But he couldn’t imagine waking up knowing he wouldn’t see her again, or thinking about her every time he passed the house where he had grown up.
I’ll deal with it the same way I deal with everything else,he told himself.
It would have been easier to believe if last night hadn’t seemed almost magical. It was cruel to be offered a vision of what his family would look like with Hailey in it, only to have it snatched away.
As he alternately dreamed and stormed, the dogs ran themselves out and turned to wrestling each other, rolling down the slight hillside, locked together in furry knots, barking and panting in wild delight.
“Okay, guys,” he said at last, clapping his hands. “Time for breakfast.”
They all capered up to him, tails wagging happily, and he crouched to pat them, accepting sloppy kisses as he scratched behind ears and rubbed bellies.
Being with the dogs always brought him back to his center. He felt incredibly lucky to have found the thing he wanted to do with his life, and even luckier that he actually got to do it.
“Let’s go,” he said, straightening up and heading for the barn with his pack flowing out after him like an inky river.
He had an appointment to stop by the local shelter today. The director had called yesterday to let him know that she had a border collie who showed signs of former training. She thought maybe Ransom would want to visit with her to see if she had potential.
In his experience, border collies were very smart but needed a lot of early training. It wouldn’t hurt to have a look at her though, and he’d been meaning to stop by the shelter anyway since he had some equipment to donate.
Once the dogs were all enjoying their morning meal, he headed back to the house to get the kids ready for school. After they were safely on the bus, he would shower and head into town.
He had his mother’s farm and the Army to thank for being such an early bird. And being up early was the only way to finish all the things he had to do for the kids and the dogs.
“Never would have thought I’d choose to be up at four every day,” he said to himself as he came in the back door and hit the button on the coffee maker before heading upstairs.
As soon asthey were up, the kids were filled with talk about Hailey and her house and all the painting she was going to do.
Ransom did his best not to let it get into his head, but it seemed like they were almost as taken with her as he was.
Before long, they were fed, dressed, backpacks packed, and coats on. He stood on the porch and waved to the school bus as it headed off, feeling the same out of place unease he always did when he watched them be carried away from him.
But they were only going to the same country school he’d loved as a boy. And he was never far away if anything went wrong. The counselor had met with him at his request on the kids’ first day.
“You know this is a big transition for them,” he toldher. “So, if they’re not feeling good, or they’re sad, or they just want me, I’ll never be doing anything that I wouldn’t drop in a heartbeat. I need to be sure that you understand that.”
“Mr. Wright, we’ll take good care of them,” she had replied kindly.
But that wasn’t at all what he meant. So he’d gone to Principal Tucker next, and she had picked up on his fears.
“You’re worried that they’ll be sad or scared and we won’t call,” she said.
“Exactly,” he told her. “I want a call no matter what, not just because someone is sick or in trouble. They shouldn’t have to tough anything out on their own.”
“You have my word,” she had assured him, her eyes crinkling as she smiled at him, and he had known to his bones she was telling him the truth.
Once the bus was out of sight, he headed back upstairs, took a quick shower, got dressed, and was heading up the driveway himself twenty minutes later.
The drive to town was peaceful and he pulled up at the shelter exactly three minutes before the time he’d told Helena Fox he would be there.
Christmas decorations brightened the front of the building and he thought again that it might be fun to get some things for the kids to decorate the front porch with.
“Ransom Wright,” a familiar voice called out.
He looked up to see Helena Fox approaching him with her hand held out. She looked just the same as always, sensibly dressed for her work, but with something regal in her posture.
He shook her hand enthusiastically.
“I really appreciate you coming in,” Helena said with a smile. “I know very few dogs fit the criteria you’re looking for. But this girl is something special, and it didn’t feel right not to have you at least meet her.”
