Chapter Twenty-Six
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.
—Twyla Tharp
Hollis stood in the living room of Pop’s house, his few belongings packed into a duffel bag by the door.
The weight of disappointment and failure pressed down on him, making even the familiar surroundings feel alien and unwelcoming.
He’d let everyone down—his foster family, Mallory, and even Duke.
The thought of facing them all seemed impossible.
Outside, he could hear the seasonal employees moving about the Christmas tree farm.
The once-bustling lot was now quiet, most people having already selected their trees for the season.
It was a stark reminder of how quickly things could change, how easily the warmth and excitement of the holidays could fade into loneliness and regret.
His phone buzzed with a message from Sandy, confirming she’d passed along his message to Mallory about the play. Hollis’s stomach twisted with guilt. He could picture the hurt and confusion in Mallory’s eyes. He’d disappointed her, just like he’d disappointed everyone else.
The shrill ring of his phone cut through his thoughts.
Dr. Lynch’s name flashed on the screen, and Hollis’s stomach dropped.
This was it—news about Duke. Hollis had stayed up last night bargaining with God, knowing that didn’t work.
As a kid, he’d made a lot of bargains with the Big Guy upstairs and usually his prayers weren’t answered, but even if they were, Hollis never upheld his end of the deal.
Hollis would do whatever it took for Duke to get better though. If there was a deal to be struck, he’d make it.
Last night, Hollis had promised God he’d do better.
He’d even offered to give up his dream of opening his dog-training business if that’s what was needed.
Taking that out of the equation took Pop’s offer out as well—kind of.
Family mattered most, and that was the biggest ask Hollis had ever made from the man upstairs.
All he’d ever wanted was a family and he’d got one in Matt and Sandy.
And Pop. He didn’t want to lose them. He’d get back on track, but please God. Let Duke be okay.
Hollis’s hand shook as he tapped his phone’s screen and connected the call.
“Hollis!” Dr. Lynch’s voice was urgent. “I found Buster.”
“What? What do you mean you found Buster?” He’d expected news on Duke.
“Well, I didn’t,” Dr. Lynch clarified. “Mr. Gordan from Holly Springs brought him in. Mr. Gordan was hunting in the north woods and happened upon Buster.”
Hollis paced the room as he listened to the veterinarian explain. “Is he…?”
“He’s fine. A bit thirsty and hungry, and there’s one defensive wound on his left shoulder, but he’s okay.”
“A defensive wound?” Hollis repeated, trying to make sense of what had happened.
“It’s large, but not too deep. My best guess is a bear,” Dr. Lynch said. “Mr. Gordan said there’s been a black bear coming around. It went after one of his hunting dogs the other week. My hunch is that it was the bear that got to Duke, since Duke took a good bit of the injuries.”
Hollis stopped walking as he played out that scenario in his mind. “And Buster came to Duke’s rescue.”
“That’s a real possibility. Buster has a bark on him.” Dr. Lynch laughed to herself. “If I were a bear and a dog like Buster came at me, well, I’d leave too.”
Hollis knew exactly what she meant. At Thanksgiving, when Buster had come after him with that forceful bark, it had caused Hollis to trip over his own feet trying to run away. “What about Duke?”
“More good news. Duke seems to have perked up, now that Buster is here with him. I think these two are destined to be lifelong friends. And I think Duke’s life is going to be long and happy. His injuries are healing faster than expected. I stopped the IV antibiotics this morning.”
Relief washed over Hollis. The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened. If anything, this was better news than he’d allowed himself to imagine.
“Duke needs to stay another night, but you’re free to come get Buster.”
“Be right there.” Hollis grabbed his keys on the way out of the house and climbed into his truck. He’d been so certain he was going to lose at least one dog, but now, by some Christmas miracle, he might get to keep both.
The drive to the vet’s office was a blur of racing thoughts and emotions. Hope. Guilt. Shame. Disappointment in himself. He’d been too quick to give up on Buster. Too quick to shut down.
Running a hand over his face, Hollis parked and half-walked, half-jogged toward the clinic door. On the other side of the glass, Buster was waiting on a leash in Dr. Lynch’s hand. He propped his front paws on the door and seemed to smile at the sight of Hollis. His tail wagged.
Dr. Lynch pushed the door open. “Here’s the hero of the hour,” she said, talking about the scraggly lab-mix.
Hollis knelt to pet Buster’s head. “Hero indeed. You ready to go home?” His throat tightened at the word and the meaning behind it. Every boy in the boys home had wanted to hear those words, and he imagined every dog did too.
With a thump of his tail, Buster let out a high-pitched bark.
“That sounded an awful lot like a yes to me,” Dr. Lynch said cheerfully.
The vet’s tone quickly turned serious. “It’s going to be a tough road ahead for Duke, but I think it’s safe to say, he’ll be home for Christmas too.
Having you and Buster there—that’s going to make a world of difference for him.
We all need to know we have others in our corner, rooting for us. ”
Hollis’s thoughts drifted to Mallory. Instead of turning to her, he’d reverted to his old ways and pushed her away.
This whole time, he’d been working hard to convince Mallory to accept help from others.
To let him help her. Then he’d done the very opposite when times had gotten tough for him. “Can I—can I see him?”
“Of course.” Dr. Lynch led him to Duke’s kennel in the back room.
The sight of his longtime best friend, battered and hooked up to an IV, nearly broke Hollis. But as he approached, Duke’s tail gave a weak thump against the bottom of the crate.
“Hey there, bud.” Hollis reached out to gently stroke the top of Duke’s head. “I’m here. We’re both here,” he said, allowing Buster to prop up on Hollis’s thigh, turning his head to sniff the air around Duke. “And we’re not going anywhere.”
He’d done things all wrong yesterday, and there were a lot of things to make right.
No, it wasn’t his fault that Matt had stormed in and yelled at him, but Hollis had walked away too easily.
He should have made sure Matt understood what was going on instead of letting his fight-or-flight response send him storming out as well.
He should have called Mallory and told her what was happening instead of turning inward and letting his thoughts spiral.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Hollis tapped on Mallory’s number.
As the phone rang in his ear, Hollis looked at his two dogs—one injured but fighting, one loyal and misunderstood—a lot like Hollis in his youth.
Mallory’s voicemail message came on. He tapped the screen and tried again but realized she either wasn’t available or she was ignoring him.
He wouldn’t blame her. Yes, it was only one night, but a lot of damage could happen in a short amount of time. Sometimes enough damage that it could never be fixed.
When the tone sounded, he left his message. “Mallory, it’s me again. Please call me back when you get this. I need to explain… I’m s-sorry.” Disconnecting the call, he took a moment to consider next steps.
Mallory might not want him back in her life.
Or in the play for opening night. But he owed it to her to put himself out there and try.
He’d already gotten two prayers answered with Duke and Buster.
Maybe it was too much to hope for one more Christmas miracle.
But it was the season of hope, after all. He had to try.
Savannah. He quickly scrolled through his contacts and tapped her name.
“Hollis?” Savannah answered on the second ring. “Is everything okay?”
“Not really. I mean, yes. Everything’s good. Better than good, but I’m trying to reach Mallory. I messed up.”
“Yeah, I know,” she huffed. There was a pause on the other end of the line. “She worried herself sick last night, Hol. You let her spend a sleepless night before going to a long nursing shift. You froze her out, so if she’s doing the same to you, well, I’m sorry to say, it’s well-deserved.”
Hollis winced. “I totally agree. That’s why I need to talk to her.”
Savannah audibly sighed into the receiver. “I think she needs space. To process everything. She’ll reach out when she’s ready.”
He wanted to argue, to insist on fixing things right now, but Savannah was Mallory’s best friend.
If this was what Mal needed, he needed to respect that.
He’d promised Nan last year that he’d protect Mal.
He just didn’t realize he’d be protecting her from himself.
“Yeah. Okay. Will you… will you tell her I called?”
“Of course. Just… be patient, okay?”
After hanging up, Hollis glanced around the waiting room, feeling lost. He felt the urge to run again, to escape the mess he’d made, but he pushed it down. That was his instinct, but it wasn’t the answer. There was someone else he needed to make amends with. He called Matt and Sandy’s home number.
“Hollis?” Sandy answered. “I’ve been worried. Are you okay?”
“I’m… I’m fine,” he said, but quickly decided to tell the truth. “Actually, I’ve been better. Is Matt there? I need to talk to him.”
“He’s home. Come on,” she said without hesitation.
Fifteen minutes later, Hollis stood on the porch of his foster parents’ home, his heart pounding. The door opened before he could knock, revealing Sandy’s worried face. Hollis was inclined to step in and hug her but stopped when Matt walked up behind her.