Magic in the Mountains

Chapter 5

The next morning, Sadie laid in bed for awhile before making herself get up. It was still raining outside, so she got up to shut her window. The sill was wet from where rain had blown in the night before. She looked out through the holler and noticed the low-lying clouds hanging on the sides of the hills. She also noticed the deep mud tracks that had been left by her father earlier that morning. It was obvious that they were his because of the few twists and turns that were apparent from him slamming the gas pedal to fishtail the backend of the Chevy a few times.

"Just seein' if she's still got it!" he would always say.

Sadie smiled to herself as she opened her bedroom door and walked into the kitchen. Charlene was cooking up breakfast as usual.

"Watcha cookin' momma?" Sadie asked.

"Oh, you know, just some biscuits and gravy. Even made extra for Tucker, didn't I, boy?"

She poured the gravy over Tucker's dog food, and it was gone in an instant. For a mutt, Tucker was always treated like royalty. The day he was dropped off at their house unexpectedly, Sadie remembered how dead set against having a dog Randy was.

"Ain't no way I'm takin' in a mutt of a dog. Not a chance, Sadie."

"But dad, look at him! He's adorable!" Sadie pleaded.

"No way, no how. I ain't budgin' Sadie. You heard me, now get it away from this place."

Sadie, with pleading eyes, gave the usual sob story of how she didn't have siblings, and the dog could really give her a friend, and she continued on and on until she was blue in the face. Eventually, Randy allowed it, but only under one rule. Tucker was to never come inside the house.

"I don't need no stinkin' dog comin' in here and goin' to the bathroom on the floors, chewin' up stuff, and sheddin' hair everywhere! We work too hard for this stuff to just go to waste!"

Sadie agreed, but she knew she'd get what she wanted in the end. On the first sign of freezing weather, Sadie made her plea.

"Daddy. It's six degrees outside. Let's bring him in."

"He's gotta box with hay and a heat lamp. He's fine, Sadie Mae," he rebutted.

"Daddy. Please. How'd you like to be out there right now with no heat and frozen water?"

Per the usual, her dad listened, and it only spun out of control from there. Eventually, Tucker was the king of the McDaniel household. He slept where he wanted, ate what he wanted, and got treats whenever he wanted. From then on, he never missed a night in Randy and Chalrene's bed, and looking back at it, neither were truly upset that he had made his bed there with them.
     Looking at it now, Tucker was Randy's dog. They hunted together, went on rides, and even had long talks out on the front porch. Sadie thought her dad liked those talks with Tucker because he never argued back, and so it was known that Tucker was indeed Randy's dog. He'd still deny it, but even he knew deep down that the dog really saved his sanity at times.

Sadie sat down at the table and began to pick around at the food her mother had cooked for her.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" her mother asked.

"Nothin'. I was just thinkin' about daddy and the fun we had yesterday."

"Mhm," Charlene hummed between her lips. "Go on now. Tell me."

"I don't know, momma. Yesterday was just different for the both of us. It was hard to see daddy all upset about work and stuff. I didn't mean to make him feel bad. I just wanted him to know how I felt."