Page 93 of Old-Fashioned

He lifted me up tossed me over his shoulder and stalked to our bedroom.

Four Years Later

Abel

I stared down at all the dog beds Ryker had accumulated.

His food bowl.

His water bowl.

His toys.

And then I grabbed them all up and moved them to the garage.

I didn’t have the heart to throw them away.

Not when Ryker had been such an amazing dog.

With that done, I walked back into the house, to our bedroom, and crawled in behind Birdie, and Rilee.

Both of my girls were still crying.

Ryker had been around four years old when Birdie saved him.

We had him for six amazing years.

And I knew that we probably would never get another dog.

Because Ryker was one in a million.

Thankfully, he lived out his days as a happy dog that was loved on so much it was a wonder his heart hadn’t exploded.

Sadly, old age had taken him from us.

Ten minutes later, both of my girls had fallen asleep.

And two weeks later, I took all the photos we had of Ryker that we hadn’t gotten printed out yet and made it happen.

Since there were a lot of them, I placed them throughout the house.

And anytime one of my girls walked by a picture of Ryker, it made them smile.

Two Years Later

Abel

I couldn’t rest until I made all of Birdie’s dreams come true.

And I could tell, whenever she spent time with Rich she wondered about her father.

Therefore, I hired a private detective to find him.

He was still locked up and was in solitary confinement.

He wasn’t getting out, ever.

Also, he had it in his files that he didn’t want any visitors.

---