How to Howl at the Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

had no choice but to use them. Starting from scratch was one thing, but roses… roses took time and care and love. A lot of love.
    It started snowing harder , and the window defroster was having a hell of a time keeping up. Like Tim, Bessy had never had to deal with this kind of weather. Maybe the snow wasn’t all that wonderful, not when you were outside in the stuff. Fortunately, he was almost home. He could see the light on the cabin porch now. He misjudged the swing into the driveway and the truck hit a massive pot hole and lurched jarringly downward. Tim hit the gas hard hoping to pull the truck out of the hole and, just as he did, he saw a black dog trotting down his driveway—right toward him. The truck lurched forward, Tim screamed, hit the brakes, and—
    There was a thump on the front side of the car and then a doggy howl of pain.
    Tim threw the truck into park, feeling like he was about to puke. “Oh, God, no. Please, no.”
    He jumped out of the driver’s side and tore around the front of the truck. Lying there, in the muck and snow , was a black dog. It looked like some kind of large collie mix with long, shaggy black hair so thick the melting snow rolled right off it. He—definitely a he—was lying on his right side in the mud, his mouth open and tongue lolling. He waved a feeble paw in the air.
    “Oh, buddy!” Tim got down on his hands and knees, not caring about the snow and mud. He started to reach out for the dog and then realized the dog might bite. And who could blame him if he did? If someone hit Tim with a truck, he’d bite them too.
    “Um…. You okay? Of course you’re not. Are you in pain? Is it your paw?” Tim’s hand hovered in mid-air, afraid to get closer.
    The dog opened his eyes. He had blue eyes—brilliant blue. He gave Tim a pathetic look. He didn’t seem vicious.
    Tim was nearly in tears. He tentatively put his hand on the dog’s head and gave him what he hoped with a soothing pet. “I’m so, so sorry! I tried to stop. Oh, you poor thing! I’ll get help, don’t worry.”
    The dog started to get up, but Tim pushed him back down with a splat. “No! Don’t move. You could make it worse. Just stay there, okay? Please?”
    This was horrible. Tim would never willingly hurt an animal, and he’d hit this one with his truck . True, he hadn’t been going very fast, but the truck had really bounced out of that hole as he floored it. God knows what kind of damage he’d done to the dog.
    He encouraged the dog to stay down as he petted it with one hand while the other fished his cell phone from a pocket.
    Oh, shit. He had no idea where to find a vet in the area. He decided to try 911.
    “Hey, sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me find a vet?” He sounded barely in control, his voice thick. “I just hit a dog with my car. Mad Creek. Um… I’m not sure. He’s conscious. And he’s looking at me. Well, glaring really.”
    The dog was glaring, too. It looked pointedly at the half-frozen mud it was lying in and then shot doggy daggers at Tim. “Hang in there, buddy,” Tim cooed. “I’m getting help.”
    The 911 operator was a dog lover, and she was all helpful and encouraging. “Don’t move him, sweetie. There is a 24-hour animal emergency line for Mad Creek, and I’ll connect you. Good luck! I hope he’ s okay.”
    The 24-hour animal emergency line for Mad Creek said they had an on-call vet and they would send him right out. The woman on the phone asked if he wanted her to alert the police too.
    Before Tim could answer, the black dog gave off a set of annoyed-sounding barks. He struggled to get up again.
    “Shhh, puppy! I don’t know. Do you think I need to? Call the police? I didn’t mean to hit him.” Tim could just picture Sheriff Blowhard staring at him all disgusted because he’d hit a poor, defenseless dog. He’d probably cuff him and strip-search him before calling out the firing squad.
    Strip-searched by Sheriff McHotty. Not really the time