Without another word, Cole turned and strode toward his house with Blackie at his heels.

  “Goodbye, Mr Camden,” Jeff called, raising his hand.

  Robin wasn’t surprised when their neighbour didn’t give them the courtesy of a reply.

  In an effort to distract Jeff from Cole Camden’s unfriendliness, she said brightly, “Hey, I’m starving. How about you?”

  Jeff didn’t answer right away. “Do you think he’ll let me play with Blackie?”

  Robin sighed, thinking about the dilemma that faced her. She didn’t want Cole to hurt Jeff’s feelings, but it wasn’t likely their neighbour would appreciate her son’s affinity with his Labrador. By the same token, a neighbour’s dog, even one that belonged to a grouch, would ease her guilt over not being able to provide Jeff with the dog she’d promised him.

  “What do you think, Mom?” Jeff prompted. “He’ll probably let me play with Blackie sometimes, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know, honey,” she whispered. “I just don’t know.”

  * * *

  LATER THE SAME DAY, after buying groceries to stock their bare kitchen shelves and picking up several other necessities, Robin counted the change at the bottom of her purse to be sure she had enough money for the subway on Monday morning. Luckily she had enough spare change for BART—Bay Area Rapid Transit—for the week, but it was packed lunches for her and Jeff until payday, which was two weeks away.

  Her finances would have been in better shape if they could have waited another year to move out of the apartment, but at the rate property values were rising Robin couldn’t possibly have saved to keep pace with inflation. The interest rates were at a two-year low and she’d decided soon after the first of the year that if she was ever going to move out of the apartment this was the time.

  “Mom!” Jeff crashed through the back door, breathless. “We’re in trouble.”

  “Oh?” Robin glanced up from the salad she was mixing. A completely disgusted look on his face, her son flung himself into a chair and plopped his elbows on the table. Then he let out a forceful sigh.

  “What’s wrong, Jeff?”

  “I’m afraid we made a bad mistake.”

  “How’s that?”

  “There’re nothing but girls in this neighbourhood.” He made it sound as though they’d unexpectedly landed in enemy territory. “I rode my bike up and down the street and all I saw were girls.” He wrinkled his nose with aversion.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be meeting lots of boys in school Monday.”

  “You aren’t taking this seriously!” Jeff cried. “I don’t even think you fully understand what this means. There are seven houses on this block. Six of them have kids and only one has a boy, and that’s me. I’m surrounded by women!”

  “How’d you find all this out?”

  “I asked, of course.” He sighed again. “What are you going to do about it, Mom?”

  “Me?” Robin asked, somewhat taken aback. “Are you suggesting we move back to the apartment?”

  Jeff considered this for only a moment. “I’d think we should if it weren’t for two things. We can’t have a dog there. And I found a fort.”

  “A fort?”

  “Yes,” he said solemnly. “It’s hidden way back in Mr Camden’s yard and covered by a bunch of brush. It’s real neat there. I don’t think he knows about it, because the word on the street is he doesn’t like kids. Someone must have built it and I’m going to find out who. If there’s a club going, I want in. I’ve got the right—I live closer to Mr Camden than anyone else does.”

  “Agreed.” Robin munched on a slice of green pepper and handed one to Jeff. “So you think it would be all right if we stayed?”

  “I guess so,” Jeff conceded, “at least until I find out more about the fort.”

  Robin was about to say something else when the doorbell chimed.

  Jeff’s blue eyes met hers. “I bet it’s one of those pesky girls,” he said in disgust.

  “Do you want me to get rid of her?”

  Jeff nodded emphatically. “Please.”

  Robin was smiling when she answered the front door. Jeff was right about one thing—it was a girl, and one who, she guessed, was a couple of years younger than her son. She hadn’t come alone, though. Standing with the youngster was an adult.

  “Hi,” the woman said cheerfully, flashing Robin a warm smile. “I know you’ve barely had a chance to get settled in, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Heather Lawrence and this is my daughter, Kelly. We live next door, and we’d like to welcome you to the neighbourhood.”

  Robin introduced herself as she opened the door and invited them in. Heather was cute and perky. Her hair was cut in a short bob that bounced when she spoke. Robin knew right away she was going to like her neighbour. Heather’s warm reception was a pleasant change from the way Cole Camden had welcomed her.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Robin asked.

  “If you’re sure I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “I’m sure.” Robin led the way into the kitchen where Jeff sat waiting. He cast her a look that suggested she should be shot for treason, then muttered something about forgetting that mothers were really girls in disguise and headed out the front door.

  Robin reached for two matching ceramic mugs and poured a cup of coffee for her new friend. She offered Kelly a glass of juice, then slid into the chair across the table from the girl and her mother. “I’m sorry about Jeff.” She felt obliged to apologise. “He’s at the age where he thinks girls are a plague to society.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Heather said, smiling. “Kelly isn’t keen on boys herself.”

  “They’re creeps. I’d rather ride my bicycle than visit with a boy, anyway,” the girl announced. “But Mom wanted me to come over here with her so she didn’t look like a busybody. Right, Mom?”

  Heather blushed and cast her daughter a murderous glance.

  Robin laughed. “I thought it would take several weeks to get to know my neighbours and I’ve met two in one day.”

  “Someone else has already been over?”

  “Cole Camden introduced himself this morning,” she explained, keeping her eyes averted to hide the resentment she felt toward her unfriendly neighbour. Even now, hours later, she couldn’t help thinking about the way he’d reacted to her and Jeff.

  “Cole Camden introduced himself?” Heather repeated, sounding shocked. She frowned, staring into space as though digesting the fact.

  “To be honest, I think he would have preferred to avoid me until the next Ice Age, but his dog wanted to make friends with Jeff.”

  Heather’s mouth opened and closed twice. “Blackie did?”

  “Is there something strange about that?”

  “Frankly, yes. To say Cole keeps to himself is an understatement. I don’t think he’s said more than a handful of words to me in the entire two years since Kelly and I moved here. I don’t know why he continues to live in the neighbourhood.” She paused to respond to her daughter, who was asking permission to go back home. “Thank Robin for the juice, honey. Anyway,” she went on, turning back to Robin when her daughter skipped out of the door, “he’s all alone in that huge house and it’s ridiculous, really. Can you imagine what his heating bills must be? Although, personally, I don’t think money is much of a problem for him. But then, that’s something I wouldn’t know.”

  It didn’t surprise Robin to learn Cole lived alone. She’d barely met the man, but guessed that life held little joy for him. It was as though love, warmth and friendship had all been found lacking and had therefore been systematically dismissed.

  “Apparently, he was married once. At least that’s what I’ve heard, but he was divorced long before I moved here.”

  Robin had dealt with unfriendly men before, but something about Cole struck her hard and deep, and she wasn’t sure what it was or why he would evoke such a strong feeling within her.

  “He and his dog are inseparable,” Heather added.

  Robin nodded, barely listening. He’d intimidated her at first, but when she’d pulled herself together and faced him squarely he’d loosened up a bit and, later, even seemed amused. But then Jeff had asked him about children, and Robin had witnessed the flash of pain in his eyes.

  As if by magic, her son’s face appeared around the door. When he saw that Kelly was gone, he walked into the room, hands buried in his back pockets.

  “Do you have a dog?” he asked Heather.

  “Unfortunately, no. Kelly’s allergic to animal fur.”

  Jeff nodded as though to say that was exactly the kind of thing he expected from a girl. “We’re getting a German shepherd soon, aren’t we, Mom?”

  “Soon,” Robin responded, feeling wretched. After Heather left, she was going to tell Jeff the truth. She fully intended to let him have his dog, but he’d have to wait a while. For a good part of the day, she’d been practicing what to say. She’d even come up with a compromise idea. They could get a cat. Cats didn’t seem to mind being left on their own, and they didn’t need the same kind of exercise. Although she wasn’t crazy about keeping a litter box in the house, Robin was willing to put up with that inconvenience until she could afford to have a fence built. She planned to be positive and direct with Jeff. He’d understand. At least she hoped he would.

  Heather stayed only a few minutes more, and the visit was a fruitful one. Robin learned that Heather was divorced, worked mornings in an office, and provided after-school day care in an effort to spend more time with Kelly. This information was good news to Robin and the two women agreed that Jeff would go to the Lawrence house before and after school, instead of the community centre several blocks away. The arrangement suited them both; even Jeff shrugged his agreement.

  Robin would have liked to ask her new friend more about Cole, but his name didn’t come up again, and she didn’t want to seem too curious about him.

  After Heather left, Robin braced herself for the talk with Jeff about getting a dog. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well. It seemed that after waiting nearly ten years, a few more months was completely unacceptable.

  “You promised!” he shouted. “You said I could have a dog when we moved into the house!”

  “You can, sweetheart, but not right away.”

  Unusual for Jeff, tears gathered in his eyes, and he struggled to hold them back. Soon Robin felt moisture filling her own eyes. She hated disappointing Jeff more than anything. His heart was set on getting a dog right away, and he considered the offer of a cat a poor substitute.

  He left the house soon afterward. In an effort to soothe his hurt feelings, Robin cooked her son’s favorite meal—macaroni cheese with sliced sausages and lots of ketchup.

  She didn’t see him on the pavement or the street when she went to check half an hour later. She stood on the porch, wondering where he’d gone. His bike was parked inside the garage, and he’d already aired his views about playing with any of the girls in the neighbourhood.

  It would be just like him to storm into his room in a fit of indignation and promptly fall asleep. Robin hurried upstairs to his bedroom, which was across the hall from her own.

  His bed was made and his clothes hung neatly in the cupboard. Robin decided that in another day or two, everything would be back to normal.

  It wasn’t until she turned to leave that she saw the note on his desk. Picking it up, Robin read the first line. Immediately, she felt a swirling sense of panic.

  Dear Mom,

  You broke your promise. You said I could have a dog and now you say I have to wait. If I can’t have a dog, then I don’t want to live with you any more. This is goodbye forever.

  Love, Jeff

  CHAPTER TWO

  FOR A MOMENT, Robin was too stunned to react. Her heart was pounding so hard that it echoed in her ears like thunder, so loud it seemed to knock her off balance.

  Rushing down the stairs, she stood on the porch, cupped her hands over her mouth and screamed frantically. “Jeff!”

  Cole Camden was standing on his front porch, too. He released a shrill whistle and stood waiting expectantly. When nothing happened, he called, “Blackie!”

  “Jeff!” Robin tried again.

  “Blackie!”

  Robin called for Jeff once more, but her voice cracked as the panic engulfed her. She paused, placed her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes in an effort to gather her composure, which was crumbling more every minute.

  “Blackie!” Cole yelled. He looked furious about his dog’s disappearance.

  It took Robin only a moment to put two and two together. “Cole,” she cried, running across the lawn toward him, “I think Jeff and Blackie might have run away together.”

  Cole looked at her as though she were deranged, and Robin couldn’t really blame him. “Jeff left me a note. He wants a dog so badly and we can’t get one right away because…well, because we can’t, and I had to tell him, and he was terribly disappointed and he decided to run away.”

  Cole’s mouth thinned. “The whole idea is ridiculous. Even if Jeff did run away, Blackie would never go with him.”

  “Do you honestly think I’d make something like this up?” she shrieked. “The last time I saw Jeff was around four-thirty, and I’d bet cold cash that’s about the same time Blackie disappeared.”

  Cole’s gaze narrowed. “Then where are they?”

  “If I knew that, do you think I’d be standing around here arguing with you?”

  “Listen, lady, I don’t know your son, but I know my dog and—”

  “My name’s not lady,” Robin flared, clenching her hands into tight fists at her sides. He was looking at her as though she were a madwoman on the loose—which she was where her son was concerned. “I’m sorry to have troubled you. When I find Jeff, I’ll see to it that your dog finds his way home.”

  Cole’s eyes shot sparks in her direction, but she ignored them. Turning abruptly, she ran back to her own house. Halfway there, she stopped dead, and whirled around to face Cole again. “The fort.”

  “What fort?” Cole demanded.

  “The one that’s back in the furthest corner of your yard. It’s covered with brush…. Jeff found it earlier today. He wouldn’t know anywhere to go and that would be the perfect hiding place.”

  “No one’s been there in years,” Cole said, discounting her suggestion.

  “The least we can do is look.”

  Cole’s nod was reluctant. He led the way to his backyard, which was much larger than hers. There was a small grove of oak trees at the rear of the property and beyond that a high fence. Apparently the fort was situated between the trees and the fence. A few minutes later, in the most remote corner of the yard, nestled between two trees, Robin spied the small wooden structure, which blended into the terrain. If Robin hadn’t been looking for the hideaway, she’d never have seen it.

  It was obvious when they neared the space that someone had taken up residence. Cole lowered himself on to all fours, peered inside, then looked back at Robin with a nod. He breathed in sharply, apparently irritated by this turn of events, and agilely crawled through the narrow entrance.

  Not about to be left standing by herself, Robin got down on her knees and followed him in.

  Just as she’d suspected, Jeff and Blackie were huddled together in a corner. Jeff was sound asleep and Blackie was curled up at his side, guarding him. When Cole and Robin entered, the Labrador lifted his head and wagged his tail in greeting.

  The fort wasn’t much bigger than the tent Jeff had constructed the night before, and Robin was forced to pull her knees close and loop her arms around them. Cole’s larger body seemed to fill every available bit of space.

  Jeff must have sensed that his newfound home had been invaded because his eyes fluttered open and he gazed at Robin, then twisted his head to stare at Cole.

  “Hi, Mom,” he said sheepishly. “I bet I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

  Robin was so grateful to find him that all she could do was nod. If she’d tried to speak, her voice would have wobbled and heaved with emotion, which would only have embarrassed them both.

  “So, Jeff,” Cole said sternly. “You were going to run away from home. I see you brought everything you needed with you.” He pushed the frying pan and atlas into the middle of their cramped quarters. “What I want to know is how you convinced Blackie to join you.”

  “He came all on his own. He just sort of followed me,” Jeff murmured, but his eyes avoided Cole’s. “I wouldn’t have taken him on purpose—he’s your dog.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t…coerce him.”

  “All you took was a frying pan and an atlas!” Robin cried, staring at the cast-iron skillet and the atlas with its dog-eared pages.

  Cole and Jeff both ignored her outburst.

  “I take it you don’t like living around here?” Cole asked.

  Jeff stiffened, then vigorously shook his head. “Mom told me when we moved I could have a dog and now I can’t, and worse than that she dragged me into a neighbourhood filled with girls. That would have been all right if I had a dog, but then she broke her promise. A promise is a promise and it’s sacred. A guy would never do that.”

  “So you can’t have the dog until later?”

  “And all because of a stupid fence.”

  Cole nodded. “Fences are important, you know. You know what else? Your mom was worried about you.”

  Jeff looked at Robin, who was blinking furiously to keep the tears from dripping down her face. The upheaval and stress of the move had drained her emotionally and she was an unmitigated mess. Normally, she was a calm, controlled person, but this whole thing with Jeff was her undoing. That and the fact she’d hardly slept the night before in the makeshift tent.

  “Mom,” Jeff said, studying her anxiously, “are you all right?”

  She covered her face with both hands. “I slept with a dog and you ran away and all you took was a frying pan and an atlas.” That made no sense whatsoever. Robin felt as if she’d been run over by a steamroller, and once the tears started they wouldn’t stop. Her shoulders shook jerkily.