“It’s this way,” she told the big dog. “Let’s go home.”
She moved in the direction of Ransom’s place and the dog moved with her, snout nudging at the crate every few steps so that Hailey had to really hold onto it.
“We’re going to be okay,” she told herself as much as Henrietta. “If you can do this, then I can too.”
But the walk seemed to go on and on forever as the cold sank into her bones and sent her teeth chattering.
Just as she started to get really scared that they were lost, the line of pine trees between the two properties appeared and she could see the triangle of warm light that told her Ransom’s A-frame house was just ahead.
“Okay,” she told Henrietta. “We’re almost there.”
But somehow the last small part of the journey was the hardest. Her skin felt like it was frozen and her arms were aching by the time they reached the porch steps.
“Are you okay?” she asked, turning to Henrietta and worrying that the poor creature might not be able to make it up the steps.
But Henrietta’s tail was sweeping left and right as they climbed up and knocked on Ransom’s front door.
She heard footsteps inside and then the door opened, carrying a draft of warmth and light, and she burst into tears of relief as Ransom gazed down at her, his dark eyes widening.
“Hailey,” he breathed before Henrietta let out a joyful bark.
19
RANSOM
Ransom stood in the doorway for a moment, unable to believe his eyes.
He hadn’t expected to see Hailey at his door, let alone in the company of one of the dogs, looking like the two were thick as thieves.
Yet here she was, frozen and bedraggled but triumphant, carrying a wooden crate with her coat inside of it for some reason.
The storm swirled behind her so that the world beyond the reach of the porch light blurred into a fog of furiously falling snow.
“Hailey,”he heard himself murmur.
Henrietta barked loudly and joyfully, and Hailey didn’t even jump.
“She hadbabies,” Hailey said, gazing down at the big dog in admiration.
For a second that sentence didn’t compute.
Then the crate Hailey was holding so protectivelytook on a brand-new significance and Ransom’s frozen brain suddenly allowed him to jump into action.
“Come in,” he told her. “Come in. But… there are more dogs in here.”
He could see the tension in her jaw, but she nodded crisply and hurried inside.
Henrietta shadowed her, a furry shoulder practically attached to Hailey’s hip.
“Where was she?” Ransom asked as he led them to the fireplace.
Anna, Elsa, and Olaf blessedly stayed where they were, lying by the Christmas tree under awaitcommand.
He’d brought Shadow in too, since he wasn’t sure if she was used to the cold, and she was waiting with the other three, even though the command was hard to follow when so many interesting things were happening.
She’s a good dog,he thought to himself.
“She was in my barn,” Hailey said. “My power went out, so I went out to get a flashlight and I found her. She was in labor… Ransom, they’re very tiny. I don’t know if they’ll make it, but I knew you’d know what to do.”
