Читать книгу A Shot of Trouble: A Cassidy Adventure Novel - Kelly Rysten - Страница 8

Chapter 2

“I don’t think I can do this,” I said nervously.

“You asked for it,” Miguel Cabrera reminded me.

“I know. If I run screaming out of the kennels, can I come back?”

“You’re not going to run. You’re going to buckle down and stay. He’s not even going after you. He’s coming after me. You’re just observing.”

“Okay, let him go.”

Carla Sandoval unclipped the leash and the big, black and tan German Shepherd bounded across the field. My flight mode kicked in, but I beat it down, willing my feet to be still. The dog leapt at Miguel. He pulled and tugged at the protective padding until he brought the officer down and then Carla called him off with a simple but firm command, “Ricco, come!” The dog returned to her and sat at her feet.

There were some advantages to knowing most of the Joshua Hills police force by name. They all knew Rusty and most of them had met me. Many of them had participated in the raid when I was rescued from Teague Stern’s dog-fighting pit. I asked the K-9 Unit if I could spend some time in their kennels and observe the dogs at work. I thought being around well trained but fierce dogs would acclimate me, so here I was. Every time a dog was released I wanted to run for the hills. Every time a dog barked I jumped in fear.

Carla released Ricco again but this time Miguel pretended to be a fleeing suspect. Ricco chased him down and tackled him. I remembered what it felt like to be tackled by a large, fierce dog.

After an hour’s worth of training, they took a break.

“I think you need to spend time with a big friendly dog,” Miguel suggested. “Do you know where there’s one you can borrow for a few days?”

I thought for a minute. Amos.

“Yeah, maybe, I’ll have to ask. Do you think it will work?”

“It can’t hurt.”

Yeah, right.

Kelly Green laughed, “You? You want to borrow Amos? You’re scared to death of him!”

“That’s the point. I want to get over it. Maybe if I spend some time with him I’ll convince myself it’s silly to be scared of dogs. There was a time when they didn’t bother me and Amos is a great dog. He listens and plays fetch. If there was a big dog that could help me get over this fear it would be him.”

“Amos is a pest. Can you live with a pest?”

“Do you mind if I train him a little, if I manage to get over being scared of him?”

“You are most welcome to try. So far he sits for two seconds and he steals stuff. That’s what makes him a pest. He’s even named after a pest.”

“Amos? How is he named after a pest?”

“His registered name is Amos Quito. We had to pick a name that wasn’t taken yet. He was a pest. The name fit.”

“Leave it to you to give your dog a bad pun for a name. He doesn’t draw blood does he?”

“He hasn’t since he was teething, so it’s been a while. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“So, what do you say?”

“Sure, you can borrow Amos. It’ll give us time where we don’t have to guard our possessions twenty-four/seven. I suggest hiding dinner in the microwave until you are ready to eat and locking your shoes in a closet. And guard the stovetop while you are cooking. He’s set himself on fire a few times.”

Oh great. Well, if I spent my time training him, I certainly wouldn’t have time to be scared of him. It sounded like he just needed a firm hand.

“Will he run away if he’s not on a leash? I don’t have a fenced yard.”

“He won’t run away but he might wander off. You’ll have to keep an eye on him and call him back to keep him close.”

“I think I better wait for the weekend to take him. Maybe Rusty will be here for backup.”

“Good idea.”

“See if Rhonda wants to come for dinner on Friday.”

“We’re having company Friday,” I announced at dinner that night.

“Oh?” Rusty answered.

“Umm, yeah, I hope you don’t mind. If you don’t want him to stay we can send him back.”

“Him?”

“I’m taking care of Amos for a while. Kelly and Rhonda are coming for dinner and Amos is going to stay with us.”

“Kelly asked you to keep Amos? He knows you’re scared to death of that dog!”

“Rusty, don’t be angry. I asked Kelly if I could borrow Amos because I thought having a dog around would help me get over being scared of him. It was my idea. Kelly will take him back any time we want him to.”

I watched out the front window as the big black Labrador retriever pulled Kelly to the front door while Rhonda followed behind. I opened the door and they came in. Amos tugged on the leash, eager to investigate this new place. Kelly braced himself against the tugs. Kelly was a big, strong guy. How was I going to manage a dog this size if Amos gave Kelly a hard time?

“Food and shoes hidden?” Kelly asked.

“Yup, safely stashed away.”

“Are you sure you want him loose?”

“No, but go ahead. It’s got to start some time and it might as well begin while you are still here. Did you bring his food and training collar?”

“Training collar? Ha! What you see is what you get.”

A red nylon collar, red nylon leash and fifty pounds of dog food. Was it a rule that black dogs had to wear red? There had to be one. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a black dog wearing any other color besides red.

“How much does he eat?”

“Depends on how much he can steal. I’ll leave that up to you. If you work with him the same way you work with Shadow maybe he’ll be healthier when we pick him up.”

“How much does he weigh?”

“A hundred twenty pounds, last time he was at the vet.”

“He’s bigger than me!”

“Yeah.”

“I need to work on that look that dogs don’t like.”

“That look?”

“Yeah, it works on men and kids too.”

“Oh, that look.”

“It can stop a dog in his tracks if you do it right.”

“I wish you the best of luck.”

Amos sat at an empty spot at the dining room table. His nose was just table height and he watched the bowls with a hopeful expression. Kelly watched Amos carefully. Shadow lay in a corner observing the proceedings with interest, knowing his turn would come. I was glad Amos was across the table from me. He looked big staring at me over the tabletop. When Kelly reached for a second helping of potatoes, Amos jumped, placing two big black paws on the table. I reacted on instinct. It was just a training reaction. I leapt to my feet, glared at Amos with that look and said sharply, “Ak, no! Down! Sit!”

Amos looked at me puzzled and sat.

“Good sit, stay,” I said firmly.

There was a moment of silence.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Kelly said.

“Sorry, I am just used to jumping on Shadow.”

“Don’t apologize to me! I’m taking notes!”

“What do you say when he does that?”

“It isn’t very repeatable.”

“Only use words he knows. He obviously knew no, down or sit. Use a firm tone and limit your words to what he knows and he will tune in better.”

“I can’t wait to see what kind of a dog we end up with,” Rhonda said.

“Don’t get your hopes up. I still have to force myself not to run away from him.”

Kelly and Rhonda obviously were used to clearing the table with Amos around. They took all the food and put it on the counter. One person guarded the food while the other cleared the dirty dishes. They had the system perfected. I’d have to work out my own system. I thought it would involve a confrontation and some firm commands. At least the evening was getting my mind on training and not on irrational fear. Amos wasn’t a bad dog, I told myself, he was just used to getting his way. I had to persuade him that my way was better than his.

I found a small bite of meat and called Shadow. The sheltie rushed over and sat in front of me. I placed the piece of food on the floor and he eyed it expectantly. I waited several seconds and said brightly, “Okay!” Shadow pounced on the morsel.

“I dare you to try and teach Amos that,” Kelly said.

“I don’t think I can yet. It’s going to require a few more words and some physical contact with a dog that big.

“Give it a try.”

I had Amos’ attention so I placed a piece of food on the floor. He went for it and I scolded him sharply. “Ak, No! Leave it!” I grabbed his collar and hauled him back. “Sit! Amos, sit!” He looked puzzled. I glared at him. “Sit.” He obviously knew what sit meant but he ignored my command. I picked up the piece of meat and held it up where he could see it. “You want it? Sit.” I waited patiently. I added a glare to my next command. “Sit!”

Amos sat.

“Stay.”

I took a step back and put the food on the floor. I didn’t make him wait long. “Okay!” I said, allowing him to break his stay. He didn’t know what okay meant so I picked up the meat and handed it to him. “Gentle, gentle.” I thought I was going to faint when he lunged for it but I toughened up and pulled the bite back. “Gentle,” he took the bite and half my hand. I yanked my hand back, rinsed it off in the sink and flopped down on the couch. I was nearly shaking. Being in training mode helped but the dog was frighteningly big. “We need to work on being gentle.”

“I think you two are going to get along great,” Kelly said.

Bedtime came and the dogs needed to go out. I clipped the leash to Amos’ collar.

“You want me to do that?” Rusty offered.

“No, this is my project. I’ll do it.”

“You don’t have to do everything.”

“I took this on. I’ll stick with it. I hadn’t counted on having to get so close to him this soon but now that I’ve got him I need to take care of him. I wouldn’t want to lose him outside.”

By the time I returned it was obvious we needed to make a trip to town because Amos needed a training collar if the leash was going to be of any use at all. My plans had been to let Amos laze about the house and be near me but it wasn’t going to work that way. Amos’ lazing needed constant attention, which meant training. I had to start at the beginning. First a training collar and a very short leash. I needed to be able to correct him without fiddling with a long leash so the leash I bought was only a handle and clip. With the six-foot leash we practiced heeling. Inside he learned sit and stay. When he’d mastered those commands we learned leave it. That phrase would prevent a lot of stolen food.

Dogs hate to have their nose thumped so I held out a piece of food. When he tried to grab it I thumped his nose and said, “Leave it!” Pretty soon he was shying away from the food when he heard “Leave it.” Next he had to learn to leave plates alone. When he approached the plate it was a correction and “Leave it!” All this training involved getting in Amos’ face and standing up to him.

Saturday night Rusty was on the phone to Kelly. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” A pause while Kelly talked. “No he won’t hurt her. He’s stubborn, but Cassidy is just as stubborn. I see the fear but she just wrestles that big old dog anyway. It’s like watching her walk into the line of fire.” It felt a lot like that too. Every time I got in Amos’ face I expected to lose a limb. “No, I don’t think so. She’s making progress on both of them. It’s just hard to watch.”

Next was down. If I could get him to obey just those commands we’d be in business. I didn’t expect miracles. I knew he’d break his stay and I’d have to correct him and put him back in position. Repetition was the key. Mealtime was the hard part because to correct Amos I had to keep him close. I put him in a down stay and we began eating. When Amos got up I scolded, “No, down, stay!” Amos looked at me like a little kid in time-out. He could only stay for a minute, but was doing well. I thought the constant corrections were going to drive Rusty batty. He thought I’d give up in fear and desperation but I knew an even, firm, constant hand was all Amos needed. By Tuesday he was laying under the table for the whole meal. His reward was just like Shadow’s, a bit of food after a short stay. Amos gobbled the bite and I praised him. “Good boy! What a good stay! Good dog!”

Amos gave me a happy grin and planted his paws on my shoulders knocking me over backwards. I should have just gotten up and put him in a sit again but his action triggered something inside of me and I rolled away huddling in fear. Amos was happy. He lunged at me asking to play.

“Rusty! Help!”

Rusty ran in from the other room and pulled Amos off me. I bolted to the end of the kitchen and stood collecting my thoughts and feelings.

“Babe,” he said in exasperation, “you don’t have to do this. You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“No, I just reacted badly. It was actually a breakthrough and he was happy because I told him he did a good job. I just need to be prepared when he does that again. Now it’s time to teach him not to jump up. He should be happy when he does a good job but he has to learn to control his enthusiasm.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he repeated. “This is for your good. This isn’t a project to make Amos a reformed dog. When this ceases to be of benefit to you we call Kelly.”

“Well, I obviously need more work,” I replied.

If I knew how hard this was going to be I’d have called Kelly sooner. Every afternoon I took Amos out for a walk. We practiced heeling so he would walk on a leash under control. He was doing very well with the training collar on. I even considered leading him through some of the agility obstacles, but Amos soon put a halt to that idea. I was walking him in the hills behind the house when a rabbit darted out of the brush and bolted away. Amos took off after it, and my hundred and fifteen pounds didn’t slow him down much. He had four feet to pull with. I ran after him pulling back with all my might.

“Heel! Amos, heel!” I commanded as he dragged me along. I planted my feet to give him a good solid correction with the leash, but the rabbit darted under a prickly pear cactus and Amos leapt through it. Oh hell! We hit the cactus and went through it with terrifying quickness. Amos yiped loudly and skidded to a halt. He began pacing, lifting his legs and shying away from the fiery stinging needles lodged in his legs and chest. Every time he moved the spines rubbed and stung. I felt his pain because I was full of spines too and wasn’t quite sure what to do. We couldn’t walk back home in this condition and Rusty wouldn’t be home from work for hours. I couldn’t pull out the spines with my fingers. It was going to require pliers. I pulled my way down the leash, closer to Amos.

“Amos, boy, DOWN, lay DOWN.”

Although it was a painful position, at least he wouldn’t be moving around as much. After pinning Amos down I began petting him, talking to him gently but firmly, trying to calm him. We needed help. Rusty was in town and Kelly was in the mountains, and both men were probably at work. This situation required a man’s help though. I couldn’t think of any woman I knew who would pull cactus spines out of me with a pair of pliers. I opted for Kelly. He’d have better luck controlling Amos. I was glad I had my cell phone on me and hoped Kelly had his too.

“Hey Cassidy, how’s the dog sitting going?” he asked when he answered.

“Kelly, I need help. Are you busy?”

He stopped what he was doing. “What kind of help?”

“Amos and I are full of cactus spines. I need pliers quick.”

“Where are you?”

“In the hills behind my house.”

“How will I find you?”

“Head south west from the barn. We left a pretty good trail.”

“Where’s Rusty?”

“At work. He doesn’t know. I thought you could handle Amos better. If you’re busy then I’ll just try for the house but this hurts like crazy.”

“No, stay put.”

“Bring two pairs,” I added quickly before he hung up.

I pinned poor Amos down for nearly an hour before Kelly found us. He saw all the thorns poking out of my jeans and grimaced.

“Why didn’t you just let go?”

“It happened too fast and I wasn’t going to lose your dog.”

“Cassidy…”

“Give me a pair.”

He handed me a pair of pliers and I found a spine. I grabbed it and pulled. Amos jumped and yipped. I pinned him down, found another spine, grabbed and yanked. Amos struggled.

“I’m sorry boy! We have to do it. It’s okay, hush, hush. It’s okay. Down, down. Stay. Amos stay. Good boy, good stay.”

Grab, yank. Grasp, pull. Kelly and I worked over the dog while he wriggled, squirmed and whined. I lay on top of him, pinning him to the ground and talking into his ear as we searched for more cactus needles, giving him only the simple commands that he understood over and over again. Down, stay, good.

“What a good boy. No, no, stay down.”

It got harder and harder to find thorns until finally after rubbing our hands over him we couldn’t feel any more. He whined but didn’t jerk as he had before when we hit something sharp. We brushed all the spines into a pile and released the dog. He paced a bit, whining, then sat and started licking his leg.

“Okay, my turn,” I said. I grabbed a spine and yanked. Oh man, this was going to hurt. I buckled down and set my determination to maximum.

“Cassidy… I can’t. I can’t hurt you like that.”

“Okay, then take Amos back to the house. I’ll do it.”

“No, let me take you to a doctor.”

“They’ll just do the same thing I’m doing now. I can do it without having to figure out how to get to town in this condition. Just let me get it over with. Take Amos to the house.”

“I can’t leave you like this.”

“Then sit down and make yourself comfortable. This might take a while.”

I never, ever want to go through something like that ever again. I thought it would never end. Every pull brought a ripping, pulling feeling and a stab of pain. I thought Amos was lucky because he hadn’t been wearing jeans. Each time I pulled a spike out of my jeans the fabric moved and made all the other spikes pull. I had to phase out the pain and just pull them as quickly as possible. After a while Kelly couldn’t stand it anymore and picked up the other pair of pliers. We timed the pulls so there was only one jab of pain for our two yanks. When I couldn’t see past the tears I had to pause.

“Kelly, stop. I can’t do it anymore. I need a break.”

I lay on the ground trying not to move. Amos came up, whined, then licked my face but this time I was too sore to be scared. I looked up into his big brown eyes and patted the ground beside me. “Down, Amos, down.” He lay down beside me while Kelly watched in surprise.

“How did you get him to do that?”

“Amos knows what down means. He’s a smart dog. He just needs a firm hand.”

“That wasn’t a firm hand. That was a polite request.”

“Maybe he’s just in a down sort of mood. I certainly know I am. How many more are there?”

Kelly looked at my jeans. “Maybe a dozen.”

“Okay, I think I can handle that. Let’s finish it.”

When we were through I ran my hands over my legs and found a few smaller spines that had penetrated right through the denim. I had to roll up my jeans to remove them.

“You ready to go?” I asked Kelly.

“You’re going to walk home like that?”

“I don’t have much of a choice. Do you think I should take Amos to the vet?”

“Nah, he’d just lick off any medicine they told you to put on it.”

“Are you sure he’ll be okay?”

“Just don’t let him bleed on the furniture.”

We all stood and Kelly picked up Amos’ leash. Amos walked to the end and started pulling Kelly home.

“Kelly stop. Don’t let him do that. Watch.”

I took the leash and Amos tried to pull me, so I jerked suddenly and firmly on the leash and he stopped. I stood beside Amos and gave him a command. “Amos, heel!” I stepped out with my left foot to give him a visual cue and he started walking calmly beside me. “No rabbits,” I admonished him. “Good heel.” When he pulled ahead I gave a quick correction and a firm command and he fell back. Kelly just shook his head and followed us back to the house.

“Rhonda would be appalled if she saw that collar.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks. Put it on your arm and pull the leash. You’ll see it doesn’t hurt him. If he’s willing to pull a hundred pounds behind him at a run you know the collar isn’t hurting him that badly. He is actually doing very well but needs to learn to ignore distractions. You let him chase rabbits, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I get tired of trying to hold him back so, if we’re alone, I let him go.”

“Maybe I should have let him go, but I didn’t know how far he’d run or if I’d be able to get him back.”

“It’s my turn to give you a command,” Kelly said seriously. “Do not let him hurt you. If I hear that you let him hurt you I’ll be right back down here…”

“Amos didn’t hurt me. He chased a rabbit. That’s all he did. I was the idiot who wouldn’t let go of the leash. That’s not his fault.”

“I’m still telling you. Don’t let him hurt you.” Then his eyes softened. “I think you’ve come as far as he has. Do you know how close you were to his face while we were pulling out the cactus needles?”

“Yeah, but it had to be done. Necessity is the mother of bravery.”

“I thought it was invention.”

“Necessity is the mother of a lot of things.”

We arrived at the back door of the house and Amos lunged, eager to do something new. I corrected him. “Amos, sit!” No response. “Amos, SIT.”

Oh, all right, he seemed to be saying and finally sat down. I calmly removed the leash. “Wait.” I opened the backdoor. “Okay!” He dashed into the house.

“How did you do that? You’ve only had him a week.”

“Necessity is also the mother of training. He needed some manners. I needed him to have some manners so we forced some manners onto him. Do you want a sandwich before you go back? I’m going to start soaking my jeans and then I’m going to make one for myself.”

“Sure, but then I need to get back.”

I went to the bedroom to quickly change my jeans. I put the bloody pair into a sink to soak in cold water. I washed the puncture wounds, though they stung like crazy, put on a new pair of jeans, then went to the kitchen to make our lunch. I got one slice of bread and one slice of lunchmeat, folded it together and placed it on the edge of the counter. Then I moved to the side and made sandwiches for Kelly and myself.

“I wouldn’t leave that there if I were you,” Kelly warned.

“It’s his. It’s bait. But Amos can’t have it until I’m ready to give it to him.”

Amos eyed the sandwich, ignoring the much larger preparations right next to him. I saw a shift in his attitude. He checked to see if I was watching. Without turning I said sharply, “No! Leave it.” He backed off, disgusted with me. “Do you want lettuce? Tomatoes? Onions?”

“Sure, you know I’ll eat anything.”

As I worked I kept tabs on Amos. Every time he decided I wasn’t watching I’d remind him sharply, “Amos, leave it.” When the sandwiches were done I put them on plates and walked over to the bait. I picked it up and Amos looked hopeful. I tore off a small piece of bread for Shadow and placed the sandwich on the floor. “Wait. Stay,” I commanded. He wriggled in anticipation. I let him wait several very expectant seconds before releasing him with an “Okay!” Amos gulped the sandwich in one bite. Then I repeated the same command with Shadow and the little piece of bread.

“I still haven’t figured out how much to feed him,” I said over lunch. “If I fed him whenever he acted hungry then the food would be gone. I know the instructions on the bag are always high. If I fed Shadow what the bag says to feed him he wouldn’t be able to walk. So I feed Amos a cup and a half twice a day and he still gets unhealthy amounts of people food, but it’s controlled amounts.”

“How did you get him to quit stealing food?”

“I can read canine minds and head off bad behavior before he can do it. You saw. You know your dog. You know when he’s planning something. So, nip it in the bud. Don’t even let him plan.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Half the training is for the dog. The other half is for the owner. Once you learn to watch and jump on bad habits he’ll listen to you, just like he does with me. You know, I had really only planned on letting Amos live in the house with us. I wasn’t planning on training him at all. I only trained him out of self-defense. It was train him or live in fear of him, so I buckled down and trained both of us. I think it’s about time I went back to the K-9 kennels. Maybe I won’t run when I see all the police dogs now.”

“Why are you doing this? Most people would think, hey, I don’t see scary dogs that often. I can live with that. But you go out of your way to confront the one thing that scares you the most.”

“I guess I’m just stubborn that way.”

Kelly polished off his sandwich. “Are you sure you’re okay? Some of those spines were buried pretty deep.”

“I know, it still stings like crazy. Thanks for coming out. I’m sorry I had to drag you away from work. I hope it wasn’t something important.”

“I can catch up.”

“Do you want some help? You can put me to work.”

“No, just take care of yourself. Tell Rusty ‘hi’ when he gets home.”

“Will do.”

Kelly headed to work and I quickly put my jeans into the wash before Rusty could see them. Then I showered, trying to erase as many of the scratches and scabs as possible. I felt every one of the little scratches and puncture wounds when the water hit them. They stung like fire. I scrubbed anyway and by the time I was through I was exhausted. I’d had enough pain for one day and flopped down on the bed to rest. Amos walked over and dropped a tennis ball on my stomach.

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?” I scolded the dog.

I had to admit, Amos didn’t strike fear into me whenever he approached. He was big and powerful, but he liked me and he trusted me and I was starting to feel the same way about him. He eyed my shoes sitting on the floor by the bed.

“Leave it!” I told him and he lay down with a huff of disappointment.

I was moving mighty stiffly when I got up to make dinner. Each little puncture wound rubbed my jeans the wrong way and I debated whether to change into shorts. I decided to put off the inevitable questions from Rusty and kept my jeans on. I made a simple meal of tacos, hiding the meat in the microwave and the toppings in the refrigerator until Rusty got home. I had a long list of things I was supposed to do that day but none of it sounded like much fun after taking a run through a cactus. I took the jeans from the washer and put them in the dryer and decided to ignore the list.

Rusty came home and gave me a big hug and kiss just like usual. Then he went to his office to put some files away and then to the bedroom to hang up his coat and tie. I warmed up the taco meat again and started frying taco shells.

“How was your day?” he asked.

“You mean besides my daily disaster?”

“No, including.”

“Oh, then it was lousy. But now that you’re home it’s improving remarkably. How was your day?”

“I got into a little bit of a sticky situation, but it all worked out.”

“Sounds like my day too.”

The evening was quiet and peaceful which left us wondering if perhaps too many of our evenings were becoming a bit too quiet and peaceful. Typically Rusty came home from work and we would eat dinner. Later Rusty usually went over some files from the station. I either worked with Shadow or Amos or found something else to keep me occupied. We decided, before heading for bed, that an evening in town was what we needed.

That night I kept the lights dim hoping Rusty wouldn’t notice the hundred or so little puncture marks that covered my legs. I thought I’d managed to put off the inevitable until he wrapped himself around me and I gave a startled jump. Every time he touched a spot where we had pulled out a cactus needle it stung sharply.

“Mmm, this isn’t the way you usually react to me,” he said softly.

“Sorry, my sticky situation is telling on me. Where were we?”

“We were going to turn on the lights so I can see what you’re hiding from me.”

“Rusty, it’s not that big a deal.”

“That’s the magic phrase that confirms my worries.”

I’d have to remember not to say that again. He flipped on the light and I lay there in all my red, scabbed up glory.

“Cassidy! What did you do today?”

“I took Amos for a walk. We chased a rabbit.”

“You look like you’ve got localized chicken pox.”

“Okay, now that you’ve seen my legs and you know it’s nothing, lay down with me and I’ll tell you about it. By the way, Kelly says ‘hi’. I had to call him because Amos and I were covered in cactus needles. I felt so sorry for Amos. He didn’t understand what he’d done at all. One minute he was chasing a rabbit and the next he was full of cactus spines and he couldn’t move without them hurting. I had to pin him down so he wouldn’t hurt himself worse and then Kelly and I had to pull them all out.”

“You felt sorry for the dog.”

“Don’t worry so much. It was just a cactus.”

“I’m calling Kelly in the morning. I want to know how much you’re not telling me.”

“Please don’t. You’ll get mad at him, but he didn’t have any choice. You know I wouldn’t let him take me to a doctor. He tried, but I just started pulling them out myself, and he was forced to grab a pair of pliers and make it go faster. He didn’t want to pull them out, but when he saw me doing it, and how long it would take me he started pulling them out, too. So we finished faster. He did what he could. So don’t get mad at him.”

“Why wouldn’t you go to a doctor?”

“Because it hurt. I’d have had to walk home with those needles in me and ride to town with needles in me and then they would just do the same thing that we did out in the hills. So it seemed smarter just to get it over with. Some things you just have to toughen up and get through. It hurt, but it wasn’t serious. It just had to be done, so we did it.”

“Find a way to lay down where it’s comfortable. Just let me hold you without hurting you. Why didn’t you call?”

“I knew Kelly was closer and Amos knew him. I thought he could handle the dog better.”

“Why didn’t you call me afterwards?”

“Should I? I didn’t want you to worry and there wasn’t anything you could do.”

“I could have been here. I’d have felt better just being with you.”

“I can’t call you for every minor disaster that happens to me. You’d never get any work done. And there is a plus side to all this. I’m not afraid of Amos anymore. After pinning him down and wrestling with him to get out the cactus needles I mostly just felt sorry for him. There wasn’t any time to be afraid.”