LIB

Chapter 4

             After supper that night, I didn’t want to stay in the house. I grabbed Tonto’s leash and clipped it to his collar. He immediately went into work mode, even though I hadn’t put his harness on. “I’m going to take Tonto to the park,” I told my uncle and Jared.

            “Okay, have fun,” Liam replied absently.

            “Do you want some company?” Jared asked.

            I shook my head. “Not this time. But thanks for the offer.” I waved and Tonto and I headed out of the house. We walked down the sidewalk, Tonto staying right beside me.

            When we got to the park, I scanned it quickly. There were some kids playing on the playground, with their moms sitting on the benches, watching them. I went past them and headed towards the open fields. I stopped when I saw someone sitting on one of the benches. I had been hoping that I would have the field to myself. Since that wasn’t going to happen, I decided to move to one of them empty benches.

            But something drew me to the person sitting alone. I realized he wasn’t sitting alone when I saw the black Labrador sitting at his feet. It was only another moment before I recognized the guy. “Blake?”

            He didn’t jolt like I thought he would. Instead, he just let out a quiet groan. “What do you want?”

            I sat down at the opposite end of the bench. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

            “I come here for peace and quiet, which obviously isn’t going to happen now that you’re here.”

            I decided to ignore his attitude. “What’s your dogs name?”

            He sighed. “Abby.”

            “She’s nice. This is my yellow Lab, Tonto. Tonto, say hi to Blake.” My dog obligingly stood up and placed his head on Blake’s lap.

            I saw Blake’s lips twitch a little and he laid a hand on Tonto’s head. “How do you put up with such an annoying owner?”

            “You think I’m bad, you should meet my uncle. He’s ten times worse.”

            “I don’t think that’s possible.”

            “Trust me, it is.” I tugged on Tonto’s leash and he came back to my side instantly. I unclipped the leash from his collar and scratched his head. “Tonto, release! Go, have some fun.”

            The dog bounded off to burn some energy and I chuckled at his antics. It took me a moment to realize that Blake was now turned towards me. “What?”

            “You just gave your dog a service animal command.”

            I paled a little. “No I didn’t.”

            “I may be blind, but I’m not stupid. Why the hell do you have a service dog?”

            I refused to answer him. Instead, I just watched as Tonto galloped happily around the field.

            A moment later, Blake sighed and then unhooked his dog. “Abby, release. Go play with the other dog.” Abby immediately bolted away and the two dogs were quickly wrestling and acting like hooligans together.

            “How long have you had her?” I asked.

            “Just under two years. How long have you had Tonto?”