may need you to help me understand your brother,” Mitch said. “Especially since I haven’t seen either of you for such a long time. I’m not used to having kids around. I’ve really missed you guys.”
“Then why didn’t you come get us?”
Ah, so that was what was eating at Ryan. “Because I didn’t know where your mother had taken you,” Mitch explained. “Even the police couldn’t find you. I spent every cent I could lay my hands on to hire private detectives. I’ll say this for your mom, she hides really good.”
“We moved a lot,” the boy replied, eyes downcast.
“It’s okay. I won’t bug you about it,” Mitch promised. “But if you ever do decide you want to talk about anything that happened while you were gone, I’m willing to listen, okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Mitch would have pursued the subject if there hadn’t been a strange scratching noise at the door. He immediately assumed it was a marauding raccoon or possum, but before he had time to warn the boys, Bud had run to the door and thrown it wide open.
“Don’t!”
Mitch started to shout, then stopped, startled, when he realized their visitor was a puppy. At least he thought it was. There was so much mud and so many leaves and twigs stuck in its dull brown coat that its age wasn’t the only thing in question.
Mitch’s protective instincts came to the fore. “Close the door. You don’t know where that thing has been. It could be sick.”
The advice came too late. Bud was already on his knees beside the pitiful little dog, and Ryan was patting it on the head while it shook and whimpered. Whether Mitch approved or not, it looked like his boys had themselves a pet.
He strode quickly to the doorway and scooped up the skinny pup so he could look it over. Poor thing. He could feel every one of its ribs beneath the matted fur. Chances were good it was covered with fleas, too. If any stray ever needed a home, this one sure did.
“Okay. First things first,” he said firmly. “Ryan, you grab a rag and wipe down all the furniture with clean water from the bucket. Bud, you help him. And do a good job of it, guys, because you’ll only get one chance. As soon as you’re done we’re going to use the rest of the wash water to give this dog a bath.”
Hearing the boys’ mutual intake of breath he added, “That is, if you want it to live inside with us. Of course, if you don’t…”
“We do!” Ryan shouted. Grabbing Bud by the hand, he hurried him off with a breathless command, “Come on,” leaving Mitch and the dog behind.
“You guys found him. What do you want to name him?” Mitch called after them.
Bud grabbed Ryan’s arm and leaned close to whisper in his ear.
Ryan nodded sagely. “Barney.”
Bud agreed, “Yeah!”
At the shrill sound of their voices the little dog’s trembling increased. Mitch felt so sorry for it, he held it closer in spite of its dirty coat. “Shush. You’re scaring him.”
They immediately quieted down, looking at their father with awe. In their eyes, he had apparently become an instant expert on dogs.
Soberly, Mitch gazed at the skinny, quivering ball of filthy fur he was cradling in his arms, hoping with all his heart that he’d be wise enough, caring enough, to salvage all three of the neglected waifs he was now responsible for.
Chapter Two
W ith darkness came a midsummer thunderstorm. Mitch figured out how hard it was raining by listening to the torrent pounding against the peaked tin roof and running off the steep slope to fall in a solid sheet of water along both sides.
Before long, he felt a drop hit him on the head. It didn’t startle him because he was already wide awake. As soon as the thunder and lightning had started, Bud had climbed into his bed with him, stuffed bear and all. That wasn’t so bad until a wide-eyed Ryan showed up carrying a battery-powered lantern and their new dog.
“Barney is scared, too,” the eight-year-old said. “Can we get in bed with you?”
“Sure.” Mitch scooted over as far as he could to make room and promptly fell off the narrow mattress onto the floor with a thump and an ouch.
That brought giggles from the boys.
“Tell you what,” he said, raising himself up to peer over the edge of the bed, “how about we put a couple of these beds together to make one bigger one? Then we can all sleep close without pushing your poor daddy onto the floor.”
No one answered. Mitch got to his feet and took charge. “Okay. Everybody out. The roof is leaking over here, and I don’t know how much worse the rain will get, so the first thing we’re going to do is move my bed to a drier place.” He motioned. “Ryan, you push the foot of the bed in that direction. I’ll get the end with the headboard.”
“I have to go potty,” Bud announced.
“In a minute,” Mitch promised. “Right now we’re getting Daddy’s bed out of the way so it won’t get wet.”
Ryan shot him a knowing look. “That’s not the only thing that’ll be wet if you don’t take him to the bathroom. When he says he has to go, he has to go.”
“Okay, okay.”
It suddenly occurred to Mitch that the facilities were outside and it was pouring. He glanced at Ryan. The boy was sporting a sly grin.
Mitch frowned. “Did you take your brother to the outhouse before dark, like I told you?”
“Yup.” Ryan’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “But he’d never seen one before. He was scared to go in.”
“Why didn’t you go in with him?”
“It was too crowded.” His smile spread from ear to ear. “Guess you’ll have to make the trip, huh?”
Mitch sighed, vowing to add a portable commode to the list of supplies he intended to get the next time he drove into town. He reached for his jeans and pulled them on over his pajamas, then slid his bare feet into his boots. “I guess I will. Help your brother put his shoes on.”
He grabbed a waterproof plastic poncho, slung it over his head and held the front part out of the way while he hoisted his youngest son in his arms and covered him with it.
“I’ll take Bud now. Ryan, you fix the beds while I’m gone. When I come back I’ll help you. Okay?”
Ryan nodded compliantly.
Looking terribly smug, he handed his father a flashlight.
The humidity gathering beneath the plastic gear had already brought up beads of sweat on Mitch’s forehead.
The moment Ryan opened the door for him, the rain gusted in, soaking the floorboards and puddling on the uneven surface. Lightning illuminated the
