Finding Home by Georgia Beers Read Free Book Online

sense.”
    “It does.” Natalie stood back up and popped her memory stick into the USB port to copy the ß yer over to it. “Can you print ten or Þ fteen of these off for me tomorrow? Then I’ll post them around the area, and wait and see what happens.”
    “I hope it doesn’t work,” Andrea said, bending awkwardly so she could place a kiss on Chino’s furry head. His eyes opened
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    just enough to take a quick glance around the room, then closed again as he sighed with great contentment. “I hope nobody claims him and you get to keep him.”
    Me, too, Andrea. Me, too. Natalie was too worried about what kind of person that made her to say it out loud.
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CHAPTER FIVE
    How could this have happened?
    Sarah sat blinking in disbelief at her family, trying unsuccessfully to absorb and process what they’d told her.
    How is it even possible?
    Her mother was crying. She had been for a while. Her father looked worried and had his arm protectively around her mother’s shoulders. Ricky looked sheepish. More than that, he looked guilty. As well he should. Sarah turned to glare at him and felt the tiniest sliver of satisfaction when he ß inched, as if her gaze was physically sharp.
    “You just…lost him? You lost him?”
    Ricky swallowed. “I think so.”
    “You think so?”
    “I came back here and he was just…gone.” Her brother’s eyes shifted, darted around the room, looked anywhere but at her deadly stare.
    “He was just gone.” Sarah almost curled her upper lip in a snarl.
    “I don’t know how he got out.”
    “No idea?”
    “No.”
    “Uh-huh. And did you bother to look for him?”
    Her father cut in, obviously seeing the violent path the conversation might possibly be taking. “We all did. Believe me,
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    honey, we all did.” Her mother stiß ed a small sob and her father tightened his hold on her. “We’ve searched high and low for weeks. We’ve called all the animal shelters half a dozen times.
    We’ve driven around and around every single night. We just…”
    He blew out a frustrated breath. “We haven’t found a sign of him.
    He’s just gone. We’re so sorry, baby.”
    “I can’t believe this.” Sarah’s anger left her in a whoosh as she absorbed the news that her dog had run away—or been stolen—over a month ago and not only was he nowhere to be found, but nobody had bothered to tell her. Her eyes Þ lled with tears. “I wish you would have called me.”
    “So you could do what?” Her father’s voice was gentle, but factual, and she knew he was right. What could she have done?
    Her job didn’t allow her the time to ß y home for anything less than a family emergency, and her missing dog would not have been considered such by the higher-ups at her company. So she would have been Þ lled with worry, which would have taken her focus off her job and kept her from thinking of anything else. No, her father had been right not to call her. Had she been here, she wouldn’t have done anything any differently than her family did and she most likely would have gotten the same results.
    “I can’t believe this,” she said again, feeling suddenly deß ated and completely, utterly helpless.
    “Honey,” her mother said, her voice cracking, “I am so, so sorry. I know you trusted us and we let you down and I don’t know how we can ever apologize enough for that.” The tremendous burden of guilt that sat on her looked so heavy, it would be obvious from across the street, and Sarah felt bad for being so angry. She knew her mother well and was certain this had been eating her alive since it happened and would continue to do so for a long time to come. She also knew her parents would never do anything to purposely hurt her, nor would Ricky, despite his lack of maturity or responsibility. It was evident that this had been some kind of ß uke accident and her family had done
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