Page 34 of Cole's Joy
“Holy hell, Nana, that was wild.”
“Yeah,” Lois agreed, and turned to Laurie. “I gave the police Duane’s cell phone number and told them to contact him if there might be any problems.”
“Good, I’ll talk to him about it.” She looked between her mother and her daughter. “Now might be the time to think aboutgetting some cameras on the outside of these homes. I’m not being mean, but Tom had two stalkers, they’re dead now, but now with this woman coming after Cole, I think I would feel safer if we had the added security of the cameras.” She shook her head again and continued quietly, “Remember what those cameras did for me with Peter. I’m not saying anything like that will happen, but you never know.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lois agreed, and went for another cup of coffee. “Will you guys be over at Broken tonight for Cole’s party?” She smiled when they said they would, and laughed when they told her that she was lying about his age. They left for their own things to do shortly afterward, and when it was time for her to go out to the greenhouse, she hooked the puppy to his leash and brought him along.
“Before long, Pup,” she said to him. “You’ll be trained to be off the leash.” She had made sure she had grabbed a baggie of treats so she could start training him that very day.
Lois and the puppy worked all morning in the greenhouse, and by lunchtime, she finished her work and they went inside. After making sure the dog was fed, she fixed herself a light lunch, and looked over when the dog ran into the living room and literally flew through the air to land in the center of the dog bed she’d purchased weeks ago. It didn’t take long for him to start snoring. She laughed as she finished her lunch, cleaned up, then got the ingredients out to make an apple pie for Cole for the party that night.
Time got away from her, and before she knew it, she had five apple pies baked, along with four cherry ones. She decided to leave one of the apple pies there, for her and take the rest with her. As they cooled on the counter, she checked on the puppy, then went up to get showered and changed. When she returned, she let the puppy out in the area she and Lorissa had set up and let him run around and do his business and play. As the pupplayed, she was able to transport the cooling pies to her vehicle so she didn’t have to worry about them later. Returning after her last trip, she let the pup out of the pen and she laughed when she had to pick him up to make it up the stairs. She set him down and let him roam as she quickly cleaned up the house. With nothing else to do, she looked at her watch and turned in a circle several times. She didn’t want to seem too excited about going over to the cabins.
“Ready to go meet everyone?” she asked the puppy, and held up its leash. It took a few minutes, but she finally wrangled the little bugger, snapped the leash on him, grabbed the bag she’d packed, and headed out the door. She settled him into his riding harness in the back seat and climbed behind the wheel. After looking in the rearview mirror, she nodded and laughed. “Let’s go.” Less than thirty minutes later she pulled up outside one of the big cabins that she had stayed in for a week and smiled when the first person she saw was Naomi.
“You’re here.”
“I am,” she laughed as she hurried around and opened the back of the SUV. “Did you get your cherry pie made?”
“No, I ran out of time.”
“I made cherry and apple this morning. They’re still warm, and I left a cherry pie over at my house for you.”
“You made me a cherry pie?”
“I did, along with apple pies.” Lois leaned in, and whispered. “I left an apple pie there, too, since it’s my favorite.”
“Mine too, the cherry pie was for Clark. I’ll eat it, but I prefer apple.” They looked up when the other women joined them and they all grabbed a pie to take into the cabin. Lois closed up the back, and went to where the puppy was and got him out of his seat and with his leash in her hand, she set him on the ground and let him explore.
“What an adorable puppy, does it have a name?” Naomi asked in delight.
“He, and not yet. I’m getting to know his personality before I name him. I want to see if the name I had already picked out suits him first.”
“That’s a good thing.” They shared a laugh and looked up when Laurie and Duane pulled in. She spotted Lorissa with them and felt her eyes widen.
“Where’s Tom?”
“Picking up the cake,” Lorissa reassured her after she gave her a hug and scratched the ears of the puppy. “Have you come up with a name yet?”
“Not yet. I took him to the greenhouse this morning and after wearing himself out, he slept the entire time I made the pies.”
“That’s good.”
They all made their way back behind the cabins and Lois saw that everyone was there, even Erin and Reid. It shocked her that Erin was the first one to spot the puppy and turned to a puddle of goo right before everyone, much to their shock.
“May I pet him?” she asked, and then got down on the ground to play with the dog. When she finally stood, she wiped a tear as she looked at Clark. “Do you remember Bandit?”
“No, wait, wasn’t that the puppy you got when you were little? Like three or four?”
“Yes, he was a Yorkie, but he got away from me and ran into the pasture.” She shook her head sadly and it was Clark that clarified the reason for her sadness.
“The horses didn’t like him and they trampled him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lois said in shock.
“I’ve never had a dog after that. As much as I wanted one, all I could picture was Bandit’s body being stepped on, so I refrained. I don’t care that you bring him around the horses, but pleasekeep him on a leash until he is trained.” She shook her head sadly. “I only had him for a few hours before he died.”
“I’m sorry,” Lois said, and gave the other woman a hug. As she did so, she whispered, “You’re welcome to come over anytime if you want some puppy love.”
