The Dog Who Came for Christmas

by Sue Pethick

  What was that old saying? Let sleeping dogs lie?

  She looked at Wendell, and the two of them walked back upstairs.

  “Has he been able to stand up yet?” she said when they got to the landing.

  “A little,” Wendell said. “Kieran got him cleaned up, but I think it wore him out.”

  “Well, he’s certainly looking better than he did last night.”

  She looked down at her clothes which were covered, as usual, with bits of hair.

  “Actually, I think I might just get cleaned up myself. Have you heard anything from Jack?”

  Her father nodded.

  “He called about an hour ago and said they’d be here by five.”

  “Okay. So, what still needs to be done to the house?”

  “Nothing. I got the upstairs vacuumed, and Kieran made the beds in his room.”

  Wendell glanced back toward the stairs.

  “To tell you the truth, I think the dog’s been good for him. He wasn’t as fidgety at lunch this afternoon, and he cleared his plate without arguing.”

  Renee scoffed. “He’s brownnosing.”

  “That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good thing. They say dogs can sense things about people. Maybe Rex can tell that Kieran needs a little help.”

  “Rex?”

  He shrugged. “That’s what Kieran calls him.”

  Renee closed her eyes. This was what the look had been about: Wendell was angling to keep the dog. He’d seen—or thought he’d seen—some improvement in Kieran’s behavior, and now he was going to use that to try to convince her that the dog should stay.

  “Don’t, Dad, please. The dog isn’t ours. He has an owner somewhere who’s going to show up any minute and take him away. Let’s not make that harder for Kieran by pretending he can just give the dog a new name and it’ll be his.”

  “I didn’t say it had to be that dog,” he hissed. “But maybe a dog. A pet might just be what the boy needs.”

  “Okay, all right,” she said, feeling suddenly weary. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. Maybe you’re right; maybe a dog would be good for Kieran. I just don’t want him pinning his hopes on keeping that dog. Because that dog is not ours and is never going to be. Agreed?”

  “Agreed.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go get cleaned up for dinner.”

  She turned and walked down to her room, where a pile of clothes had been heaped on the bed. Renee sighed, shaking her head. Technically, of course, McKenna’s things had been moved into her room. This just wasn’t the way she’d pictured it.

  Guess I should have been more specific.

  She stripped off her clothes and put them in the hamper, pleased that the workday was over and that the house was ready for company. If having a dog in the house meant that things got done without the usual arguments, then maybe getting one wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she thought.

  Then Renee stepped into her bathroom and gasped. The place was a wreck! There were two—no, three!—towels on the floor, each of them filthy. And the tub! A ring as thick as her arm encircled it, caked with bits of dirt and grey hair.

  Grey hair?

  Renee slapped her forehead, suspended between laughter and tears. No wonder the dog looked better, she thought. Her sweet, thoughtful, youngest child had given it a bath in her bathroom!

  Maybe getting a dog wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  CHAPTER 27

  “Jack! Megan! Girls! Come in!”

  Renee stood on the front stoop, waving her arms excitedly as her brother and his family got out of their SUV. Jack looked harried—no doubt, the traffic had been bad—and Megan was a bit tentative, but Grace and Lilly ran for her like greyhounds out of the gate. In seconds, the three of them were caught up in a group hug.

  “Oh my gosh, look how much you’ve grown!” she said.

  Grace craned her neck to take advantage of every inch.

  “Mom says I’ll be as tall as Grandmama pretty soon.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Renee said, too thoughtful to mention that Megan’s mother was less than five feet tall.

  Lilly pushed her older sister away.

  “I’m getting big, too!”

  “I can see that. Listen, why don’t you two go inside while I help your parents with their things. Grandpa and your cousins are in the family room.”

  As the girls hurried into the house, Renee went to tell Jack and Megan about the dog. She didn’t think her brother would have a problem with it, but if Megan had an objection, she’d rather deal with it out there than risk tainting the mood inside. It had taken a lot of persuading to get Megan to come; Renee didn’t want the visit to be ruined before she even walked through the door.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said, giving her brother a squeeze. “It’s great to see you guys.”

  She collected a tepid hug from her sister-in-law as Jack popped open the hatchback.

  “How was the trip?”

  “Not bad,” he said, glancing at his wife. “Megan got a little carsick, though.”

  “Oh,” Renee said. “Sorry.”

  Megan gave her a pained look and started for the house.

  “I need to lie down.”

  “No problem. Your room’s all ready.”

  She gulped.

  “There’s just one thing, though, before you head in. We’ve got a dog staying with us . . . at the moment.”

  Megan’s head whipped around.

  “You got a dog, and you didn’t tell us?”

  “Uh, no,” Renee said, glancing back at her brother. “He’s not ours. We’re just waiting for his owner to come and get him.”

  Jack frowned. “When will that be?”

  “As soon as we get hold of him . . . or her. In the meantime, Dad’s keeping it down in his apartment. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

  Jack and Megan exchanged a glance.

  “No,” he said. “Of course not. I mean, as long as it’s not running around or anything. Right, honey?”

  Megan nodded, tight-lipped.

  “Of course,” she muttered. “Not as if I can do anything about it.”

  As her sister-in-law marched off into the house, Renee turned to her brother.

  “Good old Megan. Just as sweet and easygoing as ever.”

  “Don’t start,” he said. “It’s been a bad week.”

  “Anything serious?”

  He shook his head and set an overnight case on the ground.

  “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  She peered at the things in the back of the car. They’d brought an awful lot of stuff for only two days.

  “What can I help you with?”

  Jack handed her a bag full of groceries.

  “Here,” he said. “You can put these in our room.”

  Renee looked at the things in the bag, feeling a twinge of annoyance. She’d already bought most of what was in there, none of which her own kids would eat once they were gone.

  Why did I even bother?

  “So,” he said, “what kind of dog is it?”

  “Hmm?” She looked up. “Oh, big, hairy, grey. It got caught in a snare, and Kieran rescued it.”

  “Really? Good for him.”

  He hauled out a suitcase and set it down with a thud.

  “How’s KK doing these days?”

  Renee smiled. Her brother was the only one who ever called her son “KK.” It had been Jack’s pet name for Kieran ever since he was a baby. This was why she’d wanted him to come, she thought: all those quirky, endearing things that made them a family. It was worth putting up with Megan’s attitude and Wendell’s guff just to have that connection again, even for a little while.

  “He’s doing really well,” she said. “They’ve started a program at school for kids with learning disabilities, and I’m cautiously optimistic.”

  “Wonderful,” he said. “I hope it helps.”

  Jack threw a wary glance at the front door. />
  “How’s Dad?”

  “Same as ever.”

  He smirked. “That bad, huh?”

  Renee laughed and threw her arms around him.

  “God, it’s good to see you.”

  “You, too, sis.” He mussed her hair. “Come on, let’s get inside before we freeze to death.”

  Renee’s smile began to fade as soon as she walked through the door. The house looked like it had been divided into opposing camps with each side sticking to its own territory. Megan and the girls were in the living room, talking quietly and throwing the occasional pointed glance toward the family room, while the other four conducted themselves with exaggerated indifference. The snacks that Renee had prepared were set out on the kitchen counter, but so far there’d been no takers.

  She put the bag of groceries in Jack and Megan’s room and walked back just as Jack was bringing in the last of the luggage. Wendell wandered in, and the two men shared a stiff embrace. So far, she thought, so good.

  “We’ve got nibbles in the kitchen if anybody’s hungry,” Renee said.

  “I am!” Lilly said, jumping up from the couch.

  Megan reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “Lilly, honey, I’m not sure you should eat any of those things.” She turned. “Jack, where’d you put her food?”

  “I put it in your room,” Renee said.

  Megan’s eyes remained on Jack.

  “Can you please go and get it so our daughter can eat?”

  “Of course. I was just heading that way.” He picked up the luggage and headed down the hall.

  Renee saw Wendell open his mouth and gave him a warning look.

  “Did you take a look at the snacks I set out?” she said as Jack returned with the bag of groceries. “I picked up several things at the store especially for your girls.”

  “This is a new diet,” Jack said quietly as he handed the bag to his wife. “Megan read about it online.”

  “Ah, here we go,” Megan said, reaching into the bag. “You’ll love this, Lil.”

  Lilly crossed her arms and gave her mother a stubborn stare.

  “I don’t want it!”

  Megan’s smile was tight.

  “We already talked about this, remember?” she said. “You agreed you’d try the new food that Mommy bought for you.”

  The girl’s scowl hardened, and her small foot stamped the ground.

  “I did try it. It felt yucky in my mouth!”

  “No, it didn’t. Besides, it doesn’t matter what it feels like. Just try it.”

  “Noooooo!” Lilly wailed. “I hate it!”

  Renee froze, unsure what to do. Jack, too, seemed perplexed. Wendell turned away with a smirk, while at the table, Dylan, McKenna, and Kieran ate their own snacks in amused silence. Grace shrank back as if trying to become invisible while her younger sister continued to scream.

  Jack looked at his wife.

  “Maybe we could make an exception while we’re here,” he said. “You know. Start the diet up again after Christmas.”

  “I thought we agreed,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

  “Yes, but given the circumstances . . .”

  “Fine,” she said, dropping the bag on the floor. “Do what you want, then. I’m going to go lie down.”

  With Megan gone, the tension in the room evaporated. Jack portioned out snacks for the girls while Lilly went off to wash her face and calm down in the bathroom. Renee looked around, still hoping to break the ice.

  “I’m really glad you guys could come,” she said. “It’s finally starting to feel like Christmas.”

  “We saw the tree outside,” Jack said. “It’s a beauty.”

  “Thanks. Dad and the kids brought it home last week,” she said. “I was hoping you two might put it up tonight.”

  “Of course.”

  “It smells nice,” Grace said.

  Wendell looked at her.

  “That’s because it’s a real tree, not a fake one,” he said. “Your cousins picked it out and I chopped it down.”

  The girl’s lip trembled.

  “You mean you killed it?”

  “What do you mean, I killed it? It’s not alive, it’s a goddamn tree.”

  “Dad?” Renee said, giving him an admonitory look.

  She turned toward Grace.

  “The trees at the farm are grown to be cut down for Christmas,” she said. “It really doesn’t hurt them.”

  The girl ducked her head and resumed eating. There followed another protracted silence.

  “So, Dylan,” Jack said. “I hear you’re getting an athletic scholarship to Clemson.”

  Dylan nodded shyly.

  “Looks that way.”

  “Well, it’s a good school. They’ll be lucky to have you.”

  When no one else picked up the thread of the conversation, Jack returned to his snack. Lilly set a half-eaten carrot stick down.

  “I’m all finished. Can I go see the dog now?”

  Renee narrowed her eyes at Dylan, McKenna, and Kieran, who shook their heads in an exaggerated show of innocence.

  Jack looked at Lilly.

  “What dog, sweetie?”

  “The one downstairs.”

  He glanced up. Renee shrugged.

  “When were you down there?” he said.

  “When I went to the bathroom,” the girl said. “It’s a boy dog and it’s on the couch. I petted it and it licked my hand. It has an owwie on its neck. Did Grandpa try to cut it off, too?”

  Wendell’s jaw dropped.

  “What?”

  “No,” Jack said, suppressing a smile. “Grandpa wouldn’t do that. Your cousin Kieran rescued the dog from a trap. It must have hurt its neck when it was caught.”

  Lilly turned an admiring gaze on the boy sitting across from her.

  “You saved him? All by yourself?”

  Kieran stared at his plate and nodded.

  Grace, too, seemed to gain an instant respect for her cousin.

  “Can we play with him? I have my doctor kit with me. We could set up a hospital for him down in Grandpa’s room.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Wendell said.

  Kieran looked at Renee.

  “Can we?” he said. “I mean, if we brought him upstairs.”

  She shrugged. “It’s not up to me.”

  The girls were tugging on Jack’s arms.

  “Can we, Daddy? Can we?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, glancing toward the bedroom where his wife had gone to lie down.

  “Yeah,” Wendell muttered. “Better check with the boss, first.”

  Jack set his mouth in a firm line.

  “No need,” he said. “I can make my own decision.”

  He looked at the girls.

  “If your Aunt Renee says it’s all right, then you two can play with the dog up here. Just be careful.”

  As the girls ran off to get their doctor kit, Jack turned to Renee and sighed.

  “Guess I’d better go and break the bad news to Megan.”

  “Let me do it,” she said, walking into the kitchen.

  He gave her a skeptical look.

  “Are you sure?”

  Renee took two wine glasses out of the cupboard and the bottle of Shiraz that Berenice had given her for Christmas.

  “I’m sure.”

  CHAPTER 28

  When the white sedan pulled into Travis’s driveway at eleven thirty that morning, his first thought was that it was Hank, come to tell him who was behind the rumor at school. Since their conversation the day before, he’d been splitting his time between looking for Max and fuming over the rumor that was threatening to ruin his program. If the person who’d just driven up to his house wasn’t Hank, then it seemed reasonable to assume that they had news about his brother’s dog. As the driver stepped out, however, his reaction changed from hope to confusion. What was Savannah Hays doing there?

  Travis groaned, suddenly remembering her phone call on Sunday. With Renee not a
nswering his calls and both Hugh and Max out of the house, he’d been missing Emmy and feeling sorry for himself; the thought of spending Christmas Eve alone had been looming like the ghost of Christmas past. When Savannah had called, he’d said yes without really thinking; it seemed more likely than not that she’d forget the whole thing once she got a better offer. But there she was, scampering toward his front door in high heels and a fur coat, with a bottle of champagne in her hands. He could think of no good reason to turn her away.

  “Merry Christmas Eve!” she cried, holding the champagne aloft.

  Travis stepped back from the open door.

  “Merry Christmas Eve,” he said. “Come in.”

  She leaned forward, giving him a kiss that just missed his mouth, and Travis took her coat, surprised to see that she was wearing a formfitting red dress underneath. As he hung the coat in the hall closet, Savannah went into the kitchen.

  “I hope you’ve got some orange juice,” she said, setting the bottle on the counter. “A mimosa right now would be heavenly.”

  He turned the label around: Moet & Chandon.

  “A bit pricey for mimosas, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, Trav,” she sulked. “It’s Christmas. Can’t we live a little?”

  “Of course,” he said. “The flutes are in the—”

  “I remember where they are.”

  She opened the top cupboard next to the sink.

  “If you recall, I spent a good bit of time here, helping your mama before she passed.”

  Travis felt chastened, having forgotten all that Savannah had done for his mother in her last months. Never mind that the two of them were as compatible as oil and water, the fact was that she’d been willing to help when everyone else in town had stayed away.

  Savannah set two champagne flutes on the counter and sidled over to the refrigerator.

  “Aren’t you going to open that?” she said, glancing at the bottle.

  “Oh! Of course.”

  Travis unwrapped the gold foil hugging the bottle’s neck and loosened the wire cage enclosing the cork before flipping down the wire “key” pressed up against the glass. It had been a long time since he’d had an occasion to celebrate with a bottle of champagne, and it surprised him how automatic his movements were. As he reached for a dish towel and draped it over the bottle, Savannah purred appreciatively.