Page 20 of Daddy's Little Farmer

They pulled up, and he parked in the shade. The men got out and dug a deep hole. The whole time she cradled the dog, cried, and sang to him. She felt a warm body beside her and a hand on her upper back.

“The hole is ready whenever you are, baby,” Rafael said.

Mara nodded, pressed her face into the dog’s fur, and said a little prayer. She also asked her father up in Heaven to take care of him for her. She thought the two of them would get along really well.

She lifted her head and nodded. “I’m ready.”

The men lifted Tiny off her lap and gently carried him to the hole, lowering him into it. She stood looking down at him with her arms wrapped around her waist and tears cascading down her cheeks.

“Would you like me to say a prayer?” Tony asked.

She nodded. She vaguely heard the words he was saying, but she was silently begging Tiny to get up. She knew it was impossible, but she did it anyway.

Someone touched her shoulder.

“What do you want us to do now?” Tony asked.

“I don’t want to see you cover him. Is it all right if I walk back home? I’ll come back later.”

“That’s fine, sweetheart,” Tony said. “Rafael will follow you.”

She shook her head. “No, I want him here.” She looked at him. “Is that okay if you help Tony? I just need a few minutes to myself.”

“Sure, honey. We’ll be home as soon as we can.”

Mara nodded, took one more look at Tiny, turned, and walked away. The walk took a while because she walked all over the land she owned before she headed toward the barn.

She climbed up on Charlie and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, Charlie, what are we going to do?” she cried until nothing was left.

The world was forever broken because she lost her friend, and she never thought she would be whole or feel happy again.

Chapter Ten

Rafael patted the last shovel of dirt on top of the grave before leaning on it. He thanked God he worked out, or he would have collapsed by now. He also knew his hands would never be the same. He had blisters on top of blisters, and they stung.

Tony caught him looking at them.

“Oh, hell, I’m sorry. Your hands must be a mess.”

“This is nothing compared to what that woman is going through.”

“Let’s head back,” Tony said.

They threw the shovels in the back of Tony’s truck and slid into the cab. He looked over at the other man.

“You saw it, right?”

Tony nodded. “How can people be so mean?”

Rafael looked out his window as he thought about the chunk of meat that was lying on the pavement. He guessed it was their way to get the dog out in the middle of the street so they could run him over. “I’m going to make them pay dearly.”

“I’m right there with you. Do we tell her what we found?”

Rafael shook his head. “No. It’s one betrayal she would never forget. Did you get rid of the meat?”

“Yeah. I threw it into the ditch across from the mailbox. After I drop you off and see how she’s doing, I’ll talk to Buck, the sheriff. He better do something about this.”

Rafael sighed. “What can he do? We can’t prove it was her sister.”

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