Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“It’s another shelter. More land. Another chance to save more dogs.”
“Is that a yes?” I smile.
He returns my smile, and then his gaze moves to Jeneva.
She carefully places Shelby on the floor. He runs in circles, a little slower than he used to be, but no longer weighed down with fear or anxiety.
That makes two of us.
“Well done,” Dominic says. “You’re really great with him, Jay.”
Jeneva beams at the praise. She’s got my hair, people say, but I focus on her eyes, so much like her dad’s.
“Daddy, come look before you go.” She walks over, making my heart glow at her five-year-old gait. Taking Dominic’s hand, she leads him toward the back door. “And you, Mommy.”
Shelby and I exchange a look. “What do you think, Doctor Corgi? Shall we?”
We follow them into the yard, where Sabrina and Trent stand next to a giant greeting card. Lacey walks over on her clumsy four-year-old legs, widely grinning as I struggle not to cry.
But then I let the tears come, silently flowing down my cheeks.
The children have created a large good luck card covered in paw prints.
“Candace let us do it, Dad,” Trent, our oldest, says. “We did it in secret. It’s cool, right? It’s the paws from all the different dogs at the shelter.”
Dominic clears his throat, looking over at me, the sun dancing off that steely hair, the light shimmering in his eyes.
As we stare at each other, I know he’s thinking about the long journey we had to get here.
I reach over and take his hand, turning to our assembled children, so much love flowing through me I could open my mouth and sing just to let some of it out.
I think about college, about becoming a dog trainer, then a behavioralist, and all the while with my family here, the children who make life so much brighter, even in dark times.
“It’s amazing,” Dominic says. “You should be so, so proud. All of you.”