She did as she was told. Long, biting breaths, driving air deep into her lungs. The cold was too much, and she coughed.
“Maybe not so much,” Danny said. “In… Out… There you go. In… Out… Good. Keep that up.” Danny wiped a few strands of hair from his forehead. “So, I know we haven’t been getting out here as much as you’d like. Sorry about that, but you’ve been getting your reps in elsewhere. Well, kinda. We’ll forget these last two weeks or so that you’ve been draggin’ ass on us.”
Jenny narrowed her eyes at him while he chuckled again.
“I know why. I’m not trying to start anything, okay? All I’m saying, or trying to say, is that besides those two weeks, you’ve been doing great. All these scouts we’ve been doing are keeping you fresh. Or, hell, making you better. The other day, when those shots came out, I…” He paused, seemingly unwilling to let what was to follow leave his lips. “I… I was impressed. All I can hope is that what we train for becomes second nature. The stuff that happens without thinking. What you and Matt did was pure reaction. It was great. Nothing like some of the idiots I’ve seen before. Some might have just sat there in the window. Frozen. But not you guys.”
The kerchief kept Jenny’s blushing cheeks hidden. “Thanks, Danny.”
“Welcome. Now listen up, from here on, I’m gonna let you take Sherman. Take him across the flat and down the hill to get the feel for him again. Remember, he needs to be handled. For the most part, he can be pretty self-sufficient, but if he needs corrected, do it before shit goes bad. Once we get to the training grounds, you’ll need to be a little more thoughtful. Take your time with your technique, with your gun work.
“Here, you’ll need this.” From his ruck, Danny took a leg holster and handed it to her.
“Awesome.” She smoothed her pant leg and wrapped the holster around it. “That look right?”
“One sec…” He stretched her cargo pants pocket further down, and Jenny cinched the holster tighter. “There. And, now just the top loop through your belt here. Good. Looks good, but it’s missing something pretty important.” Danny held out the Glock he’d found on their last scout, magazine ejected, slide locked to the rear.
“Well, yeah.” Taking it, she checked that it wasn’t loaded, then popped in the magazine, worked the slide, and dropped it into its holster. “Now, I’m ready.”
“Not quite. I got you something else.” Danny dangled a brand-new canine lead from his hand. “I prefer a leather lead, so now you prefer a leather lead too.”
Proudly, Jenny squeezed it in her gloved hand. Man! I can’t believe I finally got my own lead. The black leather felt tight, crisp, rigid, nothing close to Danny’s worn lead where the slack bounced nicely with Sherman’s pace. This one was hers to break in. Hers to put the miles on. She wrapped it around her wrist a few times and jerked it with her other hand. Sturdy. “This means everything to me, Danny.” Their rifles clacked together as she leapt into him, squeezing him with a big hug. “Seriously, you didn’t have to do any of this. Thank you.”
“We’re not having a moment here, so don’t get too whatever with the sappy stuff.” He peeled her from himself. “It’s not yours yet. You’ve got to earn it to keep it. It’s just for training today.”
“Right!”
“I’ll be covering you now.” He unclipped his lead from Sherman’s harness and ruffled his fur, riling him up. “Ready, boy?! You ready?!” Sherman sprung up from the ground, circling around Danny, splashing through the snow. A whine. A few barks. “Alright, alright, Sherm’.” Danny gripped the harness, clipping Jenny’s lead to it. “You’re listening to the lady now.”
Jenny forced a deep, frozen inhale to try and calm her nerves again. This is it, Jenny. You got this. Get this training done. Show Danny you still know what you’re doing. Own this. You can’t afford to slip up. “Hier.” Sherman took to her side, and Danny took to his rifle behind them.
Through the twist of branches below the crest of the hill, sat the Depot’s training ground—a cul-de-sac with houses in various stages of construction. Jenny had cleared those homes before, more times than she cared to remember. She knew the layout. Knew what to expect for the most part. Even with Sherman, this wasn’t much different. It might not be the most exciting training, but it was this or daily checks, and she’d take most anything before that. Don’t make Danny regret this decision. Don’t give him a reason to send you back.
“Let’s go, boy,” Jenny said.
Sherman bounded off, and Jenny suffered a quick jolt when the lead reached its limit. With him, there was no in between. He was all-go, despite Jenny pulling him back. His legs churned at a vigorous clip, his paws shooting puffs of snow into the air behind him. Some chunks thrown so far back they struck against her pant legs. Damn, pup! You’re making me look bad. She didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t want to give Danny the impression she was hurting to keep up. And to her fortune, he didn’t seem to notice, or at least didn’t say as much.
After half a mile of fighting through his exhausting pace, they met the hill’s descent, and Sherman finally slowed. Phew! He was relatively surefooted and seemed almost annoyed at Jenny’s tentative, choppy steps down the face of the hill. She found staying balanced difficult, one hand outstretched, pulled by Sherman, the other pressing against the ground or grabbing hold of brush to help regain her footing. When the hill bottomed out, they came to a small creek winding its way through the beginnings of an open field which led to the training grounds. Jenny brought them to its edge, wiping the snow from a large rock so she could sit and rest while Sherman drank.
“Okay, kiddo?” Danny’s breathing seemed heavy too. “This snow’s deep, huh?”
“Yeah…” Jenny gazed out at the training grounds. The yards. The houses. Familiarizing herself with the path she’d be taking.
“Never seems to bother him, though. He’s always loved the winter.” Danny balled up some snow. “Right, boy?” Sherman turned from the creek, and Danny tossed the snowball toward his mouth. He caught it, enthusiastically chewing through the powder. “Always willing to play.”
“He seems to like the work too.”
“He doesn’t know the difference. Work is play to him.”
“That makes sense.”
The two of them chatted a while longer, allowing Sherman to get his fill. Once the sound of his tongue lapping water ceased, Jenny got down from the rock, dusting her pants off before kneeling next to Sherman. “Ready, boy?” she whispered to him.
“He’s listening to you better lately.”
Jenny simply nodded, trying to regain her focus.
“Seems you’re ready then. I want to see what you can do with this pup.”
“Let’s go!” With her first step, Sherman took many, skittering across the creek, not paying any mind to getting wet. It left Jenny with little choice but to follow, hastily placing her feet across the stones. To her surprise, she made it with little difficulty, although soggy from where her boots had slipped once or twice. In the openness of the field, the lead’s slack quickly ran out, and she fell behind again. I can’t keep up. Why can’t I think of the damn word to get him to stop?
“Platz!” Danny called. Sherman responded immediately, laying down, but his paws kneaded at the ground, still wanting nothing more than to go.
Jenny threw her head back in disgust. “Damn it, Danny,” she huffed. “At least give me a chance.”
“You have to correct him.”
“I was about to do—”
“Was that before or after he started pulling you around like a sled?”