Page 91 of Doing Life

The back of his neck prickled. “At. Not shot. The guy was a petty criminal, driven by drugs. Not a hardcore killer.”

“Not yet, at any rate. We’ll see how many times he ends up in jail.”

“Yeah.” That was depressing. “So…”

“So, how are you holding up to that?”

“I’m fine.” He’d had a few dreams, but they were always about Radar, not the close call. And it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the angst. “I mean, I did the mandatory session with the department shrink.”

“Uh-huh. Are you going back to the same job when you get back up to New Mexico?”

Sloan felt the ground slide right out from under his feet. Boom.

“What else would I do?”

“I don’t know, man. I’m just asking.” One of Dan’s dark eyebrows winged up.

“Has Lance said something?”

“Nope.” Dan sipped his Sprite once he’d let all the extra air out.

“Then what’s this about?”

“I just wonder if this is the best job for you now, if you’re going to be part of a couple. That’s all. I know the area you work in up there can be rough.”

“It can be anywhere.” He was trying not to get defensive,but damn. “Dan, I hadn’t really thought about it. I have a job waiting for me. And I’m not sure I’m good at anything else.”

Dan nodded easily. “Sure. It’s just that after seeing you with Maynard, you might think about dog training.”

He shrugged. “I loved working K-9 stuff, but I didn’t go into that part of police work because I couldn’t bear it if I lost another dog in the line of fire.”

“Of course.”

“So training them for other officers seems counterintuitive.”

“Sure.” Dan waved a hand. “But there are all sorts of other applications for what you can do.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Like I said, I never even?—”

“Babe! You gonna come bubble?” Lance called.

He grinned at Dan. “Saved by the bell.”

“Yeah. I’m a nosy butthead. I wasn’t trying to upset you, Sloan, and I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“Bullshit.”

Dan hooted. “Thanks for the Coke.”

“You’re welcome.” He drained his can, tossed it into the recycle bin, and then headed to the hot tub, stripping off his clothes. He had his swim trunks underneath.

Lance was looking relaxed, which was good because God knows he wasn’t feeling it. He slid into the hot bubbling water without a word and closed his eyes, trying hard not to think.

“You all right?” Lance asked, his head tilted.

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Cool. Okay.” He could tell that Lance didn’t believe him. The man had no poker face anymore. It would have been cool, except that they weren’t really playing cards anymore either.

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