Barnard and his group left without looking back.
Jasper finally came to his senses, wrapping his arms around the Malamute’s big, fluffy head. He wiped its mouth with a handkerchief, fussing over it. “Good dog. You can’t just bite anything you see, okay? What if you get sick from chewing something dirty? If you do it again, no more treats for you.”
The Malamute seemed to get the message, nuzzling into Jasper’s palm with a look that was almost apologetic.
Camilla watched them, her thoughts spinning. The dog was usually so gentle, but it had gone straight for Barnard without hesitation. She shot Lance an exasperated look. “Seriously, what have you taught him? And is his name really Barnard?”
She’d stayed quiet in front of Barnard, but now that he was gone, the weirdness of it all just made her more uncomfortable.
Lance looked a little sheepish. “Not really,” he said, stalling. “Well… Camilla, you know back when you were with Barnard, I used to get so jealous. And, uh, so I kind of…”
He couldn’t seem to finish, tripping over his own words. Camilla, catching the embarrassed look on his face, suddenly figured it out. “The dog’s not called Barnard. You trained him to go after anyone with that name, didn’t you?”
Lance glanced up, then back down, not saying a word. That was answer enough. After a beat, he said, “Don’t be mad, Camilla. Honestly, I was just jealous and bored, so I taught him a new trick. I didn’t expect him to be this smart, let alone actually find the guy.”
Camilla pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to process it all. She hadn’t planned for anything this dramatic today, but since things had already gone haywire, someone had to step up. “You focus on getting everything packed for the move,” she told him. “I’ll go check on Barnard.”
Lance reached for her wrist, his voice soft and a little desperate. “Camilla, my dog bit him. Are you mad at me?”
Camilla just patted his hand gently. “Take Jasper and get the move sorted. I’ll handle this.”
As Camilla drove off, the sadness on Lance’s face melted away. He watched her car disappear, then broke into a sly grin, crouching down to give the Malamute a few proud pats on the head. “Good work today. You really earned your extra meat tonight.”
Jasper’s eyes went wide as he stared at Lance. “Lance, he’s so cute! Why would you teach him something like that? That’s actually terrible!”

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