Maggie and the Inconvenient Corpse by Barbara Cool Lee

Author:Barbara Cool Lee [Lee, Barbara Cool]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pajaro Bay Publishing

Chapter 13

When Maggie got back to her house with the chicken, Jasper had knocked over her craft table and scattered the one-point-two million seed beads all over the floor.

She put the chicken into the mini fridge, then swept up all the beads and put them into a wastebasket. It would take years to sort them out. "What am I going to do with you, Jasper?"

He barked helpfully, and she put her hands over her ears to stop the ringing. "That's not making it better."

She did a thorough clean up of her house to move everything out of his reach. He lay on the daybed and watched with a quizzical expression as she put away food, craft supplies, and clothes until every drawer was stuffed full and the place was, she hoped, dog-proofed.

After that, she sat down on her stool by the craft table. The wastebasket filled with a million beads sat there on the table, reminding her of how wrong this dog was for her.

She looked at the furry beast stretched out on the floor of the tiny house.

When he saw her looking his way, he jumped up and came over to sit in front of her.

She rubbed the white mane on his chest, and he smiled at her.

"I know you're all alone now," she said to the dog. "And I feel bad about that."

He closed his mouth, which gave him a serious expression as if he understood what she was saying.

She hugged him, and he licked her arm.

She straightened up again, and looked him in the eye. "This house is too small for you."

He grinned at her and nodded.

"You don't understand," she said. "You're really a lovely dog. Beautiful as can be, and just a real sweetheart."

He kissed her nose, and she sat up straighter to put her face out of his reach.

"But there are problems," she explained. "First, there's the fact that I've never owned a dog and don't really know how to take care of you."

He scratched his ear and it made him look cross-eyed.

She laughed. "Yeah. And then there's your size. You really are a great big boy. And I just don't think you can live in such a small space."

He stood up and his hip bumped her bead loom, sending it skidding sideways across the floor again.

She grabbed at it before it fell over. "Stop!" she shouted, and he looked crestfallen.

"Sit down," she said.

He just looked at her. She reached over and pushed on his rear end and he sat. "Like that," she said, and he smiled.

"I promise I won't abandon you," she said, and he licked her hand.

"But this is not permanent. This is a temporary thing, you being here. It's just until I can find a rescue group or some person who wants you."

She stared at him for another minute, and he stared back, wagging his tail, seeming to take her eye contact as approval.

He was so sweet. And so beautiful. And so incredibly big. But she was starting to feel a treacherous sense of obligation to him.

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