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I chuckled at the thought.
“Daddy, I want ice cream.”
That was a relief. I could do that.
I picked her up and got down from the bridge. There was a cute little truck just minutes away from where we’d been standing.
The owner was the same old man who used to treat June and me to hot fudge sundaes and sandwiches filled with cold chocolate cream and hazelnuts. June used to love those sandwiches.
When he saw me alone in Sundown after what happened, he simply looked into my eyes. I still couldn’t tell if he’d guessed what had happened. He just nodded and said, “I’m glad you’re back.”
I’d visited the park almost a year after losing her.
And that had been it.
I had a strange sense ofdéjà vuas I got closer to the truck. It was like I could hear June’s excitement all over again . Her lilting laugh. Those gleaming eyes.
My heart. My fucking heart.
I swallowed and took another step forward. Somehow, Sally’s arms around me became tighter. Maybe she’d heard my breathing grow uneven because she nestled her head on my shoulder and kissed it.
My sweet little girl.
“Daddy, look at that dog!”
Sure enough, there was a golden retriever standing near the truck, licking white whipped cream from a small cup.
A cheerful young lady hunched down beside her, giggling as she got a frothy mustache all over her whiskers.
“Chels, what do you want? I really want the chocolate ice-cream sandwich with the mint syrup!”
Rory?
The pup’s human looked up with a scowl on her face. “Why do you need to put mint on your ice cream? It’s a hecking abomination!”
She clearly did not faze the girl who’d asked the question. “You like salt in your tea. I don’t judge. I mean, I do and I think it’s disgusting, but I let you have it anyway. Let me live.”
This was definitely Rory. I grinned at the sass in her voice.
For the briefest second, I wondered whether this would be okay. If I got any closer, she’d see Sally. Was I ready for that?
Before I could make up my mind, Sally took a very adventurous step in the pup’s direction.
She wagged her tail excitedly.
“Woof! Woof!”
Sally immediately giggled.
“Hi.” The girl who liked salt in her tea looked at Sally and smiled. “Would you like to meet her?”
She nodded shyly.
“Come closer. She loves kids!”
Sally had zero fear, plus, she’d made up her mind that fluffy dogs were angels on earth. I couldn’t really argue with that.
As soon as she was close enough, the pup gave Sally a huge lick on her hand. Sally squealed and sat down beside her as if she’d known her for her whole life.
