Page 12 of Love’s Harvest (Lilace Lake #3)

She stood by, watching carefully to see that the girls were careful with him, and he remained content to see them.

“I love him already,” said Mia, patting Luke’s head. He was lying between the girls, allowing them to pet him.

“I love him more,” Emily said, and Sarah realized she’d been smart to go with an older dog rather than having two kittens, as she’d first thought.

“Okay, why don’t you take Luke out to the backyard so he can play,” said Sarah, making sure all three were happily active before starting to fix dinner.

Looking around, seeing that some of her wedding gifts were relegated to giveaways, Sarah let out a sigh of satisfaction.

She felt freer to have them gone. She and Jesse had had some good times in the beginning.

She understood that. But it was time to set even those memories aside if she was going to move forward.

###

After the excitement of playing outside with the dog fizzled, the girls came inside.

“Okay, you girls can help me feed the dog,” said Sarah, “and then it will be time for dinner.”

From the refrigerator, Sarah pulled out the dog food Gage had told her to buy and sprinkled the proper amount of food into a bowl. “Dr. Martens told me Luke might be too excited about being here to eat much. Let’s see.”

Sarah put the dish of food down next to the water dish, and the girls huddled close by.

“Give him some space. Dogs don’t like to be crowded when they’re eating.”

Left alone, Luke dug into his food.

“Good job,” said Emily when the dog had finished.

“All gone,” Mia said, patting him on the head.

“Okay, now it’s time for us to eat. Wash your hands and climb up in your seats,” said Sarah. “We’re having your favorite—spaghetti.”

“Luke, lie down in your bed,” said Sarah, hoping it was a command he understood.

He looked at her and then did as she said.

“Good dog,” cooed Sarah. She served their meal and then sat at the table, unusually hungry after her busy day. Gage had said he was an excellent dog, but having him with them was much easier than she’d thought.

“Can Luke sleep with me?” asked Mia.

“No, he’s going to sleep with me,” Emily said.

“I think he should sleep on the floor between your beds. That’s fair,” said Sarah. “But if he wants to choose somewhere else, we’ll let him. We want him to be comfortable, right? It’s bath time. You have school tomorrow, and we want to be ready.”

“Can Luke come with us?” asked Emily.

“Let’s let him decide what he wants to do and where he wants to be,” said Sarah. The dog hadn’t had much rest since the girls came home.

To the girls’ delight, Luke was curious enough to walk into the bathroom and sit nearby to watch them as they played in the tub.

And later, when Sarah led the girls into their bedroom, he followed them. And after each girl had climbed into her bed, Luke lay down on the rug between their beds and stayed there as Sarah read to the girls and even after Sarah kissed the girls and headed for the door.

She left the door open a crack as usual. If Luke wanted to leave, he could.

As she was cleaning the kitchen and preparing snacks for the girls for the next day, she was surprised by a phone call from Gage.

“Hi, Sarah. I’m just calling to see how my latest placement is going. Is Luke happy there? Getting along with the children?”

“He’s a dream dog,” said Sarah. “Thank you so much. He’s fitting in fine with the family. He ate all his dinner and is now sleeping on the rug between the girls’ beds. We’re thrilled to have him.”

“I’m glad to hear it. As you can imagine, his previous owner was very sad to have to let him go. But I promised her I’d see that he went to a good home. I almost took him myself, but I already have two dogs of my own.”

“I appreciate your letting us have him,” said Sarah. “Are you going to be at Jake’s this week?”

“I’m going to try,” said Gage. “Glad things are working out for you and the dog. See you later. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to call.”

“Thanks,” said Sarah, just as the doorbell rang. She clicked off the call and hurried to the door, hoping not to disturb the girls.

Before she could get there, a streak of yellow raced by her and stood guard at the door.

She patted Luke’s head. “It’s okay. It’s just my friends.”

She opened the door and greeted Misty and Hazel. “Come on in and meet Luke, our new dog.”

Luke stood at Sarah’s side and allowed the other women to pat him, but he didn’t seem to relax until Sarah had hugged each of her friends.

She led them into the kitchen. “How about a cup of hot tea?”

“Sounds delicious,” said Hazel. “Wait a minute. You’ve been redecorating your living room. It looks nice.”

“And I’ve worked on my bedroom. Come see what I’ve done.” She led them away from the girls’ room to the master bedroom.

“Wow!” said Misty. “It looks like a photo for Pottery Barn.”

“Gorgeous,” said Hazel. “So feminine.”

“That was the purpose,” said Sarah. She turned to two of the people she trusted the most. “I’ve had a breakthrough of sorts. Come to the kitchen and I’ll tell you all about it.”

After fixing tea, the women helped themselves to it and then sat at the table.

“Okay, what’s going on? Are you alright?” asked Misty, giving her a steady look.

“Yes, making physical changes is something. But how about you?” Hazel asked.

“You know all about Jesse’s death and the scars it left on me,” Sarah began. “Mostly because of guilt. Last night, after Aaron walked me home, I realized I had to make some changes. Do things my way and for myself and my girls.” She patted Luke on the head.

“The dog?” said Misty.

“I’ve always wanted a dog, but Jesse wouldn’t let me have one. He said it took too much work.” She rubbed Luke’s ears. “Gage helped choose this dog for me. The girls love him, and I feel safe having him around. His previous owner took him to work. I’m going to try that too.”

“And the decorating?” asked Hazel.

“I’m giving away some of the wedding gifts we were given, gotten rid of things that remind me of Jesse. Cleaned house of him, so to speak. The pleasant memories will always be part of me, but the others were weighing me down.”

“Does this have anything to do with Aaron?” Misty asked, giving her a searching look.

Sarah felt heat rise to her cheeks. “I’m working on making positive changes in my life. Healing wounds. We were together in high school. Things are a lot different now, but I’d like to start over with him. It’ll take baby steps, but I’m willing to try. And he’s being patient.”

“He adores you,” said Misty. “He always has.”

“He’s different from any man I’ve ever known, quite spiritual. There’s something that binds us together. I want to try to move forward.”

Misty got out of her chair and hugged her. “I’m proud of you, Sarah. You’ve taken some major steps in that direction.”

“Yes, girl, we’re here for you,” said Hazel. “It would be a shame not to see where this could take you.”

Sarah remembered Aaron’s sweet words about harvesting their love and agreed.