Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📕

deadbeat dad who doesn’t want anything to do with poor Max anymore.”

“Kara, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the time for a dog in my life.”

Her blue eyes clouded over the same way they would as a little girl when sadness would overtake her. “But, Mom, he’s a really good boy. I promise I’ll come home as much as I can on the weekends. I’ll take him to the vet and to be groomed when he needs it, and Dad said he’d help out too.”

“Excuse me? Your father knew about this?”

Kara looked down at her phone. “Oh, Dad’s here now!” She waved her phone in front of my face to show me the text before bolting to the front door. Max lay down on my feet and stared up at me with the most pathetic gaze I had ever seen, as if he knew his fate was on the line. Kara and Jack walked into the kitchen with their arms looped together. I was certain she had warned him that she spilled the beans about his knowledge of the friend she was bringing this weekend.

“Wow, he’s gorgeous!” Jack crouched down to Max’s level and Max excitedly got up to greet him. As much as I hated to admit it, he was keeping my feet nice and warm.

“Aw, he likes you, Dad!” Kara beamed.

“That’s great news. Then maybe he’s found his new home,” I added, shaking my head at Jack in a scolding manner.

“He knows some commands in German too. He was bred and born there, and they shipped him here, and somehow he ended up in a shelter.” Kara carried on, playing up the dog’s qualifications like he was on a job interview.

“Wow, that’s pretty impressive. He’s show quality,” Jack chimed in. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was playing the same game as Kara.

“With all these great features he has, I’m sure he’ll have no problem finding a good, loving home,” I added.

“Dad, tell her she needs a companion to keep her company,” Kara pleaded.

“What? I do not need a companion, Kara…especially not a four-legged one!” I snapped.

“But, Mom—”

“I don’t want to talk about this now.” I picked up my phone and strolled into the living room to order the pizza.

_______________

We sat around the kitchen table eating our pizza while Max hung out underneath, trying his luck at getting some by resting his head on each of our laps, staring up at us with doe-like eyes. He found Kara to be his biggest ally when it came to begging for scraps. She always had a weird habit of removing almost all of the cheese from her pizza before eating it. Lucky thing for Max, who was all too happy to take it off her hands.

It amazed me how much the tension lifted between Jack and me when Kara was around. We’d talk about old times, laugh together, and even joke around, the complete opposite of how we were when she wasn’t here. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss times like these. Despite everything that had happened between Jack and me, he was a great father, and it saddened me that Kara was forced to only experience that on a part-time basis for part of her life instead of having him here living with us.

I gazed at the man sitting across from me, remembering him when he was Kara’s age. It felt like only yesterday, not a lifetime ago. We were best friends at one time, so when we divorced I not only lost a husband, but I also lost someone I had always confided my deepest secrets to.

Kara resembled her father in so many ways: blond hair, light eyes. It didn’t seem fair that I was the one who carried her around for nine months and gave birth to her, yet she bore no resemblance to me other than the cleft in her chin, which again could have been passed down from her father, who also had a cleft chin. My dark hair and dark eyes were a far cry from my daughter’s physical features, but she had the same strong will and independence I possessed, and to me that was more important.

“Oh my God! Mackenzie and Zoe are in the driveway. They want me to go to Murphy’s with them.” Kara looked down at her phone, then flashed Jack and me an apologetic grin. “I’ll just tell them to go without me.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re home for a whole week. We have plenty of time to spend together. This is your first chance to go out with your friends from home in months.” As much as I was looking forward to getting into our pajamas early and having a girls’ night in front of the television, I knew what it was once like to be twenty-one.

“Dad, I’ll be over on Sunday?”

“It’s a date.” He smiled. “Just be careful, and no drinking and driving.”

“I know, Dad.” She rolled her eyes and leaned down to give him a kiss. “Oh, Mom, does this mean you’ll babysit Max while I’m gone?”

Shit. The dog. How could I have forgotten about him as he sat under the kitchen table, licking his private parts? How could I say no when I had encouraged her to go and she was halfway out the door already? “Fine!” I huffed.

She zipped back over to where I was sitting and kissed my cheek. “You’re the best, Mom! You be a good boy for Grandma, Max!”

Grandma? Was she serious? “Kara, you better leave now before I change my mind.”

She let out a laugh, then headed out of the kitchen. “Love you guys!” she shouted, closing the front door behind her, leaving me all alone with Jack…and the dog.

Chapter 6

“WELL, I GUESS we learned that dear old Max here is lactose intolerant!” I said, as I put the mop away after cleaning up the multiple accidents Max had all over the kitchen floor. In his defense, he did try to make it outside in