The question caught my interest. I knew so little about Gabby. And so did Rachel. I wanted to grin. That would only help me.

“Action-comedy, I guess,” Gabby said. “I don’t watch movies often.”

Rachel gave Gabby a plate, and I finally noticed that hot pepperoni scented the air. My mouth started to water. It’d been a while since I’d eaten.

“Let’s eat this in the living room and watch a movie,” Rachel said.

I stood and moved toward the living room before either of the girls took a step. If I was sneaky, maybe I could steal a slice from Rachel’s plate without being noticed.

Rachel laughed behind me. “I think he’s going to fit right in.”

I stretched out in front of the couch, trying to take up as much room as possible so they would both need to sit close to me. I wanted Gabby close because I’d missed her. And, Rachel...well, I wanted her pizza. I wouldn’t take Gabby’s food. She needed it.

Rachel picked out a movie, and I watched closely as she fed it into the machine. Interesting. She picked up a long piece of plastic and pushed one of the buttons on it. Then, they stepped over me, one sitting at each end of the couch.

The screen came alive with color. Sure, I’d seen a few TVs through windows. But after hearing the high pitch squeal that the humans didn’t seem to hear, I’d decided it wasn’t interesting. This was different. Being in the same room, being able to hear the real life sounds along with the images, made it interesting, and for a while, I forgot about the pizza. However, when Gabby shifted positions and set her plate aside, my hunger returned. I stared at the piece on her plate. I didn’t want to take her food; but if she was full and offered it, I wouldn’t say no.

“Just one bite?” Rachel asked, seeing the direction of my attention.

“If he’s never eaten it before, he might throw up. Are you willing to clean it up? I’m not.”

Yep, Gabby was still mad at me.

Rachel stuck out her bottom lip in a pout but returned her attention to the movie. Gabby went back to watching the movie as well. She sure had a cold heart. How long would it take to thaw? What if it never did? No, it had to.

Hoping to distract myself from my negative thoughts and my hunger, I tried to watch the movie as well. However, movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention.

I watched as Rachel tore bits of pizza from the main slice, then nudged them to the edge of her plate. Going for innocent, I nonchalantly turned my head and grabbed them with my tongue. Rachel and I worked through a whole slice that way.

By the end of the movie, I was really starting to like her.

“Fine,” Gabby said when the first credit rolled. “Give him the steak.”

Steak? My mouth watered in earnest. Rachel cheered and hopped off the couch, but I didn’t follow her when she called to me. I turned and looked back at Gabby.

“Your choice, bud. Not mine,” she whispered.

What was my choice? To follow Rachel, a person willing to feed me, or stay by Gabby so she could glare at me while I starved? Starving almost seemed like a valid option when I thought of it like that. But, I stood and walked to the kitchen. Let her think she was pushing me away. I was just biding my time and gathering my energy. She had to sleep eventually.

Rachel already had the steak out when I walked into the kitchen.

“I’ll warm it up for you,” she said with a pat to my head. I didn’t like all the touching and patting but if it meant steak, I’d put up with it.

A moment later, I heard Gabby stand and walk our way.

“Thanks for the shopping and movie, Rachel. And the leftovers. You’ve made this feel like home in less than a day.”

Her words and sad smile twisted my heart. Did she want a real home as much as I did?

“But I’m beat and going to bed. See you in the morning.”

She walked away but looked back at me. It gave me hope. I held her gaze for a heartbeat before she blushed and hurried to her room.

Rachel pulled the plate from the microwave, distracting me from my thoughts.

“Here you go, Clay,” she said, setting the plate down. She’d cut it up into tiny pieces for me. Why couldn’t Gabby be that nice? I sighed and bent my head to eat.

“What’s wrong? I bet you need something to drink, too.” She moved to another cupboard while I wolfed down the meat.

A bowl appeared next to my plate, and I lifted my head to stare at it. When in my fur, I drank from streams and puddles. It never bothered me before. But the idea of eating out of dog bowls in Gabby’s home soured the meat in my belly. At least she wasn’t awake to witness it. I dipped my head and drank.

Rachel puttered around the kitchen behind me, adding water to a machine on the counter and setting some kind of clock on it. Thirst quenched, I watched as she opened a tin of coffee grounds. The scent brought me back to the Compound and a simpler life.

My father had raised me in the woods, telling me it was far safer than the human world. After hunters shot my mother, I’d known he’d only wanted to protect me. Yet, he’d made my life harder because he’d hidden us away.

Anything I knew about humans I’d gleaned from watching them or by interacting and learning from my kind at the Compound. What I knew wasn’t enough to build a life with Gabby.

I sat back on my haunches to watch Rachel. She noticed my attention.

“Do you need to go out?” She moved to the back door and opened it. “Here you go. Come on. Get going.”

She expected me to defecate on command? Humiliating.

I stood and stiffly walked outside, reminding myself that to her I was a dog. My pride could handle the bruising. I went outside, checked on my hole under the bush, then ran a block away to relieve myself. The human ways were already getting to my head. I couldn’t do anything in the yard Gabby walked in. It just wasn’t right.

Rachel stood on the back deck, watching for me when I returned.

“I thought you took off on me,” she said.

I harrumphed. She kicked me out then worried I wouldn’t come back? She didn’t make sense.

She stood aside and let me in, then locked the door behind us. I trotted ahead to the living room and eyed Gabby’s closed door. I could wait until Rachel went to bed, then shift and let myself in, but it would be better if an accomplice took the blame for my unwanted invasion.

“Night, Clay,” Rachel said, moving to her room.

I whined.

She stopped, backed up a step, and looked at me. I sat near the end of the couch, staring at Gabby’s door.

“I don’t know, bud. She doesn’t seem to like you much.”

I whined louder and inched closer to Gabby’s door.

Rachel sighed. “If she gets mad, you’re going to be the one out of a home.”

I stood and moved another foot toward Gabby.

“All right, all right.” Rachel crossed the room and opened the door for me. I slid by her and gently hopped up on the end of the bed. Rachel eyed me for a minute, but I just settled my head on my paws and closed my eyes.

She shook her head and closed the door. I lifted my head and turned to look at Gabby. She slept peacefully already, her steady breathing shallow and slow.

Breathing deeply of her scent, I set my head on my paws again. I belonged beside her, but I knew not to push my luck.

Chapter 6

Gabby woke with a stretch, her feet bumping against my ribs. She’d done that often during the night, and I’d welcomed each nudge. Any contact was good contact. Apparently not this morning, though.

She sat up abruptly and glared at me.

“No,” she whispered. “No dogs allowed on my bed.”

I sighed, laid my head down, and closed my eyes. I’d hoped for a nicer morning.

“Seriously, Clay. Don’t you think this is just a little inappropriate?”

Not in the least.

“Fine.” She braced her hands on the headboard and tried to use her feet to push me off the bed. I opened one eye to watch her strain. I wanted to laugh at her efforts but didn’t think she’d appreciate my humor.