“Rufus,” Nice Lady called from behind him.
He kept looking toward the trees, trying to see what was happening.Couldn’t.
“Rufus, come on, buddy.Time for walkies.”
Walkies?Oh boy!
He whipped around and raced back to the house, where Nice Lady was waiting for him with his leash.Up the porch he loped, then sat while she clipped the leash on.Rufus good boy.
“That’s a good boy,” she crooned.“Good sit, Rufus.”She stroked his head.
Yisss.He liked that.Was very proud she had noticed his sit.
At first he hadn’t been sure of Nice Lady or understood what she wanted from him.The first few nights he hadn’t liked being inside the house to sleep.But Nice Lady gave him food, her voice was soft, and Rufus had his very own warm and squishy bed inside.
Sleeping inside might be better than sleeping outside.He could protect Nice Lady better inside.
His tail wagged as they walked out the front door and down the front steps.Rufus looked back at the trees behind the house.Took another few sniffs as they walked up the road.
No.The smell from before was gone.No more deep voices.
When they got home, Rufus would use the snoot and peeper holes to make sure Bad Man hadn’t come back.
NINETEEN
“I
t’s not a date,” Willow said into her phone the next morning as she picked her way through the underbrush with Rufus.The "trail” they’d started on behind her place had quickly disappeared, but he was on a mission, insistently pulling her deeper into the woods, and she wanted to give him a chance to burn off some of his restless energy.
“It’s not?”Bronwyn said.“Because while admittedly I might have been out of the game during my degree, that sure sounds like the exact definition of a date.”
“No.We’re just friends.”Was she secretly hoping it was a date?Yes.
Was it insane to hope for that and jeopardize their longstanding friendship?Also yes.
“And by the way, I’m being dragged deep into the woods here, so if I lose you, I’ll call back later.”
