Chapter 4

I tugged on my father’s shirttail once more, annoyed that he kept talking on the phone and didn’t acknowledge my presence. “Can we go to the dog park now? Please?”

“Just a minute,” he whispered, then turned back to the phone. “I’m telling you, Brent, the DOW behaved exactly as I predicted.”

I stood straight and gave his shirt a strong, final yank. “Daddy. You said we could go to the dog park today.”

He gritted his teeth and turned away, pulling the cloth from my hands. “Sorry, my youngest. My wife’s visiting her parents. Hang on a sec.” Then he stabbed the phone’s keypad with his finger before glaring at me. “Jillie, I know I promised, but I’m on an important call. Can you find something else to do for a bit?”

Clearly he didn’t understand the importance of the situation. “But you said?—”

“The dog park. Yes, I know. Go get old Jack hooked up on the leash and take him on a little walk until I’m ready, okay?”

I bounded away, the dog following on my heels. Jack was no fool. He knew what the words “little walk” meant.

A moment later, I had a very happy Jack on the leash and my shoes on my feet. “Daddy, we’ll meet you out front!” I called proudly.

“ . . . make sure you keep all your records, just in case,” he was saying.

“Come on, boy,” I told our golden retriever, and opened the door. I wasn’t supposed to be outside alone. The fact that Dad considered me old enough to do this, especially while holding Jack on his leash, made me walk tall and proud. Any other time of year, there’d be other neighborhood kids outside as well, but we didn’t spend much time outside during the summer unless the activity involved water. Way too hot.

Indeed, the baking Arizona heat immediately doused me in a layer of sweat. Jack hesitated in the doorway. Dad would be annoyed if we let all the cold air out, so I dragged Jack outside and closed the door.

I took Jack to the mailbox—no mail—and up and down the street a few times before venturing onto neighboring streets. Each time we rounded back, Dad was nowhere to be seen. On the fifth loop around, Jack whimpered and hurried to stand under the awning of a detached garage in a narrow strip of shade. He yanked me on the leash, and I scolded him for it just like I’d heard Dad do many times before. Then I noticed the patch of red under Jack’s feet.

“Let me see, boy,” I told him, crouching down. He didn’t want me to touch his foot, but after a few tries, I finally lifted enough to peer underneath. The black pad of his foot was raw and bleeding.

I gasped and checked his other feet. They weren’t quite as bad, but still not quite right.

Dad would know what to do. I just had to get Jack home.

Summoning my super strength, I put my hands under Jack’s tummy and lifted. Even while grunting, I wasn’t able to lift him more than a finger’s width above the ground. He just looked at me, as if confused.

Two more times, and I had to accept the truth. The dog weighed almost as much as I did.

“Come on, boy,” I said, panting from the effort. “You’re gonna have to run with me.” I stood and yanked on the leash, but he didn’t move. “Let’s go.”

Jack whimpered again.

“I said, let’s go!” I shouted, just as Dad always did. “You have to obey me. You’re a dog and I’m a person.”

Jack simply cocked his head, remaining firmly in the shade.

I’d have to bring Dad back for him. For a second, I hesitated. Dad had thought me old enough to walk the dog on my own. Running back for help felt like admitting defeat. I hated defeat. Yet I didn’t have much of a choice. We were several blocks away from my house now, and I couldn’t exactly ask a stranger to drive us home.

I couldn’t find anything to tie his leash onto, so I left it on the ground and told him to stay before taking off at a run.

By the time I reached my house, the world tilted and spun at a strange angle. All I wanted was to sit and drink a huge glass of ice water. I didn’t even like ice because it tapped against my teeth, but it sounded good right now. I let myself into the front door. “Dad! Jack’s hurt.”

No answer.

“Daddy?” I bypassed the kitchen and wandered through each room. The house was completely silent.

I searched the entire house again, a sense of panic swelling inside. My parents never left me alone. They wouldn’t do that, not even Dad. “Anyone home?”

Only silence greeted me.

“This isn’t funny!” I shouted, angry tears filing my eyes now. The sky outside burned a fiery orange. It would be dark soon, and then the scary shadows would come out.

Alone. The car. If Dad’s car was here, it meant he was too. I hurried back downstairs and checked the driveway. No car. Was he looking for me?

I hurried out the door, forgetting to close it in my haste. A quick sprint up and down the street yielded no familiar cars and no familiar faces, not even the neighbors.

I hurried around the corner and down the road, the panic coming a frantic hum now. I returned to the detached garage and its shade, panting, but Jack was nowhere in sight. Only a few blotches of red remained on the concrete where I’d left him.

“Jack!” I shouted. He normally came running when I shouted for him. This time, I heard no jingling of his collar, saw no furry speed demon threatening to barrel me over or tongue flying out the side of his mouth. Nothing but an empty street.

Dad wasn’t looking for me. He’d forgotten about me completely.

Later that night, Mom came home to find me sitting alone in the kitchen, every single light in the house flipped on. I cried to see her and she cried with me, but her tears were angrier than mine. She drove me around the neighborhood and we shouted for Jack over and over. She called the animal shelter and left a message since it was after hours, and she heated up an entire frozen pizza for me to eat all by myself. Mom kept saying we would find Jack, but I saw worry in her eyes. Jack knew his way home. Why wasn’t he already here?

Later that night, before I went to bed, Dad came in. “I’m sorry, baby princess. I completely forgot that you were waiting for me and had to run into work. I thought you went to Jenna’s.”

I couldn’t look at him. “Jenna is in California.”

He pulled me in for a hug, but I didn’t return it. “No sign of Jack?”

I shook my head, slumping against my pillow. Was I so easy to forget? Maybe I needed to be less forgettable so he would remember I existed.

He sighed and sat on the side of the bed, making it sag. I had to adjust my seat to keep from sliding off. “Listen, Dads sometimes make mistakes. Today I made a big one.”

If he wanted me to say something, I wasn’t sure what it was. I simply listened, still unable to look him in the eye. The thought of being alone for so long, even in our own house with all the lights on, made me tremble inside. I had hated every second of it.

“I want you to know that I will never accidentally leave you behind again. You’re my baby princess and you always will be. Okay?”

I sniffed. “Promise?”

“Promise.” He gave me another hug.

I returned it this time, although I didn’t blame Dad. Not really. Inside, I blamed myself. If I meant more to him, none of this would have happened.

At that moment, I made myself a promise as well. I’d live so I could never be forgotten again.

“Don’t worry,” Dad said as he rose and headed for the door. “Jack will find his way home. That dog loves you too much to stay away for long.”