At first he thought his wife had merely slipped and fallen, seeing Laurie sitting on the floor. Then he saw Rex in her lap, panting.
"Rick….Rex can't get up…something's wrong with his legs." She exclaimed. "I can't lift him."
"Stay still, darlin'. Here Rex….." he spoke quietly, carefully putting his hand on the dog's head. Instead of snapping or demonstrating how bad the pain was, Rex thumped his tail, then nosed his master's hand before giving it a lick.
"Such a good dog…" Rick's voice broke at the trust in their pet's eyes, as he reached down and lifted Rex up in his arms. Carrying him to his dog bed, he set him down gently, then put his baby blanket over him. As if understanding, Rex put his head down and let out a deep breath, then fell asleep.
"Thank you, love." Laurie whispered from behind him. Turning, he saw her trying to get up, and he swooped down and lifted her up in his arms, then deposited her back in bed.
"Stay there, sweetheart. I've got breakfast almost finished….then we'll spend some time with our Rex, okay?"
She nodded, a smile crossing her face as she reached up and caressed his cheek.
"More then okay, Rick. How did I get so lucky?"
Rick's breath caught, and he leaned into her hand. "You smiled at me, darlin'. I was yours from that moment."
"So was I." She beamed, her lips kissing his hand. At once Rick sat next to her on the bed, then drew her face to his and lovingly dropped kisses on her mouth, then down her neck. Sighing with pleasure, Laurie returned his affections until the aroma of baking biscuits brought them to a halt.
"Oh, oh…hold that thought, angel." Rick snickered, then vaulted up from the bed towards the kitchen. A small yip caught Laurie's attention, and she looked down at an animated Rex, tail thumping.
"All right, baby dog…daddy will give you a biscuit too." She told her pet, then wiped her eyes. "Time enough to cry later", she thought.
Over breakfast in bed, Rick told Laurie of A.J. and Linda's upcoming trip, and was pleased by her enthusiastic reaction.
"That's great-Linda's been wanting to go again and I know A.J. enjoys it." Laurie paused, then hesitantly asked. "Is this because..uh…someone was fighting last week?"
Surprised, Rick swallowed his last bite of biscuit. "No one was fighting, sweetheart….maybe disagreeing." He hedged, then laughed when Laurie tickled him.
"Oh no you don't, Laurie…" he gasped, then putting his plate on the side tray, reached back over and caught her in his arms and returned the favor.
"Oh, Rick…stop…I'm too ticklish there…don't distract me!" she squealed, then giggled, "All right, you win!"
"Of course I do." He said proudly, then a bark interrupted him. Both of them turned, then smiled as Rex jumped on the bed, then licked both of them before curling up between them.
"Good boy!" Rick praised him, determined that the little dog would be happy at least for his last days. He glanced at Laurie. "Looks like that shot makes him a little more comfortable, darlin. Come on, let's get these dishes done, then we'll go to A.J.'s."
As the days went by, both Rick and Laurie saw their pet's health improve, as the vet had predicted. Deciding to let Rex's activity level determine their next move, Laurie let him play with the children and go on walks with her. Rick for his part only ventured from home once or twice in the next week, preferring to stay close to the ranch "just in case".
Two days before A.J. and Linda's trip, Rick was working in his home office when the phone rang. Seeing Laurie had picked it up, he finished signing a report when a note of surprise in her voice caught his attention.
"Really! Sweet, that's wonderful…your father and I would love to see their performance! When is it?"
Curious, he got up and found his wife in the living room, perched on the edge of the sofa. Rex had sat down next to her, wagging and obviously wanting to get her attention.
"Rex, do you need to go outside?" he whispered, not wanting to distract Laurie. The little dog pawed at his leg, then looked at the seat cushions. Rick felt a pang of sorrow, realizing Rex wanted to get up on the sofa, but either couldn't or wouldn't without permission.
"Here go, buddy." Rick leaned down and picked him up, then placed him on the seat, sitting down next to him. Immediately Rex climbed into his lap, and lay down, tail thumping. Laurie peered down at them, beaming, then mouthed, "It's Robin."
That cheered Rick up, he really missed his daughter but was happy Ian was doing well at the "Knights of the Round Table" show in Southern California.
"I don't know if we can come this weekend, darling. Let me ask your father and call you back, okay? Wait a minute, he's here right now."
Grinning, Rick took the phone from her with one hand, pulling her down off her perch next to him with the other. "Rick!" she squealed, then giggled as Rex got up from his lap and made himself at home in hers.
"Good boy." She told him, fishing in her pocket and giving him a cookie. Rick laughed, then spoke into the phone. "Hi, Birdie, how's my girl?"
"I'm fine, Pop…..Are you guys okay?…Mom told me about Rex." Rick shook his head, Robin was way too perceptive.
"We're doing fine, honey. Rex will let us know when he's not ..when he's in too much discomfort." He told her honestly.
"Oh Pop….I wish I was there…..I love you both so much." Robin replied emotionally, and Rick felt his eyes moisten.
"And we miss you and Ian and the kids like crazy, honey. Now what does your Mom need to ask me about?"
"Ian's going to headline the "Knight's" tournament next weekend to celebrate his anniversary with the company. We were hoping you and Mom and Robbie and the kids could come out and see the show." Rick saw Laurie playing with Rex, and his heart sank.
"Robin, we'd love to…but we'd need to see who could baby-sit Rex and the ranch. Let us get back to you guys when we find out, okay?"
"Okay, Pop, wait a minute…Petey…..I'm on the phone with Grandpa…" Rick heard his grandson talking animatedly, then Robin came back on. "Pop, Petey wants to talk to you, he says he has a question to ask you."
As Rick listened to his inquisitive grandson, Laurie carried Rex outside for some outside exercise, then came back to say good bye to Robin.
"Go ahead, darlin', I'll go feed the horses." Rick dropped a kiss on her cheek, then went to the kitchen door. As he stepped outside, he heard Rex barking, then saw him standing near the barn, growling and snarling.
"Rex….what is it boy?" he called, and the little terrier turned and ran back toward him, then turned and stood in front of him, barking even louder.
"Okay, buddy, I won't go there, oh, geez!" Rick saw a large cougar come from behind the barn and start running toward them, and immediately he scooped up Rex and got inside the house.
"Rick…what is it, what happened?" Laurie came running to meet them. Seeing Rex in her husband's arms, she paled as the big cat's growl sounded in the yard.
"Oh, no….Rick….if Rex hadn't barked…."
"If he hadn't, I'd have had a nasty surprise." Rick finished, then told the excited little dog, "Such a good watch dog. Thanks, Rexy, you deserve an extra nice treat."
Immediately Laurie fetched some chopped steak and put it in Rex's dog dish, as Rick petted him and set him down. Happily yipping, Rex made short work of his "breakfast", then followed Laurie into the living room as Rick got on the phone to Robbie to report the big cat. Fortunately, his son had just come in, and his sleepy "good morning" changed in a hurry.
"I'm glad you called, Pop. We've had some reports of animal attacks last night, but now we know what it is. Make sure you stay inside until I come, I'll get a hold of Rob to help track this cougar."
"All right, son. I just hope it doesn't get into the barn." Rick replied, worried, then said goodbye and hung up. Going into the living room, he saw Laurie stroking Rex as he lay on the sofa, apparently asleep. Starting toward the gun rack to fetch his rifle, he froze as he heard Laurie's voice, very quiet.
"Rick….please come here."
Turning, he saw tears running down her face as she looked up at him, and he gazed at Rex again. At once it hit him, and mechanically he put his hand on their pet's chest.
It wasn't moving.