CHAPTER 6
Faith
I cross my arms and jog inside the dog park. I’m doing everything I can to stay warm, but it’s just not working. It’s too early for this, but I wouldn’t deny my babies this time for anything.
Every morning we’re here right when they open up. Sometimes we get the entire place to ourselves for a good twenty minutes. Not today though. There are a few other people with their dogs and they look almost as tired as I do.
But dogs never seem to be tired, especially when they have other dogs around.
And that’s my dilemma. I wish I had a man here with me to enjoy mornings like this with. But not just any man. The man.
Him.
We could run around in the park just like our dogs. If we got cold we could hug and share the heat from each other’s bodies.
Or even better we could share that heat on cold mornings like today inside in my bed.
The dogs would wake us each morning with playful licks on our cheeks. We’d take them outside in our pajamas and just enjoy the quiet of the morning before the world woke up.
Just the two of us.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
But I guess the only way for that to happen would be if I lived in the palace with Prince Alistair. I giggle so quickly I inhale a little too much air resulting in a snort.
Peaches turns around and looks back at me as if to ask, “What in the world was that?”
But before I can give her the palms to the sky and scrunched shoulders showing her I don’t know, she’s running off chasing after Cream.
I don’t know what got into me the day I picked them up. I guess it’s obvious now that I was hungry and even had my shopping list for the supermarket in my pocket. Peaches and Cream. I can’t deny it though…I do like how they go together.
I wish I was one half of the perfect pairing myself.
Oh well. If that day never comes I’ve always got my four legged friends who shower me with affection and provide me great companionship and lots of laughs.
I just hope I don’t become some bitter old lady one day who decides to replace real human interaction with pet interaction. No matter how much I love spending time with animals I have to remind myself I need people in my life too. And the heroes in my books don’t count.
I extend my neck a bit and squint as I strain to look all the way down to the other end of the dog park.
“What in the?”
Has someone jumped the fence and….
“No! Stop! Put her down!”
I take off in a sprint after the man in a black hoodie and sweats. He’s scooped up Peaches and he’s running with her towards the edge of the fence.
It’s only about four feet high.
“Stop! Help!” I look and see another figure on the other side of the fence waiting on the handoff.
“No! No!”
I’m running as fast as I can but I can’t cover the distance that quickly. They’re going to kidnap my Peaches and no one’s lifting a finger to help me.
I feel the tears streaming down my cheeks as I sprint across the cold hard morning ground ignoring the stiffness in my knees and ankles from exerting myself so aggressively at such an early hour. With each step I drive hard off the ground like a sprinter shooting out of the blocks. I pump my arms and lean forward trying to generate maximum speed.
I’m not going to make it!
Suddenly I feel a gust of wind next to me and another body blasts past me. I feel the gust shake me a bit, but I continue.
Are there three of them? I don’t stand a chance, but I don’t care. I’m going to fight for her.
If they want to take one of mine I’m going to take one of theirs.
I’ll bite their head off.
The first man hands Peaches over the fence to the second man.
The third man is huge, running faster than I’ve ever seen anyone run.
He runs right past the first man scaling the fence like it’s nothing more than a high hurdle.
But wait! He’s…