Taking Heart Read Free Page B

early, and they would get a rental and arrive at Heart Fire shortly.
    â€œCome on, Tango. We need to change the sheets before they get here.” The dog lifted one brow, as if questioning her. She laughed and pointed at him. “Don’t give me that look. I get enough flak from Justin. I don’t need you taking his side.”
    The dog jumped up from the floor and moved to her right side. She reached her hand out and laid it on his massive head, rubbing behind one ear. “I think there might be some peanut butter treats in the house. What do you say?”
    Tango barked once loudly and nudged the door open with his nose before looking back at her.
    â€œI knew you’d see it my way.”
    D YLAN STARED OUT the window, barely paying attention to the landscape passing in a blur down the highway. The trip had been less eventful than either he or Gage expected. The only point he’d had some trouble coping was when the engines geared up for takeoff and the whine had nearly thrown him back. He’d felt himself slipping, his vision fading as his mind took him back to that day. Gage had nudged his arm, forcing him to focus on the present, and guilt overrode the flashback.
    â€œYou okay?” Gage glanced his way. Dylan hated the constant worry he could read in his brother’s eyes.
    He couldn’t keep doing this to his brother. He’d become nothing more than a burden, the way their alcoholic father had been. Dylan had been the one who had stepped up from a young age, far too young for the responsibility of taking care of his mother and younger brother. To know that Gage might one day resent him, the way he did his father—he couldn’t let that happen. As much as he didn’t think a dog would help him, it might at least do enough good that he could give his brother back the freedom he’d lost when Dylan returned from Afghanistan.
    He shifted in the seat of the Camaro his brother had rented. The old Dylan would have been itching to open the car on the long stretch of highway, to press his foot to the floor and let the powerful beast fly over the asphalt, like Icarus soaring toward the sun. But that man had become mortal, died the day a bullet grazed his temple and a grenade exploded beside him. He fisted his hands, trying to control the anger that rose to the surface whenever he thought of what he’d lost.
    â€œYeah. Where is this place? BFE? How much farther?”
    Gage checked the GPS navigation. “About five miles. Just off the next exit.”
    Dylan’s brows drooped. “Not much around here, is there?”
    Gage shrugged as he turned off the highway. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
    â€œI don’t like it. There’s a lot of trees and ground cover. Too many hills.”
    He knew it might not make sense to anyone else, but the hills and wooded areas made it harder for Dylan to see anyone approaching. He might not be in combat any longer, but that didn’t stop him from scanning the woods for enemies. The doctors claimed it was just part of the PTSD, but he hadn’t met a soldier yet who didn’t continue to watch his back, even at home.
    It was the same reason he’d done Internet searches on this training facility while his brother was sleeping. He not only wanted to get a lay of the place, but he wanted to know what he should expect. He was surprised to find out it was run by a woman. He’d even watched a few of the videos posted on her website. As much as it looked like she knew what she was doing, he wasn’t sure how much a dog trainer could understand about a PTSD case like his without having been in combat. The woman in the videos looked more like a cheerleader than someone who knew anything about fear, trauma, or death.
    Dylan crossed his arms over his chest as they approached the entrance and a sign welcoming them to Heart Fire Training Facility. As they pulled up to the main house, Dylan saw his brother’s