The sound of laughter and high-pitched yips drew Katie outside. She walked around the house to find herself surrounded by three tumbling, tail-wagging German shepherd puppies. She bent and patted them on their heads and received wiggling whines of pleasure in return.

“Look, Mom! Puppies,” her son called when he saw her.

“More like a herd.”

She came to stop on the edge of the lawn and watched as the puppies raced from her to Shane. Her son lay on the grass, wrestling with them, his face wet from puppy kisses. The dogs were still relatively small, with soft coats that were more fuzz than fur. Their huge feet and large ears gave her an idea of their potential size-definitely not lapdogs.

“What do you think?” Hattie asked from her seat on the front porch steps. “They were dropped off an hour ago. I have to decide what to do with them.”

Jack’s mother was more mobile these days, using a cane to get around. She’d dressed in a bright pink sweat suit and had pulled her long hair back, tying it with a matching ribbon.

“What’s all this?” a familiar male voice asked. “Puppies? Not again.”

Katie turned and saw Jack approaching from the barn. Instantly her body went on alert and her lips curved into a smile. Pleasure filled her at the sight of him. Tall, strong and so very easy to lean on, she thought, remembering how he’d held her the night she’d returned from Los Angeles. That wasn’t all he’d done, she thought with a shiver of pleasure, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on those particular memories.

“I completely forgot about them,” Hattie said. “What with the accident and all. I’m in no position to take care of them. I guess I’ll have to call to have them taken back.”

Shane sat up, the largest puppy clutched to his chest. He giggled as a pink tongue came out and licked is chin. “Don’t you want them anymore?” he asked, clearly confused by Hattie’s willingness to return such bounty. His tone indicated it wasn’t possible for anyone to reject puppies!

“They’re not mine,” Hattie explained. “Every year I take in two or three puppies. I raise them here on the ranch and teach them how to behave. When they’re old enough, they go on to learn how to be guide dogs. Do you know what those are?”

Shane screwed up his face. “You mean like those dogs that help blind people?”

“Exactly. I teach the puppies to obey simple commands. I have to make sure they get exposed to different kinds of people and animals so they won’t be easily startled. I have to love them and then be willing to let them go when they’re ready for the rest of their training.” She tapped her cane. “Unfortunately I’m not in a position to do that now.”

Shane turned his big blue eyes on his mother. “I could help,” he said cautiously, testing the waters. “I mean I don’t know anything about puppies and guide dogs, but I could learn. If I did all the work, couldn’t they stay?”

Katie winced. She knew exactly where this conversation was heading and she didn’t know what to do about it. Three puppies would soon grow into three large dogs. Her house would be ready in about a month, which meant either Shane left the dogs here, or they took them with them. Was she prepared to take on that much responsibility?

“Shane, I know you’d do a good job,” she said gently. “But I doubt you’d be able to give them up in a year. You’d love them too much.”

“I could let them go.” He looked at Hattie. “Do they all become guide dogs? Every one of them?”

Hattie glanced at Katie, seeking guidance. Katie didn’t know what to tell her. She shrugged.

“Not all of them,” Hattie said cautiously. “Sometimes they can’t complete their training. Those dogs become pets.”

“So maybe we could keep one,” Shane said eagerly. “I mean if they didn’t pass their tests. Or we could take a different dog who wasn’t going to be a guide dog. That would be okay, wouldn’t it, Mom? You said I could have a pet when we got our house.”

Jack walked over to stand next to her. “Are you being trapped by your own promise?”

She gave a soft laugh. “Sort of. I’d foolishly pictured a small cat or a bird. Not three growing puppies.”

Shane jumped to his feet and raced to his mother. The puppies ran after him, tumbling over their too-big feet and barking gleefully at the game.

“I can do it,” Shane promised, pressing his hands together and staring at her intently. “I’ll feed them and clean up after them. Hattie can teach me how to train them while we’re still here, right?”

Hattie shook her head. “Keep me out of this, young man.”

“But you know she would,” Shane said, and bit his lower lip. “I’ll take real good care of them. You’ll see. And if I prove myself, then I can get a real dog to keep for always. Wouldn’t that be good? I’d be practicing taking care of my dog. I’d learn responsibility.”

“Give me a minute,” Katie told him. Shane opened his mouth to say more, then nodded and ran onto the lawn. The herd followed, and soon they were a tangled frenzy of fur and laughter.

Shane was saying what every child promised to get the pet he wanted, Katie told herself. The difference was she couldn’t remember when he’d ever asked for anything before. He wasn’t the kind of child who begged for every toy or game. For many years, money had been tight, and he’d responded by keeping his Christmas and birthday lists modest.

Jack leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Despite Mom’s reticence on the subject, I know she’ll help him out. She’s been raising puppies like these for years. It’s not hard. She just doesn’t want to make things more difficult for you.”

“I figured that,” Katie said. “But thanks for telling me.” She hesitated. “You won’t mind having them around until our house is ready?”

“This is a working ranch,” he reminded her. “Puppies aren’t going to make much of an impact.”

She walked over to her son and crouched next to him. One of the puppies, a pretty-faced female, plopped next to her, rolled on her back and gave an engaging doggie smile, inviting her to rub her tummy. Katie obliged. The puppy wiggled in ecstasy.

Shane looked at her but didn’t say anything.

Katie sighed. “You have to really understand that the puppies are going away in a year. We can plan on getting a different dog then, but it’s very possible that all these puppies will do well in their lessons and become guide dogs. You can’t change your mind once you take this on.”

“I know.” He pushed up his glasses. “I’ll be sad when they leave, but I’ll know they’re going to help someone. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Right.” She bent over and kissed the top of his head. She was probably making a huge mistake, but she couldn’t help herself. “Yes, you can keep the puppies.”

Shane yelled in delight and flung his arms around her neck. “You’re the best, Mom.”

“Yes, I know. Just you remember that the next time I ask you to clean your room.”

“I will, I swear.”

She wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back. The puppies crowded around them. From the corner of her eye she saw Jack walking to the barn. She wished she had an excuse to call him over to join them. But then she wished a lot of things, and so far none of them had come true.

“Tell me about Dad,” Jack said a few nights later as he finished clearing the kitchen table. Katie had gone upstairs with Shane to help him with some difficult English homework, so Jack and Hattie were alone.

“What an interesting question,” his mother said. She put down her cup of coffee and looked at him. “You knew Russell. I don’t have any special information to give you.” She paused and motioned for him to take the chair next to her.

Jack settled into the seat. “Don’t you ever wonder?” he asked. “Is he still alive? Does he ever think about us? Didn’t you ever want to get a divorce?”

Hattie sighed. “I don’t know where he is, if that’s what you’re asking. I haven’t had any secret communication from him. As for wondering, I do from time to time.” She gave him a brief smile. “I’m not a complete fool. I spoke to a lawyer years ago. I can divorce Russell for desertion, if I want. I can even petition to have him declared dead. So far I don’t see the point.”

“But don’t you want to know?” Jack shifted in his chair. “Most of the time I don’t want to know anything, but sometimes I think I’ll go crazy if I can’t figure out what happened. I hired a couple of different detectives. One as soon as I turned eighteen and the other about three years ago. The trail goes cold in New Orleans. It’s as if he just disappeared.”

“Abducted by aliens?” Hattie teased.

He didn’t smile. “Doesn’t it hurt you, Mom? He left all of us. He just up and walked away.”

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Yes, it hurt me at the time. I loved your father. I knew there were problems in the marriage but I assumed every relationship had rough spots.” She looked at him. “Despite the pain, I’ve made peace with Russell. You have to, as well.”

“I don’t want to. He’s a bastard. It’s not enough that he left. He came back for one night, got you pregnant and walked out again. I hate him for that.”

Hattie busied herself with her coffee. She picked up the spoon and stirred in more sugar. “I guess you’re old enough to know the truth,” she said quietly. “Your father never came back for a night. Wyatt isn’t his son.”

Jack opened his mouth, then closed it. His mind froze. “But how did…Isn’t…”

Wyatt-his youngest brother. Hattie had always said that her husband returned for a single night and Wyatt was the result. “I don’t understand.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I find that difficult to believe. Russell had left me. I was alone and scared and one day I forgot I was a wife and a mother of six children. For one day I was just a woman. I never planned on getting pregnant, but once I had Wyatt, I couldn’t be sorry.”