“Who’s your friend?” Casey asks.
I give them the quick run-down, and both of them look angry as they pet my new buddy.
“You’ll stay with me,” they both say, then they look at each other. “No,me.”
I burst out laughing. “You know what? When you two decide who gets custody of me and when, and for how long, let me know. Meanwhile, I need a fucking leash for my new dog.”
One of the K-9 officers on duty actually has a spare leash in his unit that he gets for me, so one problem solved. Once we’re inside the command trailer, I borrow Casey’s private cell phone and dial the number on the dog’s ID tag.
I think I’m going to have to leave an angry voice mail, but an upset-sounding woman answers. “Hello?”
“Yeah, my name’s Declan Howard. I’m calling from Nashville. Am I speaking to Petula’s owner?”
She starts crying. “Please tell me she’s safe!”
Fury takes hold of my soul, such that it makes my tantrum that day in the parking lot in Casey’s car look like a hiccup. “Yeah, no thanks to you assholes. I heard her barking and broke in to save her. She could have drowned! I—”
“Oh, my god, thank you! We’re out of town at my grandfather’s funeral this weekend. Our neighbor was supposed to be taking care of her. They forgot about her when they evacuated.”
My anger immediately evaporates. “You weren’t home?”
“No. They called us a little while ago in hysterics. They’re trying to find a boat who will take them back in.”
I take a deep breath and see Casey staring at me with an arched eyebrow.
“Okay, look. She’s safe with me for right now. Can you even take her back?”
“We’re still in Oklahoma. I don’t know where we’re going to live right now.” She cries harder. “Thank you for saving her for us. She’s our baby. Thank you so much!”
Now I feel shitty that I went off on her. “Look, I lost my phone in the flood. I’m going to pass you over to the woman whose phone I just called you from. She’s a friend of mine, and she’s going to take your information, give you hers and mine, and you take as long as you need, okay? I promise, I’ll take care of her and keep her with me.” I love dogs. I love animals, period. But with my usual schedule, I knew it wouldn’t be fair to own one.
“Thank you!”
I hand the phone over to Casey, who smiles as she turns away and goes in search of something to write with as she talks to the woman.
George walks over and sits next to me. “Petula, huh?”
“Yeah.”
He pets her and she happily wags. I know he wants to say something, but he’s wary of everyone around us.
Finally, he looks at me, and I see the tears in his eyes. “You’ll live withme,” he whispers. “We’ll say you’re renting a room from Casey, and you’ll go back and forth. Okay? Please? If we can convince her to stay with us, even better.”
I wearily nod. “Whatever you say, Sir. I’m too exhausted to argue. Like I said, you two figure it out and tell me where I’m supposed to be and when.”
“I love you, Dec.”
“Love you, too, George.”
He pats me on the thigh and leaves his hand there, squeezing. “You scared thefuckout of me. Out of both of us.”
“Sorry. My phones were in the water by the time I woke up. I guess I need waterproof cases from now on.”
He laughs. “You think?” He reaches over and pets Petula again. “Ellen felt bad she was allergic to dogs. She loved them, though. That’s why the kids always volunteered at the animal shelter. They could get dog-walking time in, and Ellen didn’t have to go get allergy shots all the time.”
“Ah. I wondered why that was.”
“Yeah.” He scratches her head. “How long is she staying with us?”
