Read His Obsession Next Door (In the Line of Duty) for Free Online

banquet to speak?”
    “No, we were actually thinking more along the lines of taking a few dogs and training them. If we turned them into certified service dogs we could put them into the hands of bomb-hunting handlers here on US soil.”
    “Cole…” she began, shaking her head. Most of the animals in her shelter were mutts. While she knew you could teach an old dog a new trick, she wasn’t sure they could turn them into trained service dogs.
    “The dogs will be in good hands, Gems,” he rushed out. “These guys take better care of their animals than they do themselves. I can promise you that.”
    The light turned green and Cole took the corner. “I don’t know,” she said.
    “You of all people know working dogs love what they do and they don’t just thrive on it, they live for it. We’d have to work with the dogs individually, to discover if they have the right personality and can follow orders. It’ll take a great deal of time, but the guys and I have a whole lot of that on our hands now. It’s a win-win situation.”
    She mulled it over and her stomach clenched when she thought of the alternative. If she didn’t make room in her shelter or get the funding she needed, she was going to have to turn animals away. But she still wasn’t sure if they could be turned into working service dogs. Then again, she could trust Cole, and he’d never certify any animal he felt wasn’t capable or ready. The fact that he and the others wanted to help touched her deeply.
    “Will you at least let me prove I can train them and show you how much they thrive on it?” he asked.
    “How?”
    “There’s an old military base not too far from here. Jack is looking into training them there. I’ll prove to you that the guys and I have what it takes and show you how their work can save lives. And once you’re satisfied, we can go from there.”
    When they reached her clinic, he parked and turned to her. Her heart swelled in her chest as she reached for her door handle. When presented with a problem, Cole certainly was a man of action. What he and his comrades wanted to do to help meant the world to her. “Thank you, Cole.”
    Cole nodded and they climbed from the truck and made their way to her front door. She inserted her key into the lock and he pulled open the door and held it for her. They entered and she gave him a quick tour of the facility as she guided him to the recovery room where Charlie was staying. A wide smile lit Cole’s eyes the second he found Charlie waiting for him, his tail wagging madly.
    Her heart lodged in her throat as she watched the two reunite. After giving Charlie a thorough examination, she saw them off and turned her attention to her lobby, which had begun to fill up with four-legged patients.
    A long time later, tired as the workday came to a close, Gemma walked into her back office. She plunked down in her cushy chair and, after a call to the event planner, she remembered her blind date.
    Grimacing, she shook her mouse to wake her computer and typed in the name Douglas Washington. If he was going to be her escort, she at least wanted to know a little bit about the guy her mother wanted to marry her off to. She read his profile, which was about as exciting as a wet crouton, then let loose a long sigh. Honestly, she needed to stop comparing every man she went out with to Cole, otherwise she was going to spend the rest of her life alone. Someday she’d like to get married and have a family of her own, which had her wondering more about Cole. Now that he was back for good, what did he want out of life besides work?
    As she thought about Cole, she wondered if he might have changed his mind about attending the charity event. Now that they shared a common goal and he was getting involved in her no-kill shelter, would he want to attend to learn more about her cause?
    Benefactors would love to hear stories about bomb-hunting dogs working in the field, and how he and his comrades wanted to train new