A New Role

Filed in: Excerpts | Family | Writing
Tags: Field of Danger | white German shepherds

In 1984, my father retired, and my husband and I gave him a gift he’d always wanted but never had the time to nurture. A white German shepherd. With no explanation, Daddy named her Polly (picture here).

Polly has been gone for awhile, but now she has a new role. In my December book, Field of Danger, I give Polly a place of honor. She belongs to Aunt Suke, who is my heroine’s mentor. Below are two excerpts. The first comes as Aunt Suke volunteers her antebellum home as a safe house for the heroine. At first, the hero, Daniel, is reluctant, but Aunt Suke—and Polly—make a good case.

In the second, the guard outside the house has been pulled away on an emergency, and Aunt Suke goes into a lockdown on the house.

I hope you enjoy these samples. And a small look at a companion who was an important part of my family’s life.

——————

Silence. April looked at Daniel, who shook his head, even though he knew arguing with Aunt Suke had always been a losing battle. “No, Aunt Suke. You could be in danger as well. We can’t guarantee your safety in a house this big, this open.” He gestured around at the rolling fields that surrounded the house.

As if she understood, Polly tilted her head to look at Daniel, then Aunt Suke, whose spine stiffened. “I am in awe of only God. Humans can’t compare. I’ve not been afraid of any man since I was a nurse in Korea in 1951. If enemy artillery didn’t frighten me, a coward with a shotgun is not even in the running.”

“The sheriff won’t–”

“Ray Taylor will listen to reason even if you won’t. This big old house is safer than any old chintzy motel out on the interstate, even with you sitting in front of the door. Lots of hiding places, and that’s providing he gets in and Polly doesn’t get him. You know what she can do.”

Daniel ignored April’s questioning look at Polly. He’d leave it to Aunt Suke to explain the presence of a former K-9 unit dog in her home, one who had been retired from service after she had killed the villain who’d shot her partner. The placid-looking white shepherd had taken out a man carrying two pistols and a combat knife, walking away with only one scar on her shoulder. No one messed with Polly.

Or Aunt Suke, for that matter.

Arms on hips, Aunt Suke braced for battle, her white hair swirling in a sudden breeze. “I have Polly. I have a house with an alarm system and a lot of hiding places. I’m sure April has a cell phone. And that’s before you put a deputy in my drive.”

* * *

Aunt Suke reached for April’s elbow. “It could also be a diversionary tactic. Let’s get inside.” She spoke to the shadowing white shepherd as they reached the porch. “Rounds, Polly.”

Without missing a step, the dog turned and headed for the edge of the yard.

“Where’s she going?”

Aunt Suke guided April inside, then closed and bolted the door. “She’ll circle the yard to see if anything is out of place. Polly will sound an alert if she finds something.”

“That’s handy.”

A wry smile crossed Aunt Suke’s face as she went into the parlor, checked the locks on the windows, and released the heavy drapes from their tiebacks. The room sank into a soft, almost comforting darkness as she spoke. “I’ve lived alone a long time, girl. A smart, well-trained dog is a better investment than mutual funds.”

“What did you mean when you said, ‘You know what she can do’?”

Aunt Suke checked the lock on the front door again, then the window locks and drapes in the music room opposite the parlor. “Polly used to be part of a K-9 unit. Her human partner was shot and killed in the line of duty, and Polly responded more viciously than the dogs are trained to do.”

“She killed the shooter.

Aunt Suke paused, then nodded. “Afterwards, they couldn’t get her to reattach to another officer.”

“But she bonded with you.”

Aunt Suke returned to the foyer, and motioned for April to follow her to the kitchen. “No explaining it. Maybe it was different because I was a woman. But they brought her here for me to take a look-see, and Polly got out of the car, circled the yard once, then came to stand by my side.”

April tried to look at a few of the expensive antique furnishings that lined the way from the front parlor to the kitchen. A hallway tapestry, an ancient vase on a Queen Anne table. Aunt Suke paid them no mind. “Maybe she knew you needed her.”

The older woman stopped and turned, her eyes glinting with humor. “Maybe she did at that. Never looked at it that way.”

“At some level, we all want to be needed.”

Aunt Suke’s look turned somber as she appraised April a moment. “We do indeed. A wise statement from one so young.”

“I’m thirty-two.”

“And you won’t realize until you’re my age exactly how young thirty-two really is.”

4 Comments