dogs. He snapped his fingers one time. The sound was soft from where she was sitting, but it was distinct. Most of the dogs stopped playing, or sniffing the ground. Those lying down stood. Then he held his hand in front of his body and the dogs sat. All but three, that is. Those dogs stopped what they were doing but stood confused, or perhaps defiant.
Katie expected Kyle to snap his fingers again, but instead he walked over to the three dogs standing and corrected them individually until they were sitting like the others. He walked back to the front of the dogs, made another motion with his hands, and walked back the same way he had come. The dogs followed, some of them walking behind him, some to the side, and even a couple in front. The white of the underside of their tails danced in the sunlight as they left.
She jotted down a few more notes and then folded the notebook closed, sliding the pencil down the wired binding before she followed behind them.
The walk back was peaceful as Katie followed Kyle and the dogs. They travelled a small path formed by tall pines on the right side – pinus palustris, if Katie remembered correctly – and scattered oaks on the left. The path opened up into a field three times as large as the one they’d been in. Some of the dogs looked back at her occasionally, but for the most part they didn’t veer from the pack. By the time she reached the barn, Kyle had already put each dog back in its respective pen. Katie started to walk towards him. She had so many questions still, but Doc interrupted her.
"And how is your day going so far, Miss Price?" Doc asked. He was sitting in the same rocking chair she had found him in yesterday.
"It's going well," she said, tapping her hand against her notebook. "Though I'm sorry for missing breakfast this morning." She had forgotten just how hungry she was until she mentioned food. It had to be well past lunch and she hadn't eaten a single thing, which she noticed was starting to turn into an unpleasant theme lately. It may have not been that unusual for her to miss a meal or two in San Diego, but she wasn’t walking around thousands of acres of land then.
Katie walked up the steps and sat in the empty rocking chair next to Doc.
She just sat there for a moment breathing in the country air. The fresh scent of pine resin on a morning breeze, the mildly sweet smell of meadow hay spread around the barn, and the leafy scent of a thousand sunflowers. Then she asked, "May I ask you a question?"
"I believe you just did," Doc said, taking a sip of his lemonade.
Katie smiled. "Well, may I ask you two more?"
"That would mean you've got one left."
"This morning when I was watching Kyle with the dogs, I noticed something he was doing. It was hard to make out from a distance, and I didn't want to get too close because I wasn't sure if he was training them seriously today or just playing with them. But, anyways, I saw him do this one thing. He would call the dog over to him, or so it seemed, and then he would place his hand on the dog’s chest and just kneel there in front of the dog."
"Hand over heart."
Katie looked at Doc, scrunching her nose up slightly.
"Your question, I assume, is what exactly was Kyle doing with the dogs? And the answer is something called hand over heart."
"What exactly is hand over heart?"
"Well, that would be your fourth question, and one better suited for Kyle."
Chapter 8
Katie looked up from her conversation with Doc as Kyle walked out of the barn and towards the house. He was busy rolling his right sleeve back up to match his left as his boots crunched over the dirt path.
When he reached the top of the steps he lifted his ball cap up by the brim and set it back farther on his head, as though his hat had been working hard and needed a break.
He locked eyes on Katie and slowly looked her over. It was eerily similar to the way the black dog had looked at her yesterday. Almost as if he wanted to know if she
Katie expected Kyle to snap his fingers again, but instead he walked over to the three dogs standing and corrected them individually until they were sitting like the others. He walked back to the front of the dogs, made another motion with his hands, and walked back the same way he had come. The dogs followed, some of them walking behind him, some to the side, and even a couple in front. The white of the underside of their tails danced in the sunlight as they left.
She jotted down a few more notes and then folded the notebook closed, sliding the pencil down the wired binding before she followed behind them.
The walk back was peaceful as Katie followed Kyle and the dogs. They travelled a small path formed by tall pines on the right side – pinus palustris, if Katie remembered correctly – and scattered oaks on the left. The path opened up into a field three times as large as the one they’d been in. Some of the dogs looked back at her occasionally, but for the most part they didn’t veer from the pack. By the time she reached the barn, Kyle had already put each dog back in its respective pen. Katie started to walk towards him. She had so many questions still, but Doc interrupted her.
"And how is your day going so far, Miss Price?" Doc asked. He was sitting in the same rocking chair she had found him in yesterday.
"It's going well," she said, tapping her hand against her notebook. "Though I'm sorry for missing breakfast this morning." She had forgotten just how hungry she was until she mentioned food. It had to be well past lunch and she hadn't eaten a single thing, which she noticed was starting to turn into an unpleasant theme lately. It may have not been that unusual for her to miss a meal or two in San Diego, but she wasn’t walking around thousands of acres of land then.
Katie walked up the steps and sat in the empty rocking chair next to Doc.
She just sat there for a moment breathing in the country air. The fresh scent of pine resin on a morning breeze, the mildly sweet smell of meadow hay spread around the barn, and the leafy scent of a thousand sunflowers. Then she asked, "May I ask you a question?"
"I believe you just did," Doc said, taking a sip of his lemonade.
Katie smiled. "Well, may I ask you two more?"
"That would mean you've got one left."
"This morning when I was watching Kyle with the dogs, I noticed something he was doing. It was hard to make out from a distance, and I didn't want to get too close because I wasn't sure if he was training them seriously today or just playing with them. But, anyways, I saw him do this one thing. He would call the dog over to him, or so it seemed, and then he would place his hand on the dog’s chest and just kneel there in front of the dog."
"Hand over heart."
Katie looked at Doc, scrunching her nose up slightly.
"Your question, I assume, is what exactly was Kyle doing with the dogs? And the answer is something called hand over heart."
"What exactly is hand over heart?"
"Well, that would be your fourth question, and one better suited for Kyle."
Chapter 8
Katie looked up from her conversation with Doc as Kyle walked out of the barn and towards the house. He was busy rolling his right sleeve back up to match his left as his boots crunched over the dirt path.
When he reached the top of the steps he lifted his ball cap up by the brim and set it back farther on his head, as though his hat had been working hard and needed a break.
He locked eyes on Katie and slowly looked her over. It was eerily similar to the way the black dog had looked at her yesterday. Almost as if he wanted to know if she
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