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It takes more than a month before he can even feel comfortable with them patrolling the estate's grounds. He was raised to be fearful of the various breeds of attack dogs, and old habits die hard. The fact that James also gives the trio of guardians a wide berth only reinforces his fears. It doesn't matter how many times Damien, Ann, and even Margot tell him that the dogs are safe, he remains wary.
At the end of Jacob's first week of swimming lessons with Ann, Patrick happens to be home to watch them. He'll do anything to encourage his son, and he's glad that Jacob trusts Ann enough to let her teach him. He grins as he watches his son lying on a foam board, kicking his legs hard as Ann holds his hands and walks backwards. She praises him as he keeps going, then gently lets go of one hand. Jacob immediately grabs the board, faltering a bit, but he keeps going.
"You're doing a good job, Jacob!" Patrick calls out with a broad smile.
"No distractions, Patrick!" Ann calls back, not taking her eyes from Jacob's face. "He's still learning."
"Sorry, Ann." But he sends a thumb's up to Jacob.
They move around a little more in the pool before Ann leans in to say something to Jacob that Patrick is too far away to hear. When the boy nods, she straightens again and lets go of his other hand. Jacob grips the board tightly in both white-knuckled hands, but keeps grinning as he kicks his legs and tries to catch up to Ann as she slowly backs away from him. She holds up one hand, palm facing him, and Jacob nods and starts kicking even harder. Patrick quickly surmises that his goal is to touch the board to her palm.
Just as Jacob achieves his goal, Patrick notices movement in the corner of his eye. Assuming it's someone else from the household coming out to watch the lessons, he's startled to see the trio of dogs coming toward the pool to sit near the deeper end. He stands up, wanting to shoo them off, but freezes as Ann turns briefly to glare at him. She turns around to face the dogs, who quickly settle on the concrete, then pulls the board closer to lift Jacob into her arms for a hug.
"You did a fantastic job today, Jacob," she says, loud enough for Patrick to hear her. "And look, your friends came to congratulate you."
"Hi, puppies!" Jacob says as she moves him closer to the edge of the pool.
At a nearly imperceptible nod from Ann, the dogs get up as one and move to stand by them, leaning in to lick Jacob's face and let him pet them. His delighted laughter is loud, especially when one of the dogs swipes a tongue over Ann's cheek. And then, they turn around and lope off toward the pastures. Ann helps Jacob sit on the ledge.
"Miss Ann, will you show me the fancy swimming again?"
Patrick can hear the exhaustion in his voice and smiles. At least he's getting exercise, and it helps him sleep better at night.
"You go over to your papa while I swim. You're not wearing your water wings and I don't want you to fall in by accident, all right?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for my lesson, Miss Ann."
She waits as he gets up and heads over to Patrick, who holds out a towel to wrap Jacob in, then winks and swims a couple of laps. Patrick holds his son close, feeling an odd shift to his feelings about the dogs. He can't place what it means, but he instinctively knows that Ann won't let them hurt Jacob. And that's all that matters in the end.