Jack let out a yawn as he watched her build a small fire. Once the flames were high enough, she poured the bottle of water into the campfire coffeepot and set it over the fire on the grate. Elana sat at the picnic table they silently watched the fire.
He rested his head on her foot. She reached down and slowly scratched him between his ears.
Once the water began to boil, Elana stood and pulled the coffeepot off with the dish towel.
She placed a sheet of paper towel on top of her coffee mug and put some coffee grounds on the top. Slowly, she poured the hot water over the grounds.
When her coffee was ready, she sat back down beside Jack. They sat there in silence while she sipped her coffee.
“Jack, you’re lucky you don’t have family. It gets complicated sometimes. Not to mention that you are constantly wondering why you don’t fit in.”
He lifted his head and let out a whimper. He felt like he didn’t fit in either. That’s why they needed each other.
She rubbed the top of his head, and he leaned into her touch.
Elana pulled out her phone and sighed. “I was hoping to make it to Rawlins, Wyoming today, but that’s almost a twelve-hour drive. I think we should just try to make it to Cheyenne. What do you think?”
He let out a small bark in agreement.
Elana chortled. “It’s settled.” She put her phone away while Jack lay at her feet.
They sat there together in silence with her drinking coffee and him drifting off to sleep as the sun began to come up.
CHAPTER13
“We should cook steaks tonight.” Elana glanced over at her grandmother. “I need a good solid meal. I’m tired of hotdogs and sandwiches.”
Grandma Cecilia shrugged. “Let’s make a stop at the grocery store and pick some up. We could even get one for Jack.” She turned around and looked at Jack and gave the dog a smile. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Jack?”
Jack let out a bark.
Elana laughed. “I’ll pull into the grocery store coming up.”
A few minutes later, she was pulling into a parking spot. “I’ll run in. What else do we need?”
Grandma frowned as if she were thinking hard. “Get potatoes and ranch dressing for a salad.”
Elana grabbed her purse. “What about dessert?”
Grandma nodded. “Yes. We need dessert. Get whatever you think would be good.”
Elana nodded and slid out of the van. She hiked her purse on her shoulder and headed inside the small grocery store.
Grabbing a shopping cart, she put her purse inside. She went to the produce aisle and grabbed three large potatoes. They had already had lettuce for salad, so she added a tomato and a cucumber to the cart. She quickly found the meat section and picked out some steaks.
She stopped by the dairy section and got some sour cream and cheese for the baked potatoes.
Next, she went over to the bakery and perused the cakes and donuts. She spotted an apple pie and settled on that. When she got in line to check out, she picked up a couple of magazines and put them in the cart as well.
After paying, she headed back to the van.
Grandma Cecilia was walking Jack on a grassy area. She noticed Elana and waved at her.
Elana opened the side door of the van and put the groceries away. By the time she was done, Jack had jumped up in the van beside her.
She grinned when she saw him wagging his tail in excitement.
“You are excited for dinner, aren’t you?” She patted his head.
