Heartsong Cottage (22 page)

Holly Montgomery's excited voice called out. “Daniel! Soupy Lou looks wonderful! Where's her princess hat?”

He turned to see the eleven-year-old rushing toward him. As always when he spied the girl, gladness filled his heart. She was his little miracle. He slipped the backpack he carried off his shoulder and dug inside it until he found the conical hat. “I couldn't get her to leave it on. Maybe you'll have better luck.”

“I'll put it on her right when we start.”

Daniel watched with amusement as his friends—females first—realized that he and Shannon attended the festival as a pair. Elbow nudges and widened eyes and significant looks spread the word. The fact that to a person, approval and encouragement lit their eyes shouldn't have mattered, but it did. His Eternity Springs friends cared about him.

“That dog looks stupid in a skirt,” Zach Turner said.

“Wrong.” Savannah gave her husband a hip shove. “You're just afraid of competition for Ace.”

“Different divisions,” he fired back.

After a skirmish between two dogs interrupted the conversation, Cam and Sarah's adopted son, Devin, made the rounds collecting entry fees for the pageant. “Fifty bucks?” Daniel said, opening his wallet. “Little steep, isn't it? Shouldn't Soup get a senior discount?”

“Have you priced HVAC units recently?” the young man asked, the sound of his native Australia still heavy in his voice.

“Here's sixty.”

“Awesome. Thanks, Daniel. Here's your entry form. You need to fill it out and give it to your presenter to hand to our emcee as she begins her walk.”

“Will do. It's nice to see you again, Devin. You're home for the weekend?”

“Yes. Got a hankering for Sarah's strawberry pinwheel cookies. Plus, my sister's coming home this afternoon. Bringing her new boyfriend to meet the parents. I wasn't about to miss that.”

“How is school going?” Devin attended college at Western in Gunnison, two hours away from Eternity Springs.

“All right, I guess. Grades are hanging in there, but I'm still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up.”

“I can relate to that.”

Shannon asked, “So what's the scoop on Lori's new guy? I haven't heard much about him.”

“Nobody has. All she has said is she has someone special who she wants the folks to meet. Mom started dusting the house at dawn and don't even get me started about Dad's posturing. They're always saying that they want her to find someone, but now that she apparently has, they're both weirded out about it. Silly, really, since she changes boyfriends as often as she changes hairstyles. But Mom and Dad are nervous and I was glad to have an excuse to beat feet before Lori and her guy arrived.”

Devin handed Daniel a receipt for his entry, then turned to answer a question from a woman holding a Pekinese decked out in a nurse's costume. Shannon scratched Gabe's boxer behind the ears as he and Soup sniffed and said hello. Then Celeste Blessing stepped up to the microphone set up at home plate and announced, “Final call for spruce-ups and potty breaks. The fourth annual Eternity Springs Canine Beauty Pageant begins in five minutes.”

The silliness commenced with a small dog division, followed by large dogs, seniors, and best in show. Daniel borrowed a pen from Nic Callahan to fill out his entry, answering basic information like name, breed, and age in addition to more unusual questions like favorite dog treat and special tricks she could perform.

“The dog treat question is the one that always won it for Mortimer,” Shannon told him. “The judges loved that he ate anything and everything. Anything interesting you can use for that answer will likely get you points.”

“Hey, I'm in it to win it. Unfortunately, since Soupy and I are short-timers, I don't have much to say.”

“No puppy tales?”

“Not really.” He twisted his lips as he considered the question. “She was a relatively normal puppy. Chewed up the normal things. She did get into my wife's makeup case one day. Completely destroyed a tube of mascara.”

“That's a good one. Use that. Say something about caring for her looks at an early age.”

He finished up the questionnaire as the small dog parade began. Acting as emcee reading from the questionnaires, Celeste performed every bit as much as the dogs and the youngsters holding the leads, and Daniel quickly saw why the event proved to be so popular. It was fun. Silly, but entertaining. “Kids and animals … you can't beat 'em,” he observed.

“Throw in our resident angel and it's a recipe for success.”

The school's math and science teachers populated the judging panel, replacing last year's English and social studies judges. Sage Rafferty's bichon, Snowflake, won the small dog category. Daniel predicted the large dog prize would go to Zach Turner's Ace, whose superhero costume looked downright dashing. His expectations changed when Celeste read the entry for the librarian's Great Dane, Biscuit.

“‘Biscuit is a religious dog, as evidenced by his affinity for the plaster figures of a vintage Nativity scene.'” Celeste looked up from the entry page, her eyes wide. “Oh, dear.”

Titters of laughter swept over the crowd.

“‘First, the camels disappeared, then the sheep, then the shepherds, and after that—'” Celeste gasped and clapped her hand against her chest in a dramatic exaggeration. “‘The angels!'”

“Not the angels!” Gabe Callahan called.

“It's the stuff of nightmares,” Celeste declared, her eyes sparkling. Returning her attention to the page, she continued to read. “‘With three children below the age of seven in the house, it wasn't unusual to find GI Joe or a Little People figure in the Nativity. I assumed I'd discover Mary in Barbie's Dream House. It didn't occur to me that Biscuit was the culprit until I discovered the head of a wise man in his mouth.'”

“The dog ate the manger scene?” a girl in the front asked.

“‘Baby Jesus was the last to go,'” Celeste read, a solemn note to her tone. “‘I still don't know how Biscuit found him on top of the refrigerator.'”

The crowd went wild. Shannon leaned over and murmured, “Biscuit's got it in the bag.”

Daniel didn't argue. His attention had fixed upon Holly and his dog as they took their place in line. Crazy as it was, he wanted the old girl to win.

With his gaze turned toward home base, Daniel didn't notice the commotion headed their way until the squirrel raced right between his legs. Cam Murphy's dog, Mortimer, followed right on the animal's bushy tail and ran right into Shannon. She let out a squeal and lost her balance. Daniel caught her before she hit the ground, just as he heard Holly shout, “Soupy Lou, no!”

He watched in dismay as his boxer pulled an old trick on the young girl. Soupy backed up, threw her collar, and took off after the squirrel. “Oh, no,” Daniel groaned.

Barks and yips and yaps and laughter filled the air. Holly took off running after Soupy. A second later, Daniel, Lucca Romano, and Nic Callahan all spied the danger approaching and started after her.

It was a perfect storm of terrible circumstance. At the intersection, a towering fir tree blocked the truck driver's direct line of sight. The barking combined with the sound of the band concert happening on the school grounds drowned out the shouts of warning.

The squirrel dashed across the street. Brake lights flashed as the driver slammed the pedal. Soupy followed the squirrel into the road.

Holly Montgomery stopped at the curb like she'd been taught.

The truck's front bumper hit Soupy and sent her flying.

 

Chapter Eleven

Shannon gasped aloud as three distinct emotions hit her: relief that Holly wasn't hurt, fear when Soupy didn't get up, and heartache for the devastation that flashed across Daniel's face when he saw his dog go down.
This can't happen,
she prayed.
He can't lose her. Not so soon after he's found her.

Daniel reached the boxer's side as the truck driver—the teenaged delivery boy for the lumber yard—climbed out of his cab, obviously distraught. Shannon watched Nic Callahan go down on her knees beside Soupy and Daniel, and sent up a silent prayer of thanks that a veterinarian was on the spot. Efficiently, Nic took charge, and within minutes, she, Daniel, and Soupy were on the way to her vet clinic in the lumber-yard truck.

“I'm right behind you,” Shannon told him as the truck pulled away.

“My car is in the parking lot at the school if you want a ride,” Hope Romano said. Keeping one arm wrapped around her sobbing daughter, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring of keys.

“No, thanks. It'll be faster to walk.”

“Good luck. Tell Daniel we're all praying for Soupy.”

“I will.”

Shannon jogged across Davenport Park and headed for the vet clinic, worry adding speed to her step. She arrived to find Daniel pacing the small waiting room. “She's taking X-rays. She'll let me know as soon as she's able. Cam's daughter Lori arrived in town a little while ago. She's due to graduate from vet school next year. She's coming in to assist.”

“That's good.”

He sat on one of the room's wooden chairs and leaned forward, his hands clasped, his elbows resting on his knees. “I should have used a martingale collar. She slipped her collar once when she was a puppy. I should have remembered that. I acted irresponsibly.”

“Oh, Daniel. That's not being fair to yourself.” When he expressed his disagreement with a downward twist of his lips, she insisted, “It's true. The entire time we were in Key West she never once pulled that sort of trick. She's an old dog. Who would have thought she'd have a big burst of puppy like she did today?”

“It doesn't matter. What's done is done.” After a moment's pause, he added, “I just hope
she's
not done. Holly will feel just terrible.”

Not nearly as terrible as you.

“I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking,” Shannon said, taking a seat beside him. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze as Lori Murphy rushed into the office, waved a hello, and hurried right through to the exam room.

Minutes dragged by like hours. When the silence grew heavy with tension, Shannon tried to think of an appropriate distraction for them both. “Have you heard the story about the Callahans' boxer? How he brought Nic and Gabe together?”

“Hmm?” Daniel asked, obviously distracted.

“Clarence was a stray up on Murphy Mountain in winter. After Gabe found him caught in a trap, he brought him to Nic for treatment.” She rattled on about the dog's persistence in claiming Gabe as his owner, and ended with the line that always touched her heart. “Gabe says they rescued each other.”

“That I can relate to.” Daniel nervously tapped his foot. “I felt that way after Justin died. In a real sense, Soupy saved me.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

He shoved to his feet and resumed pacing the waiting room. “You'll think I'm crazy.”

When the death of a child was concerned, she wouldn't classify anything as crazy. “I'm certain I won't.”

Daniel dragged his hand across his jaw. “Justin had these Sesame Street slippers with Bert on the left slipper and Ernie on the right. He wore them all the time. We had to force him to change into sneakers to leave the house. Anyway, the dog used to stick her head right between his legs and walk right along with him. Perfect coordination. She never tripped him. It was Bert, the dog, then Ernie. I used to call out for him by saying, ‘Where are the Three Stooges?' That's really how her name evolved. ‘Stooges' became ‘Soupy' in Justin-speak.”

He stopped in front of the window and stood with his back to her, gazing outside, his hands shoved into the back pockets of his jeans. Shannon sensed the pain the memory evoked as she waited patiently for him to continue his story.

Daniel cleared his throat. “The day Justin disappeared, she went up to his room and curled up on his bed. For the next two and a half days, she left only to drink a little water and take care of business outside. I was in the extra bedroom we used as an office working the phones when she left his room. She came to me, jumped up in my lap, and licked my face. Then she curled up in my lap and didn't leave.”

Daniel released a long breath and finished. “That fell within the coroner's window for time of death. I've always felt that my boy managed to use his dog to give me a kiss good-bye.”

“Oh, Daniel.” Shannon went to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. “That's not crazy at all.”

“I know she's old and she's just a dog, but I'm not ready to lose her.”

Shannon searched for words to reassure him, but everything she could think to say seemed inadequate. “She's not just a dog. She's family.”

“Yeah. And losing family is a kick in the junk.”

Shannon wanted to do something to help, but she didn't know what. Now certainly wasn't the time to blurt out the news about the baby.

She'd planned to do that at dinner tonight. After a thorough inner debate in the days since Alden Ramer called her name in Mallory Square, she'd decided that staying put in Eternity Springs remained her safest bet. After all, assuming that Russell learned of her visit to Key West, how was he any closer to tracking her to Eternity Springs than he'd been prior to that? If anything, it might send her stalker off on a series of wild-goose chases. He'd start tracking down the names of every female who had flown in or out of Key West in probably two weeks. Add in the cruise ship passengers and car rental agencies, and he'd have lots to filter through—and he wouldn't find the name she was using now on anything.

So she'd decided the time had come to tell Daniel that she carried his child. If Soupy didn't make it, what would be best? Hold off on the news until a happier day? Tell him now to give him good news amid the bad?