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Shadow watched and worried as the woman brought boxes from the barn. Each time, the truck lurched when she dropped them into the back. He waited, though, hoping to see September emerge from the loft.
When the shrieks came, Shadow exploded from his hiding spot beneath the truck. He raced to the edge of the road. How to reach September? Water surrounded the barn, making it an island impossible to reach. The ladder offered a path, but hung far over his head. Not even Shadow could leap that high into the stranger’s truck.
Shadow's heart banged hard in his chest. He danced forward, close as he could get to the edge of the water. He didn't like the cold wet. But he had to reach September.
A disturbance made him look up. Kids appeared in the back of the truck, silent as they watched Melinda scurry along the ladder. She moved with jerks, fits and starts, not like the smooth dance of the strange woman. And she wore a fur collar around her neck. It moved and smelled like cat.
Melinda jumped down from the high platform into the back of the truck to join the other kids. They yelled and cried out so loud it hurt a good-dog's ears and made it hard to understand.
Melinda yelled louder than all the others. "We're going."
Willie wailed. "You don't know how to drive."
"I'll learn." She ran to the truck cab, and the other kids noisily followed.
Shadow swiveled his attention between the loud kids and the quiet loft.
The truck growled to life, made a grinding sound, and jerked into motion. Its tires spit mud and sticks at Shadow when it sped away. One end of the ladder fell out the back and thud-splattered in the mud. The truck disappeared down the road, taking the light with it.
Another scream pealed from the barn. Shadow barked, and barked again, crying out to September. A woman dangled over the water, holding fast with both hands to something overhead.
September? He couldn’t tell. Shadow ran to the fallen ladder, now within reach, and sniffed the metal. Different than the wooden one in his garden. But he had to try.
Something shiny-bright flashed above the dangling woman’s hands. Her yell choked off when she plunged into the water. Another woman, this one with short hair, spilled after her through the loft hole, but caught on the metal grid. Clouds blew apart and moon glow shined down.
"Shadow? Baby-dog, is that you?" September’s raw voice overflowed with disbelief, hope, and then elation. "Thank you God, you're alive."
He howled again. His forepaws tested the ladder. She was there, so close. He needed to be with her.
"Wait, Shadow. Good-dog, wait for me."
He hated that word. But he trusted September. She knew things dogs didn't know. He could relax now she took charge. The relief in her voice made his heart sing, and he sat down to wait for her. He panted anxiously, yearning for her touch, wanted to taste her face. He wanted a nap. And maybe some bacon. Shadow licked his lips, and yawned.
Mud splattered his fur at the same instant he heard the POP!
Shadow jerked away. He’d focused so hard on September that the rumble of a car running without lights snuck up on him. The gun reached out again to bite him, and he dove into the brush on the other side of the road.
He snarled as the boy-thief climbed out of the car, the gun gripped in one hand and Steven in the other.
