of them.
Misha leapt at the back door as Stella went out the front door to get Bailey out of her 4Runner. He was already waiting for her, eager for the walk. He waited for her release command before leaping out and then he raced around the studio to the back to meet with Misha, who was already eagerly yipping her joyous greeting.
Stella found herself smiling. Happy. That was one of the things she loved about dogs. They lived in the moment. They took joy in whatever they were doing. Both Misha and Bailey loved to run along the canal, and they knew the way Harlow and Stella jogged or walked. Neither needed a leash. Everyone knew them and who they belonged to. They could play tag together and find every interesting crawling creature and rodent available.
It was much warmer at the lower elevation and Stella wore a light sweater over her T-shirt. She could always tie it around her waist if she got too hot. The October weather cut down on the mosquitoes, which was helpful, but she was always careful anyway, carrying repellent with her. The same with tick repellent, although, if truth be told, she was more vigilant with Bailey than herself. Her dog was always protected.
“Where’s Vienna today? I thought she had several days off in a row. Wasn’t she going to try to train her cat to go for a walk with Misha?”
“Vienna was called into work just before I got your call, an emergency. Denver had to go in as well. Big accident, two trucks, head-on. It sounded bad.”
“That’s awful.”
“As for her cat and canal walking, yeah, that didn’t go so well. Her prissy little princess wanted to ride on Misha’s back, claws dug in deep, not walk on the ground.”
The two women looked at each other and burst out laughing. The cat was the love of Vienna’s life and spoiled rotten. The animal ruled, although she never admitted it. She always indicated she was determined to have the cat come along on their adventures with the dogs. The cat never did. She lived in a “palace” and was snobby, turning up her nose at most food and demanding to be brushed and petted when Vienna was close. She would get annoyed if Vienna was gone too long and turn her back on her owner for long periods of time in a little snit. They all thought the “princess” was aptly named and loved to hear stories about her.
Walking along the canal was peaceful, even at the brisk pace Harlow set with her long legs. Stella didn’t mind walking fast, although she was no runner. If she had to jog for her dog’s sake, she would, and she did run under protest to stay in condition, but she wasn’t one of those people who loved it. She would never be a peak bagger— running up a trail and then a mountain to “bag” the peak. She could hike a trail steadily for hours, days, weeks, months, but running, that was a big fat ugh.
The trees swayed gently in the breeze, a few leaves slowly shaking loose and swirling lazily toward the wide trail or the water below. Everywhere was an explosion of color. Reds and oranges with various shades of greens and browns. The fields around them appeared gold. The grasses were so tall they tipped over. Some stalks still held a bluish or greenish tint, but most were brown or that gorgeous shade of gold.
A lone great blue heron walked the canal on tall spindly legs, searching for something to eat. “Are you lost?” she called. “You should have left already. You’d better get moving, my friend, before the weather turns.”
Harlow sent her a little grin. “Do you always talk to the wildlife?”
“Pretty much,” Stella admitted. “They can’t talk back to me.”
Both women laughed as they continued along the canal with their dogs.
NIGHTS THREE AND then four Stella did her best to do as Harlow had said and twist the knob on the lens to widen her view of what she was seeing. Night three was a complete bust. She couldn’t make the knob do anything, and she was so anxious she barely got any new details. She ended up being more frustrated than ever. The lighting was better than the night before so that promised to be better the next night.
Mommy, Daddy’s doing the bad thing again.
The couple appeared to be moving forward on the trail, not staying in the same place. Even