Her Holiday Hero

“I wish I didn’t live so far away. I could help him. With my new job I’m working weekends, so that doesn’t leave a lot of time to even drive to Cimarron City when Josh isn’t in school.”

She didn’t want Ben to feel this was his problem. He lived in Tulsa and was just getting his life back. “I’m going to talk to the school on Monday about it. But that’s not what I wanted to speak with you about. A man named Jake Tanner broke up the fight and brought Josh home. He lives across the street from where it happened on Park Avenue. Could he be your captain? You said something about his living around here once. Am I crazy to even think it could be the same guy?” And why in the world did it make a difference, except that it would bug her until she found out?

“So that’s where he is. Some of my buddies from the old company who made it back were wondering where he went when he was let out of the army hospital a few months ago. He has an email address but hasn’t said where he is when he’s corresponded with any of the guys. I’ve been worried. I should have thought about Cimarron City. He lived there for a while when his father was stationed at the army base nearby. And he used to visit his grandmother there in the summer. I think his grandmother died last year, but I thought since his father is stationed in Florida, that might be where he went.”

“What happened to him?”

“I was stateside when my old company was ambushed and about a quarter of the men were killed, many others injured. Captain Tanner was one of them. A bullet in his left leg. Tore it up. I hear he almost lost it.”

She recalled how emotionally messed up Ben had been last year when he was first released from the military hospital and honorably discharged from the army. He didn’t have a job then—couldn’t hold one down—and lived with their parents in Tulsa.

“How did he seem to you?”

“He couldn’t get away fast enough. I invited him to share a drink for rescuing Josh, and he backed away as if I was contagious.”

“What did you say to him?” Half amusement, half concern came over the line from her brother.

“Nothing. He wasn’t mad at me. He was—” she searched her mind for a word to describe the earlier encounter “—vulnerable. Something was wrong. Maybe his leg was hurting or something like that. I did see his hands shaking. He tried to hide it, and he was breathing hard, sweating. That didn’t start really until he’d been talking to me for a while. Do you think it could be...” She wasn’t a doctor and had no business diagnosing a person.

“Post traumatic stress disorder?”

Ben had recovered from his physical injuries within months of returning stateside, but what had lingered and brought her brother to his knees was PTSD. Last year she’d trained her first service dog to help her brother deal with the effects of the disorder. “How’s Butch doing?”

“He’s great. You don’t know how much he changed my life for the better.”

Yes, she did. She saw her brother go from almost retreating totally from life to now holding down a job and functioning normally. He still lived with their parents, but she’d heard from her mom he was looking for his own apartment. “Are you having any problems?”

“Yes, occasionally, but Butch is right there for me. I can’t thank you enough for him. Do you think you could pay Captain Tanner a visit? See how he is? I know what happened to him was bad, and as tough as he was, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dealing with PTSD. It can take out the strongest people.”

Like Ben. He’d been a sergeant with an Army Special Forces Unit with lethal skills she couldn’t even imagine. Yet none of that mattered in the end.

“Please, sis. I owe Captain Tanner my life. He pulled me out of the firefight that took me down. If he hadn’t, I would have died.”

“What if it isn’t your Captain Tanner?”

“Was the person six and a half feet, dark brown hair, built like a tank, solid, with dark eyes—almost black?”

“That’s him.” She thought of the man she’d met today and realized she owed him, too. Not only for Ben but Josh. “I’ll go see him. What do you want me to do?”

As her brother told her, she visualized Jake Tanner. The glimpse of anguish she’d seen in those dark eyes haunted her. He’d been quick to disguise it until the end when he started backing away from her. That black gaze pierced straight through her heart, and she doubted he even realized what he’d telegraphed to her—he was a man in pain.

* * *

The following Tuesday, Emma brought a terrier on a leash into the back room of the Harris Animal Hospital where she worked for Dr. Harris, the father of her best friend, Abbey Winters. “I think this gal will be great to train as a service dog. She’s smart and eager.”

“Even tempered?” Abbey, her partner in the Caring Canines Foundation, asked as she looked at the medium-size dog with fur that was various shades of brown.

“Surprisingly calm. That combined with this breed’s determination and devotion can make a good service dog.”

“I’ll take her out to Caring Canines since you’re working with the German shepherd at your house.” The kennel and training facilities of the organization were housed at Winter Haven Ranch where Abbey lived with her husband, Dominic.

“Shep will make a good service dog, too. I’ve even got a possible owner for him. You know I’ve been doing the same training with Shep as I did with Butch.”

“How is your brother?”

“Doing so much better. I talked to Ben twice this past weekend.”

Abbey’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s unusual. Doesn’t your brother hate talking on the phone?”

“Yeah, he prefers video chatting where he can see a person’s face, and the second time that’s what we did. I got to see Butch. Ben looks better each time I see him. Butch has been good for my brother, and if what Ben thinks is true, Shep will be good for Captain Tanner.”

“Another soldier? Is it a physical injury? PTSD?”

“Both. When those kids I told you about yesterday jumped Josh, Captain Tanner was the man who rescued him. After he left my house Saturday, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d heard that name somewhere. I finally remembered Ben served under a Captain Jake Tanner.”

“So you called your brother to find out. I know how you are when you get something in your head. You don’t give up until you find out the truth.”

Emma laughed. “You’ve nailed me. I called him to see. Ben did some checking around after we talked on Saturday and found out that Captain Tanner has basically withdrawn into his house. Ben has a few connections, and one thought the captain was suffering from PTSD, although he doesn’t seem to be participating in any therapy groups through the VA.”

“How does Captain Tanner feel about having a service dog?”

“I don’t know. I only talked to him that one time. I plan on taking him some brownies as a thank-you for helping Josh. Shep will go with me. I’ll introduce him to the idea of a service dog slowly.”

She wasn’t sure if Jake Tanner would even open the door. She’d use the excuse she needed more information about the three boys who attacked Josh. Not only did she want to help the captain if he was suffering from PTSD, but she did need descriptions of the boys to give her an idea who could be bullying Josh. His teacher had requested any information to help her with the situation at school.

“Shep could help him, but he needs counseling, too. Maybe he’s getting private therapy.”

“Possibly, but Ben doesn’t think so from what he’s hearing from his army buddies in the area. Do you have room in your PTSD group?” Though Emma’s best friend ran the Caring Canines Foundation, she still conducted a few counseling groups.

“If he’ll come, I’ll make room. The members are there to support each other, and talking about it has helped them. But there aren’t any soldiers in the group.”

“Maybe you should start one for people who have been bullied.” Josh was dealing with some of the same symptoms as someone with PTSD—anger, anxiety and depression.

“If I only had more time in the day. Even quitting work at the hospital hasn’t changed much because I’m training more dogs now. There is such a demand for them. So you didn’t get any answers about who’s bullying Josh from your meeting with Mrs. Alexander yesterday?”

“She hasn’t seen anything, and since I didn’t know the bullies’ names and couldn’t describe them, there wasn’t much she could do but keep an eye out for any trouble. Most of the boys in his class are bigger than Josh, so the bullies could be in Mrs. Alexander’s room. Or from the other fifth-grade classes.”

“They could even be sixth-graders. It was a good idea to get him off the bus. It’s hard for the driver to keep an eye on the road and what students are doing at the same time.” Abbey leaned down and stroked the terrier. “Did Dad give his okay on this dog?”

Emma nodded. “Your father checked her over and she’s medically sound. It’s Madi’s turn to name the dog. Let me know what she chooses.” Madi was Abbey’s ten-year-old sister-in-law whom she and Dominic were raising.

“Madi takes her job as name giver very seriously. She’ll stew on it for days,” Abbey said with a chuckle.

“Not too long. I want to start right away and a name helps. Now that I’m winding down with Shep, I have a slot open.” Since she still worked full-time at the animal hospital, she could train only one dog at a time.

Abbey took the leash from Emma. “Good. Before long we’re going to need another trainer, or you’re going to have to quit your job here.”

“Your father might have something to say about that. I’m going to look at training more than one dog. Hopefully that will help.”