He knows. Or at least he suspects.
Alex kept his expression neutral. “Not yet. I’ve got time to show everyone around before the next class.”
“Good, because I want to show off my crew.” He turned to the enclosures and let Valkyrie and T-Bone out. Alex and Kyle spent the next hour putting the dogs through their paces in the training yard on the obstacle course while the others watched.
“Does each bodyguard have a dog?” Caroline asked.
“Eventually. Right now, I’m still pairing up personalities and training everyone. Once I’m sure a dog and a human will get along, then they’re officially assigned as a team. That dog will spend as much time as possible with his or her handler, including living with them. The dogs’ll still spend time here for training, and at times when their human can’t take them somewhere, but these kennels will eventually be full of dogs destined for Lackland and the program there.”
“That is just so cool,” Caroline said.
“I agree,” Wolf added. “Makes me wanna learn a few things.”
“The program’s been both Kyle and Alex’s dream,” Arden said.
Chewie ran up to Alex after he completed his task and he rewarded the dog with a treat. “I’m lucky to be here.”
“No luck, just talent, Chief,” Kyle said, petting Camo.
“Thanks.” Alex grinned.
“You wanna come up to the ranch after your class today?”
“Yes, please do,” Arden added. “I made a ton of food. There’s peach cobbler for days.”
Alex had been hoping to sneak in some time with Sylvie. “Sounds tempting. We’ll see.”
“Alex?” Jodie’s voice came over the loudspeaker in the yard. “Officer Madden’s here for class.”
“We should get out of your way,” Kyle said, winking at Alex.
Shit.
“Madden’s quite the professional, always the first to show up. Determined to get into the K9 Unit.”Now I’m babbling. Shit, shit, shit.They called all the dogs in, except for Mac and Chewie who would be participating in class.
Sylvie was coming down the hall. She looked like she had something on her mind but her expression brightened when she saw everyone. Her gaze quickly pivoted from Alex to Rachael.
“Sorry, if I’m interrupting…” she started.
“Not at all!” Arden said. “We’re the ones taking up your class time.” She quickly made introductions. “If you’ve got time after class, come on up to the ranch. Bring Chewie, Camo loves him.”
Sylvie smiled. “I do have time.” She gave Alex the quickest glance. “I have an early shift tomorrow like I had today, but I can certainly stop by, thank you.”
“And like I said, you’re invited, too,” Arden told Alex.
“You’ve asked twice, so how can I say no?”
With their plans settled, the group moved on to tour the rest of Watchdog. Sylvie had already headed out to the yard to catch up with Chewie. Alex checked his watch; if he hurried he’d have a few minutes alone with her before Stan and Frank showed up. From the doorway, he watched her with Chewie. He loved how much she adored her dog, and even though he’d tried to make Chewie as comfortable as possible, it was clear that he’d missed her terribly.
He headed out to the yard and Sylvie looked up at him, eyes shining. “Hey, you.”
“Hey you yourself.” He took her hand as she stood up. “Last night was amazing. Want to stop by tonight, since you’ll be up here already?”
Her face fell. “I have the cruiser, so…”
“That a no?”
“It’s a very frustrated no.” She laughed a little.
