Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(13)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Addy nodded and Christian pulled out a chair and sat down. “I want to decorate her collar and make it pretty.”

“Me too.” Addy sat in the chair next to her sister.

Van got up. “I’ll go get their craft boxes.”

Ty stood up and patted me on the shoulder, whispering in my ear, “I’m going to try and get Noah to let us wrap her up and take her body outside. You okay in here with them?”

I nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

He kissed me on the head and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me there with two heartbroken, very sweet little girls.

We hadn’t come here to Kentucky to be sad, but I wouldn’t miss being there for my family, not when they needed us as much as we needed them.

Chapter 9

Tyler

My first inkling was to get Colt calmed down enough to get the dog out of the house before she started smelling. She was cold and stiff, and her eyes were starting to look awful. Noah continued petting the dog as I walked in the room and knelt down at the foot of the bed so that I could be close to him.

Both he and his dad looked up at me. “She’s dead, Uncle Ty. Sam’s dead.”

Man, it really broke my heart hearing that kid say it like he did. Colt shook his head and said nothing, not that I expected him to. As a guy, you wanted to be tough, especially around your kids, but I knew for a fact that it was tearing him up inside.

“I know, little dude. I’m really sorry. It sucks when someone you love dies.”

“Yeah,” he sniffled, and I could tell that he was trying real hard not to cry in front his dad or me. “She was a good girl.”

“Izzy’s downstairs, and she said she like to help you find the perfect spot to bury Sam, if you want her to.”

He nodded. “I reckon it’s a good idea.”

I almost laughed, hearing him talk like his father.

“Get your clothes changed and head on out,” Colt ordered.

Noah stood up and looked over at his father. “Be gentle with her, Dad. Just ‘cause she’s gone don’t mean we can’t take good care of her.”

Colt didn’t argue with his son, although I was sure he wasn’t going to bring the dog’s body any harm. “You got it, kid. Go on now.”

Noah left the room reluctantly, looking back one last time at his companion.

I waited until we were alone to touch Colt’s shoulder. “She was a good one.”

He stared at her. “Yeah. That she was. It’s a damn shame this shit happened in Noah’s bed. He ain’t never goin’ to forget it.”

“Colt, she was old. It was bound to happen somewhere. Let’s get her covered up and carry her outside. The kids will find a spot and I’ll help you dig out the hole.”

“I’ll use the Bobcat. If you want to help you can help me drive it over from the main barn where I keep the equipment.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Instead of wrapping her body in trash bags, which is what I would have done, Colt wrapped her in a sheet with cartoon characters all over it. We carried her out to the front porch and headed out to get the Bobcat.

We spotted the kids on the way and they showed us where they wanted to bury the dog. I watched Colt clenching his jaw and knew the day was going to be especially hard on him.

I shot Miranda a message, letting her know where the kids had wandered to, right before climbing onto the Bobcat and following Colt back to the spot.

Colt did the digging with the machine, probably needing the time inside the little thing to gather his thoughts. He’d always shut down as a self-coping mechanism. I didn’t understand how someone could keep their pain bottled up like the way he did.

Once the hole was large enough to fit a car – yes, that is how big he dug it – we headed back to the house. I’m sure Miranda had helped, but Van had lunch waiting for us. Noah and Izzy hadn’t come back inside, but I figured that having them spending time together was the best remedy. If anyone could keep his mind off of losing Sam, it was Izzy.

The younger kids sat in the kitchen eating. The adults retreated to the dining room where we sat there quietly, not knowing what to say to each other. Van must have hated that nobody was talking. She cleared her voice after finishing a bite of her sandwich. “How was the drive? Did the kids behave?”

“As much as can be expected. They slept for a lot of it, until Ty slammed on the brakes and pretended we were crashin’.”

“You didn’t?” She looked at me with wide eyes. “Never mind. I take it back when it has something to do with you.”

“It was funny at the time. Besides, Miranda knows how I am.”

“A child in a grown up body?”

Van laughed at her comment.

I shook my head. “No! A dad with a sense of humor.”

While we bickered, Colt got up and walked in the direction of his office. A few seconds later, Colt’s mom came walking in the door. Noah walked over to her and let her comfort him.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. Being in this house for one more second was setting me crazy. I knew they needed to say goodbye and everyday things would get easier, but watching these kids so sad was too much for me.

Without telling Miranda what I was up to, I retreated to the bathroom, where I started looking for Lab puppies for sale in the area. I found two ads right away and saved the numbers.

Once I was outside, I called and found out that there was a female Lab who was ten weeks old and looking for a home. Colt was going to kill me, but I was going to get them a dog so that the kids could smile again.

After I let Iz in on my secret plan, we snuck away. Miranda texted me and I told her that Iz and I were doing something special to cheer everyone up. I knew she didn’t trust my judgment, so of course I got plenty more messages with her demanding to know what I was up to.

I sort of knew she’d try to talk me out of it, so I ignored her messages, knowing she’d forgive me at some point.

“Daddy, I think it’s really nice what you’re doin’.”

“I hope everyone else feels that way.”

“Noah’s really sad.” She looked out the window as she spoke.

I started paying attention to the directions on the navigation, so we didn’t get lost. “All pets die, babe. It’s part of life. As sad as it is, we all learn to cope.”

“So you’re not gettin’ them a dog so they can forget about Sam?”

“No, of course not. I’m getting them a puppy so they can start over. Sam may be gone, but they loved having her around. A new puppy will fill that void and make it easier for them to move on. Understand?”