“Frau Bauer,” Fleck called.
“Ja, sir,” Emmi said, grooming a shepherd at a nearby stall.
“Please take your dog for a walk,” he said.
He wants to speak privately with us.A lump formed in the pit of Max’s stomach as he listened to Emmi and the dog leave the barn.
“I’ve been giving considerable thought to the shepherd assignments,” Fleck said. “And I’ve decided to make a change.”
Dread shot through Max. He placed a gloved hand on Nia’s head. “With all due respect, sir, I do not wish to have another shepherd. I’d rather go back to Leipzig alone, than to exchange Nia for—”
“Max,” Fleck interrupted. “I wasn’t finished.”
Max nodded.
Fleck took a drag on his cigarette. “As I was saying, I’ve decided to make a change. Despite your lack of focus this morning, I am permanently assigning Nia to you.”
Anna’s eyes widened.
Max froze, questioning whether he interpreted the man’s words correctly.
“You’ve worked with most, if not all, of the shepherds,” Fleck said. “And I see no need to pair you with another dog, since it’s become apparent that you and Nia have formed an inseparable bond.”
He swallowed. “Are you saying that she’s mine?”
“Ja, assuming you finish the rest of training.”
“Dankeschön, sir,” Max said, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.
Anna kneeled to Nia. “Did you hear that, girl? You’re going to go home with Max.”
Nia wagged her tail.
“Max,” Fleck said. “I trust that your concentration will be better tomorrow.”
“It will, sir,” he said.
“Gut.” Fleck turned to Anna. “Take Max and Nia to town to train for the remainder of the afternoon, and take Frau Bauer with you. Instruct her to go to the ambulance dog shelter. They have a few shepherds in need of paw care. And if it pleases you, you may mention that the supervisor there was quite impressed with her care of the shepherds with kennel cough. He commented to me that he’d rather have Frau Bauer care for his dogs than their former veterinarian who’d been sent to the front.”
“Of course, sir,” Anna said. “I’ll be sure to tell her.”
Fleck gave a nod and left the barn, leaving them alone.
Anna threw her arms around Max. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!”
He hugged her. “It wouldn’t have happened without you.”
Her embrace lingered.
He felt the warmth of her breath against his neck. His heart rate quickened. Nia stuck her snout between them, and he felt her arms slip away. Gathering his composure, he smiled and said, “Shall we get back to work?”
“With pleasure,” she said.
They gathered Emmi and departed for town, leaving the other groups who were still conducting drills on the obstacle course. Once they were away from school, Anna informed Emmi about Fleck’s compliment with regard to her care for the dogs with kennel cough.
“He really said that?” Emmi asked, beaming.
“He did,” Max said.
