Page 18 of Sweet Devotion

The dog continued to slowly move closer to Aiden.

In response, Aiden dipped his hand in the bowl, holding a piece of meat in his open palm. Colleen couldn’t believe how well the man held his balance. She didn’t want to think about how much pain he was enduring, and yet, he wasn’t giving up on Romeo.

The dog made it to within biting distance. Romeo’s gaze darted from the bowl to Aiden’s face, assessing, calculating. The tension in the air blew thick. For a moment, Colleen thought the dog would retreat. But then, Aiden’s voice cut through the silence again.

“Mrs. Sweet is a good cook. There’s nice chunks of beef—I’m going to guess it’s prime and from the ranch—and carrots, probably home grown if that huge garden at the side of the house is any indication, and sweet potatoes. I prefer them fried, but I think you’re going to love these.”

Romeo cocked his head sidewise and Colleen would have paid big bucks to know what the dog was thinking.

“He’s doing a great job.” Sarah Sue’s voice took her by surprise, she hadn’t heard the Farraday wife approaching.

“I promise it’s delicious.” Aiden was as focused on the dog as the dog was on him.

One more step and the dog’s nose was carefully sniffing at Aiden’s palm before twitching at the food and finally, thankfully, took a single bite.

Aiden smiled. “Atta boy. Told you it was delicious.”

The dog took another bite of the morsels in Aiden’s palm before licking it clean. The smile that spread across Aiden’s face reflected everything Colleen felt at the moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy for someone else. Slowly Romeo continued to eat, Aiden gently hand-feeding him, letting the dog eat at his own pace.

Fascinated, Colleen watched as Aiden’s hand gingerly, tentatively, stretched out and stroked the back of Romeo’s head. Rather than shy away, to Colleen’s surprise, the dog leaned into the touch, letting out a deep sigh of relief. One that mimicked both Aiden and Sarah’s slow release of breath, and Colleen would bet her last dollar that inside the house, watching, Alice was both sighing with relief and smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

“You never know who a dog is going to choose.” Sarah Sue’s gaze remained on Aiden and Romeo several yards away, Brady, patiently watching from the last place he’d brought the stick.

“It’s his voice,” Colleen kept her attention on the man and the dog.

“What?” Sarah Sue frowned.

“His voice. The dog heard him speaking to Brady and his attention caught and his ears twitched every time Aiden said anything.”

“Hmm.” Sarah Sue shifted, reaching into the massive satchel on her shoulder and pulling out a thick file. Standing beside Colleen, the woman balanced the folder and flipped through pages, stopping at one, her finger running down the page then stopping. “Remind me where Aiden’s from?”

“New York.”

“Hmm. Don’t suppose it’s Brooklyn?”

She shook her head. “The Bronx. That’s close, isn’t it?”

“New York City, yeah.” Sarah Sue closed the file and slid it back into her bag. “I think that’s it.”

“What’s it?” Colleen probably should have been able to follow the conversation, but she was only confused.

“Romeo’s handler was from Brooklyn. Not a whole lot of people running around West Texas with a New York accent.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but no harm no foul.

“I think Romeo is feeling some kind of kinship with Aiden because he sounds like his handler.”

“Will you two stop whispering.” Aiden continued scratching Romeo’s scruff as he licked the last drops in the bowl.

“You’re from the Bronx,” Sarah Sue called to him.

“Give the girl a prize,” he teased.

“Thanks,” Sarah Sue bit back a laugh. “His handler was from Brooklyn. He’s honing in on the familiar accent.”

“The Bronx and Brooklyn do not have the same accent.”

“It’s New York,” Sarah Sue sighed. “Everyone says Cawfee, Chawcolate, and Wawter, and in your case, every time you tell him to come here, it sounds like heeah. I think it’s safe to say his handler most likely pronounced here, heeah, as well.”