She’d hoped the puppy would be at the warehouse waiting on her, as if somehow he’d chosen her to be his forever home. And just as quickly, she knew it was a crazy idea. She was never even home to take care of a puppy. It wouldn’t be fair to saddle Anna with one, even if she did agree to move to Chicago, which seemed iffy given how much she’d complained about the Chicago winters. But the priority was finding that pup.
She drove over to check on Misty, who came out the front door as soon as Vanessa pulled up.
She stepped out of the car, holding her arms open. “I’m sorry. He wasn’t there.”
Misty’s shoulders slumped. “I hope he didn’t get himself eaten by a coyote or an owl or something. Dad was just talking about that.”
“No! Don’t even say that. Oh, my goodness. That would be awful. Now, let’s think some positive thoughts.”
Misty sniffled, nodding her head. “Yeah. Let’s find him.”
“Okay, so where could he have gone. Have you checkedinside the house? Maybe he’s curled up somewhere sleeping while we’re panicking trying to find him.”
“I don’t think he would’ve gotten inside. Dad’s pretty funny about that, but we can look.”
They scoured the house. At one point, Vanessa had screamed success, but it had turned out to be a light golden brown beanie in the laundry basket.
Misty deflated. “Dad said I should kennel him. I wish I had now.”
“Let’s go back out to the barn,” Vanessa said. “You said yourself he thinks he’s a horse. Let’s double-check all the stalls.”
“Okay, maybe he’s bunking with one of the other horses since Big Ben and Jake are gone. They seem to be his favorites. He absolutely loves being around the horses.”
“Well, that’s okay. Maybe that’s who he’s supposed to be. Like a natural horse-herding dog or something.”
Misty laughed. “Maybe.” She whistled and called for Scooter.
Vanessa walked down the alleyway of the stable in the opposite direction peeking into each stall, but there was no sign of Scooter.
I should have stowed him away at the apartment. At least then he’d be okay.
“I think he’s gone.” Misty leaned against one of the stalls. “I can’t believe I let that happen.”
“Misty, it’s not your fault. You know that.”
“I was supposed to take care of him. I’ve been nursing him back to health all this time.”
“And he’s doing great. It’s not your fault he has a wild streak.”
“No telling where he could’ve gotten off to.”
“The good news is most everyone knows you’re the onlypeople raising Lab puppies. It took two seconds for me to find the owner, someone else will too.”
“I guess.”
Seeing her so defeated left a heavy ache in Vanessa’s stomach. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”
Misty trudged toward the house. She wasn’t in much of a hurry, but that actually kind of worked in Vanessa’s favor, because she really had no idea what to suggest.
When they walked inside, the telephone was ringing.
“I bet someone found him,” Vanessa said.
“Make yourself at home.” Misty ran for the phone, her boots sliding across the shiny wooden floors, to answer it. “Hello?” She dropped the phone to her chin. “It’s my dad.”
She slipped off her boots and walked into the other room while explaining to him what was going on.
Vanessa took her shoes off and left them at the door, then grabbed some paper towels to clean up the mud they’d tracked in.
