Dropping the doll back into the drawer, he turned back to Olivia. “Let’s go back to bed. It’s late and you should really try to sleep.”
Nodding absently and cradling the puppy like a child, she headed back up the stairs while the fire banked behind them.
When the first pale rays of dawn began to filter through the window, Olivia woke to soft paws pressing on her chest and her face being bathed by a rough, wet tongue.
“Urgh.” She pushed the puppy down, but he simply rolled over happily and began to chew on the bedding. “No!” She picked him up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” she sighed, as her bare feet landed in a puddle. Glancing across her bedroom floor, she noticed several more puddles on the hardwood floor.
The puppy wriggled out of her grasp, jumping back onto the bed and trotting over to lick Theo’s ear.
“Jesus.” He jolted awake and wiped his ear. “Does he have to share a bed with us?” he asked grumpily.
“He’s only a baby. He needs reassurance and a lot of attention right now.”
She stood up, surveying the carnage of her room. Not only had he been marking his territory, but he seemed to have amused himself while they slept by chewing his way through one of her favorite sneakers.
“You can take him outside and let him run for a bit.”
“Why do I have to?” Theo frowned.
“Do you want to clean this up?”
He leaned over the bed and peered at the wet floor. “Ah, why don’t I take him outside for a while?”
“I thought you might say that,” she murmured as she hobbled to the bathroom.
By the time Theo wandered back into the kitchen, holding the squirming fur ball, who was busy trying to chew his fingers, Olivia had cleaned both herself and the bedroom and was dressed and making him a coffee.
“He’ll be hungry by now.” She laid a bowl of water on the floor for the puppy. “I’ll have to run to the store and get some supplies.”
Theo nodded as he placed the puppy on the floor, watching in amusement as he ambled over to the bowl and stuck his face clumsily in the water, sloshing it over the floor.
“I’ll go take a shower and get dressed.”
“You don’t need to come too.” Olivia handed him a coffee. “I won’t be long. Why don’t you stay and paint? You didn’t really get a chance to yesterday.”
“I can paint anytime.” He took the mug gratefully and sipped. “Besides, you’re not going out on your own until we’ve figured out what’s going on.”
“Really? You’re being ridiculous,” she muttered sourly. “I don’t need a babysitter. Erica said the mayor is dealing with the chief, and my father, while he may or may not be a psycho, hasn’t actually harmed me.”
“Have you forgotten there’s a murderer on the loose?”
“One with a specific victim pool,” she countered. “I’m not his type.”
“Regardless,” he answered stubbornly, “I could do with some fresh air anyway.”
“Between you and Jake, I’m starting to feel a little suffocated.”
“I can’t help that, Olivia,” Theo said softly. “I’m worried about you.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “Just hurry up before the puppy starts chewing through anything else.”
He disappeared back up the stairs, and Olivia stubbornly contemplated, just for a moment, grabbing her keys and going anyway. But the truth was, it wasn’t actually such a hardship having Theo with her. She enjoyed his company, and he really needed to practice getting used to using modern currency.
Figuring now was as good a time as any, she decided she’d take him by the bank and teach him how to use the ATM. After all, Sam had given him an account, so he might as well learn how to use it. After, maybe, they could stop by the coffee shop, and he could try his first espresso. Although, she thought to herself in amusement, given his love of coffee it probably wasn’t a good idea to introduce him to coffee in shot form. He was already halfway to being a caffeine junkie.
Wandering into the library with the puppy enthusiastically trailing along behind her, she stopped when she noticed the red leather collar on the sofa from the night before. Picking it up and grasping it tightly in her hand, she looked down at the dog. He couldn’t keep the name; even if he did look exactly the same as her beloved Truman, he needed his own identity. Dropping the collar in the trash basket, she dropped down onto the couch and let the puppy jump up into her lap.
