“They’re very promising. I bet they’ll get snatched up quickly. We’ll need to act fast if we want to make an offer.”

“But—”

Dawn took one glance at Sophie’s face and put on her sternest expression. “Now, Lila.”

It took Lila a good ten seconds to pick up on the subtext and agree to give Sophie and Harrison some space. Harrison was much quicker on the uptake.

“A blue heeler?” he asked. “Are they good at—what did you call it—scent detection?”

“Yes, they are,” Sophie said. In fact, given Harrison’s obvious preference for dogs with size to recommend them, a blue heeler would be a perfect fit. Their noses were more than adequate to pick up on the subtle changes in human saliva that occurred when blood sugars rose or fell, and the larger dog would be able to keep up with him as he plunged through forest undergrowth.

In any other situation, she’d have allowed the client’s preferences to outweigh her own. In this situation, however, she was taking a stand.

Bubbles could do this. Sophie had done her research, looked into other fire workers with needs similar to Harrison’s, and hand selected an animal based on a careful study of his medical and professional records. This wasn’t some idea she’d come up with on the fly.

“I’ve already talked to Oscar about this, and he agrees with me.” She crossed her arms and did her best imitation of a woman who inspired awe and confidence in others. “It’s Bubbles, or you don’t go back to the field.”

As it turned out, admitting to a man that she’d run tattling to his boss wasn’t an ideal way to win him over. Instead of submitting to her autocratic decree, Harrison’s stance became even more rigid.

Sophie’s natural inclination was to turn to her sisters for help, but she pushed the urge down as far as it would go. To admit defeat now would only foster Lila’s belief that they should have passed on this case. Sophie’d be back on basic training, once again spending her days teaching puppies how to sit and where to pee.

All things that needed to be done, of course, but those were the easy tasks, the safe ones. The kinds of things a fluffy, skittish ball of fur might be expected to tackle.

“If you’re willing to try again, I’ll bring Bubbles out to the side yard so you two can get to know one another. But you have to promise not to reject her this time. She didn’t like it.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “And neither did I.”

“Well done, Soph!” Dawn cheered from the doorway. Before Lila could say anything to undermine Sophie’s swell of confidence, Dawn bustled them both out of the kitchen.