Scout Takes the Lead by Neil S. Plakcy

Author:Neil S. Plakcy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, new adult, veteran, PTSD, dog, trainer, training, dogs, K9, Florida
Publisher: Samwise Books
Published: 2023-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

12: Interruption: Grace

I was still upset when I got home and called Becca. “The evening was going so well,” I said. “But then he freaked out on me.” I described hearing the cherry bombs and how Alex had reacted. “I know what he was trying to do, but it reminded me of my father knocking my mother around and I couldn’t handle it.”

“It sounds like it’s as much your problem as his,” Becca said.

“Excuse me? Are you making excuses for a guy throwing me to the ground?”

“He told you he did it because he was trying to protect you. Not to hurt you.”

“I don’t know. It reminds me too much of my parents. The first time my father sprained my mother’s wrist, it was because he grabbed her and nearly dragged her away from a man she was talking to at church. My father said he saw something evil in the man’s eye and he had to protect her.”

“What did your mother say?”

“At first she said the man was just speaking to her in Spanish about something happening in Puerto Rico. But eventually she said she was wrong to talk to him.”

“This doesn’t seem like the same thing,” Becca said.

I looked down at my wrist, which had been scraped up on the pavement. “Whether he was trying to protect me or not, he hurt me. Alex has red warning lights flashing all over him. You were right. I keep trying to find guys I can fix. Only I can’t fix him.”

I thought about my conversations with Dr. Altman. She had been more concerned about fixing myself rather than other people. But it was all the same, wasn’t it?

I wasn’t surprised when I got the apologetic text from Alex the next morning. That’s what abusers do—-they hurt you, then they apologize. Oh, baby, I didn’t mean it. Give me another chance.

Only Alex didn’t ask for another date. He said he was dropping out of the class.

I put down my phone after reading his message. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I admit I was crushing on Scout almost as much as I was on Alex. He was such a handsome dog, with such a sweet personality, warm and loving and yet clearly protective of Alex.

Alex needed help with his dog, and maybe down the road Scout could help him with his PTSD. There wasn’t any reason why he couldn’t come to class anymore, as long as I kept my distance from him. And there were no loud noises to set him off.

I thought about Alex and Scout off and on during the week. I understood what he’d done, really. But it had still scared the shit out of me. Did I want to see him again? I met Becca for dinner on Wednesday night, and she brought Navajo, who she said was suffering from separation anxiety. She kept the dachshund in a bag over her shoulder, and every now and then he’d poke his long brown snout out and sniff the air.

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