Those Christmas Angels (Angels Everywhere #5)(103)

“Next Friday, after Christmas, would be perfect,” Heidi went on to say. “Since I was the one who let you down, please come to my place. Yes, yes, I’m sure.”

Beth’s mouth fell open. Her friend had really crossed the line with that one. Before she could stop her, Heidi rattled off Beth’s address.

A moment later, Heidi clicked the cell phone shut and returned it to Beth.

“Have you gone insane?” Beth cried. “You gave him my address!”

“Well, yes, that’s what you wanted me to do, isn’t it?”

“No…yes. Oh, I don’t know.” Beth’s ears felt frozen and she covered them with her hands. She didn’t dare put on her hat until they were far from the gazebo.

“That gives you six days to prepare him.”

“You’re worried about John?” Some friend Heidi had turned out to be!

“Not John,” Heidi explained patiently. “I’m concerned about Peter, the man you fell in love with over the last six months.”

Then it hit Beth, something she’d completely forgotten. “He’s married.”

“What do you mean, he’s married?”

“A friend told me she’d heard John remarried and if that’s the case, he’s either divorced a second time or cheating on his wife.” A sick feeling attacked her stomach.

“My guess is that your friend was talking about some other John.”

“It can’t be…” Or could it? Beth no longer knew. All she did know was that she had six days to sort this out before she confronted Peter/John with the truth.

Fourteen

Early Saturday morning, Carter tiptoed down to the laundry room as quietly as he could. After working late at the pizza place he managed, his father hadn’t come home until way past Carter’s bedtime. Carter had lain awake, worrying that his father would somehow discover Rusty in the house. If he did, he just might take the dog away in the middle of the night.

When Carter heard the garage door close, he’d prayed really hard that Rusty wouldn’t bark at the strange noise. The dog seemed to have a sixth sense about things like that, because he stayed quiet all night.

Carter could hear his parents talking, and even though he’d had his ear against the door, he couldn’t make out their words. All he knew was that after about ten minutes they went to bed. Then and only then was Carter able to sleep.

In the morning, he sneaked down the hallway and freed Rusty from the laundry room. Rusty wanted outside, and Carter let him into the backyard to do his business. As soon as he’d finished, Rusty hurried back onto the porch, where Carter waited for him.

“Are you hungry, boy?” Carter asked softly. No one else in the house was awake. He bent down and stroked the rich auburn fur of his new best friend. Then he led Rusty back into the laundry room and filled his water dish. He gave him a bowl of Wheaties with milk because they didn’t have any dog food.

Rusty seemed to like the cereal and when he’d licked the bowl clean, Carter returned to his bedroom. The dog walked politely beside him. Without being asked, Carter made his bed, dressed and brushed his teeth, too. All the while, Rusty lay on his bedroom rug, his eyes never leaving Carter.

When he heard his parents stir, Carter was ready. He knew it would take a lot of fast talking to convince his father to let him keep Rusty. His one hope was that once he heard Rusty had followed him home, he’d understand that this was a special dog. This was the dog God had sent Carter.

Through his partially open door, he could hear his father step into the kitchen and immediately start making coffee. Rusty dashed out of the bedroom before Carter could stop him. He raced after the dog but it was too late. Rusty skidded into the kitchen, his long tail wagging excitedly.

His father caught sight of Rusty and bent down to pet him. “Where did you come from, boy?” he asked.

“Hi, Dad,” Carter said tentatively.

“Do you have a friend spending the night?” David asked, glancing at his son.

Carter swallowed hard. “Rusty’s my friend.”

“Rusty?” his father repeated.

“I named him after the dog you had when you were a kid. You told me about him, remember?”

Slowly his father nodded. “Where did you get the dog, Carter?”

Carter’s mother came into the kitchen just then, tying the sash on her housecoat. She looked uneasily from Carter to his father. “I meant to tell you about Rusty last night, David,” she said, pouring them each a cup of coffee.

“I suppose it slipped your mind,” David commented, frowning.

“No. I decided you were too tired and didn’t need to deal with another problem. We couldn’t do anything until morning anyway.”

His father turned to Carter. “Where did you get the dog?” he asked a second time.

“He was in the schoolyard, but Dad, this is a special dog. Really special. Out of all the kids there, Rusty came to me.”

“Did you feed him?”

“He was starving, Dad! And his coat was all muddy and…he needs a family.”

“You gave him something to eat, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Carter bit his lip. “I fed him a Twinkie and then Bailey let me have her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.” Because he wanted his father to know his sister hadn’t willingly donated her sandwich, he explained. “I traded my Saturday TV privileges, though, so Bailey would give me her sandwich.”