Lost & Found - Jacqueline Sheehan [70]
These two are Liz’s parents. He had been in their house long ago. The house held ghostly scents of memories for him, when there was rage and frustration between his Liz and her parents. They did not know how to soothe her like he did and he has taken a protective stand between Liz and her parents.
As soon as the long car trip ended, during which they did not stop so that he could relieve himself, he was led through the house and taken out through sliding glass doors in the kitchen where he was put outdoors, tied to a lead that ran along a high wire. The yard was surrounded by a solid wood fence, higher than even he could jump, and he could see nothing of the surrounding area.
He had never been tied before and he was ashamed. There was no one else to see him and for that small gift, he was glad. They brought food outside and placed it in a bowl. They brought water as well. They left the house during the day and did not return until the light began to fade. When they returned they came to look at him and brought him more food. More time passed, darkness settled, and they allowed him into the kitchen. He made the mistake of trying to follow them as he thought he should, down the hallway to their bedroom. But the woman scolded him, smacking a newspaper with her hand to make a sharp noise, and put up a barrier to let him know to stay in the kitchen. It was a minor thing, this barrier, he could have easily jumped it, but he understood the message to stay away.
The next night, after the man brought him food and left him in the yard, he saw the glow of the woman’s cigarette in the kitchen. She sat in the dark smoking. Cooper could feel her looking out and wondered if she could see the nightshine from his eyes. If allowed, he could help her. He would permit her to weep as humans did and to drain the anger and sadness from her blood by stroking him. He could urge her outside and drag her senses to stick throwing and the thrill of physical exhaustion. But she would not permit it, she would not see him as he was.
He knew this was it; there would be nothing else. Already in this life he had had two people who were beyond what he could have hoped. He had seen other dogs who had not fared as well, and he was grateful. But the New One had sent him away to this place and he could not understand why. He stopped eating on the second day and no longer hoped for the New One to come for him.
Chapter 25
They were all gone. Isaiah and Charlotte were in North Carolina for the holidays, Tess was on the mainland with her ex-husband and their two children and grandchildren, and even Hill had disappeared to points unknown. Rocky had not asked him where he was going when he called to say that their lessons would not resume until after the New Year, and she hoped that her disappointment did not show and if it did, that it meant she was dedicated to archery, not that she would in any way miss him. In reality, she had wanted to tell him about Cooper and the terrible mistake that she had made.
Rocky had refused to meet with her family over the holidays. “I just can’t. Not this year. I refuse to pretend that I am celebrating anything,” she told them. Caleb and his wife went to California to be with their mother. Rocky assured Caleb that he could come to the island in the spring.
Isaiah had replaced the battery on the truck for her the day after the Townsends took Cooper. Rocky watched him from the house. She had refused to speak to him, and he knew not to come to the door. She called Charlotte and said, “I’m not mad at you, and I probably won’t be able to stay mad at Isaiah much longer, but I think we made a huge mistake. Tell him thanks for fixing the truck. And I’ll feed your cat while you’re gone.”
She had not been able to go to sleep the first night until dawn and the second night was not much better. She napped during the day. She missed