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That made her laugh and ask where he stood on that. “Hot stuff, if you can sling me over your shoulder and carry me, then you can do whatever the hell you want to me.”
He thought maybe that was the day they realized they were on the same page. Hot for one another, but enjoying the journey to get there.
“Hey, earth to Gunner,” her voice pulled him back from thought.
“Sorry. Seems to me what matters is what you think.”
“But do you think they can make this happen and build a new training facility that the military will recognize for trained canines?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
He looked straight at her. “Because Riggs, his father, Grady and Naomie all said so. And if they said it, you can take it to the bank.”
“As simple as that?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She was quiet for a few moments, petting the pups. “Okay, then here’s my deal. I want this. For many reasons, but mostly because if these are wolves, I need to work with them, and the offer would make that possible.
“So, if they are, then I’ll jump at the chance, if I get one more thing.”
“What?”
“You.”
Gunner blinked, frowned, and cut her a look. “Me? For what?”
“To teach. You’re a natural Gunner. I’ve watched you with animals, like the ranch’s cattle dogs. I thought they were impressive the first time I saw them work and said something to Riggs. He said they were always good dogs, but you’d turned them into a unit, and now they worked without having to be spoken to. They just looked to you for signals.”
“It just makes sense,” he explained. “There’s a lot of noise with cows, horses and hands.”
“But you trained them, Gun. In just a week, you taught them how to be a unit and what you wanted from them. I want your talent. I want to teach you and learn from you, and I want us to train these pups and see if my theory is sound.”
“What theory?”
“That a unit of wolves would be amazing, a force truly to be reckoned with.”
That shocked him. “Why would you want that? Seems wolves already have it hard enough. There aren't as many as there used to be, you know.”
“I know, and this helps stop that. If they prove beneficial to our defense, as soldiers deployed just like the rest of the men, women, and canines, then we can lobby for their protection and get it. And do you have any idea what benefit there is to having wolves in our national forests and tribal lands?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Well, then sometime when you have a chance, and if you’re interested, do a little online search on Yellowstone and what they’ve done to improve the ecosystem.”
“Wanna give me a hint?”
“Not much into Googling?”
“Not unless necessary.”
“Okay, well maybe this will entice you. Close to thirty years ago, we actually changed the path of the river in Yellowstone National Park, as well as the park itself. And for the better. Our action changed the soil and growth of grasses and plants, it changed the diversity and populations of wildlife throughout the park, and even changed the way the rivers flow. And do you know what we did to achieve that?”
“I can’t even imagine what all that would take.”
“Only one thing.”
