“You’re young, beautiful and talented. You don’t need to weigh yourself down with regrets. You’ll see—there’s something better waiting for you. All you have to do is be open to the possibilities.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “Laura, we both know it’s over.”
It was a very long lunch and when it was finished, Landry was exhausted. But by the time he was headed back to his truck, he was beginning to feel free for the first time in years. He hadn’t considered a marriage in name only had been holding him back, pressing him down. It was now evident that it had been the worst kind of ball and chain.
He headed back to Virgin River with a lighter feeling in his chest.
* * *
Kaylee decided on a second walk for the day and one of the reasons was she really enjoyed Otis’s company. She never had to call him. He seemed to know when she was passing the house and darted out to the road, then sat there politely until he was invited to join her.
The leaves were deepening in color and the changing colors were moving lower down the mountain. In another couple of weeks they would be resplendent with the magnificent beauty of autumn and the hillsides would be aflame with reds, oranges, yellows and even deep purple. The air was cool, sometimes downright cold in the mornings and evenings. She had to wear a jacket even in the afternoon, though it usually came off when the sun beat down.
She had no idea where Landry had gone but he did mention he’d be gone all day and into evening. She wanted to ask, was he visiting galleries? Did he have an appointment with a buyer? Was he seeing his wife? Were any of those possibilities any of her business? Absolutely not.
But there was no denying—the time she spent with Landry, however brief, was time she wasn’t mourning her mom. For that she was so grateful.
Otis would take regular diversions to the grassy edge of the road to make sure he watered the grass, but then he’d be right back at her side. If she said “heel” he didn’t leave her, so she experimented with that occasionally and was amused by the amount of power she felt. But then he did something he hadn’t done before. He darted into the trees with a couple of loud barks and disappeared!
She stood right where she was and listened; she didn’t know what to do. If she lost Landry’s dog she’d be mortified. She didn’t want to follow him. She stood paralyzed but in a moment he came bounding back, excited. He barked at her and she had no idea what that meant. Then he ran back into the trees. What if he’d cornered an animal? What if it was a bear? He came back again, jumped around in a circle, then ran again into the trees. “Otis!” He didn’t come back. “Otis, come!” she shouted. And she heard him bark.
She took a few careful, slow steps into the woods. Otis barked again and in another two steps she heard the faint sound of squeaking or peeping. Had he found some baby birds? If he found a batch of kittens, they would be going to the shelter. She wasn’t sure she had completely gotten used to Tux!
But there in front of her sat Otis. He was sitting beside a large half of a cardboard box and inside she saw the head of a dog peering out. A dog she didn’t know. She gasped and took a step back. The dog laid down its head. The squeaking continued and as she braved a step closer she saw that the source of the noise was puppies. She counted four of them. She didn’t dare get any closer for fear the dog would leap out of the box and attack her. Weren’t all animals severely protective of their young?
But the dog was a mama and she was lying down on her side with those puppies latched to her chest. And then she noticed that the dog was hooked up to a leash that was looped around a tree trunk. That dog wasn’t going anywhere. Upon taking another couple of steps closer, she saw that the dog was terribly thin; she could see her ribs. She was blonde, Kaylee had no idea the breed, but she had a long snout and big brown eyes. Sad eyes. She looked around for dishes of food or water but didn’t see any. She obviously couldn’t get away. Had this little family been left here to die? Now, who would do that with a no-kill shelter in the vicinity?
Kaylee pulled her water bottle out of her backpack and got down on one knee. “Hey there,” she said softly. “How are we gonna do this without a dish?” She opened the water, shaped her hand like a cup and poured a little bit of water into her palm. The dog lapped it up in a second, so she poured more. And she crooned, “That’s right, that should help a little.” After replenishing the water to her palm several times, the water bottle was empty. She tentatively gave the mama dog a gentle pat. “What am I supposed to do with you?”