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Joshua was about to get married. But Battise had made her too uncomfortable to make small talk with.
    Or maybe she’d avoided getting to know him because she couldn’t keep her own emotions under control when he was around.
    Furious with herself for letting her issues get in the way of doing her job, Jori turned to find that Battise and Sam had followed her into the hallway.
    She gulped, feeling guilty for no good reason. Nothing in his attitude said he had overheard her conversation with Abe. That didn’t mean he looked happy to see her.
    â€œYou done with your break yet?”
    His tone went straight through her, sparking anger she didn’t pause to identify. “No, we get two whole minutes per break, Mr. Battise. We’re civilians.” She took another long sip from her bottle to cool her annoyance.
    Abe grinned, looking from one to the other. “If you lovebirds will excuse me.” He rolled on down the hallway, chuckling.
    Jori waited until Abe was out of hearing before she leaned in toward Battise. “You’re rude.”
    â€œI know.” He reached out and took her hand, placed Sam’s leash in it, then folded her fingers closed with his other and squeezed. Strong even teeth appeared in the middle of his beard. “But you’re curious.”
    He bent down and grabbed Samantha under the chin and scratched her behind the ears. “You take care of yourself, Sam. I’m sure a nice new owner will be along any day.” He leaned in to kiss her between the eyes and stood. “Give Kelli my thanks but tell her I have somewhere to be.”
    â€œYou can’t just walk out.” Jori took a step after him. He didn’t pause, sliding on his shades as he strolled toward the exit door.
    â€œMr. Battise.”
    He didn’t even look back.
    Jori stopped herself from following him, aware that nothing she could say now was likely to turn him around. But watching him push through the glass doors was an exercise in frustration. Back erect, shoulders squared. The slight limp was subdued once more by sheer willpower. Even from behind he looked good enough to lick.
    Jori looked down at Samantha, who was staring after him and whimpering as she strained on the leash. “You, too? We must be out of our minds. Out of our minds.”
    She fed Samantha a couple of treats to distract her from the stress of losing her handler, then marched them both straight into Kelli’s office.
    â€œMr. Battise just walked out.”
    Kelli cocked her head to one side. “Where did he go?”
    â€œHe didn’t say. Just to tell you he had somewhere else to be.” She stopped short of voicing her opinion that he wouldn’t be back. What little she knew about him made him unpredictable.
    To her surprise Kelli just smiled. “Have Maxine put in a request to one of our puppy raisers to take Samantha until he returns.” WWP seldom left their dogs in kennels on the property overnight. Service dogs needed the constant reinforcement of home and family life.
    â€œI could take her for tonight.” Jori wasn’t sure why she offered but there it was.
    â€œSuit yourself.”
    â€œOne other thing. I’d like permission to read Mr. Battise’s file.”
    â€œIt’s in there.” Kelli pointed to the row of tall file cabinets then reached for her purse. “I have a meeting in Little Rock this afternoon so I’ll be out the rest of the day. See you in the morning.”
    When her boss was gone Jori shut the office door, not wanting to be disturbed. She searched until she found the folder she wanted from the wall of files. Propping a shoulder against one of the metal cabinets, she began to read.
    She skipped the personal information, flipping the sheets until she came to Battise’s injury assessment. It was more thorough than she expected.
    Amputee, above the left knee. Battise, like many soldiers wounded by a blast that had a thermal