by Sue Pethick
The voice that blared from the intercom was tinny and shrill, but unmistakably Betty’s and it promised she’d be out in a minute. Judd thanked her and went back to the cruiser to fetch his prisoner. As he lifted the hatchback, the dog crouched against the cage looking frightened, and not at all like an animal that would threaten anyone. It had gotten into the cruiser without any resistance, too, and hadn’t made a peep as they drove to the shelter. If the mayor and his son hadn’t been breathing down his neck, Judd would have been tempted to just take it back to Travis’s with a warning.
He lowered the tailgate and grabbed the dog’s collar.
“Come on, boy. Time to go.”
“Careful,” Trey Daniels said. “That’s a vicious animal.”
The deputy nodded.
“Don’t worry, Trey. I do this sort of thing all the time.”
“Then hurry it up. It’s cold out here.”
Judd bit back a retort and continued urging the dog toward the open hatchback. The animal had started to resist, digging its paws into the carpeting as its legs stiffened, and it occurred to him that even a gentle dog might be a problem if panicked.
“I’m going to need for you both to step back,” he said calmly. “If the dog gets spooked, things could get dicey. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Trey Daniels ushered his boy back to the truck and lifted him into the driver’s seat as Judd tried to coax the dog forward.
“Now what’s the problem?
It was at that point that Deputy Freeman lost patience with both the mayor and the dog and decided that, rather than try and get the animal to cooperate, it would be faster and easier to just manhandle it out of the cruiser, turn it over to Betty Lange, and go back to ticketing speeders and locking up drunks.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
As he jerked the dog’s collar, the animal tipped its chin down, turned its head, and jerked free. Judd put his arms out, trying to keep the dog contained, but it was too late. Max leaped out and made a dash for freedom.
“Look out!” he yelled. “It’s on the loose.”
“Not for long,” Trey said, reaching into the Tundra’s cab.
“Get down, Deputy. I’ll take care of this.”
Judd Freeman stared in horror as Trey Daniels drew a hunting rifle from his truck.
“What in the heck are you doing?”
Daniels lifted the rifle to his shoulder, prepared to bring down the fleeing animal.
“I said get down!”
The deputy hit the ground just as the first shot rang out. The dog was running hard, scrabbling over the patches of frozen ground as a bullet flew by. Judd heard the second shot— a loud crack that left his ears ringing—and saw the dog stumble and fall.
“You got him, Dad!” the boy cheered.
But as Trey lowered the rifle, the dog scrambled to its feet and ran on. Whether or not the second bullet had found its mark was anyone’s guess.
CHAPTER 33
Christmas Eve was turning out to be everything Renee had hoped for. The tree was trimmed, the presents wrapped, and in spite of her confrontation with Travis and the kids’ subsequent meltdowns, there’d been no sniping, no recriminations, and—best of all—no arguing between Jack and Wendell. As the family held hands and said grace over her father’s lasagna, she was grateful to have her family together again. She didn’t think the evening could get any better.
And then it did.
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Wendell said, raising his glass.
“To my son, Jack.”
Renee’s brother looked abashed, no doubt expecting their father’s toast to mutate into one of his backhanded compliments.
“I know I haven’t been a very good father—”
Renee shook her head.
“Dad, don’t say that.”
“No, goddammit, it’s true.”
He looked at Jack.
“I might not have been a good father, but I know one when I see one.” He swallowed, his eyes shining. “And I just want to say that I’m proud of you, son, for being a better father than I was.”
He addressed the table as Renee’s brother smiled modestly.
“To Jack!”
“To Jack.”
Lilly crossed her arms.
“His name isn’t Jack, it’s Daddy!”
“You’re right,” Renee said. “To your daddy.”
“To my daddy!” Lilly crowed.
Jack gave Wendell a gracious nod, and the two men clinked glasses.
“And to mine,” he said.
At that, the others’ glasses clinked, libations were sipped, and the salad and bread basket began making the rounds.
“Look!” Grace squealed. “It’s snowing!”
And it was.
“To a white Christmas,” Jack said, raising his wine glass for another toast.
But before the others could raise their glasses, the atmosphere of goodwill was interrupted by the sound of a ringing telephone.
“Sounds like mine,” Renee said as the ringing stopped. “It can go to voice mail.”
Megan frowned thoughtfully.
“Who was on the phone before?”
“When?”
“You know. I heard that same ring coming from the kitchen when you and Jack were doing the tree.”
Renee turned toward Wendell.
“Did my phone ring when we were trimming the tree?”
Her father took a bite of lasagna and chewed thoughtfully.
“It might have.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me? It might have been important.”
He shrugged and took another bite, an unmistakably guilty reaction that set alarms off in Renee’s head.
“Dad,” she muttered. “Who was it?”
Wendell picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
“No one important.”
She took the napkin out of her lap and set it on the table.
“Excuse me,” Renee said. “I’ll be right back.”
* * *
Travis paced the floor in his living room, feeling frustrated and helpless. When Judd Freeman called and told him that Max had escaped, he’d gotten in his car and driven to the shelter. He wanted to look for Max and also to tell the deputy that he had a witness who’d told him that Max was at Renee’s house yesterday. When he pulled into the shelter parking lot, though, he was surprised to find Judd in a heated argument with Trey Daniels.
That’s when he found out what had happened.
It had taken all the self-control that Travis could muster to keep him from slugging the man who’d fired at his brother’s dog—a dog he now knew was innocent of the charge against him. Only the thought of being locked up himself had kept him in check. A quick glance at Trey’s truck showed Cody watching the argument wide-eyed, and Travis found himself wondering what the real story was behind the tale he’d told. Had the boy actually been threatened by a dog that looked like Max, or was the entire story a fabrication? And if it was a lie, why had he told it?
In the end, of course, it didn’t matter. Once the standoff between Judd and Trey had cooled down, Travis informed them both of Max’s innocence and assured them that once the dog was recovered he’d be filing any and all charges that he could. After that, he spent some time trying to follow Max’s tracks, but the other men had already left their footprints on the trail. He decided the best thing to do was to leave and wait for Max to find his way home.
That was ninety minutes ago and Max still wasn’t there. He still had one hope, however, and that was that when Max had run off, he hadn’t been heading home, but back to Renee’s. More specifically, back to her son, Kieran.
The second Travis had seen Max with Renee’s boy, he knew why the dog had sought Kieran out. By temperament as well as training, Max’s whole purpose in life was to comfort people with emotional disabilities. With Hugh out of the house and no one else who needed his help, the poor dog had been deprived of hi
s reason for being. That was why he’d been leaving the property during the day, Travis thought. Max was looking for someone who needed what he could provide.
And I took him away.
He looked at the phone, wondering if he should try and call Renee again. Even after the disastrous phone call with her father that afternoon, he’d still hoped she might call him back; but when she didn’t answer his last call, he’d decided not to leave a message. If Max did show up at her house, she’d let him know. In the meantime, there was no sense in making a pest of himself.
The phone rang and Travis snatched it up without even noticing who it was from. The sound of Renee’s voice was so welcome it brought a lump to his throat.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said.
“No, no bother. Thanks for calling me back. Did your father give you my message?”
“No,” she said. “In fact, until now I had no idea you’d called before. What’s up?”
Travis was surprised. Renee’s father must be angrier with him than he’d thought if he hadn’t even told her about Max.
“Since he didn’t tell you, the first thing I should do is tell you I’m sorry. You were right about Savannah, and I was wrong. After I got home, I found out that she was the one who’d started that rumor. I feel badly for having blamed you.”
“Well, it doesn’t surprise me. The more I think about it, the crazier Savannah seems.”
“You’re right; what she did was crazy. I’m just sorry it impacted our relationship.”
“Oh, well. Que sera, sera, I guess.”
Travis nodded.
“So, if your dad didn’t tell you I’d called, I don’t suppose he told you about Max, either.”
“Told me what about Max?”
“A sheriff’s deputy came by today and said he’d attacked Mayor Daniels’s son, Cody, yesterday.”
“But Max was with us.”
“I know. Your dad told me, but I didn’t know it at the time.”
“So, what happened?”
“They were taking him to the animal shelter when he got away.”
“Oh, dear. Has he shown up yet?”
“No,” he said. “And that’s not all. As Max was running off, Trey took out his hunting rifle and fired a couple of shots at him.”
“What?”
“No one knows if Max was hit or not, but he went down for a moment after the second shot, and I haven’t been able to find him.”
“Oh, God. Poor Max.”
“I know,” Travis said, his voice growing thick again. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell Hugh when he gets home tomorrow. Max is his dog.”
He heard Renee’s heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “What am I going to tell the kids?” she said. “Kieran will be devastated.”
“Maybe you should hold off on telling them—for now, at least. If Max comes home or I hear anything, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, if he shows up there—”
“We’ll give you a call. No problem.”
“Thanks,” Travis said. “I appreciate it.”
* * *
Renee felt as if a heavy weight was sitting on her chest as she returned to the table. Even the swirl of snowflakes outside the windows couldn’t lift her spirits. She was relieved that Travis knew what Savannah had done, but it would take more than an apology to fix things between them. And she couldn’t really blame her father for not telling her he’d called before, either. If she’d seen who was on the phone that afternoon, she might not even have answered it. No, Renee thought, the way she felt had nothing to do with Travis or Savannah or even her father’s misplaced loyalty. It had everything to do with Kieran.
When Wendell had told her a dog might be good for her son, Renee had poo-poohed the idea. She’d thought her father was just trying to justify letting Kieran keep the dog he’d rescued. It wasn’t until he was gone that she realized how much of a difference Max’s presence had made in her son’s behavior. There was something about that particular dog that was special, some sympathetic understanding of what someone with Kieran’s particular challenges needed. It made her curious about something Travis had told her.
Max was his brother’s dog.
Wendell shot her a wary look as Renee returned to her seat. Jack, too, seemed apprehensive. But Megan and the children appeared to be oblivious, and for the time being, at least, Renee was fine with that. She gave her father a tender pat on the arm and gave Jack a wink that had been their special signal since childhood. It meant: I’ll tell you about it later.
When dinner was done and the children had made a final inspection of the presents, it was time for baths and pajamas and Wendell’s special reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by the fire. As the book was closed, Jack made a show of checking the time.
“Oh, dear,” he said. “I hope the kids haven’t stayed up too late. Santa Claus can’t come if there are any children still awake in the house.”
Grace and Lilly sprang to their feet along with a somewhat less sure Kieran, who glanced apprehensively toward his siblings.
“Oh, my goodness, you’re right!” McKenna said, smiling sweetly at her older brother. “Come on, Dyl. We’d better get going.”
There was a brief moment of tension, but McKenna’s sarcasm had gone right over the youngest cousins’ heads. The three of them squealed happily and ran to their beds, followed by Renee and a somewhat woozy Megan. Two rounds of kisses, last minute glasses of water, and a dire warning from Jack that he’d heard “reindeer hooves” on the roof and sleep—or a good imitation of it—had been achieved. Renee trudged back up the steps to the living room to give the others the news about Max.
“I can’t believe they’d shoot a dog just for running away,” Jack said quietly. “Seems kind of excessive, especially since there was no evidence other than the kid’s say-so.”
“I know,” Renee said, hugging her coffee mug. “I’d heard that Trey Daniels was an enthusiastic hunter, but I never thought he’d fire at a dog.”
“Diehl didn’t say the dog had been shot,” Wendell said. “Just shot at.”
“You’re right,” Jack said. “Still, even shooting at the dog seems harsh to me.”
“Guy sounds like he’s got a problem,” Megan said, tapping the side of her nose. “If you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, well, either way,” Renee said. “We can’t tell the kids until we know more—especially Kieran. For now, I think it’s best if we just keep it to ourselves.”
There were nods all around.
Dylan had been sitting quietly in the club chair during their discussion, having declined his sister’s suggestion that he go to bed. He looked at his mother.
“I could drive around looking for him, if you think it would help.”
Renee shook her head.
“That’s sweet, Dyl, but the snow’s coming down pretty hard, and there’s no guarantee that Max would come even if you called him. If he doesn’t show up in the morning, we can drive around and take a look, but if he hasn’t gone home by now, he’s probably found shelter somewhere. I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
Dylan nodded and stood up.
“I think I’ll go to bed then.”
“Okay, sweetie. See you in the morning.”
As Dylan walked off, Megan stood unsteadily and looked around.
“Me, too,” she said.
The other three watched as she tottered off down the hall.
“I’ll say this for your wife,” Wendell said. “The woman can sure hold her liquor.”
“That she can,” Jack said. “It’s just one of her many fine qualities.”
He grinned at Renee, and the two of them burst out laughing.
“I’m going to bed,” their father said. “You two are getting silly.”
“G’night, Dad.”
“Good night, children,” he said. “See you bright and early.”
As Wendell disappeared downstairs, Renee groaned.
“Ugh, he’s right. The kids will
be up at the crack of dawn.”
“Yup.”
“Time to stuff some stockings, Santa,” she said.
“Yup.”
“Want another cup of coffee?”
Jack looked at his mug.
“Yup.”
“Is that all you can say?”
“Nope.”
She grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head with it.
“Man, I have really missed you.”
CHAPTER 34
Kieran lay in the dark, listening to his grandfather’s snores, and watched the glowing numbers on the clock change. When his mother told him that Max would be all right, he’d believed her. She’d always told him the truth, even when it wasn’t good—like when she and his dad got divorced. But when he overheard her telling the grown-ups what had happened at the shelter that afternoon, he realized that what his mother had said before wasn’t true. And if it wasn’t true, Kieran realized, that could only mean one thing: Max was in trouble.
As the numbers on the clock changed from ten thirty-five to ten thirty-six, Kieran squeezed his eyes shut and wished that Mr. Diehl would call and tell them that Max had come home. The more time that went by, the more sure he was that something really bad had happened. What if Max was caught in another snare, he thought, or had lost his way in the storm? What if Max got buried in the snow and froze to death before morning? Then Kieran’s eyes flew open as the worst thing imaginable came to mind. What if Cody’s dad had killed him?
Kieran sat up and looked around at the darkened room. He had to do something. He couldn’t just let Max die out there alone. But he was just a kid. He couldn’t drive a car like Dylan or his mom, and if he asked one of them to take him out so he could look for Max, they’d just tell him not to worry, that things would be better in the morning. Except that they wouldn’t be better in the morning, he thought, unless someone went out there and found Max—now. Which meant that the only way to save Max was to do it himself.
The thought of going out in the dark and cold made Kieran shiver. The house was warm and Grandpa’s couch was comfortable. Plus, in a few more hours, the sun would come up and it would be easier to see where he was going. But what if he waited and Max died before the sun came up?