Chapter 49

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A tall, broad man stood at the wall with a cowboy hat pulled low on his forehead. His shoulders were slumped, his arms crossed in front of him, and his chest moved with the deep, regular rise that suggested sleep. At his feet, curled around one scuffed boot, rested a furry, barrel-bellied puppy whose ears flicked and ticked with every sound. It heard Randy approach but didn’t lift its head until Randy was only a couple of steps away. Then, in the most bizarre voice Randy had ever heard, the puppy spoke.

“Wake up, he’s here.”

The tall man startled, lifted his head, and looked at Randy from underneath the hat. “Well, look at that,” the man drawled. “Guess we got ourselves a party after all.”