“Well, I was thinking about that. Do you think Mallory likes puppies?”
* * *
Mel brought Mallory over the next afternoon. “Mel said you wanted me to see something,” the little girl said.
“First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your mother,” Kaylee said, giving her a hug. “Did Mel tell you we have that in common? I lost my mother last year. I think I know how you’re feeling.”
“How I’m feeling is not that good,” she said. “But I’m taking it slow. My mom said, just take it slow because you can’t hurry your feelings. I don’t know what that means, but I’m doing it the best I can.”
“You’re doing fine,” Kaylee said. “Mallory, I was out for a walk and I found a mama dog. She was tied up to a tree and had four puppies with her. Someone left her there, abandoned her. So I brought her back here. I thought maybe you might want to see them?”
“Yes! Were they hurt?”
“No, just hungry. Landry has them in his kennel. I’ll show you,” she said, taking Mallory’s hand.
“I have a few phone calls to return,” Mel said. “Can I stay here and do that while you see the puppies?”
“Of course. But we might be a while.” She pulled Mallory along to Landry’s house and then through the house to the back door. Otis came out of Landry’s shop and greeted them. “Mallory, have you met Landry?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure,” she said. “What are you doing in there?”
“Making pots and statues and wind chimes and all sorts of artsy things,” he said. “I bet you’re here to see the puppies. When you’re done I’ll show you everything if you’re interested.”
“I’d like to see it, if Mel says it’s okay.”
They found Lady in the backyard, sniffing around. “Lady,” Kaylee called, and the dog pranced right over. “This is Lady, Mallory. When I found her she was nearly starving but she’s looking so good now.”
“Why was she starving?”
“I don’t know because I don’t know what happened to her. I suspect her owners neglected her, didn’t feed her, didn’t take care of her. But she’s very well taken care of now. Let’s look at the puppies.”
Mallory gasped with pleasure when she saw the puppy pile inside the kennel. She immediately got down on her knees and reached into the space to touch a puppy. Then she pulled a hand back and looked at Kaylee. “There’s a cat in here,” she said, shocked.
“I know,” Kaylee said with a laugh. “That’s Tux. I found him, too. He was so young when I found him and when Lady and the puppies came here to stay, he crawled in and never wanted to leave. The puppies are going to outsize him pretty soon. He thinks he’s one of them.”
Lady joined them and got into the dog bed, lying down for the puppies to nurse. “I don’t think they’re going to be nursing much longer. They’re getting big and they need real food. Landry has started feeing them puppy kibble once a day. Lady will decide when she’s done nursing and just quit on them. Then we’ll have to try to find homes for them.”
Mallory picked up a puppy and cuddled him. “I guess that’s going to happen to me, too.”
“Are you worried about that, honey?”
“A little bit. I’d kind of like to just stay with Ali’s family. I know them, they’re nice, they like me, but…” She shrugged. “There’s a lot of kids. I don’t think there’s room. Maybe not enough food or something.”
“What did Mel say?”
“She said I don’t need to worry because she’s going to keep an eye on me and everything.” She kissed the puppy’s soft fur. “I’m a little scared of going to some house I’ve never been to with people I don’t know. I hope I don’t have to do that.”
“I would be scared of that, too.”
Kaylee changed the subject and asked Mallory when was the last time she’d been to the library. It turned out it had been weeks, which made absolute sense because her mother had been very sick, died, there’d been a funeral, there were probably details with the house and furnishings. “Maybe we can go next Saturday,” she said. “Would you like me to take you?”
“Well, yes, but I’m not sure where I’m going to be,” she said, and Kaylee could see the poor thing was feeling all uprooted, confused and worried.