Reign of Terrier Page 15

  “Livy.” She was still talking aloud, though low. She wasn’t sure if Maggie could hear her, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but saying what she needed to say. She leaned her forehead against the edge of the headstone like she would against Livy’s shoulder if she were sitting in front of her. The rock was cool against her over-warm skin, and the pressure of it against her skull was grounding. “Livy, I’m sorry. I never meant it. You know I didn’t. I was just annoyed because I didn’t want to leave the house. Not because I thought you were annoying. Not because I didn’t want to spend time with you. You know that.”

  There was still no answer, of course not, but it felt good to say the things aloud, like pulling a splinter out from under your skin. It hurt, but it was a good pain. It meant the infection would be able to drain away.

  Tessa lifted her head. Her face was wet, and tears still streaked out of her eyes, but that felt good, too. Rain in the middle of a desert.

  She laid the flowers down across the front of the headstone, and slowly, her narrowed vision began to expand again. She felt Princess against her folded leg, nosing gently under her hand. Tessa rubbed the spot she liked best behind the ears and smiled at her. She was sitting primly, amber eyes bouncing between the headstone and Tessa like a person waiting for an introduction from a mutual friend.

  “Oh! Livy, lemme introduce you to Princess.”

  What to read next…

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  Widower Nick Marshall is struggling to keep a lid on his PTSD while raising his stepdaughter Chloe and her younger half-sister, Abby. When Chloe gets in a fight at school, Nick picks up a chocolate lab named Max from the Pretty Paws shelter. Can Max help Nick reconnect with his kids or will the dog's joyful chaos drive Nick crazy first?

  Get Chocolate Covered Chaos today!

  A Note from the Author

  Thank you for reading Reign of Terrier.

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider writing a review of it on your favorite bookseller site so other readers might enjoy it too. Just a couple of sentences would mean a lot to me.

  Thank you!

  Lori R. Taylor

  About the author

  Lori R. Taylor is the founder of TruDog, a lover of all animals, and author of the Soul Mutts series. It’s her mission, vision, and passion to help humans understand the ways in which our canine friends make the world a better place. Lori’s been helping to build businesses all her life, but her work at TruDog made her remember a dream she’d had forever.

  She had always wanted to be a writer, and TruDog proved what Lori had always known. Not just that dogs made the world a better place, because of course they did, but that humans needed them more than they could ever possibly know.

  In addition to her work with TruDog, Lori has helped to raise over 5 billion dollars for the Disabled American Veterans. She’s not just an animal lover, Lori has a soft spot for unwanted or “broken” things and is their fiercest defender. Just ask Truman, the three-legged Great Dane that TruDog was named after.

  As a little girl Lori dreamed of telling stories. She did that for brands for years. Now she’s doing it like she’s always wanted to, for you and with this series. Lori wrote Soul Mutts for you. Books to remind you of what you already know, but can’t wait to feel again.