Page 23 of Wyoming Homecoming


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“Great! And I need to get her to the vet as soon as possible.”

“I can take her for you right now, if you want me to. She’ll need a checkup and her shots.”

“Can you? We’re in the middle of cooking supper.”

“Won’t take long.” He took the puppy back. It curled up in his arms, too. “She’s a sweetie! She’ll make you a great pet.”

“Thanks so much, Don!”

“No problem.”

Lucy came home from school and did her homework first, wondering why Hannah and Aunt Abby looked so strange.

“You guys look funny,” she said finally.

“We have a secret,” Abby replied.

There was the sound of a truck pulling up outside.

“And it’s coming in the door right now,” she added.

Don came up the steps with the puppy in his arms. She’d been cleaned up. She was snow-white with black tips on her ears, and big, beautiful blue eyes.

“Oh, she looks like snow!” Lucy cried, jumping up and down. “Please can we keep her? Please, Aunt Abby!”

“Yes, we can, and what a sweet name you’ve given her. Snow it is.”

“Snow,” Lucy repeated as the pup was carefully lowered into her arms. The puppy licked her face and she laughed.

“She’s had her shots.” Don handed her the papers from the vet. “You’ll have to call and tell them her name. She’s just listed as Abby’s dog right now,” he chuckled.

“I’ll do it right now,” she promised. “Thanks so much, Don!”

“It was my pleasure. Dinner sure smells good,” he added. “I’ll bet Maisie’s waiting on me to put ours on the table. I’ll get on home.”

“Thanks again!”

He threw up a hand as he went out.

ABBYCALLEDTHEvet and gave them the dog’s new name and her credit card number, to pay for the visit and the injections. And for a night and a day and another night, nothing got done in the house because its occupants were too busy cuddling the puppy.

ANYUWALKEDTHEproperty with Cody. She moved a little slower every day, and he could tell that she had pain. He gave her the tablets and worried. She looked up at him with laughing eyes, but her ability to walk became less and less. One day, she couldn’t get up at all. And Cody finally called the vet.

HESPENTANYU’Slast day with her on the couch beside him. It was a lingering, painful farewell. She was so much a part of his life, his companion, his partner, his best friend. Anyu was his last link with Debby. He didn’t know how he was going to manage this. He fought a hot mist in his eyes as he stroked Anyu’s soft, clean fur and stared into a dark future.

Finally, he carried her out to the SUV and put her carefully on the front seat. “We’re going to go for a ride, okay?” he asked as he got behind the wheel.

She made a faint whimpering sound and her blue eyes looked up at him, but they didn’t laugh. They were dilated with a pain he could only imagine.

“No more pain, pretty girl,” he whispered as he bent to hug her one last time. His eyes stung. It was like giving up Debby all over again. “How am I going to live,” he whispered brokenly, “without you?”

He blinked away the moisture and put the vehicle in gear. It was like taking a victim to the guillotine. And not just any victim. His whole life in one beautiful furry package.

DR. SHRIVERMEThim at the door, waving away the vet tech who usually did the paperwork and ushered in the patient.

Cody had Anyu in his arms, held close. “It hurts her to walk,” he said, grinding his teeth together.

“Bring her back here,” the vet said.

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