Oscar made the motion of patting himself down and shrugged. “I seem to have forgotten my arson kit at home. Is she comfortable like that? She doesn’t look very comfortable.”

“I’m serious. I’m sure you have a lighter or something. Here—ignite this stick.”

Oscar eyed him warily but complied with the request, extracting a Zippo from one of his vest pockets. “Will this do? And aren’t we supposed to be training people to be more careful with their outdoor fires?”

“Just do it.”

It took a few tries for Oscar to get a flame going on the slightly damp stick Harrison had handed him, but if there was one thing his boss knew, it was how blazes worked. He brandished the smoldering flame like a torch, wafting it back and forth in front of the puppy. Bubbles twitched, but she didn’t seem overly distressed. In fact, her nose twitched in recognition of the familiar smoke scent—and then she dismissed it as something unworthy of her attention.

“Well, shit.” Oscar waved the stick a little closer. “She barely seems to notice it.”

Harrison nodded, his heart swelling with pride at everything Bubbles had overcome. He found it hard to believe he’d once thought he needed a big, ferocious dog to do the job. A big dog didn’t have to work to be strong. A big dog didn’t have to fight to earn respect. This tiny, scrappy thing had been required to put in five times the effort right from the get-go, and she’d done it even when she quaked in fear.

She was a badass, this little one. And she was his.

“It’s not a perfect system yet,” Harrison admitted. “And we won’t know how she reacts in the middle of a real forest fire until she’s in one, but I’m beginning to think we may have reached a compromise.”

“Is that a hint for me to clear you for duty?” Oscar asked.

Harrison laughed. “Well, it wasn’t, but if you want to take it that way…”

He didn’t actually expect it to work. He’d spent enough time under Oscar’s leadership to know that nothing would move that man—he was like a rock that way. But there was a softening in Oscar’s expression, a small crack in his armor.

Finally.

Or so he thought. Oscar scratched his chin and cast a glance over Harrison’s shoulder, quelling his optimism with “I’m leaving that up to Sophie. As soon as she thinks you two are ready, I’ll schedule a date to bring the air force team in. That’ll be a good test for you both.”