Page 52 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
And then later that night, she’d fallen asleep in the waiting area. She had been jostled awake to find out that she’d lost not just one parent but both of them. The pain was just too much. She’d closed off her heart after her entire world had been upended. To this day, she remained guarded.
Well, that wasn’t quite true. When Odie entered her life, everything changed. She didn’t know how to explain it. They’d clicked at first sight. It was like they were meant to be.
He peeled back the protective wall around her scarred heart and snuggled in. He was the one that opened her eyes to see how much she missed by keeping everyone at arm’s length.
Thankfully, the little guy was on his way home. She should plug in the Christmas tree because he liked the little lights, but she didn’t do it. She should put his favorite blanket on the couch, but she didn’t do it either.
She couldn’t let herself believe that Odie was truly coming home because if he didn’t—if something happened—it would crush her just like it had on that long ago night at the hospital. She wouldn’t let herself celebrate until she held Odie in her arms and saw with her own eyes he was all right.
Instead, she paced and waited. And then she heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. She slipped on her boots before yanking open the front door. She rushed out onto the porch and spotted Parker’s pickup.
Odie is home!
Her heart leaped with glee. She ran off the porch and headed straight for the pickup. Parker got out and rounded the front of the pickup. In that moment, her gaze was laser-focused on the passenger’s seat. When she got closer, she saw Odie. His tail was wagging about a million swishes a minute. The wags were so intense his whole backside moved with his tail.
Happy tears blurred her vision as she reached for the door handle at the same time as Parker. His warm hand wrapped over hers. She blinked back the tears and looked at him. Her heart lodged in her throat. In that moment, she didn’t have the words to tell him how much this meant to her.
Odie barked and pawed the window, pulling her attention away from Parker. She pulled her hand away from Parker’s touch.
“Let me get the door for you.” He moved off to the side. “Are you ready?”
A big smile pulled at her lips. She was so ready for this. “Yes.”
Parker opened the door, and then Odie leaped into her arms. He lathered her with puppy kisses. She closed her eyes and let the puppy shower her with love.
It was only then that the fear she’d been holding back hit her. Tears rushed to her eyes, and she hugged Odie close. With the light snowflakes fluttering through the night sky, they stood there. She didn’t know how much time passed as she hugged Odie.
“I love you,” she whispered.
She pulled herself together and carried Odie into the house. When he saw the basket with his toys in it, he wiggled to get down. She put him on the floor. He started sniffing everything. He explored each room as though making sure nothing had changed during his absence.
She stepped over to Parker. When her gaze met his, her heart tumbled in her chest. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Looks like he’s happy to be home.”
She glanced over at Odie as he nosed his way through his toys. “I missed him so much.”
“He missed you too.”
She was hesitant to ask but she had to know. “Were they mean to him?”
“You will be relieved to know that he was well taken care of.”
“Really?” She had a hard time believing it after her imagination betrayed her and conjured up so many horrific scenarios.
Parker nodded. “He was all set up in a bedroom with toys and blankets.”
“But I don’t understand. Why would this guy do that?”
Parker paused, as though weighing what to say to her. “I think he was planning to keep Odie.”
Belle gasped. Her gaze moved to the puppy as he grabbed his green squeaky alligator.Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.
She had been right to worry about not seeing him again. But she was thankful that Odie had been well-cared for. She couldn’t really have asked for more.
There was a part of her that wanted to shut down her emotions—to not love the little puppy with her whole heart—because she knew too well the total devastation of losing someone whom she loved. She didn’t want to feel that sort of pain again.
Odie meandered over to the Christmas tree. He nosed at the lower limbs of the pine tree. He was probably searching for an ornament to steal. He thought it was a fun game. She did not.
