought her focus back to Garrett and his grief, hoping she could help him as Marcus had helped her. “Shaggy helped save them?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She helped us find this little girl who was so scared she couldn’t move. She’d squeezed between a shelf and a wall. Shaggy coaxed her out, and I scooped her up. Arrow wouldn’t leave until we did. Shaggy was on our heels, herding us out the door. The IED blew as we exited.”

Kimi had to swallow hard. “The little girl?”

“She’s okay. Not even a scratch. She kept wailing for Shaggy, for the hero who’d saved her.”

“That’s so hard. I’m so sorry, Garrett. Shaggy would have been happy you were all safe. She would be happy to know the girl is doing well.”

Another nod. “Shaggy was special.”

“Brave and selfless.”

Another nod in the dark cab.

More minutes passed in silence until he finally spoke again. “Olaf’s eyes are the exact same shade as Shaggy’s were. It’s like she’s looking at me through his eyes. I’m not sure she’d like what she’d see.”

That pissed her off. “You’re completely wrong about that. I think she’d be so damn proud of you and what you’re doing. You’ve done nothing but good for horses since you left the Army. Your compassion for animals is boundless. Even though it hurts, you haven’t turned your back on Olaf. He’s closer to you than any other human because hesenses he can trust you. Shaggy was a smart dog who made sure you and that girl were safe. She did her job, and it’s awful that she died doing it, but she loved you. She’d want you to continue to do what you do, and she’d want you to continue to be who you are.”

Kimi turned on the blinker and pulled over to the side of the empty road, so full of emotion that she couldn’t focus on driving. She put the truck into park so she could look at Garrett. “You’re full of compassion. You instilled that level of love in Shaggy so that she could do her job and help others despite the danger. She was a proud soldier. I know her death gutted you, but she would want you to keep living. For her. For that little girl. For you. She loved you, and she would be so happy you lived. She would be so proud of you and of what you do. You’re the best man I know, Garrett. She wouldn’t want you to keep suffering.”

CHAPTER 10

Feel It In Your Bones

Garrett couldn’t take his eyes off Kimi. Hell, he could barely blink. The passion pouring from her seared into his soul, and he felt some of the hard-edged shards shift and click back together.

Her truck didn’t have a console, so he undid his seatbelt, slid into the middle seat and wrapped his arms around her, trying to absorb her words, her belief in him.

Kimi’s arms wrapped around his waist, and she squeezed him tightly as her breathing settled. She’d got heated on his behalf, and it warmed places inside him that hadn’t been warm in a very long time.

The highway remained quiet as he battled his guilt and the memory of Shaggy as he’d last seen her. Her shattered body lived in his nightmares. Tears slid from his eyes and into Kimi’s hair as he thought about what she’d said.

Shaggyhadbeen the best. Her smart brain and huge heart had always led them to the right decision. They’d saved so many people and found so many ways to help. When she’d died, he’d felt useless and alone despite having his buddies right there with him. The guilt had been eating at him ever since.

Could he let it go? Would that mean letting go of Shaggy as well?

As if reading his thoughts, Kimi sniffed, then patted his heart. “She’ll always be with you, always be a part of you. And of every person she helped and saved. She’s living on in those people. She’s living on in you.”

He hugged her harder and kissed her hair. “Thank you.” But he didn’t let her go, couldn’t.

When he figured he had enough control back, he eased up on the hug but didn’t release her. She looked up, eyes shining and tear tracks covering her cheeks. And she thoughthewas the one filled with compassion.

“You’re a pretty amazing person, Kimi. Thank you.”

She studied his eyes seriously. He wondered if she saw that he was adjusting to her words, that he wanted to change his entire perspective so that he lived up to the way she saw him.

He kissed her forehead and rested his lips there for a long moment before he repeated. “Thank you.” Then he kissed her lips softly and slid back to his own seat. “Let’s go do some recon.” Shaggy would want him to help the dogs, and he was going to do it.

Kimi reached beneath her seat and grabbed a box of tissues. She wiped her face and blew her nose, then left the box between them so he could grab some as well.

After a few minutes of silence, she pulled onto the road. In a quiet voice, she shared what she’d learned so far.

Apparently, the dog compound sat deep in the forest on a quiet road between Keene and Dublin. Garrett didn’t know the area, but he pulled up a map to study it. There isn’t much except trees in all directions. The roads Kimi had used so far didn’t show up on the map. Probably roads that originally led to hunting camps or isolated homes.

She’d seen multiple buildings in the compound. Some older, some new builds. One big enough to be a warehouse. Probably offices and housing for the humans and the animals. Potentially an indoor arena for the fights as well as an outdoor area.

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