A Puppy's Tale Read online

  Smiling, the boy stood. “Yuck. Your breath smells awful.”

  Puddles wagged his tail so hard and fast it made his whole rear end shake. I know! Isn’t it wonderful? I found this big pile of weird stuff in the barn. I rolled in it, too. Even squished some under my collar so it would last. Can you tell?

  My brothers and sisters would be so proud of me.

  “You’d better stay out here for a while or Mom’ll make me give you a bath.”

  A bath? Like my mother used to give me? Ooooh, I’d love that. But first, I’ve got a bowl of food to eat. It’s not as good as what Mark feeds me but it’ll do till something better comes along.

  To the delight of Puddles, Bobby forgot to take the plastic scoop with him when he left the pen.

  CHAPTER 10

  As soon as Hannah joined her in the kitchen, Krista told her about Bobby’s assumption that Jesus and His disciples must have had a pet dog.

  “Well, why not?” She sobered. “You heard about what happened this morning?”

  “In Sunday school? Yes. Bobby just told me. It must have been interesting.”

  “That’s a fact. I haven’t run across anybody that stubborn since his daddy. Too bad that boy didn’t inherit some of your good sense.”

  “He does remind me a lot of Len,” Krista said wistfully. “I know that’s normal but it’s still a worry. I wish he wasn’t quite so obstinate.”

  Hannah laughed. “Ha! You aren’t the only one. I thought Mark was going to bust a puckering string. He did everything but stand on his head to make up to that boy. I had to put my foot down to get him to stay in that classroom.”

  “Who? Mark or Bobby?” She couldn’t help giggling.

  “I meant our boy. But now that you mention it, Mark didn’t look real happy to be there, either. You and he gettin’ along okay?”

  “As good as can be expected, in view of his reputation as a dognapper,” Krista said with a grin. “Actually, he took me to Bea’s café the other night for coffee and I wound up getting a job there. I start tomorrow.” She paused. “I mean, I’ll start if your offer to watch Bobby is still open.”

  “No problem. I’ve got a new foster girl comin’ next week so he’ll have somebody to play with. Her name’s Samantha. She’s an orphan.”

  “Oh, dear. Can you handle Bobby, too?”

  “Two will be easy. There’ve been times I’ve had up to six all at once, and it still wasn’t nearly as bad as the time Mark had this morning.”

  Krista knew that the more contact she had with her old friend, the harder it would be to keep her emotional distance. Still, what was right was right. The man deserved another apology and if Bobby wasn’t ready to offer it, she was.

  Resigned to act, she asked Hannah, “Can you watch Bobby a few minutes? I want to go tell Mark I’m sorry for my son’s behavior in his class.”

  “You aren’t takin’ the boy with you?”

  “Not this time. There’s no sense pushing him and making things worse.”

  “Then again,” Hannah said, “if you let it fester, a sore can get real painful. Sometimes it’s best to get the poison out right away so healin’ can start. That is, unless you don’t care whether Bobby ever learns to like Mark or not.”

  Krista’s heart clenched. No amount of denial would change the fact that she did, indeed, care very much. Still, taking one day at a time was what the scripture said to do and it was excellent advice, especially in this instance.

  Anxious to get it over with she hurried to Mark’s and knocked. When he came to the door his dark hair was tousled and his eyes shadowy.

  “Sorry to bother you,” she said quickly.

  He joined her on the porch, rubbed his hands over his face and blinked to clear his head. “Hey, no problem. Guess I must have dozed off.”

  “Rough morning? Hannah told me what happened. I came to apologize for Bobby’s behavior. He’s still positive you’re a terrible criminal and I can’t seem to convince him you’re really a nice person.”

  Mark gave her an endearing, lopsided smile. A jolt of emotion made Krista feel unsteady, as if her legs were about to buckle and dump her in an embarrassing heap at his feet!

  “Hey, if that’s what it takes to show you how wonderful I am, then that’s okay with me,” he said. “Bring on the challenges. I’m ready.”

  “Bobby can be a challenge, can’t he?”

  “Kids are kids. Sometimes we forget how immature they are, especially when they’re bright, so we treat them like we would an adult. Even grown-ups make mistakes in judgment—and we’ve had years to learn how to behave in stressful situations.”

  Was he trying to tell her how to raise her son? Krista thought. Fidgeting, she muttered, “Yeah. Like right now.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Puddles did his best to dig out of his pen in time to follow his young master to school Monday morning. He failed. Weary and disheartened, he finished his breakfast, laid his chin on his paws and went back to sleep.

  Krista dropped her son at his bus stop, then drove to Bea’s café. She was thankful she had the new job to keep her mind occupied. Otherwise, she knew she’d keep reliving her most recent conversation with Mark and chastising herself for not speaking up on behalf of her parenting choices. He seemed to think that their friendship gave him the right to tell her how to raise her son.

  Bea answered her knock at the rear door. “Hi! Glad you decided to show.”

  “You had doubts?”

  “Some. You looked kind of peaked when I mentioned how often your friend ate here. I thought you might’ve changed your mind about workin’ for me.”

  “No way. I need this job,” Krista said flatly. “I’ve served plenty of difficult customers. Mark Vanbruger can’t be any worse than most.”

  The older woman cackled. “Worse? Honey, I saw the way he looked at you the other night. I wasn’t kidding when I told you he’s had to beat ’em off with a stick. There’s more than one lonesome woman in Serenity who’ll be fit to be tied when she hears how he feels about you.”

  “Mark and I are just friends. That’s all there is to it. Honest.”

  “On your part, maybe,” Bea drawled. “But nobody’ll ever convince me that guy isn’t crazy about you just the same.”

  “Crazy, is right. I don’t intend to get serious about any man. I was married once. I’m cured.”

  “Kind of like being vaccinated against the measles?”

  “You could look at it that way. I was a naive kid with dreams of the perfect family when I quit school to get married. By the time I realized how stupid I’d been, I was expecting. After Bobby was born I was sure my husband would settle down but he never did.”

  “I heard about what happened. The whole town did. You’ll find that folks here will understand, even if they don’t come right out and say so. They’ll help you, too, if you’ll let ’em.”

  Krista shook her head and sighed. “I needed a job so I could stand on my own two feet and you took care of that. I can handle everything else by myself.”

  “If you say so,” the older woman replied. “Just remember, living in Serenity is like being part of a big family. We’ve got our sweethearts and stinkers and enough crazy cousins to keep the whole shebang real interesting.”

  “Good. The way I’ve been feeling lately, I should fit in nicely.”

  “I’d be bumfuzzled, too, if I was in your shoes.”

  “You’d be what?”

  “Bumfuzzled. It’s like gettin’ picked up by a tornado and spun around till you can hardly see straight, let alone make any sense of what’s going on.”

  “Perfect! I have days like that all the time!”

  “Well, now you know what we call it.” Bea smiled. “Anything else you need to know, all you gotta do is ask. I’m tickled to help out.”

  “Thanks. Speaking of helping, don’t try to match me up with any single men, okay? I already have enough trouble with Hannah doing that.”

  Bea patted Krista on the shoulder. “I’d b
e flattered if I was you, hon. That shows how much she loves you. It must be hard for poor Hannah to think of her only grandson bein’ raised by somebody who’s not born kin. If the Brodys didn’t trust you to let them keep bein’ a part of Bobby’s growing up, no matter what, they’d never encourage you to find him a new daddy.”

  Thoughtful, Krista nodded. Bea’s rationale made sense, especially since the Brodys were deeply involved in providing foster care for displaced children. It was understandable that Hannah would want the best for Bobby, even if that included the addition of a replacement father figure.

  The image of Mark’s dear face immediately filled her mind. Just as quickly, she rejected that idea. Any paternal advisor for Bobby would require a man the boy looked up to. Sadly, the one she might once have chosen was now the least likely to qualify.

  CHAPTER 12

  Puddles was so rested and ready for anything when Bobby came home and let him loose, he jumped up and down then ran circles around the boy.

  Yeah! You’re home. I was so bored without you. Bet you were lonesome, too, huh? I heard there aren’t any dogs allowed at school. Talk about silly. We sheepdogs could keep all those kids rounded up and in one place better than any old human. Look how fast I can go!

  He paused, sniffed the air, then checked out the boy’s shoes as if he were a detective on a case.

  Hey! No fair. You went to the farm, too. Without me. How come you didn’t take me along, huh? I was good this morning. Except for the plastic scoop, I mean. That was your fault for leaving it in my pen. I wasn’t gonna eat it. I was just chewing on it and it broke into all those little pieces by itself.

  “C’mon, Puddles. Mom’s busy talking to Gramma and they don’t want me around. Let’s go see if Josh is home.”

  You wanna go where? Why? He snapped his head around, ears erect, senses on alert. The good guy is over this way, remember? We can go see Josh anytime. I just heard Mark’s car drive up. We need to go to him.

  Dashing around the boy’s legs and barking, Puddles suddenly dropped into a crouch, his forequarters down, his rear in the air.

  Oh, my! Now why did I do that? It seems right, though. Natural. Maybe it’s a sheepdog trick. Mama said I might surprise myself sometimes. This feels really good, like I’m supposed to behave this way. I don’t care if I look funny with my tail sticking up. As soon as Bobby moves, I’ll chase him again!

  Laughing, the boy stepped past his puppy and started for Josh’s. Ignored, Puddles felt dejected.

  Well, fine. Be a stupid old human if that’s what you want. I have more important things to do. Places to explore. People to see. And I’m gonna start with Mark’s house. Maybe he’s got more treats for me. Puddles headed for Mark’s front yard.

  Gamboling across the grass, the puppy stopped to relieve himself and chase elusive insects on the way to his goal. He bypassed the front porch and padded eagerly around the side to check out the backyard.

  His spirits fell. No sheep. What kind of place is this? Everybody’s supposed to have sheep. Otherwise, what good am I? What am I going to herd? Grasshoppers? That’s no fun. It’s impossible to get them into a circle. There’s Mark’s car. I told my Bobby he was home. Oooh, nice tires. Real dirty. And here’s the trail his shoes left when he walked to the house. It’s fresh, too.

  Nose to the ground, Puddles ran across the lawn and onto the porch. The trail disappeared at the closed door. He scratched with a front paw.

  Yoo-hoo. Hello in there. Wanna play? Wanna feed me? Wanna...

  The door was jerked open. Mark glowered. “What’re you doing here?”

  Play! Food! Scratch my tummy? I don’t care. Anything is fine. I’m ready.

  Startled, Puddles was picked up and tucked under the man’s arm.

  Hey, take it easy. Not so rough. Put me down. I can walk just fine, thanks. Where’re we going? He tried to wiggle free. No, mister. I don’t wanna go home. Bobby’s not there and his mother will stick me back in my kennel if she finds out I went to your house. Let me go! Hey, what’ve I ever done to deserve this? Besides the plastic scoop and the chicken problems, I mean.

  Mark stomped onto Krista’s porch and banged on the door. When she responded, he held Puddles out and said, “Here. I believe this belongs to you.”

  Scowling, she looked past him to scan the yard. “Where’s Bobby?”

  “I haven’t seen him. His dog showed up at my door all by itself. I don’t have a clue how it got there.”

  Well, I kind of went across the grass, by the trees and then up the driveway by your car. I think you ran over a dead skunk a while ago. Or maybe it was a squirrel. It was hard for me to tell. I don’t have a lot of experience yet.

  Mark thrust the wiggling pup into her arms, smiling. “Keep your dog home, will you?”

  Hey, not a chance! I know you like her. And she likes you. Any pup worth his kibble could tell you that. If you people were half as smart as sheep, you’d realize how much happier you’d be belonging to a flock.

  CHAPTER 13

  Krista had settled into her job and was counting her blessings, partly because Bobby seemed to be adjusting so well. Then, the restaurant phone rang.

  Bea held out the receiver. “It’s the school.”

  “Oh, dear.” Her first thought was for the boy’s well-being. The moment Mark said, “Hello, Mrs. Brody,” she heard the stress in his voice.

  She gripped the phone. “What’s happened?”

  “Don’t worry. Bobby’s okay but he has been sent to my office. He was apparently antagonizing some older boys and his teacher had to intervene.”

  “May I talk to him, please?”

  In the background, Krista overheard Mark speaking to her son. Then, she heard a faint sniffle. “Bobby? Are you there? Talk to me, honey. I need you to tell me what happened.”

  Instead, Mark came back on the line. “Looks like he’s not talking to anybody. Not even you. I can’t send him back to class while he’s in this kind of mood but I will have a talk with the other boys.”

  “Thanks.” Krista cast a weary glance at her boss. “Maybe I can get away right after the lunch crowd leaves.” When Bea nodded, Krista continued, “I’ll pick Bobby up as soon as I can. In the meantime, I know you’ll do your best.”

  “Hey, I always do,” Mark told her. “I have to confess, though, this situation would be a whole lot easier to handle if you and I weren’t old friends.”

  “Don’t even take that into consideration,” she replied. “Treat my son just like you would any other student. He doesn’t deserve special favors on my account.”

  “He does if I don’t want him to hate me till I’m old and gray.”

  Laughing at the humor in Mark’s tone, she felt some of her tension draining away. “Hang around with us Brodys enough and you’ll be gray in no time. I guarantee it. We have that effect on normal folks.”

  She heard a shout from the kitchen. “Order up!”

  “Oops. Gotta go,” Krista said quickly. “I don’t want to get fired my first week on the job.”

  “You like working for Bea and her family?”

  “Love it! They’re fun to be around, always joking and kidding each other. It makes my day really fly by.”

  “Well, mine will be passing like a tired turtle till you come and get your offspring,” Mark said. “I had a sneaking feeling this management position was way too simple. Now that I’ve met Bobby, I realize how easy I used to have it.”

  “See? We’ve been good for you already.”

  “I doubt you mean that the way I wish you did.”

  She was chuckling softly. “Hey, if my son’s problems make you count your blessings, then Bobby’s being helpful, even though he doesn’t mean to be.”

  “I hope you’ll mention that to him when you get him home.”

  “Oh, I’ll mention plenty,” she drawled. “Starting with who gets to go out to play or watch TV and who doesn’t.”

  “Meaning, you’ll be stuck in the house with him while he sulks?”
/>   Krista nodded and grinned at the receiver as if Mark could see her through the telephone connection. “Yes, but I don’t intend to let on that it’s punishment for me, too. It won’t be so bad. I never did like afternoon cartoons anyway. Too much conflict and violence.”

  As she hung up, she could hear Mark’s rich laughter. It warmed her heart almost enough to make her forget her frustration with her problem child.

  CHAPTER 14

  Puddles heard a commotion long before he spied his young master.

  Uh-oh. Bobby looks like he got spanked for chewing up a shoe or something. I don’t know if people munch stuff like that but they should. My mother said it’s very good for you, especially if you’re trying to shed baby teeth.

  The boy kicked at a rock. “I hate him.”

  Oh, bad feelings. Sad and mad and more. This isn’t good. Not good at all. I wonder what happened to upset my favorite boy so much.

  “He made everybody laugh at me, Puddles. Then he called Mom and made her come get me. I’m never going back to that school. Never.”

  I’m not jumping up on you. See? I know better. But I’ll give you a lick on your face if you pick me up and hug me and show me everything’s okay.

  Bobby sat down on the ground next to the unusually subdued dog. “I tried to tell Mom. She won’t listen to me. Nobody ever does.”

  I do. I listen to everything you say. And most of the things you think, too. I love you. So does your mother. Is it okay to crawl into your lap? I worry when you act funny like this. I don’t want to make you feel worse. Will you bite me if I come closer? I’ll be real careful not to scratch you with my nails. I won’t even chew on your shirt. I promise.

  “I’m gonna run away if she makes me stay here,” the boy said, reaching out to ruffle the soft fur behind Puddles’s ears. “And I’m gonna take you with me. You’re the only friend I’ve got.”

  The puppy laid his head on his master’s lap. Am I your only friend? Really? Sorry, but with your attitude I’m not surprised. You’re lucky that dogs love you no matter what. We know you don’t mean to treat us badly. Not that you’ve done that to me. But you’re going to make your mother very sad if we go away.