Then something bit him. He let out a yelp and backed out of the hole.
Elana knelt beside him. “Grandma, he’s got a red mark on his nose. I think the prairie dog bit him.”
Jack’s heart was pounding in his chest at the excitement. The pain was subsiding, but Elana was holding him close, and Grandma Cecilia was calling someone on her phone.
“There’s a vet twenty miles away. I’ll text Ethan and have him send Jack’s up-to-date paperwork to the vet, so they’ll be ready for us when we get there.”
Elana lifted Jack up in her arms and held him close.
“It’s okay, Jack. We’ll get you looked at.” She looked at Grandma Cecilia. “You don’t think prairie dogs have rabies, do you?”
Grandma Cecilia gave her a worried look. “I don’t know, Elana. But the vet will help him.”
Jack whimpered at the word “vet.”
He might be only a dog, but he sure knew who the vet was. And it wasn’t good.
CHAPTER25
Elana lost only a few hours at the vet. The doctor said it was not a bite, only a scratch. Jack was up-to-date on his shots, and they left the vet with some antibiotic ointment and a wallet that was a hundred dollars lighter.
Now back on the road, Elana could feel her grandmother’s gaze on her as they wound their way through the mountains to their destination. She had put on an audiobook, which usually kept Grandma Cecilia’s attention, but today felt different.
She cleared her throat and turned down the volume. “So, are you excited?” She cut her eyes at the older woman.
Her grandmother blinked, and then a slow smile stretched across her face. “I am. It’s been a lot of years since we’ve seen each other. We’ve both changed a lot, I’m sure.”
Elana glanced at her. “You’re still a beautiful woman, Grandma Cecilia. He’ll be impressed when he sees you.”
Her grandmother brightened. “Thank you, dear.” She gave her a knowing look. “You know, you’re quite a looker yourself. I’m surprised you’ve not found the love of your life.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Please don’t try to sell me that. I am aware I’m not gorgeous like my sisters. They are the ones who won beauty pageants.”
Her grandmother huffed. “You would have won as well if you’d entered.”
She shifted in her seat. “Father told me not to bother. He said it would be a waste of time, and I didn’t have a chance of winning anyway.”
Grandma Cecilia turned in her seat and gaped at Elana. “Your father actually said that?”
Elana nodded. “Yes. I mean, he was right. I surely wouldn’t have won, and probably wouldn’t even have placed.”
Her grandmother’s face turned beet red. “The gall of that man. I can’t believe I raised such an insensitive idiot.”
Elana was shocked by the outrage from Grandma Cecilia on her behalf. She swallowed. “It’s no big deal.”
Her grandmother narrowed her eyes. “What about when you quit guitar lessons? Was that your idea?”
Elana didn’t like the turn of the conversation.
“Elana, answer me truthfully.”
She sighed heavily. “Mother made me quit. She said getting to my lessons interfered with her tennis lessons.”
Grandma Cecilia tightened her hands into fists. “Elana, I wish you had told me.”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”
The older woman lifted her chin. “It would have made all the difference in the world. Did you know that Elizabeth and Brianna both came to me and told me they wanted to take gymnastics? Your mother wanted them in ballet, but after I had a talk with her, she consented. I may be old, Elana, but I still hold a lot of power in this family.”
