A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

Author:Bobbie Pyron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins US
Published: 2011-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

A week passed. On an unusually warm day, Tam lay on the front porch, eyes closed, sun soothing his aching shoulder. One ear twitched at rustling in the dry grass of the pasture. In his dream, the coyote arced over the tall grass, ready to pounce. Tam barked his excitement for the hunt.

Ivy heard the muffled woofs coming from the sleeping sheltie. She watched his feet twitch, his tail thump. She smiled. “No telling what adventures you’re reliving in your dreams,” she said. Gently, she shook him awake.

Tam opened his eyes. For a moment he was confused by the hard wood beneath his body, the gentle hand on his side, the kind eyes. Where was the coyote and the deep woods and the taste of hot blood?

“Come on, boy,” Ivy said, standing up. “It’s time we went to town.” Catching the word come, he stood and followed the old woman to the car. A raven called to them from the branches of a dogwood tree as they pulled out of the drive, the sun glinting on its notched tail.

Tam watched the fields and trees race by the car with great interest. It had been a long time since he’d ridden inside a car, but he remembered that it almost always led somewhere exciting.

Ivy turned on the car radio, searching for a station. Tam tilted his head to one side when the sound of a fiddle and banjo leaped from the radio. Ivy smiled and stroked Tam’s back. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a definite preference for bluegrass music.”

Their first stop was the Galax post office. She patted Tam’s head. “I got to run in and mail off my order for more yarn, boy. You guard the car.” Tam’s eyes never left the front door of the post office. He relaxed when she slid back in the front seat beside him. “Now to the bank,” she said.

At the drive-up window, something stirred in Tam’s memory as he watched the teller behind the glass. He licked his lips and pressed his nose to the window.

“When did you get you a dog, Mrs. Calhoun?” the girl asked as she counted out the dollar bills.

“He and I sort of found each other out in the woods a while back,” Ivy said.

The girl shook her head. “I’d be careful if I was you, Mrs. Calhoun, taking in stray dogs. My daddy says there’s coyotes up in the mountains, closer than you might think.”

Ivy sniffed. “He’s a Shetland sheepdog, Tiffany. Not a coyote.”

The metal tray slid toward the car window and opened. Ivy took the cash and a dog biscuit from the tray. She handed Tam the biscuit. “Thanks, Tiffany,” Ivy called as they pulled away.

Ivy watched Tam lick the last of the biscuit crumbs from the car seat. “Next stop is for you, boy,” she said. “It’s time to let you do some shopping.” Pulling into the parking lot in front of a store called Everything Dog, Ivy muttered, “Honestly, coyotes.

“Well, first thing I guess,” Ivy said, “is to get him a collar.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.