Chapter 7: The Stray

Winter set in. Walking home from school, Lily found a freezing, scrawny stray dog huddled under a porch. Vance’s instinct was to walk away—he couldn't handle another life to protect. But Lily fell to her knees, wrapping her scarf around the shivering animal.
""Please, Daddy. He's cold. Like we were.""
Vance looked at his daughter, seeing the immense empathy that Eleanor had tried to crush out of her. He scooped up the dirty dog, ruining his coat. ""Alright. But he sleeps on the floor.""
By the end of the week, the dog, named ""Buster,"" was sleeping at the foot of Lily’s bed, and Vance was secretly feeding him bacon. The house was finally starting to feel like a home.
May you like
