No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

the new week. Two hours later as they went their separate ways, Leo browsed the store for needed groceries before making his way back to his truck. He hated to go any further into town if it could be helped, but today he decided to run a few errands that required the extra drive. Even with the extra stops, he pulled into his garage before sunset.

Leo lived near the top of a steep drive with few other houses along the way. He considered it a deterrent for unwanted guests. Even those who ventured up the incline would miss his home if not for the brick column holding a mailbox. It was positioned near to the drive that disappeared as it dipped over a hill and curved behind evergreens. He loved the seclusion of his log home. The view was breathtaking when he sat on the back balcony watching the clouds move across the town below, only leaving treetops in view. It was the one place he felt at peace, as if no evil could touch him.

So it was no wonder Leo was shocked to find company joining him on his balcony that night after dinner. As with any other evening he retired to his usual chair with a beer and an occasional cigar as the weather permitted. This night while he debated whether to light up or not, a tiny furball bounced up the stairs and toward him. Shocked, he watched her scurry to him and drop to sit by his feet. Her tail flipped back and forth as she stared up at him.

“Where did you come from?” He hesitated before dropping his elbows onto his knees.

The Pomeranian jumped to her hind legs and pawed at his fingers dangling between his legs.

“I can’t imagine where you escaped from, but you need to go back there,” he scolded her.

She wiggled against his hands again before dropping to sit.

After a timely stare-off, the orange furball ran to the stairs and bounced back to the ground and off to where she came from.

Odd, he thought. Never had a stray dog venture anywhere near his home, much less up to the second floor. Leo wasn’t an expert, but that dog was no stray. Someone had taken good care of it and would surely be looking for it. But that wasn’t his problem. He stood and stepped through the door, sliding the glass closed and locking it.

Chapter Two

The next night as Leo stepped through the door, he was greeted with the tiny dog panting and wagging her tail. “Go. I know you have a home. Go to it.” He shooed it away before dropping into his usual seat overlooking the apple tree near where the mountain began to drastically slope.

This occurred two more nights within a week. Each time the Pomeranian scurried to Leo and sat as if studying him, then it would run back out of sight.

On Leo’s usual day to go to the country store, he came home to a scratching sound beyond the dining room table. Expecting to run off a squirrel or some type of critter from his ice chest, he jerked open the blinds only for his focus to drop to the floor. Sitting there as if she was smiling up at him was the same tiny dog from days before. Hesitantly, he slid open the glass and she ran inside.

“Don’t think you’re staying here. I do perfectly fine on my own.”

Her whole body wiggled as he spoke to her.

Noticing her panting, he cocked his head studying her better. “Are you hot? A drink can’t hurt, I guess. Then you can be on your way.”

He walked to the kitchen, searching the cabinets for a small bowl that could be filled with water. Finding one, he filled it and placed it on the floor where he watched her hurry and begin lapping the cool water. When she had her fill, she stepped back and dropped to the floor.

“Oh, no. Don’t get comfortable. You gotta go,” he told her, staring down with his hands resting on his hips.

She rolled to her back and lolled her head back where he could see her eyes.

“Well, now. Don’t you look a pitiful sight. Begging for water first, now a belly rub?”

Leo lost that staring battle when he dropped to his heels and reached for her. Scratching her stomach, the little dog seemed to melt into the floor. She budged not a hair until he stood and spoke. “You good now?”

She rolled and sprang to her feet and ran for the door. He followed, pulling it open and watching her disappear down the stairs.

She didn’t return that night nor the next two, but on the third evening she reappeared. Leo stepped from his room and headed to the couch to switch on the television when he noticed movement through the wide glass door. Sliding it open he stepped across the threshold in time to see the dog back up and sit.

“I think you’re right. Nothing good on TV anyway. Let’s sit for a spell.” He took his seat next to the door stretching out his legs and, in an instant, the tiny thing hopped on his boots and scrambled up his legs onto his lap. “Whoa, girl. That was not an invitation,” he told the dog with his hands raised next to his head. Slowly, he lowered them as she settled in for the stay. At first his hands rested on the chair arms and he stared at the bundle in his lap. After long moments, his hand rested on her back and he began stroking the softness of her long fur.

“You’re more hair than dog.” He chuckled as he relaxed and for the first time in months, if not longer, a genuine smile spread across his face. They sat like this for nearly an hour. The tiny dog draped across Leo’s leg as he mindlessly stroked her back and scratched her ears. When she hopped to the floor and ran for