A Family to Call Ours by Merrillee Whren

Author:Merrillee Whren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian romance, clean and wholesome romance, Christian fiction, contemporary Christian romance, sweet romance
Publisher: Merrillee Whren
Published: 2016-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“Someone’s not happy.” Tara raised her eyebrows as she looked over at Caleb.

He maneuvered his SUV onto the main road toward his house, the headlights beaming into the darkness. “Maybe I’ll let that pup spend the night at your place.”

“Can we, Mommy?” Hailey jumped into the conversation.

“No.” Tara wasn’t going to let Hailey or Caleb change the plans for this puppy. “Mr. Fitz is going to keep that dog at his house tonight.”

“But, Mom—”

“No ‘but moms.’” Tara nailed her daughter with a pointed look. “In the beginning, a pet needs to get used to its new home and surroundings. So it’s best to let her stay with Caleb. And sometimes, puppies cry just like babies.”

“But she’ll be so sad.” Hailey frowned.

“True, but she’ll soon get used to her new home.” Tara steeled herself against Hailey’s attempt at manipulation. “Have you thought of a name? That’s something you can do.”

Hailey huffed as she continued to frown. “Did you ever have a dog, Mommy?”

“No, just the stray cats that Grandma and Grandpa fed when we lived with them in Montana. Do you remember them?”

“Sort of. But they only showed up when they wanted to be fed. They were no fun.” Hailey leaned forward in her booster seat. “Mr. Fitz, did you have a dog before?”

Caleb nodded and turned into the drive that led to his house. “When I was a kid, my brother and I had a dog named Sparky.”

“Where’s Sparky now?” Hailey asked.

“Dogs don’t live as long as people.” A muscle worked in Caleb’s jaw as he stared straight ahead. He stopped his vehicle in front of his garage and pushed the button that opened the garage door. Light flooded the interior and spilled out on the SUV.

“Does that mean I’ll live longer than this dog?”

Caleb looked her way, a bit of unease in his eyes. “That’s what happens when you have a pet. You have to know that one day you’ll lose them.”

Tara suspected that the loss of that dog had affected Caleb in a deep way. So getting a new dog may not have been so easy for him. Some folks jumped right in and got a new dog when their beloved pet died. Others found it hard to ever replace a pet and elected not to get another one. This man had likely set aside his own feelings to give Hailey a chance to share in the experience of having a pet.

Caleb hopped out of the SUV and hurried to the back, as if he was trying to avoid any more discussion of lost pets. Tara couldn’t blame him. Talking or thinking about the death of a loved one—humans or pets—didn’t make for the best conversation. Hailey was too young to remember the death of her own father, and Tara rarely mentioned it. She had lived with the constant threat of losing her only child for too long. She wanted to think about living, not the prospect of death, even though it was part of life.

Hailey unbuckled her seat belt and scrambled out of the car.

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