The graveyard held bad memories and the body of Ed’s daughter, neither of which Ed wanted to visit any time soon. He left her behind in a truck stop.Įd Parmalee saw the dog as he drove past the cemetery, but he didn’t stop. The trucker, who’d complained about Justine’s presence, who said she was the reason he was running late, got fed up. She and Mack loved performing, they loved being together, and Justine knew he would be the perfect buffer between her and the family she barely knew.

Mack was everything to her: protector, best friend, and dancing partner. Justine hadn’t wanted to go to the East Coast, in part because she didn’t want to leave her dog. Still, there she was, riding shotgun with a bad-tempered trucker, heading for what was once home. She’d barely spoken to her father in years because there was nothing to say. For nearly 40 years, she’d made it crystal-clear that she didn’t want a stepdaughter – but there she was on the phone, summoning Justine, telling her that her father was dying. Her stepmother Adele must have gritted her teeth when she dialed the number. Justine Meade was certain that the phone call had been just another obligation. It was easy to fall in love with the sheltie dog and he was obviously abandoned, but in the new novel “The Dog Who Danced” by Susan Wilson, keeping him might be a delicate ballet. But wasn’t someone missing that sweet boy? How could anybody refuse those please-love-me eyes?Īlice and Ed Parmalee couldn’t, that’s for sure.

He was a stray, found wandering nearby and nobody came to claim him. The dog staring at you from your computer screen sure was a cutie. Who could resist that little urchin face?

The dog who danced a novel susan wilson