Alive: The Ghost of Cambria - Book One

Chapter Seventeen

Kristen felt like an idiot as she watched the contractor take off into the trees. She had let Penelope off her leash with an unfounded presumption that the dog would remain nearby.

As she waited, Kristen realized that neither one of them would be returning quickly. Son of a bitch, she thought herself. Feeling particularly useless, Kristen returned to her car and retrieved the paperwork and bag of food the rescue kennel had sent her home with.

She examined the paperwork, attempting to remember the work she would need to complete when she got home. Holding up the small bag of food, she scanned the instructions, which said she could add warm water to give her dog a special treat.

Kristen had never had a dog. Rather, her father had bought her a puppy when she was nine years old. But it lasted less than a month after she'd failed to uphold a laundry list of promises to care for the little guy. After every surface had been urinated on within three weeks, and Kristen's mother had stepped in droppings not once, but two times, the adorable Golden Retriever had simply vanished one day. She'd never gotten a satisfactory answer for where the puppy had gone, but a new rule had been established in its name that ensured Kristen would never be allowed to have one again.

In the years that followed, Kristen found herself in place after place where pets were prohibited; first in college, then in apartments she shared with roommates, and then boyfriends who were against the idea of committing to a surrogate child. By the time she was living on her own, the thought of one rarely crossed Kirsten's mind.

From a distance, she heard the sounds of their feet trotting through the refuse of the forest floor. When Tony and Penelope emerged back into the rear yard, the animal was again excited to see Kristen, as if it has been forever that they were apart.

"Oh my god, Tony, thank you," she said with relief.

"She's thirsty," he said. "Where's her bowl?"

Kristen blinked but didn't respond at once. She turned to the house as if her mind were searching for one in a kitchen that was no longer there.

Tony offered a look of confusion at her silence.

"They gave me coupons for Petco, but I haven't gone yet."

"Why not?" he asked her incredulously.

"I thought I would go tomorrow. They gave me some food, so there's no rush."

"That's a sample," said Tony, frustration colored his voice. "That's good for one meal. What's she gonna eat in the morning?"

When Kristen's answer didn't come quickly again, Tony exhaled sharply.

"Hold her," he said, handing the leash to Kristen. "Don't let go of that."

Tony stomped away, barely masking the expletive that left his voice as he went around the corner to the side driveway. She couldn't be sure, but it sounded like he said, "...fucking kidding me."

What the hell was that? Kristen was flabbergasted by the man's attitude.

After some time, Tony returned to the yard with two small plastic buckets, which he turned the garden hose upon to clean. They appeared to be used plaster buckets. He shook one of them dry and filled the other three-quarters of the way with fresh water.

Penelope pulled on her leash in a determined bid to go to him, but Kristen held tight, as ordered to.

"I found her three homes down drinking from your neighbors' pool," said Tony as he placed the bucket of water near the deck railing, gesturing with his hand at Kristen to walk Penelope over to him.