could practically feel the frustration rolling off him. She tried not to notice his broad, bare chest and the flat planes of his stomach. But she could feel her own body reacting to his nearness. She struggled to keep her breathing even.
“He can’t track with an object in his mouth,” Mike said, his voice brusque. “We have to wean him from that thing.”
Lacey didn’t say anything, partly because no response was required—he was right, of course. But she also remained silent because she was starting to realize how much Mike was expecting of her, and in such a short time. She’d told herself she’d taken the job for the money—and to help Sheridan. But after lying awake until the wee hours of the morning thinking about Mike Nichols’s near kiss, she was starting to wonder about her own motivations.
And if she’d bitten off more than she could chew.
Chapter Nine
The next few days were physically and emotionally grueling on all three of them, Lacey acknowledged every night when she fell into bed. Mike started each day with an attempt to put Sheridan through a series of exercises, but quickly became frustrated with the dog’s lack of focus. He’d bark orders at Sheridan, only to be ignored, which exasperated him more.
At Lacey’s urging, they often broke from the exercises to take long walks, over increasing difficult terrain. She used longer and longer leashes to allow Sheridan his head. At first, he would scurry back to them at the slightest movement or sound, but eventually he would simply look back to make sure they were still there, then keep moving forward. Finally, she unhooked his leash and he ventured ahead to explore on his own without the umbilical cord.
During the long walks, she and Mike passed the time by talking about everything under the sun, but mostly about Sheridan. He obviously cared about his animal a great deal.
In the evenings, they devised ways to expose Sheridan to increasing louder noises—Mike would initiate the noise, from loud music to dropping items onto the floor, to sounding various alarms to running power tools, all while Lacey held the dog and forced him to focus on her instead of the distracting sound.
The dog still couldn’t endure being wet.
Yet his progress was noticeable. By the end of the first week, Sheridan was responding to Mike’s commands and going through simple exercises. And although he was still skittish, he stopped cowering from loud noises. She and Mike bonded over every little accomplishment—at least she felt it. Every night she lay on her bed, her limbs exhausted, but her mind replaying their meandering talks and the way they moved around each other in the small cabin. Their shared glances over Sheridan’s successes made her heart soar and their accidental touches set her body on fire. He hadn’t tried to kiss her again, though, so she suspected that moment had been a fleeting attraction.
A man like Mike Nichols had to have a girlfriend…or three.
She’d never been around anyone who made her feel so many things at once—happy, irritated, challenged....turned on. The tension between them was titillating, but it kept her on edge. As Sheridan progressed, she observed Mike becoming more dominant in the way he handled the dog. Her patience with the big man was waning.
One sticking point in Sheridan’s recovery that divided them was the fact the dog wouldn’t part with the stuffed pink bone—although not for lack of Mike trying. Every time he succeeded in swiping the toy from Sheridan during mealtime or nap time, the dog would become so distressed, Mike would eventually give it back. And Lacey would feel as if they’d suffered a setback as she worked to calm the dog. By the morning of the eighth day, she’d reached the end of her rope—with the owner, not the dog.
“Don’t take it from him again,” she said, keeping her voice low as she comforted Sheridan.
Mike crossed his thick arms and grunted. “He can’t show up at the training facility next week with a pink toy in his mouth.”
She frowned. “Will the other dogs tease him?”
“Very funny. He can’t track with something in his mouth.”
“I’m starting to wonder what bothers you the most—the fact that he’s attached to a toy, or the fact that it’s pink?”
His mouth tightened. “Both.”
Lacey took in the man’s immovable posture and was shot through with frustration. She stood. “I need to run a couple of errands and check in with my employee. Why don’t I take Sheridan with me today.”
Mike did