“Exactly.”
They shared another laugh, and David grinned at Turk, who was now pressing his nose to the ground, wondering where the groundhog he was chasing had gone.He yelped and jumped back, and Faith caught a brief glimpse of Sir Groundhog chattering irritably at the pooch before disappearing back underground.
“Come on, boy,” Faith said, patting her discomfited pup on the head.“You’re gonna be eleven next month.Haven’t you figured out not to mess with squirrels yet?”
Turk whined morosely but quickly forgot his grief when he saw another butterfly, this one a bright yellow example a little smaller than the monarch but far livelier.“What are those ones called again?”she asked.
“Hmm?”David replied.
“The butterfly.”
“Oh.Um… little yellow.”
She giggled.“Really?”
“Yeah.Why’s that funny?”
“I mean, it’s kind of like calling me average blonde.”She grinned.“Or you big brunette.”
He chuckled.“A for effort on the dirty joke.”
“Who said it was a joke?And anyway, you didn’t marry me for my humor.”
“No.I did not.”
She kissed him again, then leaned her head on his shoulder.The sun wasn’t quite all the way to its zenith, but the day was already warm.The last snow had melted the week prior, a little early for the season, but Faith was okay with that.She loved spring.Winter was beautiful in its own way, but there was something inspiring about seeing life break through after the death of winter.It was a reminder that the world didn’t end in bleakness and gray.
She laughed and shook her head.“Oh boy.I’ve got a case of the mopeys.”
David didn’t reply.She looked up at him, and her smile faded when she saw him staring intently forward, pressing his lips together hard enough to drive the blood from them.“David?”
He flinched softly.“Hmm?Sorry, what was the question?”
“Well, therewasn’ta question, but now the question is what’s gotten into you?Doyouhave a case of the mopeys?”
He chuckled, but it sounded forced.“No, I’m just… not looking forward to work, I guess.”
David was the Chief Veterinarian of the FBI’s K9 Academy.He was licensed to see any animal, and semi-occasionally examined dogs from other agencies and even personal pets, but most of his backlog came from Faith’s students and their K9s.
She smiled sheepishly.“Sorry.I have a big class this time around.”
“That’s a good thing,” David said.“You want a K9 in every field office, so you need to train a lot of dogs.”He returned her smile.“I think I’m just bummed we’re not on vacation anymore.”
She made her smile seductive.“Well, we still have tonight.”
His eyes widened, and his pupils contracted the way they always did.It might be silly, but she still felt good knowing that a little hint from her could still have that effect on him.They’d only been married for nine months, but she still liked that she could drive him crazy.And from time to time, when she was in averygood mood, she would admit that he drove her crazy too.
Part of her mood today was probably a reaction to her own return to work.She loved teaching, and if a case happened to rear its ugly head, she loved fieldwork too, but she had gotten used to the somewhat slower pace of life out here.As a field agent in the Philadelphia Field Office, she and her former partner Michael Prince—now the Special Agent-in-Charge of that office—had become celebrities in the Bureau.They’d traveled all across the country solving some of the most sensational crimes in history and putting some of the most dangerous bad guys behind bars, with Turk’s help, of course.
She was glad sometimes that things had calmed down for her.Other times, she missed the frenetic pace.And days like today, she wished she could just turn off the part of her that needed to work and enjoy a nice, quiet retirement.
Turk stopped suddenly and lifted his head.David and Faith both stopped too, tensing as they watched him.The veteran K9 had the best nose in the business, and if he was smelling something alarming, then chances were it was worth their attention.
Make thatFaith’sattention.Her husband was the sexiest man alive to her, but not because of his fighting skills.
Faith disengaged her arm and unclipped her shoulder holster.David frowned at the weapon.He had implored Faith to leave the gun at home.She was glad she hadn’t, but he was probably just upset that she had good reason to bring it.
Not that she was overjoyed by that either.“What is it, Turk?What do you see?”
