Chapter 9

W hen Brittany woke up the next morning, she rolled over and stretched and then groaned, as her body screamed at her. She lay here for a few minutes, letting her brain fully wake up. When she remembered, it was almost worse. She stood up slowly, realizing that even though she hadn't been doing a lot of physical work, just the trampling in the darkness back and forth in unsteady debris-filled terrain, plus dealing with the gunman and the emotional stress, had all left an immense soreness inside her.

Yet she got more sleep than Baron did because he was intent on finding a twenty-four hour veterinarian to give Kingston a good once-over. No telling how long that took.

She got up slowly and headed for a shower. It didn't always fix everything, but it sure felt good. By the time she was done and dressed, she wondered how Baron had fared through all this. He'd been the hero picking up and securing everybody, and she hadn't even asked him about the War Dog.

Swearing at that oversight, she quickly sent him a text. What happened to Kingston overnight?

In response, she got a short video back of Kingston, stretched out on the bed, snoring, and it showed a strange but intimate shot of Baron still in bed too.

Lucky you , she sent back. I'm up and sore as hell.

Go back to bed , he ordered.

She smiled, loving the fact that at least that level of humor and rapport existed between them. But, instead of trying to answer in another long text, she phoned him.

"Good morning," he answered cheerfully.

"How come you're so cheerful?"

"Isn't it enough that I still haven't gotten out of bed?" he asked, with that same dry humor coming through the phone.

She smiled. "Lucky you," she repeated ruefully. "I woke up and decided a hot shower would be required."

"Are you sore?" he asked.

She hesitated and then realized no point in lying and admitted, "Yeah, I am a little bit, though I'm not sure why."

"Did you trip and fall last night? Did the gunman hit you?"

"No, he didn't. I'm glad you found Kingston, so now what? Is the job done?"

"No, not yet. I have to find out where his owners are and what's going on with his housing situation. I have to ensure he gets home to his people." He yawned.

"Look at that," she teased. "Seems you're ready to go back to sleep."

"As much as I would like that," he replied, "it's not an option."

"Oh, why not? What are you up to now?"

"In case you've forgotten, I still need to figure out why those gunmen were up there."

She frowned. "Are you telling me that you won't leave that to the cops?"

"It's not so much that I won't let the cops do their job," he clarified, "but definitely something is off about that whole scenario."

"And something off means that you have to look for it?" she asked, staring at the phone.

"Maybe," he muttered. "Again, this is something that I do, so it would be hard for me to just walk away."

"But maybe you need to," she said, alarmed. "Sometimes no good can come from this."

He smiled. "Does that mean you're worried about me?"

"Yes, I am worried about you. I most certainly am. After what we saw down there, it's not awe-inspiring to think that more of this crap may be happening."

"Right, and it's one of the reasons I want to confirm it's all okay."

Something in his tone she didn't quite understand. "You're not telling me something."

"I'm not telling you lots of things," he admitted.

"Well, I guess you need to tell me a few things. For instance, is it dangerous for me now?"

"No," he stated.

She hesitated. "Why not? How can you be so sure? The gunman is on the loose, and he saw me."

"That's very true," he replied thoughtfully, "and we never did find out what they were looking for. We never found his partner either."

"Exactly, so that's why I'm asking if you think I'm in danger."

"I don't think you're particularly in danger," he murmured, "any more than the rest of us, but it is a consideration. If he couldn't get what he wanted from us down there, I don't think he'll bother coming back."

"Maybe," she muttered, as she stared off into the distance. "Still, it's a little unnerving."

"True. It's also one of the reasons we want to bring this to a conclusion."

She agreed with that but had no idea what she was supposed to do. He was the one with the skill sets in this area, so it only made sense that she should stick with him.

"Do you want to go out for breakfast?" he asked and then laughed. "Unless you've had enough of my company."

"Oh no, that's not it," she said in buoyed spirits, "and it's probably a good idea. That way we can talk about what's next."

" Uh-oh , I probably shouldn't have mentioned it then."

"No, you probably shouldn't have," she agreed cheerfully, "but you have, so now I want to know exactly what's going on."

"Nothing's going on," he replied. "I'm just not sure that I'm ready to walk away."

"If you're not, I'm not either. So I guess I'll stick with you."

"This isn't what you do though," he pointed out. "Remember that part. This can be dangerous. This is what I do, but you don't have to be putting yourself in harm's way."

"Maybe not, but remember that part about it's what you used to do?" she added.

He laughed. "Ouch. Look. Tell me a good breakfast spot, and I'll meet you there."

She thought about it for a moment and suggested, "How about the inn down on the lake? They do a morning brunch, and I'm hungry."

"Me too, so it's a brunch, huh ?"

"Yeah, I think it might be a buffet brunch, but I'm not positive."

"I guess we'll find out when we get there. I'll head off and get a shower."

"Good enough," she said, with a smile.

She hopped off the call and looked back at her bedroom. She was too damn tired to make the bed. Yet it was one of those deeply entrenched habits that she'd been brought up. Whether she made her bed or not today, she still needed to pop by to see Grandma and to see if everything was okay over there.

As she approached Camille's, she found her grandma standing in the open doorway, just looking at her. "Is everything okay?" Brittany asked. "I was just heading out to brunch and thought I would pop by."

"Heading to brunch," Grandma repeated shrewdly.

"Yes." Then realized that her grandmother would now have a million and one questions.

"I heard you were out getting in trouble last night."

Stopping in her tracks, she stared at her. "I don't know about getting into trouble," she replied, guarded. "I was certainly out last night and definitely ran into some trouble. How the hell did you hear about it?"

"I heard about it, and that's all you need to know," her grandmother muttered. "I really don't need any of that crap from my house that bad, and you know it."

"I know, but you already lost your house, so you shouldn't have to lose all the important things you care about too."

Her grandmother gave her a warm smile. "That may be," she conceded, eyeing her intently. "But I don't want anything to happen to you," she muttered. "That would be the worst-case scenario."

Touched by her words, Brittany gave her a hug and muttered, "I won't do anything stupid."

"Maybe you won't, but I also heard Baron was involved."

She laughed. "He was involved, but he was also the rescuer in this case."

"Oh? Now that sounds interesting." Grandma gave her a bright smile. "Why don't you come in and tell me more."

"I can't right now," she said, with a chuckle. "I'm heading off to breakfast."

"With Baron?"

" Yes ," she replied in an exaggerated way, "with Baron."

"Ah, good. That's very good." Grandma waved her off. "Go on now.… You can talk to me afterward."

Smiling, Brittany got back into her car and headed to the brunch spot. She hadn't been here in quite a few years, so she hoped it was still as good as she remembered. As she pulled in the parking lot, she got out and thought about wandering down to the beach area for a little bit, when a dog ran toward her.

When she recognized him, she bent down and called out, "Hey, Kingston. Greetings like that would break a girl's heart." She looked up to see Baron strolling along behind the War Dog.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked.

"I was closer than you," he explained. "Besides, this guy wanted to get out and run a bit."

"I don't know if Kingston will be allowed in the restaurant." She frowned, as she turned to look for any signs about pets.

"As long as you're okay to sit outside, he is. I already called and checked."

"Oh, that's perfect then," she murmured.

They walked around the restaurant to the big veranda on the back set up for dining. She smiled as she looked around. "I haven't been here in a very long time."

"I'm pretty impressed so far, and the food smells and looks great," he noted. "Or I could just be very hungry."

"Or both," she added pointedly, as she smiled at him. Regardless, by the time they sat down and ordered coffee, Kingston had stretched out on the patio beside her, more than ready to just crash and relax.

"He's really calm and chill, isn't he?" she noted, as she got up and walked over to the buffet with Baron.

"Absolutely, and I'm really happy to see his training kept him on his toes as well. He seems really solid."

"You sound as if you don't really want to hand him over."

"I'm not sure I do. If I had a reason or an opportunity to keep him, I probably would," he shared, with a smile. "He's a good dog, and he listens really well. His training is still pretty-much intact. He could be a hell of a search and rescue animal."

She studied him and then nodded, "I never did ask what you do."

"Right now, I don't do much of anything," he stated. "I was still making plans for when I was back on my feet."

"Do you not consider yourself back on your feet now?" she asked.

"Yes and no, but I can't say I thought it would all happen that fast."

"Ah, now that I can believe. Life has a way of happening when we're not looking."

He grinned at her. "I think I've heard that phrase a time or two."

"Yeah, it's a staple in this part of the world at least. It was one of my mom's favorite phrases."

"Do you miss her?"

She hesitated and then shrugged. "Not my mother so much," she admitted, feeling a bit sheepish. "I know that sounds terrible, but it was a rough life with her around. My grandma is the one who's always been there for me," she explained. "So, if anything happens to her, it would hurt badly, and, in the meantime, I'm really hoping she can live the life she deserves."

"Of course, and I'm sorry. We always seem to think that childhood is this big happy picture-perfect scenario, but so often it isn't that way at all."

"No, all too often it isn't. Yet, for me, it ended up in a great way because I do have my grandma. A lot of kids out there didn't have anyone to pick up the slack."

"Which is also why you feel guilty about not rushing to pick up the slack with your grandma."

"Exactly," she stated. "It's not easy to reconcile the reality that I really don't want to do it."

"Caretaking is not an easy job. It takes a special person to handle that job, day in and day out. And you would need some relief help because it's hard on full-time caretakers. Regardless, I'm sure your grandmother is totally okay with staying at your place—or someplace close to you."

"Well, I don't know about that because it's a conversation that still needs to happen."

He smiled. "I think you're worrying too much."

"Maybe, I don't know. I just want to ensure that she's happy and that I can have something of a life too. I love her dearly, and I feel terrible that I don't necessarily want to take over 100 percent of her care."

"Again, that's one of the reasons why you need to talk to her because she might have other ideas anyway. Taking over her care also sounds very much as if she would be limited, and that may not be what she wants either."

"It's absolutely not what she wants," Brittany declared, with a knowing smile. "She loves her independence and having her own home."

"That's good to hear, so maybe you could set up some arrangement where she can have that again."

"I don't know if we can salvage her house. Even if insurance did cover all the damage, it won't be an easy thing to hire contractors and get the work done. Plus it always takes longer to do these repairs than is first estimated. The wait can be stressful enough."

"I think your grandmother is probably a whole lot more resilient than you give her credit for. A lot of times the older generation manages to snap back, while the rest of us are all still sitting around, stunned, wondering what happened."

She smiled. "I agree with you there," she muttered.

Kingston kept impressing her the entire time. He sat through lunch, didn't beg in any way, and, when the server came out and asked if he could have a little bit of bacon, he didn't appear to care either way. But when he was signaled that it was okay to eat it, he scooped it up, then looked at them with such appreciation and joy that Brittany had to smile. "I don't think I've ever seen such a well-trained dog," she murmured. "He's really wonderful."

Baron smiled at her and then said, "And Kingston's got you completely buffaloed."

She burst out laughing and agreed. "You're right, and he can keep me buffaloed too, if this is the behavior he puts on. No wonder people like these dogs so much."

"Not to mention that they're really good for protection, if needed."

"Yet what happened to the man who had him?"

"My brother had Kingston, until he was in the hospital, and somebody was supposed to look after this guy in the interim. After the hurricane hit, I'm not sure what happened. The dogsitter didn't figure Kingston was worth looking after, or he figured the dog would be better off on his own, or some other life crisis happened." Baron waved his hands. "We can't really judge until we know."

"And it's so easy to judge, isn't it?" she muttered, with a smile. "It's so easy to just assume that whoever it was just bailed on the dog."

"Exactly, but we don't know that, so, until we have more information, we'll hold off on judgment until we see."

She smiled at him. "Why don't you set up rescue dog training? You seem to understand and to handle them pretty well."

"In this case, Kingston's pretty easy to handle because he's already been well-trained," he noted. "I would just need to pick up the training and keep it going."

"That's certainly an option. You would have a good base here."

"I don't know."

"Well, your brother built a community for himself here just dealing with rescuing dogs," she pointed out. "So you can do something related to the dogs as well."

He nodded. "I've certainly thought about it, and my brother was always trying to coerce me to move back here. Right now I've been feeling an awful lot of regret that I didn't."

"Of course you are. That's human nature in a situation like this," she replied. "Yet there is a time for everything , and, if it wasn't the time for it, then maybe it's a better time now."

He looked over at her and nodded. "We'll see."

"Which I'll take as a request to butt out. I get it," she said, as she burst out laughing at the surprised look on his face.

"That's not what I meant," he protested. "It really is a case of we'll see more than anything else. I was just getting cleared to return to work, but I'm not going back into the military. So I'm not sure what my future work will look like."

"Yet you get a pension, and you don't have to work like the rest of us, or is that not right?"

"I'll get a pension, but it won't be enough to take care of everything I'll need for the rest of my life," he shared. "So, no, I definitely need to find an occupation, maybe a niche of my own to keep the lights on." He studied her for a long moment and added, "I really like the idea of search and rescue and maybe a shelter home."

Again she noticed that infectious grin spread across his face. That grin was lit, and she had to admit she would do an awful lot to keep it coming. He rarely seemed to smile at all yesterday, but then he was still only beginning to deal with the shock and the loss of his brother's death. "I am so sorry about Brad," she said. "Your brother was a special man. Yet he wasn't married, was he?"

Baron shook his head. "He did once, but it was a brief marriage. She lied to him about being pregnant, so he was gun- shy after that. Plus, with his heart condition, he didn't want to get too attached and then end up leaving somebody behind with a family he couldn't look after."

"And yet he could have had many years to bring joy to somebody's life," she pointed out.

"I think he was happy the way he was, and he figured, if he found the right woman, then good. If not, well, it wasn't meant to be."

She wondered about that. "Just with the little bit that I knew of him, he probably would have remained single."

"Maybe, but he wasn't unhappy by any means," Baron stated. "Not everybody has to be married in order to be happy."

She nodded. "It's usually me saying that to people," she noted, with a laugh, "so hearing it come out of your mouth just shows me how far I've fallen." He raised an eyebrow, and she explained. "After a decent amount of time had passed after my breakup at the altar, a lot of people told me that I needed to just get out there and to keep trying to find the right person. I kept telling them that I didn't want to be married or connected to somebody else in order to be happy, but nobody believed me."

He smiled. "That's the problem with being single in an insensitive world," he explained. "Everybody thinks you can't be happy unless you're paired up. Then, when you are paired up, you're not allowed to be unhappy because then you're automatically part of the world that's about to get divorced."

"I never thought of it that way," she muttered, shaking her head. "Yet you're right. It's not easy being the odd man out, is it?"

"No, it sure isn't."

She tilted her head and asked, "What about you?"

"Never been married, though I was in a serious relationship before my accident," he shared. "I thought we were heading there, but she was against my going back into the military, worried that I would end up the way I am, and that's not the life she wanted." He looked down at his leg and shrugged. "Better to have found out before, instead of coming back like this, only to find out she wouldn't be there for me," he stated, with a crooked smile. "We never really know what people are truly like, not until we get into a situation such as this. So I'm glad she was upfront and honest about it."

"Still, I can't imagine saying that to somebody," Brittany declared. "I thought, when you loved somebody, you loved them regardless, and the rest didn't matter."

"Apparently not," he quipped, "because her love required me to be whole, and, if I were to come back broken,… it was on me, and she wasn't interested."

"Wow," she muttered, staring at him. "That must have hurt."

He laughed. "It did, but it was a long time ago, and it's all good now."

"Is it though?"

"Absolutely." He shot her a glance. "No point hanging on to that stuff, and at least she was honest about it. I can appreciate honesty." Standing up, he added, "I'm going back for seconds."

She laughed as she watched him head off to the buffet to get more food. It was a joy to see somebody with an appetite. So often these days everybody—at least the women in her age group—were all watching what they ate and, therefore, never ate much at all.

It was frustrating because Brittany had a healthy appetite now, even though most people still looked at her sideways when she ate. She couldn't ever shake that persona of who she used to be, no matter how much she tried. For Baron, that had to be part of it too. There would always be people who saw him in the physical condition he was in, not understanding that it really wouldn't have too much of an impact on him.

When he returned with a full plate, she looked at it. "Okay, so round two is one thing, but, wow, that's a lot of food."

"It is, but this way I don't have to worry about trying to find more food, when I'm heading out again."

She stopped and looked at him with exasperation. "So, you really are going back out?"

"Of course I am," he confirmed agreeably, "but this time I'm taking Kingston with me."

"Oh, that's a really good idea," she noted. "I didn't think about that. Plus you still have to track down his owner."

"Badger is doing that," he relayed, with a shrug, "but I figured Kingston could use the exercise and the training, so I might as well make good use of his skills while we're there."

She felt an odd unease about his going back out alone, but, with Kingston by his side, maybe it was okay.

He smiled at her. "He'll be extra protection too. You know that, right?"

"How did you know what I was thinking? Are you a mind reader now too?"

In the process of taking a bite, he burst out laughing, then ended up having a coughing fit, bringing extra attention their way. He shook his head. "No, but, in this case, it was obvious."

She glared at him. "It was not."

"It was."

As they wrangled good-naturedly, the waitress came over and filled up their coffee. "You guys must have known each other for a long time," she said, "because, wow, you're having way-too-much fun," And, wearing a big grin, she disappeared.

Brittany looked over at him. "I guess that's what most people would think, wouldn't they?"

"Doesn't matter what they think," he said easily. "I'm well past the stage of giving a crap. Aren't you?"

She thought about it and nodded. "I've lived under the eagle eyes of this town for a very long time," she muttered. "So, yeah, I'm more than happy to ditch that constant worrying about people judging me."

"As soon as you started eating and dealing with some of your earlier issues," he began, "that should have fallen by the wayside itself. Still, when you live in a small town like this, it never really goes away. Everybody is always worrying and watching, making sure that you're okay."

"Isn't that the truth?"

"On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing, since it shows that the town is full of heart."

She looked at him and smiled. "Honestly, I think it is full of heart. It's just not always the easiest town to live in."

"No, I can't imagine that it would be." He leaned closer to her and whispered, "So, as soon as we're done here, I'm heading back into that area. What will you do?"

She nodded. "Do you want company?" When he hesitated, she raised her hands. "I know. I know. You want to go alone. I get it."

"I do want to go alone, though it's not necessarily the smartest thing to do. But, if you'll go up that way behind me, even to poke around at your grandma's place, I would rather you not be up there alone."

She studied him and started to laugh and laugh. "Aha. So, that's the way to let me come with you. I just have to let you think I'll go anyway." That lopsided grin slipped onto his face, melting her heart a little bit more.

"Maybe," he said, with a self-conscious shrug. "I do need to keep you safe."

"Didn't you just tell me that it was safe?"

"Yeah, and I think it is. I don't think that'll be the issue, but what I don't know is whether our gunmen will continue searching for whatever it is they need."

"It's daylight now, and that might affect their decision-making too," she noted.

"I suggest we both go."

"Since you're taking Kingston, why don't we trample around on our own down there? Then, if you think it's safe, I can stay around my grandma's house and do some work and look for stuff for her."

"I agree. Let's go take a look. Then, depending on how everything feels, maybe you can continue doing your thing, while I continue on mine."

"Done." She raised her hand, and the waitress came over with their bill. They paid at the table, leaving a generous tip, and, as they walked out, she asked him, "I have my wheels here. What do you want to do about that?"

He nodded. "How about I just follow you back to your place, and we'll go from there."

And that's what they did. By the time she parked in her driveway, then slipped over to his truck, she noted, "I forgot you even knew where I lived."

He looked at her and laughed. "I guess you were so tired last night that you don't remember my following you home?"

"It did take a minute this morning, as I was sitting there thinking about it," she admitted, "and, yeah, that's how tired I was. I don't want to be that tired and stressed out again."

"Hopefully not," he agreed, with a smile. "I was thinking that maybe we could do dinner Friday."

"Oh, lovely. You have something in mind?"

He nodded. "Some bake thing is going on, isn't there?"

"You mean, the seafood bake?" She stared at him. "I had forgotten about that, but, yes, you're right." She pulled out her phone and checked the calendar. "I think it is Friday night. Good for you."

He laughed. "Not really, my mother mentioned it."

"Will you take her?"

"She doesn't like seafood," he noted, with a smile, "so that would be a waste, but I did tell her that I would consider going." He glanced over at her. "I didn't really want to go alone."

"I get it. I wouldn't want to either."

"Good, in that case, we can be each other's backup. If that's good with you?"

She burst out laughing. "Backup? I would rather just call it a date."

He looked over at her, raised an eyebrow, and laughed. "That's great with me. Absolutely, if it's okay with you."

She gave him a bright smile. "Yeah, it's fine. Besides, it will give everybody a chance to see that I'm normal again."

"Do you really think they still need to see that?"

"I don't know, but sometimes, yeah. Sometimes it feels like they still haven't seen that I'm okay."

"Maybe you just haven't put yourself out there enough to be seen that much."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "It's not really my scene. I would just as soon forget that part of my life."

"I agree with you totally. So, we'll go to the seafood bake, and you'll eat up a storm. They'll be amazed at your appetite and wonder how on earth anybody could afford to feed you now."

She burst out laughing, and their banter continued, as they headed back to the area of her grandmother's house. Seeing it in the daylight again was sobering, and she sighed heavily as they came up on it.

"Did you contact the insurance company?"

"My grandma was trying to do that when I left, and Camille was helping her," she muttered, "but it's not easy right now, after the hurricane affected so many. So trying to get anybody on the phone is one big hurdle. Then trying to get the insurance adjuster to move quickly isn't easy either, not in this situation."

"Not to mention there has to be building materials, tradesmen, architects, and all kinds of other things around here to make it all happen," he murmured, "and that'll be in short supply."

"Right, and all these things that should make life easy—because we paid for them ages ago—tend to go out the window as soon as a disaster hits."

"Insurance isn't all bad," he said, "and, in a case like this, it could turn out to be a godsend."

"Maybe, but it's also quite possible that they'll end up fighting it." When he looked at her, she shrugged. "That's what my grandma seems to think."

"But, if she had insurance, she had coverage for exactly this kind of event."

"Yes, I know, but she doesn't have the same faith."

"Let's hope this is the instance that restores it then," he said. "An awful lot of people are out there who would need help right now, so the insurance companies will have a hard time working their way out from under it."

"But you know how it is.… If they can get out of paying something, they will."

He smiled. "I'm not saying that they won't try. I'm just saying that you will have other resources available to you to help fight them, if that should be an issue."

"I still think you have a very Pollyanna attitude," she said, with a smile.

He glared at her in horror. "That sounds absolutely horrific."

She chuckled. "I don't think so. It's very typical of life. I don't want to be disappointed."

"Maybe," he admitted, "but certainly an awful lot is going on in this world that we can't ever really sort out, and it would be nice to think we had backup when needed."

"I would like to think so, but…"

"And here we are back to that needing more faith discussion," he pointed out.

"For somebody who's been through as much as you have, you seem an awful lot more optimistic than I am."

He shrugged. "I've also come out on the other side, and I have to admit being on this side is a whole lot easier than being where I was. I'm just grateful I'm not there anymore."

"Oh, I like that too," she agreed, with a nod. "We do get stuck in our own heads, don't we?"

"We absolutely do, and it's one of the loneliest places you can ever be," he stated, with a look in her direction, "as you well know."

She nodded slowly. "You're very perceptive."

"Sometimes, but it's mostly just the facts of life. I may have seen a little more than I would have liked to have seen of life," he noted, with a chuckle. At that, Kingston barked from the back seat. He looked over at him. "You doing okay there, buddy?"

He barked several more times as they passed a Starbucks. "What is it, buddy?" Kingston was barking and barking and barking. Baron glanced over at her and raised one eyebrow.

She shrugged. "I don't have a clue. Could he recognize something here?"

"It depends on whether he was addicted to pup cups," he suggested, with a groan. He flashed a grin her way and asked, "How about a coffee?"

"A coffee or a pup cup?" she asked suspiciously.

He pulled into the drive-through. As he reached the front, the window opened, and the woman standing there cried out, "It's Kingston."

He sighed. "I'm looking after him for a little while, but he barked as we came past, and I was afraid he was addicted to pup cups."

"Oh, he totally is, but he's also a big brave boy," she replied, "and we give it to him for free." Then she handed over this pup cup, full of whipping cream. Kingston almost howled in delight. The barista grinned. "You guys want a coffee or just the pup cup for him?"

Feeling terrible, he looked over at Brittany, and she nodded. "Two coffees to go, please. Also can you tell me who brought Kingston here for his treats? I'm trying to locate his owner."

The barista just frowned. "Funny, I don't know his name. We all go crazy over Kingston, yet I never thought to ask the man for his name too."

"Can you describe him?" Baron asked.

"He was an older man, but that's about all I remember. Sorry."

"Any memory of the vehicle he drove?"

She winced. "Not really. Things get a little hectic around here most days. However, we do love to interact with the animals as they come through."

Baron nodded. "Understood."

With Kingston lapping up the pup cup and making a mess of whipped cream everywhere, causing everybody to laugh, they finally received two cups of coffee to go. As he drove away, he looked over at Brittany and asked, "So, what do you think?"

She snorted. "That dog is deadly. Deadly and well-loved apparently, and that's something you and Badger have to figure out," she said, raising her shoulders in a shrug, "because somebody might want him back."

"If he wants him back, he gets him back," Baron stated instantly. "I would never do that to anybody, particularly another veteran."

"Oh, right, I never even think of you in that capacity."

"Don't start now," he added, with a smile. "It's not always the easiest label for any of us to wear."

"Ah, I'm not big on labels either," she muttered. "They tend to be the wrong ones and the kind you don't like to hear and see. Or, worse, they limit us. I've read where retired people have a hard time once that label is gone when their job is done. If we are doing any labeling, then we all should have multiple labels to counteract being stuck with just one."

"Exactly, so we're not into adopting a single label."

"Especially not any negative ones," she added.

And, with that, he headed back toward their destination, driving past her grandmother's house once again. This time he pulled off to the side of the road to have a look around the general area.

He noted, "It looks pretty empty, and we didn't see anybody on the way in."

"I know. The other day quite a few people were trying to salvage stuff, but it looks as if nobody's really coming back." When he hesitated, she waved him off. "I'm fine to stay here. So you go do your thing, and then you can come back for me."

"Okay. You've got my phone number, right?"

"I've got your phone number, and everything's fine." She exited his truck and smiled at him, as he drove away, Kingston now in the front seat as if he belonged there.

"Kingston, you are one crazy dude," she muttered, as he barked at her as a way of saying goodbye. But he was happy and healthy, and he appeared to be fairly well adjusted to life, so it was great that it was going so well.

She headed around to the back of her grandmother's house, once again looking for bits and pieces of her grandma's life that were worth salvaging. Some more of the house had fallen down overnight, which surprised her. She stopped and stared at it, realizing just how much damage there still was and could be to this place.

It was heartbreaking to see, and yet the sooner she adapted to it, the better it would be. Her grandma would adjust, but it would also take a bit of time. As Brittany walked around the outside of the house, where the most things had collected, she thought she saw something sticking out of the ground, partially covered by other debris. Bending down, she picked it up and realized it was a piece of her grandma's jewelry box, and, with that, the hunt was on.

Baron drove down to where they'd picked up the officers last night, stopping on the road several times to study the layout. It was desolate, abandoned, and looked horrific in the daylight. He was sure that, for many people, this was one of the most devastating sights they would ever see in their life. The fact that it was their own property and possessions, their lives, histories, and memories, made it just that much harder for them.

His brother's house was farther down, and he knew the amount of damage, although minor, still hurt. At least it was easily fixable. Baron had been giving serious thought as to whether he could rebuild rather than completely let it go. The building was mostly sound still, and that was something he needed to talk to the insurance company about.

He fully expected to get his brother's house back up and running in no time. The question was, did he want to move into it, or would stepping into his brother's shoes be too much?

It felt wrong in so many ways.

Baron had told his brother several times that Brad wasn't living life to the fullest because he was so afraid that it would end prematurely, which it had. Brad used to tell Baron basically the same thing. That Baron had gone off to war to serve his country, but when was that service over? And when did the rest of the family count?

The brothers had taken a position where they were both right, and they were both wrong. If Baron could have gone back and made some changes, he would have done so to spend more time with Brad.

Even as he thought about his mother, and the years that she was now facing without his brother, Baron knew how hard that would be for her. It's not that Baron wasn't her favorite son, but he just wasn't Brad, and that was the hardest part to ignore.

Nobody could ever be Brad.

Brad was special, and being special also presented a challenge. He'd had his own problems, but he'd always been there for everybody. No reason to consider that there might have been something untoward about his death, except that something about it just didn't ring true to Baron. When that happened, Baron usually hounded that thought, until he figured out what was wrong—which was why he was out here right now.

Brad had had a heart attack, which was something that wasn't totally unexpected, considering his condition, but that also made it much more convenient for somebody to take him out. Plus the heart diagnosis could easily disguise or preclude any real determination of his death. If somebody had been involved in ending Brad's life, Baron could never make peace with the unknown.

He couldn't stop thinking that maybe he was just harboring some fantasy. Did Baron consider something happening to his brother as a better alternative than Brad just having had a heart attack and sending the truck into the water, going out the way he'd always lived? Brad had been peaceful in life and now peaceful in death.

And yet every time Baron thought about the truck left in the aftermath, his brother dead inside, it just didn't seem real. If Brad could have, his brother would definitely have delivered those dogs. It would have meant the world to Brad. Since he couldn't, then what would Baron do now, and what could he do? The animals had been in the back of the vehicle, and most of them had been rescued. He didn't even know if any others were still missing.

He continued to drive about the neighborhood, then turned and looked at Kingston and asked, "Are you still hiding something, buddy?"

Kingston looked at him and barked.

Baron pulled off to the side of the road, where he wanted to check the area near the one house that apparently had the notorious Galloway gang crime ring involved. As soon as he opened the truck door, Kingston jumped out and bolted.

Swearing that he hadn't thought to put a lead on the War Dog, Baron called out for Kingston, but the dog was gone. He stared after him, wondering what the hell was so important that the War Dog had disappeared so quickly. But he didn't have much of a choice, since the dog was his responsibility. And, with that, he clambered after him.