"He was genuinely interested," Douglas said quietly. "Most kids his age just want to get through their tasks, but Daniel asked real questions."
Chief Flynn's mouth twitched with amusement. "He spent twenty minutes at dinner that evening explaining leather conditioning to his mother and sister." He gestured expressively. "My wife was rolling her eyes, but I could see something had clicked for the boy."
Troy smiled. "Douglas has that effect on people. He makes you want to do the work right."
"The next day, he was offered the barn as his permanent assignment," the chief continued. "Daniel actually called me at work to tell me. It's the first time he'd ever reached out like that."
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "And ever since, it's been 'Doc McCandliss this,' and 'Doc McCandliss that.' He hasn't been in a lick of trouble since."
Beth glanced at Douglas, who cleared his throat, a faint blush coloring his cheeks at the unexpected praise. She hadn't seen that much of Douglas, as he worked mostly with horses and livestock, but it didn't surprise her at all that he'd had such an impact on the troubled teen.
"I remember that," Troy mused. "We had a staff meeting with the partners and our office manager. Douglas, you remember? You asked us if you could have Daniel in the barn on a regular basis."
Douglas's eyes narrowed, his expression thoughtful. "I do remember. Daniel has a natural way with the horses - they responded to him immediately. And he asked such intelligent questions about their care. You could tell he was really thinking things through, not just going through the motions."
"He earned everyone's respect pretty quickly," Troy added. "Even Barbara started bragging about him to clients - and you know how particular she is about the staff."
Douglas's face softened at the memory of the mare and her foal. She'd heard snippets about that particular horse from other staff members - how dangerous she'd been when she first arrived, how no one but Douglas would go near her stall.
"Firefly was a special case," Douglas said quietly. "She'd been badly abused before she came to us as a rescue. They wanted to put her down, claimed she was too dangerous to handle. But I could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't mean - she was terrified."
"Daniel told us how you'd spend hours just sitting near her stall," Chief Flynn continued, his voice carrying quiet admiration. "Reading paperwork or making phone calls. How you never pushed her, never tried to force her to accept you."
"Sometimes that's what healing takes," Douglas replied. "Time and patience. Letting them come to trust you at their own pace."
Beth's thought of Todd, and how carefully he was planning his own escape from an abusive situation. Some wounds needed more than just time to heal - they needed the right person to show them a path forward.
"The respect has been mutual," the chief assured him. "In great part, it was due to Dr. McCandliss's work with that mare. Daniel saw all the time he spent with her, standing outside her stall just talking to her. Putting treats on the stall door and retreating so she felt safe to come take them. Daniel had heard the stories from the other employees, of course, about how vicious she was, how she could never be tamed, but Dr. McCandliss never gave up on her."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "It made such a huge impression on Daniel, when the foal was born, he took us all out to dinner to celebrate—his mother, his little sister, and myself—and insisted on paying with the money he'd made working in the barn. He spent the entire two hours at dinner telling us all about the foal and how pretty she was, and how Doc McCandliss let him groom her."
Beth noticed Douglas's throat work with emotion as he heard how deeply the experience had affected the boy. Pride and wonder filled his features as he remembered that breakthrough.
"We were all pretty excited. None of us ever thought Firefly would come around, and now she lets my kids, Molly and Benny, sit on her back while we lead her around."
Chief Flynn's stern expression softened further. "Daniel showed us pictures on his phone. He was so proud of being part of her rehabilitation." He looked at Troy. “I know Daniel appreciates the extra hours you’ve given him to help out at your place as well.”
Troy smiled. “Daniel seems to have a special touch with horses. They like and trust him. I’m glad to have his assistance. We were all sorry to lose him when he went off to college.”
Chief Flynn shook his head as if in disbelief. “When I think that just a few years ago, I had despaired of my son. And now he plans to be a veterinarian himself.”
Chief Flynn's expression shifted from proud father back to professional police chief, though warmth lingered in his eyes.
"Those letters of recommendation you both wrote made all the difference in Daniel's college acceptance," he said, nodding to Douglas and Troy. "The admissions board was particularly impressed by your detailed observations of his work with difficult cases."
"He earned every word," Douglas replied. "His dedication to learning proper horse handling techniques was remarkable."
Chief Flynn straightened his shoulders, authority settling back over him like a familiar coat. "Now, about the security situation. After Dr. Shelton's wife appeared on that talk show, we've been monitoring social media chatter. There's been an uptick in anti-shifter sentiment locally."
"Having private security is a smart move," he said. "Especially for your night shift staff. We've increased patrols in this area, but we can't be everywhere."
"Katerina knew going public would stir up reactions," Troy said quietly. "But she felt it was important to show that shifters are just regular people living regular lives."
"And most folks have been supportive," Suzanne added. "The hate groups are a vocal minority."
Chief Flynn nodded grimly. "True, but sometimes the loudest voices cause the most trouble."
Troy's expression was thoughtful. "Actually, Chief, we've been surprised it took this long to have any real trouble. When Katerina went public, we knew the clinic would become an obvious target."
