He trotted ahead of her, making it to thedesignatedpee area.
He couldn’t help but bedistractedby all the different scents heencountered.
“Are you going to smell every area before you find the perfect spot?”she asked.
He stared at her and cocked his head. Didn’t she know theimportanceof the perfect spot to pee?
Sometimes humans were so slow.
Finally finding a spot, he quickly did his business.
When they returned to their camping area, he settled in a spot near the fire pit.
Elana got busy pouring water into the campfire kettle. Once she started a fire, she sat the coffeepot over the small flames.
Settling into a seat on the picnic bench, she wrapped his leash around the leg of the table and sat back to wait for her coffee.
He liked this. The dancing of the flames and the crisp scent that carried on the cold morning air.
He let out a yawn, content with his currentsurroundings.
Elana reached down and scratched between his ears. He decided to return the favor with a lick to the back of the hand.
She giggled and wiped her hand on her jeans.
That was good. Now she had his scent on her clothes and he liked that they were part of the same pack.
A few minutes later she was taking the kettle off the fire and pouring a cup of coffee.
Jack lifted his head when he saw a squirrel come out of a nearby tree.
“Don’t even think about it,”Elana warned.
Jack sighed heavily. She didn’t realize how much he wanted to give chase to the squirrel. Instead of pursuing the rodent, he laid his head back down, content to just stare at the dwindling flames.
The light began to turn a shade of purple. It reminded him of how he and the old man would sit out on the porch of the old cabin waiting for the sun’s light to touch the ground.
Jack thought life was full ofunexpectedtwists and turns. After the old man left, he never expected to be back in the mountains. But fate had put Elana in his path, and here he was.
He looked up at the dark-haired woman and noticed how relaxed she appeared. He hadn’t seen her like that before. It looked good on her.
Closing his eyes, he settled in for a quick nap before Grandma Cecilia woke.
CHAPTER15
“Ican’t believe we have a flat.”Elana bent to look at the blown-out tire on the van. They had barely made it out of Rawlins before the blowout occurred. Luckily, she’d pulled off as far on the shoulder as she could as soon as she realized the tire had blown. She stood and glanced at the passing cars, making sure they were moving to the far lane. The noise of the traffic along the highway was almost deafening.
“We have a spare.”Grandma Cecilia stuck her hands in her coat pocket. “Let’s change it and beon our way.”
Elana shook her head. “We can’t do that. I don’t feel safe driving all the way to Montana on a spare. We’re lucky it blew out a few miles from the city. I can put on the spare and then we will head back to town to get the tire replaced.”
Grandma Cecilia pursed her lips and glared at her. “Are you sure you’re not trying to come up with excuses to keep me from going to Montana?”
Elana looked over at hergrandmother. “Why would you say that? I’ve come all this way with you. I made a promise to takeyou to Montana. Do you think I would lie?”
Grandma Cecilia seemed to study Elana.
For the first time in her life, Elana felt as if she didn’t know hergrandmother.
