Angels in the Snow Read Online Free Page B

thump against the floor as she situated the filled bowls before him. Then he stood somewhat unsteadily and began to lap, first from the water and then from the stew, which he quickly eliminated, licking the bowl clean as if to say thank you. Picking up the empty bowl, she noticed how he gingerly held his front left leg just slightly off the floor, as if it was hurting him. When he lay down again, she knelt to check it. She couldn’t find any open cuts or wounds but noticed that he seemed to flinch when she touched what appeared to be a swollen joint.
    “Did you hurt your leg, boy?”
    His tail thumped against the floor, and he looked up with trusting eyes.
    “Well, you’ll just have to take it easy for now. Enjoy a warm night by the fire, and tomorrow I’ll phone thestore and see if anyone is missing you.” She’d already noticed the dog wore no collar, but it was possible he’d slipped out of it. And surely old Lucy at the store would know if a dog had gone missing lately.
    Claire set her bowl of stew on the table and sat down to eat, unable to take her eyes off this unexpected visitor. She’d never had a dog of her own. Her mother had always claimed they were too messy, and Scott, although he loved animals, suffered from allergies. And it wasn’t that she’d ever really wanted a dog before, other than that short spell during childhood, somewhere between nine and ten.
    She stoked the fire against the night and then refilled the dog’s bowl with fresh water before she turned off the lights and made her way to bed. As she lay in bed, she remembered how utterly stricken she’d been earlier this same evening, and suddenly she realized how she no longer felt so completely helpless and hopeless. As odd as it was, this stray dog had provided a good distraction for her. Even now, seeing his silhouette by the firelight and hearing his even breathing brought a strange sense of comfort. But he’s only a dog, she told herself, and someone is probably missing him right now.
    Once again, she prayed. Only this time it came more naturally. Oh, it wasn’t easy by any means, but she was at least able to form actual words and partial sentences in her mind, and somehow they made sense to her. She just hoped they made sense to God.

Claire awoke to something nudging her elbow. Startled from her deep and thankfully dreamless sleep, she looked over to see a pair of brown soulful eyes staring back at her. It took her a few seconds to remember last night’s visitor, but it was obvious that the dog was still there, now peering at her in what seemed a fairly urgent manner.
    “Poor thing,” she muttered as she climbed from her bed. “I forgot all about you.” Pulling on her robe, she glanced at the clock. “My goodness, it’s after eight o’clock. I can’t believe I slept that long.” She reached down and patted the dog’s head. “I’ll bet you need to go out now, don’t you?” She went to open the door, noticing once again how the dog painfully limped just to cross the room.
    “There you go, boy.” She waited as he slowly made his way through the threshold. “Now take it easy on thatleg.” She grabbed a few pieces of firewood then watched uneasily from the porch as the dog picked his way through what was now close to a foot of snow. Finally he relieved himself on a nearby tree. The weather seemed to be clearing up some with the promise of sunshine on the western horizon. The dog paused, sniffing the air, and Claire wondered if he might be thinking this break in the storm was a good time to return to his home. But it worried her to imagine him trying to make his way very far through the snow on that lame front leg. She knew he needed to give it a good rest.
    But as if to show his good sense, the dog turned around and slowly limped back onto the porch. His tail wagged when he approached her, but once again he stopped at the door, as if waiting for another invitation to come inside.
    “Come on in, boy. It’s freezing