Free Kaleidoscope Eyes by Karen Ball Page B

of the K-9 SAR unit, she had to behave.
    So, one hand on her dog’s collar, Annie stood next to Dan,listening as he answered a barrage of questions. He knew she wasn’t allowed to deal with media; that was his responsibility. But Annie couldn’t escape the flashing cameras.
    She endured it as long as she could, then looked at her watch. “We have to go, Dan.”
    “Sheriff?”
    Dan turned to look at Agatha, and she signaled him inside the house, then held a hand up to Annie. “Would you please wait just a moment?”
    Annie nodded, fidgeting as Dan went back inside. When he came out Bertha was with him, leaning on his arm. He shrugged. “She wanted to say good-bye to her wolf.”
    When Dan and Bertha reached Annie, the old woman patted Dan’s arm, and he helped her lean over to hug Kodi.
    Bertha looked at Annie, then reached out to wrap her soft, wrinkled fingers around Annie’s hand. “Will you bring my wolf to see me again?”
    Annie squeezed her hand. “Of course.”
    Dan led Bertha away, and Annie slipped Kodi’s shabrack off her, opening the Jeep door. Kodi jumped in, circled twice on the seat, then settled down, uttering a contented groan. Annie put a hand on Kodi’s head, loving the way her colors blended with Kodi’s—marigold and pink, shifting and mixing to create a combined shade of warm peach.
    “You done good, girl.” She touched her forehead to Kodi’s. “I’ll bet you liked being a wolf, huh?”
    “Arrooow-roow-rooo!”
    Annie chuckled. Not exactly a wolf howl, but that was okay. It was the sound of pure contentment. And that was music to Annie’s ears.
    She glanced around at the crisp Oregon morning. It was going to be a beautiful day. She’d much rather spend it outside.
    Kodi lifted one of her paws to bat at Annie’s arm, and Annie sighed. “I know, I know. I promised Killian I’d be there.”
    She shut the passenger door and climbed into the driver’s seat, then glanced at Kodi. “You can’t blame a girl for just thinking about ducking out, can you?”
    The dog’s ears perked and she tilted her head, eyes wide and focused. Annie got the message.
    Kodi wouldn’t blame her, but Killian certainly would. No escaping it.
    Time to face her fears.

EIGHT        
    “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us;
we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”
    C. S. L EWIS
    “Whether we like it or not, we will obey the L ORD our God ….
For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
    J EREMIAH 42:6
    S EPTEMBER 8
    3:30 p.m
.
    You can do this
.
    Annie peered through the branches of a potted ficus tree almost as tall as her at the people milling about Killian’s art gallery. This was her showing, for heaven’s sake. She should be out there. Mixing it up with the crowd. And she would be. In just a minute.
    Or two.
    Or twenty …
    Lord, Kylie said You’d send my knight when I needed him, right? Well, now would be a good time. Really Couldn’t you just send him along to carry me away from all of this … this …
    “Now
this
is what I call a party.”
    Annie drew in a gulp of oxygen before answering her older brother. “Funny, I was just thinking
torture
was a better descriptor.”
    He joined Annie in leaning against the wall, not looking at her but fully aware of what she was feeling. He’d talked herthrough being in crowds ever since they were kids.
    “Too many people for your taste, huh, sis?”
    “Where did they all come from?”
    He slid his arm around her shoulders. “All over the place. You’re quite the sensation, or didn’t you know?”
    She wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad.
    “So … how are you doing?”
    Annie faced Dan. “Other than the obvious, I’m fine. Why?”
    “I just wanted to be sure you wouldn’t … you know, worry about the e-mails.”
    Ah yes, the e-mails. Annie turned back to the crowd, even more uneasy than before. “Any more show up?”
    “Not a one.”
    So why didn’t he sound