But she wasn’t built for that. Her father had made sure she understood early that no one was in her corner. That she had to fight for every inch, every piece of her place in the world. No one could be trusted not to take it from her, especially not men.
“Hey.” Noah squeezed her hand as he pulled into her driveway. “You okay? You got quiet after we left.”
“Just thinking about the case.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. “Seems like we hit nothing but dead ends.”
“We’ll get there.” He lifted their joined hands to brush a kiss across her knuckles. “I’ve got a few more leads to chase down. Maybe they’ll pan out.”
Normally, she loved his charm and optimism and casual affection. Right this minute, it felt dangerous. Like something that could crack her wide open if she let it.
She needed space. Just a little breathing room to get her head on straight. To reel everything back until this thing with Noah became fun and uncomplicated again.
“So, I was thinking,” she said, her throat raw for some reason. “Ripley needs a little more focus. I love that you’re taking time out to work with us, but I think it’ll be better if we find someone else for a bit.”
Noah’s face scrunched up as he processed that. “Okay. Did I do something wrong?”
“Yeah, you’re distracting,” she said with a hollow laugh that he hopefully didn’t notice. “We spend more time kissing than training. I want to get my SAR certification and not have to redo everything in a few weeks when I realize Ripley and I are behind.”
“Oh, I see. I’m too sexy for you on the training field.” He laughed, thankfully seeming to buy her excuse.
It wasn’t an excuse. It was the gospel truth. Just not the whole reason.
“I know a guy,” he continued with a nod. “I’ll get you in touch with him.”
Sabrina blew out a breath. Crisis averted. She could lay low without Noah cluing in and focus on SAR training. Like she should be.
* * *
“Again.” Nathan Bradley’s command lacked the warmth that always colored Noah’s voice. “Your dog’s form is sloppy.”
Ripley’s form was not sloppy. She’d executed the recall perfectly, just like Noah had taught them. But apparently Bradley had different standards.
“Good girl,” Sabrina murmured as she gave Ripley the release command. The lab’s tail drooped slightly, picking up on the tension that had been building for the past hour.
This had seemed like such a good idea in the car the other day. Get some distance, gain some clarity, focus, focus, focus. Except she missed Noah and she had a feeling Ripley did too.
Noah would have noticed the dog’s flagging enthusiasm immediately. Would have called for a water break or switched up the routine. He’d have noticed Sabrina’s mood too and would have kissed her frown upside down by now. Twice.
Which was exactly why she was working with Nathan Bradley, a guy who did nothing for her at all with his mountain-man beard and barrel-shaped chest. So his methods were different than Noah’s. Good. That’s what she and Ripley needed.
“Reset.” Bradley’s tone held an edge of impatience. “And this time, make sure she stays in proper heel position. I don’t know what kind of subpar training you’ve been doing, but—”
“Her training has been excellent.” The words snapped out before Sabrina could stop them. “She’s crushing the certification requirements.”
Bradley’s eyebrows shot up. “According to who?”
Noah.
Heat crawled up her neck as she bit back a defense of Noah. Because that’s who Bradley was really criticizing, and it wasn’t accurate or fair. But she wasn’t working with Noah, and besides, they weren’t a couple. He didn’t need her speaking up for him.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out without thinking about how Bradley would react.
Sexy SAR Expert: Got a possible lead on Camille. Call you later?
Her heart did a stupid little flutter. Great. This distance idea had really worked out. Instead, her brain seemed determined to fixate on Noah and the lack of his presence.
Except maybe that was the problem. Giving herself space had started to feel less like a smart choice and more like a defense mechanism. Against what? A fantastic guy who had done nothing but treat her like a queen?
“Would it be possible to get back to work soon?” Bradley’s dry voice interrupted her spiral. “We’re never going to resolve the problems with Ripley’s training at this rate.”
