Flying in Shadows (The Black Creek Series, Book 2) (6 page)

"Yes, of course. Happy birthday, honey. We have presents. Oh, we should wait for Dave
and Jessica." She was speaking too fast. Her mom darted her eyes back and forth between
the front and back doors.

Rose stood in front of her, hands dangling at her sides. "Your arm."

"Oh that." Her mom waved her hand in the air. "Someone grabbed me at the shelter today.
Are you hungry?" Picking up a long-armed grill lighter, her mom turned toward the
deck.

"You went to the shelter on a Saturday?" Rose felt the wrinkle between her brows return.

"Sure. I was called in. I'm making your favorite dinner."

"Stop." Rose reached for her arm. "Stop talking about my birthday."

Her mom took one, long breath. "You're absolutely right. I am shook up about it, but
I want this to be a nice day for you. Let me let this be a nice day for you."

"Okay. All right." Rose didn't move. "Does dad know?"

Looking away, her mom answered, "No. No, I'll tell him tonight. I'll just go change
my shirt so we don't have to deal with it in the middle of birthday bratwursts and
corn on the cob."

Rose followed her up the stairs.

She walked in her room, deep in thought. Reaching behind, she absently pulled the
string to loosen her zoo apron. As she took the contents from the pockets, the wrinkles
in her forehead softened at the feel of the twenty-dollar tip. The endless questions
from the quizzical girls ran through her mind as she lifted the lid to her money box.
When she tossed in the bill, the wrinkles instantly returned. She leaned down for
a closer look.

At that moment, her mom came back wearing a three-quarter-length sleeved blouse and
asked if she had any extra eighteen-year-old dinner requests before she got started
with the brats.

Rose stood with her zoo apron dangling loosely from her neck, staring intently into
her money box. She estimated the amount with her eyes.

"Oh, honey, I misplaced my credit card. I borrowed some for your birthday presents.
I'll pay you back on Monday when the bank opens, all right?" Her mom turned in a half
circle and gestured with her arm. "How do you like your room?"

Rose looked around, noticing she must have cleaned it for her. "It's very nice. Thank
you." Eight hundred dollars, Rose thought. She spent eight hundred dollars on birthday
presents?

Dinner was ready and the table set when Dave and Jessica returned. Rose considered
him one of her best friends. His towering presence wasn't only physical. He was the
stability of their home. Her mom was clearly the love of his life. He stayed faithfully
by her through her... issues. Jessica was their only biological daughter. Nothing
like her mom or Rose, she was girly girl to the core.

Together they ate, sang and told embarrassing remember-when-you stories. Rose thought
about how much she would miss her family, yet she was ready to move on to the next
stage of her life. It felt natural.

Her gifts seemed to carry a prom-theme: earrings with a necklace to match, and gift
certificates for a hair salon and one for one of those nail places. She tried to imagine
feeding the snakes at the zoo with long, red nails and smiled.

"Best for last," Dave said as he headed for the garage. When he came back, he carried
a lidded cardboard box. Inside, the contents scraped and whined.

"No. You. Didn't." Rose took off and quickly, but gingerly, grabbed the package. "Holy
cow!" She set it down on the floor, muttering, "Please, please, please." As soon as
she let go of the lid, a charcoal Labrador puppy jumped over the edge and fell on
its face. Rose squealed, rolled over on her back on the Berber carpet and let the
puppy drown her with kisses.

Amanda could hardly believe the night was a success. Weariness enveloped her and was
mixed with an intense desire to walk upstairs and go right to bed. "Brie is expecting
you whenever you're ready," she said to Rose. "And since he's going to end up my responsibility
when you're away, she says we do puppy school together. The box of supplies she told
me to have ready is in the car. Happy birthday, sweetie." She let out a breath as
she leaned back against her chair.

The sight of her family playing on the floor with the puppy made her feel almost normal,
like a regular family. She couldn't help it and let her lids drop, if only for a moment.
Her arm throbbed, but it was nothing compared to her nerves... and her head and...
her heart. The afternoon was a close call. She had no idea how to make it stop and
still keep Rose safe... hidden. The dog would help. Brie would help her train it as
a guard dog. She clasped her hands under the table to keep from trembling. It seemed
only Dave had suspicions as to why she finally gave in to the idea of a pet four months
before Rose left for college. So far, he kept his questions to himself.

Chapter 5

Andy sighed as he listened to Candi go on about her dislike of his music, the latest
high school girl she hated and that she would be going with him when he ordered his
tux to make sure the tie matched her dress... exactly. He forced a smile and followed
her out his front door, fingers clasped and setting on top of his head. A thin, gray
cloud cover promised rain, mimicking his mood.

As Candi made her way to her bright orange bug, he spotted Rose walking up his long
drive with a bouncing, black fur ball tangling a leash around her ankles. He felt
the first gut-laugh he'd had in a long time erupt from low in his belly as he sat
back on his haunches like a catcher behind the plate.

The puppy spotted him—a new person who was down near his level. Taking a running leap,
he broke free of Rose's grasp. She threw her arms up, and Andy hoped the little guy
didn't get distracted before he reached him.

"Come on, boy. You're a beaut!" He held his arms out in front of him and kept bellowing
as the pup seemed to run faster than his legs. He stumbled, rolled and caught his
footing, rushing toward Andy without missing a beat.

Andy looked up in time to catch a glimpse of Rose's large, round eyes as they warmed
to the sight of him. He would never get tired of it. The dog ran into Andy head on,
twisting back and forth and rubbing his snout all over him. His ears felt like rose
petals. Andy wondered how all puppies had the same scent. Like, well, puppy.

Rose walked up the drive toward them, passing Candi, who looked like she'd seen a
mouse.

"Nice, doggie. Stay away, now." Candi edged closer to her car.

"Oh, honestly, Candi. It's a six-week-old puppy. Are you even female?"

Candi seemed to have no problem tethering her fears enough for a catchy comeback.
"Look who's talking?"

Surprised that Rose would so randomly take a stab at Candi, Andy defended her. "She
was
here first."

"I didn't come here to see you anyway," Rose said.

Her comment hurt deeper than he would have liked. He watched as Rose blushed and,
in a rare moment, dropped her chin.

"Your mom inside?"

He jutted his thumb over his shoulder toward the front door.

Rose and her new Lab walked into Brie's kitchen.

Andy's aunt brought her folded hands to her lips. "So, this is him. Happy birthday.
You'll be such a great puppy mom." Brie ooh'ed and ah'ed as she rubbed his ears and
head. "Let me call in Goldie and Macey from the back. They need some young blood to
liven them up. Have you named him, yet?" Brie asked as she opened her kitchen window
and let out two short whistles.

"I'm thinking maybe Charcoal."

The golden retriever and the yellow lab-mix came casually through the animal flap
in the mudroom door and into the kitchen. Hackles rose when the seasoned dogs noticed
the furry intruder. The puppy squirmed mercilessly in Rose's arms at the sight of
the new four-legged friends.

"Release," Brie told her dogs and they walked to Rose, sniffing at the scratching,
nipping bundle of caffeine.

"Can I let him down?" Rose pleaded.

"Yes. Yes. The old folks will keep him corralled. He's got good color. Wet nose, healthy
shine to his coat. You must have passed the drama in the drive."

Rose bit her nails at the sudden subject change. "Um, yes. Drama's a good word for
it."

"I don't know why any woman would name their child Candi."

"I know! I said the same thing. I have to tell you, though, that her name is really
Candice. Mature, intelligent name. She prefers
Candi
." Rose watched Macey nudge the puppy when he tried to edge away from the group. "She
had a sort of reaction to the pup." She closed her eyes. "I said something snippy
and..." Confessional.

Brie turned wide eyes on Rose.

Rose tilted her head from side to side, nodding, and said, "Yeah, Andy's not too happy
about it. I don't know what got into me."

"Ugh. He has such terrible taste in girlfriends. I'd hoped college would change that.
And if you tell him I said any of this, I'll have to kill you."

At that, Rose let out a hoot of laughter and dropped to play with the dogs. Without
warning, the puppy lifted his leg to Mr. Reed's custom cherry cabinets. Andy's uncle
had made them, along with just about every other wooden piece in their house. Rose
threw her hands on the sides of her head.

Brie clapped three times loudly. Startled, the pup lowered his leg and looked up as
Brie hastily, yet gently, hauled him out back.

Rose followed. She forgot all about the doggie door and pushed open the people door
for the older dogs.

Brie praised the pup when his paws touched the grass. "You'll want to focus on positive
reinforcement. Occasionally, dogs need to be told
no
but for these first few days, he's learning to trust and love you. Some call it the
honeymoon period." The puppy rolled in the grass, chewing on his leash. "Make sure
he sleeps in his crate. He might not like it at first. You can sleep next to him for
the first few nights if you prefer."

Goldie and Macey wandered out and picked up their sniffing where they'd left off before
the evening interruption.

"I've called in a favor to a friend and the little guy can start puppy kindergarten
as soon as this Tuesday. The further you go with classes, the better. Until then,
you'll want to work with him at least three times a day on three things."

It always amazed Rose how Brie could plop down and cross her legs like a kid. Charcoal
sat next to her in the cold grass and cocked his head. "Carefully, but firmly, flip
him over and cradle him on your lap like this." Andy's aunt turned the black beach
ball with legs around onto his back. His legs kicked madly and his head jerked in
circles. "Be gentle and give him lots of praise, especially when he stills." Brie
scratched his ears. "Good, boy. You're just a good boy, aren't you?"

"Dogs want to be the alpha. That's natural, but the sooner you help him learn he's
not, the better. Lying on his back is a sign of submission and it doesn't hurt, although
he's faking it well." She turned to rub noses with the calming puppy. "You're a smart
guy."

Andy watched as he leaned on the jamb of the back door. Rose looked happy. His aunt
wasn't just a first-grade teacher, she and Rose's mom co-owned their own landscaping
and design business, and Brie was a pro at working with dogs.

He felt a mix of frustration with his girlfriend, rejection from his best friend,
interest in what Brie was explaining, and entertainment from the bundle of C4. He
turned his head, watching from the corner of his eyes while Brie instructed Rose in
front of a backdrop of winter brown grasses and plants.

"When he quiets, rotate each of his toenails just a bit like this," Brie started,
and the pup went back to thrashing. After he calmed, she praised and continued, "This
will help him become accustomed to being handled and for when you need to clip his
nails and such." Brie released him. The puppy spotted Andy and took off, struggling
when the leash became tight.

His aunt walked over and handed the leash to him. "Finally, potty training. He's not
too young. At puppy kindergarten, he will even start to learn basic skills such as
sit and stay. Until then, try not to over-train. He's juvenile and he can burn out.
Take him out at least every hour, when he eats, and before and after bed. Bring him
to the place you'll want him to go or else you'll have land mines all over your mom's
yard." Brie took a deep breath. "He's perfect. Congratulations. I'll leave you two
alone." She wasn't referring to Rose and her puppy.