Skidboot 'The Smartest Dog In The World' Read Online Free

schools and popcorn days, but David would rather have blue pigs than falling snow. The lights were off, the heat was off, and they were in for a session of maximum mobile home discomfort. He was sure he'd paid the bill. But maybe it was the lag time that now put them in the dark. Lag time always got you.
    Barbara flashed the battery light, its beam like a warm pool of welcome.
    "Russell, this is the right dog. Let's not bungle it with the wrong name." They nodded, grinned, but failed to see the dog grin back.

CHAPTER SIX
    Barbara's Surprise
    Barbara was not happy. She'd fallen out with her boss, Earl, again, a conflicted man who circled her like prey, ready to pounce for the tiniest error. She couldn't help herself, but when people came into the courthouse needing information, she gladly gave it. But what had it gotten her?
    The trailer door shook as the men blew in, stamping ice, shivering, scraping boots and battling it closed against the wind. The trailer shuddered like an old Frigidaire. Barbara noticed right away that David seemed hurt, bent over himself in a weird way. She imagined a horse kick, him being laid up, no work...
    "What happened?"
    "Horse kicked me, shoulder out." David sidled into the trailer, nearly knocking over the floor lamp. In the dark, the EZ boy rocker lunged at him, and he tripped backwards. Ouch! The battery lamp swiveled his way, and, sure enough, Barbara saw he was hurt, heard him making a strange sound, like whimpering. He straightened up, opening his jacket to expose the damage but she saw only a tiny face, staring at her. What was it, a bat? It had pointed ears, a black face, and piercing eyes.
    "Merry Christmas, hon." David swept his coat open and the puppy huffed at her, an explosion of sound. Nose first, it wriggled along David's arm to inspect her, as Barbara stared back, surprised. They held eye contact until the puppy let out an approving yip.
    "Oh look at that!" In a second, the puppy was in her arms, squirming, nestling its butt into the crook of her elbow, licking her upside one arm and down the other. It knew instantly that this woman offered safe haven, much like a mother Heeler. Warm and nurturing, she would be his place of refuge, of food, of defense. For a dog just born, this one had already learned a lot. He sighed, finally .
    Christmas found David, Russell and Barbara huddled together, a cluster of Hartwigs mulling over the newest addition to their home, the Heeler named…
    "What…?" Barbara scrolled through the possibilities. They laughed at the Hollywood dogs, Axelrod the Basset Hound, Cheeka the Pug, Gidget the Chihuahua, Honey Tree Evil Eye, even Lassie, Buck, Cosmo, or Higgins. Then David and Russell added their cowboy litany, but she didn't hear anything she liked. It sounded like a rodeo roster.
    "Let him play," she instructed, and the puppy slid to the floor, claws splayed for balance, wobbling off but soon gaining traction. Barbara thought, warm milk, and the puppy waddled after her toward the kitchen, throwing a triumphant glance back at David.
    "Oh, he's following me!"
    Then the dog veered off, attention caught by a woven straw basket in the corner. It pulled itself up over the edge of the basket and studied David's loose collection of old rodeo gear. This was the Basket of Failed Dreams, where the paraphernalia of calf roping gathered dust, where occasionally he'd dig through and sort out something useful, like one of his many pairs of skid boots, or leather shin protectors. A rodeo horse without skid boots was like, well, a ballerina without slippers, and he had a skid boot for every occasion. The basket reminded him of his early passion for the calf ropin' heroes, like Toots Mansfield, seven time world champion calf roper, who won more buckles, saddles, trophies, awards and honors than any other tie-down calf roper in history, a legend in the Frontier Times Museum's Texas Heroes Hall of Honor. Toots could levitate a calf with his huge hands and lay it down