Page 60 of Sweet Music
“Poor guy,” Cody said softly as Karen’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
“It’s good that we can be part of his recovery,” Bella told the boy. “Did you know your mom used to do this? She got me into volunteering back when I was in college.”
She held her breath for a moment after bringing up Harper. Cash had encouraged her to talk more with Cody about his mom. She hoped Cash was right that it would let him feel good about opening up, and not upset him further.
“Really?” Cody asked. “I didn’t know that.”
He looked genuinely curious, and there wasn’t a hint of sadness in his voice, so Bella took that as her cue to continue.
“Well, once you came along, you kept your mom plenty busy,” Bella told him with a smile. “But before she had you, Harper loved to volunteer over at the big shelter in Burlington. She did stuff like this all the time. I always loved her stories about the dogs and their wacky personalities, even though it made her sad when they had a hard time finding homes.”
“She was so cool,” Cody said with a small smile. “But she had a soft spot for anyone in need. I remember her giving me money to buy extra snacks at school to sharewhen I told her there was another kid who never had anything at snack time.”
“That sounds just like Harper,” Bella said with a smile. “Her heart was as big as an ocean. She really took me under her wing when I was your age. I was struggling to make friends, and I didn’t have a lot of interests outside of schoolwork. So she started sending me music and talking to me about it.”
“Yeah?” Cody asked.
“She did,” Bella said. “And at your age, four years older is a big difference, right? I thought she was the coolest girl in the world, and I knew I could never be like she was. But she never made me feel dumb or geeky. She used to tell me,You can be yourself and love what you love.You’re the real deal.”
Bella struggled to hold back the tears that had been welling up this whole time. Cash had said it was good to express emotion in front of Cody. But now that she was in the moment, it scared her.
What if he felt uncomfortable watching her try not to cry? After all, he was the one who had lost his mother.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, trying hard not to let the tears fall.
But then suddenly Cody’s arms were around her and he was sniffling too.
“I loved it when she said stuff like that,” he murmured.
“She always knew exactly what to say,” Bella said, laughing a little as she finally let the tears slide down her cheeks. “What a talent.”
“Hey,” Cody whispered, his tone suddenlyexcited.
Bella opened her eyes to see that the big dog had approached them. He was on his belly, with his snout about an inch from Cody’s knee.
“What do I do?” Cody whispered.
“We should keep ignoring him,” Bella whispered back. “But I think he’ll be snuggling with you in another minute. Maybe us being a little sad made him feel more at home.”
They let go of each other and Cody’s smile through his tears was radiant.
Thank you, Harper,Bella thought inwardly.I’m so glad the two of us have each other. I won’t let him forget you, not ever.
A moment later, as predicted, the big dog was snuffling closer, resting his chin on Cody’s knee, his golden ears lowered, big brown eyes fixed on the boy.
“Wow,” Cody whispered. “I think he likes me.”
“He trusts you,” Bella whispered back, impressed.
“You’re okay,” Cody murmured to the big dog. “You’re going to be okay now.”
And Bella knew it was true for more than just the dog.
21
CASH
Cash glanced down at his phone, smiling at what he saw.
