Storm Watcher (10 page)

“Happy belated birthday, buddy.” Dad clapped him on the back. “Now we’re all set for the new pup.”

A shaky twirl formed in Luke’s chest. As it spun, it sent off shoots of numbness that raced to Luke’s hands and feet. He wanted to sink to the ground. He wanted to confess everything. All of Willajean’s bloodhounds had been sold.

Instead, he picked up the thin, puppy-sized leash. “Thanks, Dad. This is great.” The words tasted like rancid milk on his tongue.

“Glad you like it.”

Hounddog jumped up on the new bunk and pawed at the puppy food.

“We’d better put this away.” Dad shouldered the twenty-pound bag. “Open the cabinet, or Hounddog will rip the bag open and make himself sick.”

When the dog food was safely inside the cabinet, Hounddog’s ears drooped an inch.

Dad laughed. “Look at that face,” he said. He strok-ed Hounddog’s head. “Bloodhounds have the most expressive faces. One look, and I know exactly what they’re thinking. That’s why I love them.”

Pins and needles flared in Luke’s hands. He rubbed them and tried to relax his arms. Needing to move, Luke strode toward the house. Dad followed him into the kitchen.

“Hey, Luke,” he said. “It’s still early. You want to go to a movie or something?” Picking up the newspaper, Dad flipped to the entertainment section.

Luke clutched the bottom of his T-shirt. “Sure, Dad. I just need to go to the bathroom.” He bolted.

Staring into the mirror, Luke drew in a couple of deep breaths. He turned on the water and splashed a handful on his face. He stared at the faucet, then shut the water off. Reaching blindly for a towel, he pressed it to his face.

I should tell him
.

Luke brushed his hair.

Why is he being so buddy-buddy now? Does he already know about the dog? Is he being nice so I’ll break down and confess? No, he isn’t that devious. I could tell him Willajean forgot she was giving me a bloodhound and sold them all. But what if he calls her?

Luke tossed the brush into a drawer. He hadn’t been to a movie since the night Mom died. Luke wanted to replace the memory of the last movie he’d seen with a new one. Maybe then he wouldn’t automatically think of Mom’s death whenever someone mentioned going to the movies. With one more look in the mirror, Luke decided to talk to Dad on the drive home
after
the show.

But instead of talking about the pup, they discussed the movie.

“I can’t believe he survived the fall,” Dad said.

“Why not?” Luke asked. “He had his jet pack on.”

“The pack had been dunked in the water. There’s no way the electronics would still work after that.”

“It’s set in the future, Dad. I’m sure the components would be protected.”

“I guess if I’m going to believe aliens invaded Earth, I can let that slide.”

When they entered the house, Jacob and Scott were in the living room.

“But there’s no way I’m believing that massive alien could disguise itself as a cat.” Dad tossed his keys on the table by the door. “Aliens or not, the laws of physics still apply to them.”

“Why would it?” Jacob had seen the same flick the week before with Scott. “They’d have their own alien laws.”

“It’s call the conservation of mass and, in our universe, it’s unbreakable. You can’t transform a thousand-pound alien into a ten-pound house cat. If you do, where does the other 990 pounds go?” Dad asked.

“Who says the cat weighs ten pounds?” Scott asked. “Maybe he weighs a thousand.”

“Can you imagine a thousand-pound cat jumping on your chest at night.” Jacob laughed. “Crushed by cuteness.”

“And every rat in the neighborhood would bolt,” Luke said.

“Sumo Kitty, the defender of the back alley.” Scott curled his fingers like claws.

Their conversation turned sillier and, laughing hard, they all tried to outdo each other by telling stories of Sumo Kitty’s daring deeds. By that time, Luke wasn’t about to break the family spell by mentioning the dog.

A couple of days later, Luke pedaled home fast. He skidded into the garage and dumped his bike on the floor. Racing through the house, he searched for Dad, a huge grin stretching his face. Willajean’s weather station was up and running. All they had to do was calibrate the sensors, and they were good to go.

He found Dad in the Puppy Palace holding a sledgehammer. Luke’s excitement died. Fury blazed in Dad’s eyes. Luke’s knees locked as he jerked to a stop.

“What—?” The rest of the question stuck in Luke’s throat.

Dad smashed the hammer into the new bunk he’d just built.

CHAPTER 9

Easy Peasy

Wooden splinters shot into the air as the bunk exploded. Luke jumped back, stunned by the damage.

Ranger cowered under his bunk on the opposite side of the Puppy Palace. Luke wanted to crawl under there with the dog. Dad turned to Luke, his face a mask of calm, but his tense shoulders and stiff arms warned Luke.

“Willajean called.” He rested the sledgehammer on the ground.

Oh no. “Dad, I can—”

Dad put his hand up.

“She asked me if I wanted to breed Ranger to one of her bloodhounds. We discussed stud fees, and she offered first pick of the litter in lieu of money.”

He opened his mouth to interrupt, but Dad shot him a warning glare. Luke had to wait for Dad to finish, or he’d be in bigger trouble.

“’Why would I need first pick?’ I asked her. ‘I have a new pup coming in another week.’ She was quiet for so long, I thought she’d hung up on me.” Dad picked up the hammer and pounded on the remaining boards still clinging to the Palace’s walls. “Then she told me all the pups were sold and why.”

He whacked at the wood until nothing but splinters remained. Then he rounded on Luke, “How could you lie to me and Willajean?” he demanded.

Luke had been prepared to apologize and beg for forgiveness, but Dad’s questions turned his guilt into instant rage. “Lied to you?” he shouted. “I tried to talk to you. You ignored me for weeks. You only had time for me when we were working on the tower. By then it was too late.” Luke grabbed the broom from the corner and started to sweep up the mess.

“I want a papillon.” Luke swept the floor hard. Dust puffed around his sneakers. “I want to try a new breed.” Sweep. “They’re great. I was going to tell you all about them.” Luke paused, huffing. “Mom thought it was a great idea, and she told me to convince you. But you won’t listen to me because you blame me for her death. Don’t you, Dad?” Luke stopped, shocked by his own words.

Dad gaped at him.

Hounddog and Moondoggie raced into the yard, back from their daily walk. They snuffled at the mess in the Palace. Jacob and Scott entered the shed to put the leashes away. Noticing the ruined bunk, his brothers paused.

“What happened?” Jacob asked.

“Uh…Luke…is not getting a puppy,” Dad said, recovering. “Seems there was a miscommunication.”

Tears pressed against the back of Luke’s eyes. Dad hadn’t denied hating him. Thick tension hung heavy in the air. The twins glanced at Luke with a question in their gazes.

“What Dad means is I’m not getting a bloodhound pup,” Luke said with a sudden boldness. Why not? He was already deep in trouble. It couldn’t get worse. Could it? “A papillon will be more comfortable in the house.” Luke lifted his chin and met Dad’s gaze.

“Not in
my
house,” Dad dropped the sledgehammer and stalked away.

Guess it could.

“Whoa,” Scott said, “Luke pissed Dad off.”

“You’re always screwing things up,” Jacob said. “Why do you want a yappy, cotton-ball dog anyway?”

“He needs a powder puff to put on his makeup. A girly dog for a girl.”

“Maybe we should buy him some dresses,” Jacob said.

“Shut up!” Luke had had it with his brothers. His blood slammed through his heart. “Don’t you think I feel bad enough? I get it now. You want me to suffer for causing Mom’s death. I guess it makes you feel better, but nothing will bring her back.”

The boys stared at him. Luke no longer cared if they beat him up; he wanted bruises and pain. He wanted another reason for the horrible burning inside him that wouldn’t go away. A distraction from the all-consuming grief.

“You’re crazy,” Jacob said, backing away from him.

“You’ve been working in the hot sun too long,” Scott said. “Better clean up that mess.” He pointed to the remains of the bunk on the floor. “If Hounddog gets a single splinter, I’m going to pulverize you.”

They retreated into the house. All of Luke’s muscles shook. Jacob and Scott hadn’t corrected him either. They all hated him for causing Mom’s death. He gripped the broom handle to keep from sinking to the floor in a puddle of misery.

Eventually, he resumed cleaning up the mess in the Puppy Palace. The curious dogs didn’t help. Whenever he bent over to use the dustpan, Hounddog thrust his nose into Luke’s face. Ranger crept out from under his bunk. A sensitive and intelligent dog, Ranger would make a good father. Luke hoped that once Dad calmed down he’d consider breeding Ranger with one of Willajean’s dogs.

Willajean. Dread roiled through him. How could he face her? She probably didn’t want him to work for her anymore. His energy fizzled like an untied balloon zigzagging through the air.

Dragging his feet, he carried the full dustpan to the garbage can. He paused before tipping the trash inside. In a jumble at the bottom were the new dog bed and other puppy items that his father had bought him. Unable to take anymore heartache, Luke sank to the ground.

He leaned against the can, his knees pulled up to his chest, his forehead on his knees. He choked back the sobs that threatened to burst from his throat. If only Mom were here. She’d smooth things with Dad and scold his brothers. Mom would rub his back and tell him everything would be fine.

“Relax, sweetie,” she’d say. “You always overthink things. Worrying about it won’t change anything. Actions will. Figure out what you need to do and do it. Easy peasy.”

He shook his head. Even in his imagination, Mom used one of her dumb sayings. She’d constantly embarrassed him with them. Poker straight. Snug as a bug. Cute as a button. Really? Who thought buttons were cute? Old people, he guessed.

The tightness in his chest eased a bit. Luke stood. Fishing all the new puppy supplies from the garbage can, he placed them into another bag and finished cleaning up the Palace.

At the thought of going into the house and facing Dad, Luke’s heart squeezed in panic. Instead, he grabbed the bag and left. He had no destination in mind, but he ended up at the top of Willajean’s driveway just as the sky darkened. Not surprising. The dogs never judged him, never got mad at him, never ignored him. Being with them gave Luke a few hours without guilt and grief – something he lacked at home.

But would he be welcome anymore? He owed Willajean an apology for lying to her. The image of Alayna’s smirking face almost stopped him, but he continued to the kennel. Peeking in to visit the dogs turned out to be a bad idea. They barked as soon as they heard him, and in a matter of minutes, Willajean arrived to check out the noise.

Blunt and straight to the point as always, she said, “I talked to your father.”

“I know.” Luke kicked a pebble on the ground. “I’m very sorry about the papillon. But you can still sell the pup. Right?”

“I meant your father just called looking for you.”

“Really?” Surprised Dad cared enough about him to call, Luke glanced at Willajean. Unless Dad wanted to yell at him or ground him or send him to foster care. Or maybe all three. His head spun. Nothing was easy peasy anymore.

She nodded. “He said you might show up here.”

This is the only place I could go.
Before Mom died, his best friend Ethan had invited him to the pool like he’d done every summer since they were in third grade. But Ethan hadn’t talked to him since April.

Willajean watched him for a moment. “That pup’s still yours. You worked hard for her.”

“I can’t bring her home.”

She considered. “What do you have in the bag?”

“Oh, this.” His face flushed with heat. Willajean probably thought he was running away from home. “Just some dog stuff. I couldn’t...” Luke swallowed the rest. It was his birthday present after all, and he couldn’t bear to see it thrown away.

Willajean sorted through the bag. Then she carried it over to the empty crate next to Lance’s. Without asking Luke, she put the new dog bed, chew toy, and water bowl into the crate. She hung the leash and collar on the wall.

“There.” Willajean stepped back. “Now your puppy has a home. She can stay as long as you need.”

Luke gawked. Why wasn’t Willajean mad? Was this a trick? His emotions flip-flopped between amazement, excitement, and disbelief. “But… I can’t… It’s too much… My dad…”

“You’re still taking care of her – food, walks, clean up, training – the works. Besides, Lance is lonely out here.”