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Chapter One
Worry and fear gripped the large white dog.
Loneliness had her shuddering as memories filtered through her mind.
Sadly, she began to cry, making small whimpering sounds.
Pretty Girl had never spent time alone in a strange place before. She didn’t know what to do. Whining, she sat staring at the last place she’d seen Dex, her owner.
One minute, he’d been right there, and then he’d disappeared… him and the vehicle.
He’d left her.
Why? Did he want her to follow him?But she didn’t know where to go. If she’d been closer to home, the smells would have been familiar.
They’d driven for such a long time that she’d become stiff. When he left her with the car door open, she’d decided to follow him but then a scent had teased her, and she’d ran after the prey. When she realized how long she’d been gone, she’dreturned to the place where he’d parked only to find the car and Dex missing.
He’d driven away without her.
Protecting herself from the cold, she’d curled into a ball, waiting and watching. When the snow began to fall, she became anxious. He’d never left her alone for this long. Ears cocked, eyes searching this way and that, seeing nothing.
While darkness hovered, she walked around in circles, whining with worry. Would he come and get her soon. She returned to her spot and waited some more.
Suddenly, a thought entered and wouldn’t go away. She lifted her muzzle, strange scents surrounding her. Did he expect her to go home? She knew the direction. But what if he came for her? She waited longer, and the snow fell harder.
A man from the store where they’d stopped had seen her and offered her water, and so she drank. When he left her food, she ate… and waited. Looking around at the wind and snow, she finally made up her mind. She had to find Dex. She’d go home, and he’d be waiting for her… calling for her.
The kind man who’d fed her, offered for her to come inside the building but she couldn’t do that without Dex. So other than accepting his food, she backed away. With a final bark of gratitude, she headed down the snow-covered driveway back in the direction they’d come from.
Crying, filled with worry, she understood only one thing… danger. The harsh weather closing in made her feel even more certain that she had to find Dex. And… so she would.
Chapter Two
Jasmin’s mom had bullied her nonstop for weeks about her coming home for Christmas. “Your father has cancer, baby. He needs his little girl.”
“I’m thirty, Mom. And seriously, Dad recently got a clean bill of health. I was there, remember?”
“But it’s the holidays, Jassy. It won’t be the same without you.”
“Hey, remember what happened last time I got on a plane. The drastic turbulence forced it to drop what felt like hundreds of feet before we even knew what happened. Remember how long it took me to forget that horrific experience? Some days I think my stomach is still floating up there in the clouds. It’s taken me months to stop the nightmares. I’m not getting in another death trap… I’m just not.”
“No, no. We don’t expect that. Take the train and then drive from Seattle to Carlton Grove. It’s just a few hours. I’d go and pick you up, but Dad says I’m not allowed on the highway anymore. Silly man. Goes cuckoo over a few bumper bangers.God Lord, it’s not like I have a new car he should be worried about. He gets to drive that one, not me.”
If her mother got started ragging on her father, she’d never get her off the phone, so Jasmin interrupted. “Stop. Fine, I’ll come this time. But Mom, please quit expecting me to make it home for every single long weekend. I have friends here who I’d like to spend those days with too.”
Little did her mom know that her life in Los Angeles was boring, empty, and becoming worse every day. Because she’d stood up for a principle, her lady boss had overlooked her for a promotion, and her co-workers, other than Mandy, didn’t want to hang with her in case they got tarnished with the same brush.
Being a young, struggling, deputy district attorney in the county of Los Angeles had her working so many hours, including weekends, that Jasmin had built up a mass of days in her time-off bank.
But her mother believed her fibs. “I understand it’s hard being so popular, same as when you were growing up. But kiddo, your dad and I don’t get to see you near enough. I keep telling you that you should live here. What’s wrong with Carlton Grove. Frankly, there’s so many new developments that the population is growing rapidly. I understand there’s a real need for lawyers. Hells bells, we have criminals here too, as many per capita as dumb old LA.”
Recognizing the futility of arguing with a woman who always got her way, Jasmin agreed. “Fine, I’ll text you the day and time of my arrival. But I can only stay a little while so don’t go making too many plans with the neighbors. Promise me.”
“Right, no big parties. Gotta go and tell your dad. He’ll be thrilled. Love, you, babe. By-ye.”
Jasmin’s heavy sigh might be construed as a person taken advantage of, but the truth would be more like relief. She had a place to go where she would be loved and spoiled and madeto feel better about herself. Really, how bad could that be? God only knows the last time she felt that way.
Chuffing under her breath, she accepted the truth. Feeling that good only happened when she was at home in Carlton Grove. Best not to think about it now. She would make her plans later.
