Good Guys Love Dogs by Inglath Cooper Read Free Book Online Page A

I just can't.
    They drove to the dorm in silence.
He dropped her off
    without saying goodbye. She didn't
hear from him for the
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    rest of the week. When she went to
her room on Friday
    after class, a note from him hung on
the door.
    From that moment on, she'd been on
her own.
    Looking back, she supposed she'd
thought he would come
    around, own up to his share of the
responsibility. But he
    hadn't. She'd eventual y realized
that it would have been a
    mistake for the two of them to try
to make a go of it for the
    baby's sake. After the initial
shock, her parents had been
    anxious to help. She got an
apartment off campus,
    determined to be independent. She
ran into Doug a few
    times during her pregnancy. Their
meetings were awkward,
    and he clearly couldn't wait to get
away. Colby wondered
    what she'd ever seen in him. She
hoped he would be very
    happy with his Porsche and his trust
fund.
    The fol owing year, he transferred
to another col ege,
    closer to Philadelphia, without once
trying to see Lena. For
    the first few years of her
daughter's life, Colby agonized
    over what to tel her about her
father when she asked, as she
    inevitably would. And she had. Colby
never intended to lie to
    her, but when Lena took her initial
answers of “Your daddy
    went away to mean he had gone to
heaven, she never
    corrected that impression. Somehow,
it seemed a lot more
    palatable than the truth.
    She hoped Lena would never have to
know.
    Glancing at the watch she'd left on
the side of the tub,
    Colby got out and dried off. She'd
lingered in the bath too
    long, and now she would have to rush
to be on time. But
    then, that was what she got for dwel
ing on things better left
    in the past.
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    9
    fter fixing Lena a hurried dinner
and leaving it on
    Athe kitchen table, Colby went to
the bottom of
    the stairs and called her name.
    No answer. The bass from her stereo
beat a tattoo on
    the floor beneath Colby's feet. She
ran up the steps and
    stopped in her daughter's doorway.
“Lena, honey, I'm late.
    Are you sure you have a ride to the
game?
    Lena leaned over and turned down the
volume. “Yeah.
    Millie Mitchell's mom is taking us,
she said in the same
    sul en tone that had been there for
the past month.
    â€œYou'l be home by
eleven-thirty?
    Lena nodded without raising her gaze
from the magazine
    in front of her.
    Lena spent more time at her friend's
house than she did
    at home. Trying to ignore her own
bruised feelings, Colby
    said, “I'll see
you tonight, then.
    A few minutes later, she backed out
of the driveway and
    headed toward Phoebe's place, some
five miles outside of
    town. How long would this go on?
She'd asked Lena over
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    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    and over what was wrong, only to be
given a hostile-
    sounding, “Nothing,
Mom.
    Colby missed the child she loved.
She felt as though
    someone had stolen her best friend.
And she didn't know
    how to get her back.
    At the Walkers' turnoff, she put on
her blinker and
    swung onto the road that led to
their farm. She loved it out
    here. Most of Jefferson County lay
in a bowl of land
    beneath a ring of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. Now, just before
    sunset, they real y did look blue.
Colby eventual y planned to
    buy a place outside of town with
plenty of land. She'd been
    interested in Oak Hil , the farm
that bordered the Walkers'
    place, for years. When she'd learned
that it had been sold a
    few weeks ago, she'd been more than
a little disappointed.
    Pul ing up in front of the house,
Colby got out and
    knocked at the door. A few seconds
later, Phoebe opened
    it and greeted her with a hug.
    â€œYou're here, she
said. “And on time, too. No last-
    minute cal s to make?
    â€œI even left my
calf-birthing clothes in the trunk.
    â€œSo you do own a
dress. Phoebe gave her a long look
    and a whistle. “Is
that new?
    â€œNo.
    â€œThat shade of
blue has always been your color. You
    look great.
    â€œSo do you, Colby
said, nodding at