Chapter 56 Budding Author
He returned to the house and checked the puppies. They were still alive. He decided that he would feed them a little bit every hour until they either pulled through or died. He wasn’t sure which would happen at that point. He put the supplies away, then fed the puppies another syringe of the milk. It was old enough that it might not even do them any good, but the urge to keep trying was strong. He braced himself against the possibility that they wouldn’t live, but pressed forward. The sun set, and he continued his vigil into the night. It was somewhere near two in the morning when he saw the first signs that his efforts were working. The puppies began to attempt to nurse on the tip of the syringe, and there were tiny squeaks coming from them. He felt his heart beat a little faster. They just might make it.
He went back to his recliner and settled in to take another short nap, but something was nagging at him. A thought was forming in his head. It was completely out of the ordinary for him, and he at first dismissed it, but it continued to nag at him, and he could get no rest. He finally gave in to the nagging and went to the desk in the corner of the room. He pulled out a legal pad and a pen. At the top of the legal pad, he wrote the words, “Sam and Lucy,” and then a story of the adventures of the two lost puppies began to unfold.
At first, it seemed silly for a man of his level of education and understanding of ancient literature from all over the world to be writing such a simple, youth novel, but the urge to tell this story was strong within him, and it nagged at him whenever he stopped. He spent several long nights nursing the puppies until they began to regain their strength. There were numerous moments when he believed that they wouldn't make it, and he wondered at the foolishness of his efforts, but in the end, they began to pull through, and he was soon dealing with the shenanigans of two very healthy puppies. He spent the entire winter writing about the adventures of Sam and Lucy.
Once he had committed himself to the stories, he bought a computer on his next trip to town. When spring rolled around, two books and two puppies were alive and healthy, and Evan submitted the first manuscripts for a youth series of The Adventures of Sam and Lucy. In late spring, as he contemplated what had transpired the previous summer, Evan decided that writing the stories had brought the two pups to life. It was a rather odd thought, but it was the best explanation that he could come up with for why the urge to write their story had nagged him so strongly during that first week.
His two books had been picked up rather quickly by a publisher, and a request for a regular series had already been made. He was shocked that anyone was actually interested in his stories, though he knew that they were good; it was hard to believe that a publisher actually believed that there was money to be had from them. Hank the Cowdog had done very well among young readers, so maybe his books would work too. He pulled a copy of each out of the case that the publisher had sent him and tossed them on the table. It was still an odd sensation to see his name on the front of a published book. He sat down to thumb through them when he heard the sound of truck tires on the gravel outside. He dropped the first book back on the table and stood, peering through the window to see who was out there, and then headed toward the door. He didn’t recognize the truck as he stepped through the door, but he did recognize the passenger as she hopped out.
“Evan,” she squealed and came running toward him. She froze in her tracks when she saw the two border collie puppies dashing out to meet her. “And who are you?” she cooed, bending to them. They wiggled up to her. Lucy left a puddle behind in her excitement, and Sam immediately rolled over to offer his tummy to her. “You’re so cute. Yes, you are. Yes, you are. Oh my god, you’re both adorable! Where did you get them?”
“I found them last winter,” he said softly, grinning with pride at her immediate love of his two pets. It was good to see her. He wondered if she had come back to stay, but decided that there was no point borrowing trouble by asking. Just let things work out in time.
“It’s good to see you, Evan,” she said as she stood and moved into his arms. The embrace lasted for a long time, and it was good to feel her in his arms. The driver of the pickup got out and started toward them, giving them space.
“Ryan Daniels?” he called out. “Is that you? God, I haven’t seen you in years. What are you doing here?”
“I just thought I’d surprise you,” he replied.
“I damned sure am,” he called out as he reached for Ryan’s hand. For a brief moment, his mind tried to figure out why his old friend was with his ex... actually, she was still his wife.
Ryan saw the question in Evan’s eyes. “I happened across Grace at that little cafe by the bus station. She was looking for a ride, so that she could surprise you, and I was looking to surprise you too.”
“Well, you both pulled it off,” he laughed. “What are you doing back in the country? Just visiting or are you here to stay?” Ryan had been something of a drifter for nearly twenty years since his wife died of cancer. He had worked for Evan’s dad when Evan was a kid. “Get on in the house, I’ll dig something up for lunch.”
“We ate at the cafe before we came out,” Grace replied.
“Then I’ll get a pot of coffee going,” he said. The thrill of seeing Grace brightened his day, but to see the only family friend, Ryan, clean and sober and looking good doubled everything. Ryan had spent some time looking for answers in a bottle, and he had gotten pretty bad, some said. He had heard rumors that he had checked into a rehab center one day, but that was the first time Evan had seen him. The rumors were true, and it made Evan as happy to see Ryan doing well as it did to see Grace again. She was as trim and lovely as ever. She seemed to have a few creases in her face from worry and stress that hadn’t been there before, but she was still well above par where beauty was concerned.