Luke shook his head.
“You going to be all right?” Jeb asked.
Luke raised his eyes to the boughs above them. “Funny how the loss of an
animal can bring back old hurts. She was only a dog.”
“You should get a pup.”
Luke nodded. “I’ll start over. You can’t give up. Limpy never did. Until she had
to.” He tried to smile. “I’m getting deafer and deafer, but I can still hear in my head.”
The sun was low in the sky.
“Getting late,” Jeb said. “You ready to go?”
Luke looked at the sky. He listened carefully. His hearing aids distorted the
sound of the breeze through the trees, but he could still hear it. He smiled. “Yes.”
TOM'S TALES