The Collie Connection (The Foxglove Corners Series Book 7) by Dorothy Bodoin

Author:Dorothy Bodoin [Bodoin, Dorothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
Published: 2010-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

“It didn’t take you long to replace me,” Halley said.

She stood on the porch, wreathed in a light mist, her front paws on the windowsill and her nose pressed to the glass. From that vantage point she would have a clear view of Holly’s crate.

I struggled to find the right words, the ones to reassure her that she still had a claim on my heart and home. They didn’t exist, but I tried.

“No dog could ever take your place,” I said. “Camille is going to keep the puppy, and Candy... “

How could I explain Candy?

“Candy didn’t have anyone to take care of her. She’ll be a new friend for you to play with.”

Halley dropped down on all fours. Turning around, she walked slowly up to me. She carried her tail low but her head high, and tears glistened in her dark eyes.

“You’re not looking for me,” she said.

“I am. I’m doing everything I can.”

“It’s not enough.”

“Halley, I’d give anything to have you back.”

The tears left long streaks down the caramel fur of her muzzle. “I want my dinner. I want my toys. I want you.”

The dream shook me awake, left me floating in the mist that hovered over my bed.

But that was impossible. Mist couldn’t get inside with the window closed. What hovered over me was a penetrating cold. Remembering the power failure, I pulled the heavy comforter up to my shoulders. The heat hadn’t come back on during the night. Without the hum of the furnace, the house was unnaturally quiet, and the room was dim, the only light source an early sun or late moon.

In two weeks, whenever Crane wasn’t on duty, I’d be waking up in his arms, safe and secure and loved. Would the disturbing dreams pursue me even into the married state?

No. No. You’ll have Halley home by then.

I had set my watch on the nightstand as a substitute for the electric alarm clock. A glance at the time propelled me into action. I’d slept two hours later than usual, and I had morning errands to do. A few of them related to the wedding. One involved another stop at Clovers and a drive down Malvern Court. Also this was my day for making my weekly calls to the area’s animal shelters in case somebody had taken Halley there.

Remnants of the dream stayed with me as I began the morning. I believed that on occasion dreams could foretell momentous events. Certainly they mirrored images of the present. In this latest one there were fragile threads of reality. Halley might well be in the Malvern woods, which was relatively close but still a significance distance from Foxglove Corners. As for the rest, what the dream-Halley said was true.

Julia had always been the realistic, down-to-earth sister, but last winter her recurring nightmares of snow and danger had changed her outlook. What would she make of the messages from my missing Halley?

Soon, she would be in Foxglove Corners. I could ask her then.

Shivering in the chill of the unheated house, I dressed in layers—a blue twin set and a full gray skirt.

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