Blacktail Deer Plateau he ain't heavy

He thought to ask what had happened, but erupted in laughter instead at Grayday's response, amber eyes sparkling at long last with joy. "I was always on the right side of that debate," he teased, grinning. "You didn't have to give me an even bigger edge over you."

Wagging his tail, he continued, "God, I haven't found Spot yet. But I've met your wife, and your daughter. . .boy, if she doesn't have the look of the family about her," he added, his tone slightly awe-filled. Then Grayday brought up their parents. . .and his heart sank.

"They're gone?" Shale asked rhetorically, his voice sounding frail and almost childlike. Guilt immediately swept over him. He had left. . .and they died. Hardly anyone left to care for them--save Spot, he supposed. But she should have been there. He should have been there.

"I wasn't there, either," he murmured, looking down. "I left last summer. They. . .they were still with us, then."