Page 26 of Black Dog

Ram turned to Elora. “Do no’ be mad.” She shrank away when he tried to kiss her. He allowed it, dropped his hands and headed toward the door. Before he could disappear into the mud room and out into the night, she changed her mind.

She gave him a kiss to remember and said, “I am mad. But you’re still my hero. Find my dog.”

“Workin’ on it.”

“You’ll call? I need to know what’s happening.”

“Every chance I get.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

When the noise of Ram’s engine died away, Elora sat down next to the fire. “Anything?” she asked.

“I can no’ see the outcome clearly, but for what it’s worth, I have a feelin’ all will be lovely.”

Kellareal returned after twenty minutes or so to transport Song and Duff to Edinburgh.

Helm went out to take care of the wolf-dog and sheep chores.

That left Elora alone in the kitchen. Her eyes glazed over as she anxiously tapped her short nails on the table next to her phone.

The house suddenly sounded like elephants doing a Virginia Reel on the roof, which meant the twins were descending the wood stairs in typical fashion.

They came running into the kitchen. “We’re goin’ to cook,” said Gale.

Elora’s eyes cleared and she smiled. “That is very thoughtful of you. I think it will just be our family for supper, but make enough for Storm.”

They both nodded. “O’course. And, also, we were wonderin’. Till Blackie comes home, could we bring Dol in the house?”

“Certainly not. This is no time for house manners training. What are you thinking?” They looked at each other with sheepish expressions. Gavain blushed a little. “You might as well tell me now. What do I not know?”

“Em,” Gale began, “that we’ve been bringin’ him in for years when you and Blackie are gone. His manners are perfect.”

Gavain nodded and repeated, “Perfect.”

Elora didn’t have either energy or inclination for scolding, especially since Dolmen Blacknell had indirectly helped to locate Blackie. She stared at the twins for a few seconds that seemed like much longer. After the crowd of people had dwindled to just the three of them in the kitchen, the room seemed extraordinarily quiet with no one speaking.

Elora felt a little pang of the guilt that is inescapable for moms. “I don’t love Blackie more than you,” she said.

In a rare glimpse of the empathetic women they would become, the girls seemed to instinctively know that would be a good time to give their mom a hug. In an instant Elora was surrounded by young female versions of the mate she adored, except for the multihued red hair.

“You girls really know how to give good hugs. Go on and get Dol and show me that he knows how to be a good boy inside the house.”

Within seconds she heard the mud room door slam. She stood so that she could see out the kitchen windows. The girls were running toward the kennel without coats or hats or scarves or gloves. Elora sighed, thinking that they were as wild as Ram must have been at that age.

Elora caught her breath when she saw that they’d taken Dol out of the kennel without a leash. Dol was the foundation of the wolf-dog breeding program. If he got distracted by a car or a hare, there might be two invaluable dogs missing instead of one. But Dol wasn’t looking at anything but the twins. He was bounding along beside them as they ran, looking like there was nothing better in the universe.

When the mudroom door opened and slammed, Elora immediately picked up on the sound of wolf-dog claws clicking on the old hardwood floor. She loved that sound.

To her surprise, Dol came straight to her, and stood wagging his tail. When she didn’t immediately reach out to pet him, he parted his lips and tried to talk. That made Elora laugh for the first time since she’d realized Blackie was gone.

“So you’re an affection hound,” she said as she reached out and ran her hand over his silky fur, kept in peak condition with great food and frequent grooming.

“He is!” Gavain said. “We call him our pettin’ pig.”

Elora chuckled. To Dol, she said, “It will do you no good to flirt with me. My heart belongs to your da.”

“The only way you will e’er get him to stop beggin’ is to be borin’.”

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