Dog Daze (16 page)

“Vee! Stop! Oh, Vee!” Aneta ran on.

Vee cried out once before she smacked the water like a rag doll. The Hound, with the yelping Wink under one arm, untied the boat. He stepped in and dumped Wink on the floor of the boat. Grabbing the oars, he rowed out into the lake.

Aneta pelted down the dock. “Vee!”

Vee stood, wiped lake water from her eyes, and held the top of her head. She began to slog to shore. “That Hound has a hard head.” She waved Aneta away. “I’m fine! Go save Wink! I’m running for help!” Squishing water and mud, she darted up the hill.

Aneta hoped C.P. had
already
found help. Past getting to Wink, she didn’t know
what
she was going to do. It appeared the Hound would stop at nothing to carry off Wink. But why?

Leaping into the next rowboat, she squatted to regain her balance then pushed at the dock. The end of the boat floated away from the dock. She pushed again. “C’mon, stupid boat!” Her glance fell on the rope at the bow. Still tied to the dock. “Oh, please, please, please!” Tears made it difficult to see the rope. She frantically glanced over her shoulder. The Hound dipped the oars, pulling farther from her, a V-line widening from the bow. A little smooth head popped up on the seat. Then one paw. Wink would never be able to balance if he made it up on the rocking seat.

“Wink!” she called. “Stay!” Did he know stay? After what seemed like forever, she scrabbled the knot off the metal cleat. Terrible moments of futile splashing followed. Finally she settled into a dip-pull, dip-pull that sent the heavy, wooden rowboat gliding across a glassy lake.

Oh, Wink, Wink
. She strained to see over her shoulder. Had she gained on the boat? Handicapped by the big furry paws that had smacked C.P., the Hound frequently lost its grip on the oars. Aneta’s steady dip-pull, dip-pull was shortening the distance. Now she could hear muffled shouts from the immense stuffed head. Wink put a second paw on the seat. He raised his head like a prairie dog peering out of its hole.

“Stay, boy!” She pulled harder. Pain shot up into her shoulders. Who
was
that Hound? Some crazy Waddle walker who wanted to make sure Wink was out of the running for the costume contest?

On shore, two police cars—sirens shrieking—and Nadine’s Toyota skidded at the end of the gravel road. Frank and Nadine leaped out. The police officers dashed for the remaining rowboats.

Then Aneta saw Mom. Sprinting in her sandals, she staggered a bit in the sand, but never took her eyes off Aneta’s boat.

“I’m coming, sweetie!” she yelled. Her long blond hair fell out of the ponytail and streamed behind her. She landed on the dock first and leaped into a boat. Frank, moving faster than Aneta had ever seen him move, thudded into the boat after Mom. Nadine gestured and stayed on the dock. Before Frank sat down, Mom was rowing.

“Mom! Mom!” A quick look over her shoulder told her she was nearly to the Hound’s boat. His shouting sounded meaner and meaner. The two police officers, a man and a short, stocky woman, jumped into the next boat and rowed after Mom and Frank.

Up on the road cascaded a stream of brightly colored scooters, skidding on the gravel. The Fam. But not to the rescue. They could not help her now. It was all up to her.

Another look. The Hound had stopped rowing. Standing awkwardly in the boat, he lurched back and forth. Wink had disappeared, although she could still hear him yipping. He must have fallen back under the seat. Good. He was safer there. At least for the moment. What did the Hound have planned for her little Wink?

The Hound staggered. The boat tipped sharply. A long ear flipped up from the bottom of the boat and then disappeared. Aneta screamed, pulling harder on the oars. The Hound steadied himself, looked up at her, yelled something she couldn’t make out, and swatted the air. He slipped and crashed to his knees. More stifled sounds.

With two last mighty dip-pulls that made her shoulders scream, Aneta bumped the other boat. Grabbing its side, she yelled, “Stop!” Still on his knees, reaching under the seat, the Hound turned its furry head toward her. Where was Wink? Ignoring the arm warning her away, she peered into the boat. No sight of a long tricolored body. “Wink!” she shouted. “Here, Wink!”

“Get away!” the Hound hollered. These words she understood. “Troublemaker!” That word was clear, too. With one arm on the gunwale for balance, the Hound rose and steadied himself, towering over Aneta. Remembering what he’d done to Vee, a shiver of fear chased through her. What was he going to do to
her
? Stomp on her hand to make her let go? She clutched the side more tightly. A splinter poked into her thumb. Staring up at him, he was a monster clown hound a thousand feet high.

“Give me Wink!” she yelled, leaning farther out of her boat to look in the Hound’s boat. Sure enough, there was Wink, semistanding and tumbling on his side as he stumbled toward her. He tripped on one of his ears and took a nosedive. He cried. Aneta’s heart wrenched.

The Hound steadied himself and pulled an oar out of the oarlock. He raised it to shoulder height. Horror rocked Aneta. Was he going to bean her on the head?

Who
Is
That Hound?

T
he Hound punched Aneta’s boat with the oar, setting off waves that bounced both boats. “Get—ah—here!” she heard. Her arms felt like they would rip from her shoulders as the boat pitched.
I will not. Let. Go
.

To her right, she saw the two rowboats pushing through the water. Mom was pulling hard while she looked over her shoulder at the drama behind her. “You touch my daughter, and I will make sure you
never
see daylight again!” Help would be there in seconds. Could she hold on? Pain streaked down her arms.

The Hound landed another mighty thud to Aneta’s boat. The oar hit the water. So did the Hound with a very human scream. The big head sank.

Aneta caught her breath, letting go of the boat. The big head resurfaced; the Hound thrashed the water, fighting to remove the cumbersome head. As the boat floated away, Aneta saw Wink hanging halfway over the side of the boat!

“No, Wink!” she shrieked, stretching out her hand. The white tippy tail swung in a happy circle. “Stay! Stay, boy!” Save the Hound? Save Wink? She threw herself between the two boats, and with fire erupting in all her muscles, clawed the Hound’s boat toward her. More splinters stung. In another moment, she had lunged forward enough to grab Wink by the scruff of his neck and pull him to safety in her boat. With him on the floor, she took the oar closest to the Hound and dipped it into the water, swinging the boat nearer to him. “Grab the oar! Hold on to it!”

The Hound swatted away the oar and sank again.

“Take it!” she screamed.

Wink howled.

“It’s okay, Aneta. Sit down; we’ve got him,” came a firm voice next to her. The female police officer maneuvered their boat next to the thrashing Hound. The two officers hauled the sodden Hound into the boat and removed the head.

Aneta sucked in a breath.
Mr. Leonard?

“Troublemaker!” he yelled between coughing and choking.

After shipping the oar to the side of the boat, Aneta collapsed on the bottom next to Wink. Trembling, she pulled the puppy into her lap. She leaned over him, murmuring, “Thank You, God” over and over. Her shoulders jerked uncontrollably.

The boat rocked, and then Mom was there. “Oh, sweetie.” She gathered Aneta and Wink in her arms, holding them so tightly Wink whimpered. Aneta looked up. Pushing the words out, she said, “You’re pushing the peanut-butter jar into my rib cage, sweetie.”

Mom burst into tears. So did Aneta.

Crocs Killer!

V
ee and The Fam met them at the shore, pulling the boat way up. Mom helped Aneta out; she hugged Wink and clung to her mother. Her Mom. Her Fam. Her friends.

“You’re a hero, Aneta,” Vee said, her eyes round with awe. “That was amazing.” She clutched Aneta’s hand. Aneta cried out.

“Let me see your hands,” her mother demanded. She in-spected the slivers and pulled most of them out. Aneta dug out the last one.

Vee darted forward and hugged her quickly, leaving water patches on Aneta’s T-shirt and shorts.

“Is your head okay?” Aneta asked, returning the hug.

“My stepdad says it’s a good thing I have a hard head.” She smiled the biggest smile Aneta had seen her smile. Beyond her, Aneta saw all the parents talking as Mr. Leonard was led away to the police cars. Siblings stood wide-eyed and pointing at Mr. Leonard. “He’s proud of me. He said I run like an Olympian.” Vee’s wet hair clung to her glowing face.

C.P. stepped forward, a half-eaten corn dog in his hand.

Chewing, he offered the rest to Aneta. “You need food? That was a lot of work.”

“Aneeeetah!” It was Esther’s high, nasal voice.

Aneta turned to see Esther and Sunny trotting down the gravel. Esther waved her arms. “C’mon! The Waddle!”

Sunny yelled, “We can still make it! Those bassets waddle reeeeeeallllly slow!”

Esther towed the covered wagon. Sunny wore Aneta’s messenger bag slung across her chest. She patted it and said in a false whisper, “I’ve got the secret weapon!”

Turning to Mom, Aneta grinned. Mom threw up her hands. “More surprises? Well, I guess being your mom will be a life of surprises.” She ruffled her daughter’s hair. “I’m good with that.” She gave her a little push. “Go. I’ll be there, Aneta Jasper. Always.”

“The Waddle is just turning the corner to go past the community center. We can meet them there.” Esther headed up the hill with the wagon. Sunny handed the bag to Aneta while Vee’s dad handed his daughter the clipboard she’d dropped on her sprint after the Hound.

Loud voices, the two officers and an unfamiliar one, split the air as the rest of the group turned to head up the hill. A woman pushed between Sunny’s parents, planting herself in front of Aneta and Wink.

Startled, Aneta drew Wink to her chest and involuntarily stepped back. She sensed Mom behind her.

“You troublemakers!” the woman growled, stamping her foot like a two-year-old.

“What?” Aneta stammered. She tried to go around. The woman stepped in front of her, preventing her passage.

“Excuse me,” Mom said, stepping to Aneta’s side. “Who are you?”

But Aneta knew. It was
her
.

Taking in the angry eyes under a khaki Puppy Pellets cap, Aneta’s gaze traveled down past dark shorts to the woman’s feet. Her eyes widened.

Beige Crocs with a high line of mud.

“The Crocs Killer!” Vee, Esther, and Sunny’s voices blended in a discordant screech from halfway up the hill.

Stepping up close—way too close—the woman’s face fur rowed in angry lines. A deep tan cracked her face into many wrinkles. Aneta was pretty sure none of them were the result of smiling. “You sicced animal control on us,” she said, leaning close to Aneta. “Nosy kids.” Then she grimaced. “And they found nothing, did they?”

Us
?

Aneta looked at the Squad who had come back down the hill. Mr. Leonard had a wife!

Mom, with her arm around Aneta, moved to pass the woman. The woman, however, stepped in front of Mom so quickly that Mom bumped into her.

“Oh, so you want to get in my face?” Mrs. Leonard pushed at Mom. Aneta thought for sure Mom would move away, but she did the opposite. She took a step closer to the woman so they were nose to nose. Uh-oh. Mom was going to do a Jasper-ish thing.

Who Will Win?