Her Valentine Sheriff

“Praise, praise, praise,” she reminded him in the high voice she used with the dog. “Don’t ever forget to make this a happy time for the dog.”

Eli wanted to roll his eyes. Happy time for the dog. Good grief.

“You want me to do it again?”

Mary glanced at her watch. “No, I think we’re almost done for the day.”

Relief washed through him that they’d finished the torture course, until his mind zoned in on one word. “Almost?”

“There is one last activity I’d like you and Bullet to complete together. Not paperwork, I promise.” She nodded toward the house. “After you.”

He swept a hand toward the patio, wondering what kind of new torment he was in for now. “Ladies first.”

Eli followed Mary inside, more conscious of the dog trailing at his heel than he cared to admit. Mary displayed such effortless, fearless grace around her animals. What would she think of him if she discovered it had taken every last ounce of his courage to get through today’s activities? He’d rather have been on the receiving end of gunfire. But at least he’d successfully worked through his first lesson, and that was saying something.

It would get easier. Wouldn’t it?

“You mentioned one last activity?” His nerves crackled down his spine, and his fingers twitched into balled fists. Bullet had noticed, if not Mary. The dog kept nosing at his left palm.

“The same thing I imagine you do after exercising,” she offered over her shoulder. “He needs to get cleaned up.”

Eli skidded to a halt. Bullet circled him once and then sat down in front of him, peering up expectantly, waiting for a command.

Like what? Shower?

No way was he giving a seventy-five-pound bundle of fur and razor-sharp teeth a bath. He suddenly wished he was in Houston or Dallas and not in the tiny town of Serendipity. There were no groomers in town that he knew of. Otherwise he’d drop the dog off with a professional and pick him up when he was clean.

Of course he had the sneaking suspicion Mary wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily, even if the option were available. She turned to face him, her hands propped on her hips. She’d been doing that a lot today. It felt like a reprimand. Eli stiffened.

“I’m going to ask you outright. How do you feel about the dog? Do you think you are well matched as partners?” Her green-eyed gaze met his and she tilted her chin with a stubbornness that surprised him. She was challenging him. Did she suspect the truth? “Don’t you agree that Bullet will be more than sufficient for your purposes?”

“He’s okay, I guess.” Without lowering his gaze, Eli reached forward and scratched Bullet behind the ears. Never let the enemy see your fear.

Not that Mary was an enemy, though at the moment she felt mighty close to one.

“You guess? Bullet cost the department quite a tidy sum of money. He’s been specially bred, and I trained him myself. All he needs is a good handler. You’d better be certain you are going to be that man, or I may be forced to request someone else for the job.”

If he was going to back out, this was the moment. She’d left that door wide open and was practically goading him through it. Had she seen through the thin veil of his facade?

A part of him wanted to run for safety and not look back. But Eli wasn’t the kind of man to retreat from a challenge, even if this was the hardest trial he’d ever had to face. He’d experienced enough failure recently to last a lifetime. He couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes. He had something to prove to himself—and to the men he worked with.

No excuses.

Nope. Not gonna happen.

“You don’t have to do that,” he countered firmly, pressing his lips to keep the quiver out of his voice. She wasn’t the only one who could be determined. “You have my word. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

And he would. He would never have chosen this job of his own accord, but it was a promotion, not to mention the opportunity he’d been waiting for to redeem his value to himself and the world, to prove he wasn’t a loser. He wasn’t about to allow Mary to hand it off to another man.

She observed him silently for a moment before speaking. He felt like a fish in a bowl, and he struggled not to twitch.

Finally, after what felt like ages, she adjusted the rim of her glasses and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go, then. I keep the tub in the mudroom.”

Eli followed her, feeling like he should say something more to dig out of the hole he’d shoveled himself into, but what was there to say? He couldn’t tell her why he was so reluctant to work with Bullet. He had to prove he was as enthused about the program as she and Captain James believed he should be, and that he was the right man for the job.

Tough and invulnerable. That’s what he wanted them to see. That’s what he wanted to be, although he expected that would be a long time in coming. As the saying went, just fake it till you make it, right?

He followed Mary to her laundry room, which was little more than a partitioned area off the kitchen. Clothes littered a large table between the washer and dryer. Some of the garments were stacked into loose piles, but mostly it was a haphazard mix of blouses and jeans. To the right side was a freestanding rack which contained more than a dozen empty wire hangers and no clean clothes.

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