Fiction Friday: Echoing Thunder Excerpt

Working Cover

This is a very rough excerpt from Echoing Thunder, In the Shadow of the Cedar, Book 4.
I'm joining up with Alana Terry and Hallee Bridgeman's Christian Fiction Friday. 

“Stop! Lie down.” I clicked my fingers and pointed to the corner. He simply looked at me. Poor dog! He didn’t understand what was going on. I went back in the bedroom and rooted around in the chifferobe until I found an old quilt. I made Coby a bed in the corner, gave him a few more pats, and talked to him as if he could understand. I snuggled up on the quilt with him.

“Michael’s dog is having trouble adjusting to civilian life,” I explained. “Until he gets better, we have to be patient. He’s been through a lot. Michael said he was very brave. I suppose that he’s so used to hunting the enemy that he has to make up one. That’s you, Coby. You’re the enemy now.”

Coby’s tail thumped the floor.

“I do not want you fighting that dog...” I was sounding like Momma, refusing to call Michael’s dog by his name. He was part of our family now, wasn’t he? No matter how many problems he might have. “Argos is your brother. We love our brothers, don’t we?”

Coby licked my chin, and I laughed, scratching the ruff of his neck with both hands. “Yes, you’re a good dog! We just have to be patient. He’ll learn to love us, one day.” I climbed to my feet again. “Now, stay here.” I put my hand up again, palm out. “Stay!”

I went out of the room, closing the door behind me, holding the darkened bronze doorknob for a second. Coby immediately began to whine. Well, at least he wasn’t clawing the door. I went on into the sitting room where Momma still sat.

She frowned at me, her eyes narrowing. “I ain’t having that racket,” she said.

“Give him time. He’ll quiet in a minute.” I took a seat in the other rocker, rocking slowly, listening and waiting to see if what I said would come true. It didn’t. His whining just got louder.

“That dog is driving me crazy.”

It was a choice between listening to him whining and Momma grumbling or go let him out. I gave up and went to let him out of the bedroom. He raced around me in circles, his tail wagging. I tried to be stern with him but didn’t have the heart.

Momma shook her head, her gray hair whisping around her shoulders. It needed washing, but she wouldn’t allow me to help her, and she either wouldn’t or couldn’t do it herself. “Put that durn dog out!”

I yanked my coat off the nail, hearing it rip but not caring. I opened the back door, not thinking, and Coby raced out before I could stop him. “Coby, come back!” I whistled and patted my leg. 

But it was too late. Argos came from around the front of the house, meeting him with a lunge.

Christian Fiction Friday is a weekly blog hop where authors post snippets from their current works in progress. It is hosted by Alana Terry and Hallee Bridgeman. Link your post to the blog hop here.