Sandhill Dreams by Cara Putman

Author:Cara Putman [Putman, Cara C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whisper Valley Press

All week Lainie looked for Tom, but never saw him closer than across a field. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he purposefully avoided her. He almost turned on his heel if they came within one hundred feet of each other.

He’d seemed to enjoy Saturday, and the conversation had flowed back and forth with plenty of barbs. As she sat at her desk Wednesday, she could almost sense the heat of the sun warming her face. Surely he’d enjoyed it as much as she. But the more she analyzed their time, the more she worried that she’d done or said something wrong. She couldn’t figure out what that was, but he’d swerved inward the nearer they came to the fort.

Unfortunately, she kept running into Lieutenant Daniels. The fire in his eyes made it clear he continued to fume. She was just glad he didn’t say anything, choosing to glower at her instead.

Wednesday afternoon Mary walked across the office and stopped in front of Lainie’s desk. “You’re a million miles away today. Something wrong?”

Lainie shook her head and shifted the intake papers piled on her desk. “Gathering wool, I guess.”

“Are there many Gardners in North Platte?”

“No, all of Father’s family is from Kansas. His job at the bank brought our family to town. Why?”

“I wondered, because Private Donahue brought in the newest stack of forms. This top one says the dog belonged to James Gardner of North Platte.”

Lainie bolted out of the chair and rushed around the table. “Let me see that.” She scanned the sheet once, then again, unwilling to believe the information typed on the page. “No, no, no. Why would they do that?” She spun and grabbed her hat from the coat tree before rushing from the building.

She stepped into the sunlight and stopped. Where could she go? She couldn’t let the Army have Mason. The dog had been her confidant on too many occasions to count. The black Lab would settle back on her haunches and listen as Lainie poured out her woes. Mason didn’t have an aggressive bone in her body nor did she chase every squirrel and bird like so many of her breed. “What were they thinking?” Mason would flop as a war dog, although part of Lainie feared the dog would excel with her intelligence. Lainie had to find Mason and get her discharged before the training harmed her.

But what could she do? Her thoughts froze in a jumbled mess, and she felt rooted to the ground. Lainie forced herself forward. Maybe Mason was still in processing. If so, she’d be at the War Dog Reception and Training Center. Lainie hurried across the street to the center.

She pushed open the doors and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimness. The smell of antiseptic and bleach mixed with a doggy odor choked her. She covered her mouth and nose and looked for anyone who might be in charge. Her gaze fixed on Sergeant Lewis. He could help her, he had to.

“Sergeant.” She hurried toward him when he didn’t move.

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