Page 100 of Wild Card 13

I frowned.Surely... No.

She'd veer off. Find someone else.

I wasn't doing anything to encourage her. I didn't call her. Didn't whistle. Didn't kneel.

I was still sitting exactly where I'd been thirty seconds earlier, one hand wrapped around my coffee mug.

The dog closed the last few feet between us.

Then stopped.

Directly in front of my chair.

She looked up at me. Her ears were entirely too big for her head. Her warm brown eyes met mine with complete certainty.

Then she sat. Like she'd arrived exactly where she'd meant to go.

The patio grew unexpectedly quiet.

I became vaguely aware of half a dozen people watching.

Someone behind me murmured, "Well..."

I blinked down at her. "...Hi." The single word felt almost ridiculous.

The dog's tail answered first, setting her entire back end wagging with such enthusiastic determination that her whole body wiggled with it. She scooted forward another few inches, pressed her chest against my knees, and leaned every lanky pound of herself into my legs with absolute trust. Like she'd known me much longer than the thirty seconds we'd been occupying the same space.

My free hand moved before I consciously decided to lift it. Fingers slid between impossibly soft ears.

She closed her eyes. An enormous sigh escaped her. Safe. Home.

Something inside my chest gave way so suddenly it almost stole my breath.

The volunteer finally reached us, slightly out of breath, one hand braced against her knee. "I'm so sorry," she said automatically.

Then she looked down.

Dottie hadn't moved. Not an inch.

The volunteer's expression softened. She smiled to herself before looking back at me. "I had a feeling."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She straightened, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Some dogs spend the whole day meeting people." She nodded toward Dottie. “She hasn't wanted anything to do with anybody."

I looked back down. The golden mutt had somehow managed to wedge herself even closer against my legs.

The volunteer chuckled. "Sometimes..." She let the words linger for a heartbeat. "They choose."

I stared at the dog. She opened one eye just long enough to look back at me before immediately leaning harder into my hand. As if the conversation had already been settled.

Across the table, Arlo looked from the dog...to me...then smiled. "Looks like you've been adopted."

CHAPTER 12

BUZZ

NOW