Page 122 of Second Song
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of the Willet Cove Animal Shelter.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” Seraphina took my hand. “Come on.”
Inside, a woman at the front desk smiled when she saw us. “The Sinclair-Sloan family? We’ve been expecting you. Follow me.”
She led us down a hallway lined with kennels. Dogs barked and wagged and pressed their noses against the chain-link. I looked at Seraphina, starting to understand but not quite believing.
“You said you’ve always wanted a dog. It’s time,” Seraphina said.
“Okay. Didn’t see this coming,” Hunter said.
“We found the perfect dog for us,” Tyler said. “We hope you’ll love him too.”
The woman stopped at a kennel near the end. “Here he is.”
I looked through the chain-link, and my chest immediately ached with love.
He was some kind of lab mix with floppy ears, enormous brown eyes, golden fur with a white patch on his chest. He was pressed against the back of the kennel, trembling slightly, watching us. I could almost hear him say,Please don’t hurt me. And please be the ones who stay.
“Someone found him on the side of Highway 1,” the woman said. “Just dumped there. No collar, no chip. He was dehydrated and scared. He’s been here about three weeks and has recovered nicely but he needs his forever home.”
“Someone just left him,” Tyler said, his voice sad. “How could anyone do it?”
“So that the right family could find him,” Seraphina said.
I crouched down in front of the kennel. The puppy’s ears perked up, but he didn’t move. Who could blame him? He’d been left on the side of the road like he was nothing. He probably thought no one could love him.
But he was wrong. Just as I’d been.
“Hey, buddy,” I said softly. “I know how you feel. I got left behind too.”
The puppy tilted his head, one ear twitching.
“But we don’t need to worry about that ever again.” I kept my voice low, gentle. “Because we’re here now. You’re going home with us, okay? And we’ll love you the way you deserve to be loved.”
The puppy took a tentative step forward.
“What do you think?” I asked him. “You game?”
He came another step closer. Then another. Until he was at the front of the kennel, pressing his nose through the chain-link, his tail wagging hesitantly.
I looked up at Seraphina and Tyler. They shared the same soft expression.
“Can he come out?” I asked the woman.
She unlatched the kennel door, and the puppy tumbled into my arms. He was warm and wriggly and he licked my face like I was the best thing he’d ever seen.
“Ah, there you are,” I said. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
More tail wagging. More kisses.
“What are you going to name him?” Tyler asked.
I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about Wes and Margaret, who’d taken in a lost kid and given him a home. Then, Seraphina and Tyler, who’d done the same thing all over again. Brought me home. And that’s what we were going to do with this lucky puppy.
“Lucky,” I said. “Because he and I are lucky to be loved by you two.”
Lucky barked once, as if in agreement.
We filled out the paperwork. We bought a leash and a collar and more toys than any dog could possibly need. Together, we walked out into the California sunshine, a family of four.
“Welcome to the family,” Tyler said, scratching behind Lucky’s ears. “You’ll never be tossed away ever again.”
Lucky wagged his tail so hard his whole body wiggled.
I put my arm around Seraphina, our son walking beside us, Lucky trotting ahead on his new leash. How had I ever thought my life was over? I’d been very wrong. It was actually just beginning.
