I Want to Hold Your Hand Read Online Free Page A

always did, but couldn’t muster the strength. Tears filled her eyes. “No, Homie. Not yet. Please not yet.” She lay down on the floor next to him, petting him as she wept.
    Hannah knew she should get up and call Myles Johansen, the local vet. He’d been making house calls to check on Homer for quite some time now and had told her to call any time she needed him. Somehow she knew if she got up, if she made the call, that this time would be different.
    “Oh, Homie, I’m sorry I left you today. I know you haven’t been feeling good for a long time, but you’ve stuck around because you don’t want to leave me alone. I promise I’ll be okay. Before I call anyone though . . . While it’s just you and me . . . When you see Dad, make sure you tell him I love him, and I miss him, okay? You’ll take good care of him, won’t you? He’ll be so happy to see you.”
    One more minute, she told herself, sobbing as she clung to Homer. One more minute and then she’d get up to call Myles.
    “Hannah?” Nolan’s voice echoed through the first floor. “Are you home?”
    How long had she been lying there with Homer? She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, trying to fix the unfixable. “Back here.”
    “You didn’t answer the door, so I hope it’s okay I came in—” Nolan halted in the doorway to the kitchen when he saw her on the floor with Homer. “Oh God, Hannah, what is it? What’s wrong?”
    She shifted slightly to the right so he could see Homer stretched out on the floor, his breathing shallow and labored.
    “Oh no. What can I do?”
    “Would you mind calling Myles for me?”
    “Of course. Anyone else?”
    “Hunter. He’ll tell my parents. And the Guthries. They should be here.”
    “Yes, yes, I’ll call them. You stay with Homer.”
    Hannah breathed a sigh of relief at knowing she didn’t have to be the one to make the calls, to say the words . . . “It’s okay, buddy,” she whispered to Homer. “Everything is okay. You can go if you’re ready. I understand that you’re tired and you’ve had to live a long time without your best friend. That’s been so hard on you, but you took good care of me. Dad would’ve been so proud of you for taking such good care of me.”
    She tried to quiet her sobs so as not to upset Homer. This wasn’t about her. It was about him, and she wanted to give him everything he needed.
    Nolan returned to the kitchen and squatted next to Hannah. “Myles is on his way, and I left a message for Hunter. I also called your mom when I couldn’t reach Hunter. Hope that’s okay.”
    Hannah nodded, grateful to him for taking charge.
    “What can I do for you?” he asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. His voice, she noticed, was thick with emotion. He’d loved Caleb, too, and that mattered right now.
    “This helps. Thank you.” Hannah leaned into him, resting her head on his chest as she continued to stroke Homer’s silky ears and coat. The dog’s eyes were closed now, his breathing even more shallow, if that was possible.
    Nolan sat next to her, keeping his arm around her as she leaned against him, grateful for his presence and his strength.

CHAPTER 3

I did it. I finally punched Caleb Guthrie right in the face. He was shocked, and he stared at me with blood rushing from his nose. The school called my mom to come get me, and I had to stay in my room all night. It was soooooo worth it.
—From the diary of Hannah Abbott, age thirteen
    M yles arrived a short time later and let himself in through the front door. Nolan must’ve told him where to find them, because he appeared in the kitchen and kneeled on the floor next to Homer. “How long has he been like this?”
    “I don’t know.” Hannah wiped new tears that formed when she heard the tension in Myles’s tone. “He was fine this morning—or as fine as he ever is these days. Walking around and eating and everything. I came home after a few hours out and found him here.”
    Myles, who was blond and blue-eyed