Stay(59)

“We won’t get food until we’re done,” Jackson said dryly. “Nate won’t let us eat until this is finished.”

I suddenly felt very hungry. I looked at Jackson, and he gave me that pitying stare and frowned. With a heavy sigh I stood. Jackson’s knees cracked when he brought himself to his feet. We turned and walked together back to the house.

And the dog followed.

“Hey pretty lady,” I cooed with a smile. “Are you gonna help us dig up the bushes? You can probably dig better than I can.” I picked up the shovel and started stabbing at the ground. The dog pawed at my leg. I set the shovel down and turned. “You just want attention, huh?” I stepped over a row of dead hostas and sat on the cold, damp cobblestone. The dog left muddy paw prints on my pants as she climbed into my lap.

“You’re a little big to be a lap dog,” I laughed and hugged her. Jackson leaned on his shovel and watched. A tiny smile was present on his face. “You need a name, baby,” I told the dog. She turned around for a back scratch. “How about Rosie? You look like a Rosie to me?” She whipped around and licked my face. Laughing, I pushed her away.

“Rosie wandered up to the right person,” Jackson said. I looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back, causing some of the sadness to disappear from his bruised face. I turned my attention back to Rosie, baby talking to her. Out of corner of my eye, I saw Jackson start digging again.

“I’ll help you in a minute,” I promised.#p#分页标题#e#

“Don’t worry about it,” he said and chipped a chunk of frozen dirt up. “Play with Rosie while you can.” He turned to the side and gave me another smile. I nodded and leaned forward, picking up a stick. I wiggled it in the air, watching Rosie’s reaction before I threw it. She chased after it, caught it, chewed it, but didn’t bring it back.

“Silly girl,” I said when she trotted to me. I petted her again and jogged away to get the stick. I played with her for a few more minutes before going back to the bushes to help Jackson. Giving up on the tiny hole I had started, I moved next to Jackson and helped him work on the same bush.

Rosie stayed by our sides, rolling in the mud and chewing on her stick while we worked. The sun was beginning to sink by the time we got the first bush close to coming out of the ground. Jackson pulled it while I chopped the bottom with my shovel until the roots snapped and broke off.

“Well, it’s not really out,” he said and looked at the tangled mess of roots that remained. “The ground shouldn’t be frozen that far down,” he told me. “So it won’t be as hard. I’ll start the next one, and you can get the roots out.”

“Okay,” I said and leaned over to give Rosie another pet. We worked in silence, both of us taking breaks to play with and pet Rosie. The temperature continued to drop as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. I was digging up the roots on bush number two when the front door opened.

Nate stepped onto the porch. He opened his mouth to bark an order at us but stopped when he saw Rosie.

“Where the hell did that thing come from?” he asked, his nostrils flaring with disgust.

“She just wandered here,” Jackson stated his voice breathy from the constant digging.

“Make it go away.”

Jackson threw his arms at Rosie. “Shoo,” he said. Rosie stood and wagged her tail. Nate narrowed his eyes. Rosie dropped down on her front legs, her butt in the air, and yipped at Jackson, wanting to play. “Shhh,” Jackson said, his eyes wide. “Rosie, be quiet!” he whispered. She barked again and ran through the dead flower garden.

“I don’t want that thing hanging around,” Nate stated. He stepped off the porch, reached inside his jacket, and pulled out a shiny metal handgun.

“No!” I shouted right away. “Don’t shoot her!”

Nate leaned back and laughed. “I wasn’t going to,” he said and held the gun in the air, showing me that he was just going to shoot straight up to scare her away. “But now I have a better idea. Jackson,” he said and pressed something on the gun. The clip slid out and he started removing bullets until just one remained. “Shoot the dog.”

“What?” I blurted, my heart dropping into a bucket of ice. “No. She's innocent. Sh-she didn’t do anything!”

“She’ll leave on her own. Stray dogs don’t stay in one place,” he tried. His chest rose and fell rapidly. “She won’t stay.”

“That’s beside the point,” Nate said smugly. He walked down the cobblestone path. Rosie ran over, excited to greet a new person. He kicked her.