When a male dog doesn’t sniff another dog’s mark, there’s something seriously wrong.

  “So, something on your mind?” JayB asked.

  Alana gave a rueful laugh. “It’s about your friend, Rodney.”

  “Okay, you promoted him to friend, not me.”

  She laughed again. “I’m just hoping you’ll have some ideas on how I can get rid of him.”

  This made JayB grin. “I have to tell you, I’ve been trying to do that my whole life.”

  “Seriously? I get the sense you’re not kidding.”

  “I’m really not. Except that, if not for me, I’m not sure Rodney would have any friends in the world. He’s always been that way. He’s not evil, he’s just … Rodney. And with him dragging my father into his delusions, I really can’t get rid of him now. I sort of need to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get Walter involved in something illegal. Why, what’d he do to you?”

  “It’s just that when we go running, he won’t stop talking. I mean, the entire time. I try speeding up so that he’ll be panting too hard and he starts calling for me to wait. He wants me to set a pace so that he can keep jabbering. It’s driving me crazy. And anyway, I never said I wanted to run every single day, but now he thinks we’ve got a standing appointment. He’ll be over soon, I promise. And if I’m not outside waiting for him and I don’t come to the door, he’ll sit there on the stoop. Oh, except for the one time he came into my house. I mean, literally just walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee, because I’d gotten delayed. Is that like a thing here, going into other people’s homes? I see Walter doing it to you, too.”

  “It’s a thing here, but usually only at my house. So, how often do you want to run?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Just maybe a couple of days a week. I like it, and it helps keep my weight down.”

  “You know, since I started walking dogs every day, I’ve lost eight pounds.”

  “Oh? Well, you don’t need to lose any weight, JayB.”

  They gazed at each other for a moment. “You don’t, either,” he finally told her.

  She glanced away.

  JayB frowned thoughfully. “All right. I don’t want to make light of this if he’s really bothering you. Can you just tell him you don’t want to run with him anymore?” JayB asked.

  Alana stopped and gave my person a long, dark look. “Just tell him. Just,” she repeated, sounding surly.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Alana turned and stalked away.

  JayB hurried after Alana, and I hurried after JayB. A dog who just lets a person run off is no kind of dog at all. Odin, on leash, followed Alana. “Hey, I’m sorry, Alana. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

  “I’m not angry,” she snapped.

  “Upset, then.”

  “Could you stop with telling me how I feel, please?”

  JayB nodded silently, falling into step with her. For a long time, nothing was said. I tracked their unusually unhappy body language, feeling anxious for both of them.

  “I get that I’m not good at that,” Alana sighed. “I mean, I’m terrible at it. Telling people what I want, what I don’t want. I try to please everybody, and I hate that about myself.”

  “It’s not the worst of qualities, though, is it? Couldn’t it be that you’re just nice?”

  “Too nice.”

  There was a warmth on the breeze, promising a hot summer, and the air felt heavy with scents from flowers and thriving grasses. Odin clearly felt that the smells would be vastly improved with a few strategic leg lifts, but our humans had adopted a brisk pace that suggested stopping would not be tolerated.

  “I’ll talk to him. Rodney,” JayB said. “Make him understand.”

  Alana shook her head. “I’m not asking you to do that.”

  “Still…”

  “No. Please, JayB. You do that and he’ll come right to me, wanting to talk about it. You wouldn’t be solving anything.”

  We walked along at a slower, less-tense pace for a while.

  “Okay. Here’s a different plan,” JayB suggested. “When we see Rodney next, you tell him that I’ve offered you a position in my burgeoning dog-walking business. We’re expanding, and I’ve made you vice president of global operations.”

  Alana laughed. “That could actually work. If I tell him I’m dog-walking, he won’t know what to do. He’s not going to want to walk with us, right?”

  “If he does, I’ll assign him to Spartan.”

  I couldn’t tell if the dog park or Phoebe’s house was the intended destination—it didn’t seem like Alana and JayB were taking us in either direction.

  “It was strange walking into your place and seeing all the living room furniture gone,” JayB remarked.

  “I know, I actually cried a little as they took the stuff away. I didn’t really associate this house with my mom so much, but when they hauled out that soft chair, I pictured her sitting on it and reading under the lamp. And now it’s all gone.”

  They were quiet for a moment. Alana wiped her eyes.

  “I’m sorry that I overheard you on the phone. Was that Guy the guy?”

  Alana nodded. “That was Guy. He’s upset because some boxes arrived. And he has no idea how many more will be coming, now that the estate sale people are finished. I mean, there’s just stuff that I wanted to keep, you know? My siblings aren’t interested in anything, they say. My brother is the executor, but he’s been too busy to even send me the will. I guess I get the proceeds of the house sale, which pisses him off, of course. But his wife’s family has money, my sister does really well as a physician—I guess Mom was hoping to give me a boost.” She wiped her eyes again. “My realtor said it’s going to take a while to sell the place because the wallpaper and appliances are really old; so are the kitchen cabinets.” Alana shrugged. “She’s going to decide if I should paint over the wallpaper or what. Rodney says we should do a complete remodel.”

  “Oh, that’d be nice … for him. Give him a house to squat in when he gets kicked out of his current place.”

  Alana grinned.

  “So. Now you list it and then just leave?” JayB asked nonchalantly. I picked up some tension in his voice.

  “Not immediately. I want to meet the folks who buy it and be comfortable with them, you know? I mean, Mom really loved this house. I just wouldn’t like it if people started a meth lab or something.”

  JayB laughed.

  Odin had had enough and planted three of his paws on the sidewalk and aimed a stream at a stop sign pole. Our people halted and I followed Odin’s mark with a high-quality effort of my own.

  Alana searched JayB’s face with her eyes for a moment. “I do need to get back. I think Guy’s getting lonely without me. Our last couple of conversations … it seems like he’s really suffering. And I miss my cat. Rhiannon.”

  “Your cat’s name is Rhiannon?”

  “Yeah. Not from the song, from a book I read when I was a little girl.”

  I was hearing “cat” a lot. It’s not my favorite word.

  We were all back at my house, in the kitchen, when the front door popped open. Odin and I reacted immediately, barking so ferociously that we knew whoever it was had to be terrified.

  Disappointingly, it was only Rodney and Spartan.

  “JayB!” Rodney called. “Where are you? I need you to watch Spartan for a few days. I have a critical situation.”

  Dear Diary:

  A dog knows that humans decide our fates. They decide where we live, when we will eat, and what dinner will be. They determine if we are good dogs or bad dogs, and if we’re going to go to the dog park or lie on the rug. All dogs know this and all dogs accept this.

  But that doesn’t mean we always comprehend a situation—human decision-making can make us anxious.

  I’m upset because Spartan is apparently living with us now. This started after a brief conversation during which Rodney said JayB had “better not try anything with Alana.” Then Rodney was gone, and his dog stayed here.

  Spartan remained as expressionless as ever while he watched Rodney go.

  Normally, when a dog sees their person leave, the dog feels distressed and apprehensive and will pace and yawn and nervously drink water. Not Spartan. Spartan just sits there with his cold eyes underneath his overlapping brow. Does he care that his life has completely changed? I can’t tell. He’s on a leash a lot, restrained from lunging at Kelsey, who spends her days cowering. He doesn’t seem bothered that I am off-leash while he is on.

  To a dog, a person’s decisions always seem like forever. As far as I know, Rodney is never coming back and JayB has decided Spartan permanently belongs in our pack.

  Why couldn’t it be Phoebe instead?

  Love,

  Clancy

  Fourteen

  Rodney started in surprise when he rounded the corner into the kitchen. “Oh wow, Alana! I was just going to call you.”

  “Oh?” Alana replied blandly.

  “Since you’re here, come on in, Rodney,” JayB invited.

  “So I can’t go running with you today. I mean, obviously.” He pointed to his pants. “I’m sorry, babe.”

  “Oh,” Alana lamented neutrally. “Too bad.”

  “I’ve got some really important stuff going on,” Rodney continued, laughing at himself. “You’re not going to believe this. I’ve got to go to Canada. The country, I mean.”

  “Canada,” Alana repeated.

  “The country,” JayB added.

  “Right?” Rodney agreed. “I’m as amazed as you are. That’s the kind of stuff that happens when you’re in my business. It’s a huge deal.”

  “Sounds great!” JayB gushed. “See you later.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t take you with me,” Rodney asided to Alana. “I mean, it’s all very last-minute and honestly it’s a little hush-hush.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m really not supposed to tell you anything about it. That’s what I mean by hush-hush.”

  “Okay.”

  “All right, look, it’s a gold mine,” Rodney blurted. “I mean a real gold mine, like, a tunnel with gold in it. I know how cool it sounds. I’ll see if I can bring you back a chunk.”

  “Have fun,” JayB urged.

  Rodney frowned at him. “You can’t have fun, it’s Canada. Anyway, that’s why I need you to watch Spartan for a few days. Or however long it takes.”

  “Oh, a few days? Like overnight? That kind of a few days?”

  “Yeah,” Rodney replied scornfully. “Overnight, obviously. You don’t go all the way to Canada on a day trip. It’s north of Alaska.”

  “Where in Canada?” Alana wanted to know.

  Rodney turned to her and frowned. “What do you mean? It’s Canada.”

  “I know, but what city?”

  “How would I know?”

  “Okay, good enough,” JayB agreed cheerfully. “But I thought you were going to stay around and learn the restaurant business.”

  Rodney snorted. “What’s there to learn? It’s kind of the simplest business there is.”

  Alana sighed.

  “Plus, your dad’s got so much going on, and he and I are partners on the thing in Canada.” Rodney focused on Alana. “I’ll call you, of course.”

  “Oh, but you’re going to be so busy.”

  Rodney grinned. “Yeah, but never too busy for you, babe. JayB’ll watch the dogs when you go for your run.”

  “So, yeah, about that,” Alana responded, taking in a deep breath. “I’m actually going to help out with the dog-walking thing now. Instead of running, I mean.”

  Rodney stared at her. “I have no idea what you just said.”

  “I said,” Alana repeated slowly, “JayB needs help with his dog-walking. He’s going to expand the business, so I’m going to help him walk dogs.”

  “Help JayB?” Rodney shook his head. “I still don’t get it.”

  “Rodney!” Alana snapped, exasperated. “I’m going to walk the dogs with JayB to help him with his business, so I won’t be going running with you when and if you return from mining gold in Canada.”

  Rodney looked at JayB, then at Alana, then back at JayB, and then at Alana again. “If you knew how rich this gold mine is going to make me, you wouldn’t worry about money,” he grumbled.

  “Well, sure,” Alana concurred, “but that’s in the future. And right now, I’m going to pick up a little extra money working for JayB.”

  “Okay,” Rodney turned to JayB. “You and me.”

  “You and me what, exactly?”

  “Let’s go into the other room for a second. Bro.”

  “Okay, bro,” JayB responded genially.

  I followed the two men as they walked down the hall and ducked into the living room, because I wanted to be there if JayB needed me. Rodney leaned forward. “What the hell’s going on?” he hissed. “Alana’s going to work for you now?”

  JayB shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Don’t worry about it? You took an oath. You pledged to keep your hands off Alana.”

  “I never said anything like that.” JayB was speaking calmly, but seemed annoyed.

  Rodney stared. “So this is it, then. This is how you betray me. Behind my back.”

  “I’m not betraying anybody. And I’m standing right in front of you.”

  Rodney fell quiet for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. “Well, you just wait,” he seethed. “Wait until I tell Maddy about this.”

  Rodney departed soon after that. Odin and I were unsure what to make of the fact that Spartan remained behind.

  “So, how about I walk with you tomorrow?” Alana suggested. “I have an appointment with the dog groomer today.”

  “Tomorrow’s perfect.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  Then Alana left, taking Odin. Very baffling, but after we collected Phoebe, I concentrated on trying to play with her and only her, though Spartan kept shoving his stiff chest in the way.

  Later, I waited for Rodney to show up, growing tense when Spartan was given his own bowl of my food. When JayB went to bed and Spartan was still in the house, I realized my life had changed forever.

  The next morning, I wagged when I smelled Odin approaching our front door and was there to greet him when he and Alana mounted the cement steps. Her knuckles rapped briefly on the doorframe.

  “Come on in,” JayB sang out. He walked out from the kitchen to greet her. “How was the dog groomer?”

  Odin smelled terrible. His eyes were hooded with shame at the strong, offensive odor he carried with him.

  “Great. Though Odin acted like he was being tortured.”

  JayB grinned. “Clancy’s like that, too.”

  “So: I’m reporting for dog duty.”

  “Okay, it’s just Spartan, Odin, and Clancy today.”

  “I have to ask you something,” Alana said. “It’s about Odin.”

  JayB lifted an eyebrow.

  “He’s just so restless. He wanders around and sometimes he cries a little bit. I’m really concerned.”

  “Well,” JayB speculated, “maybe he’s still having trouble getting over Helen.”

  Alana thought about this. “Do you think dogs understand death? I mean, what it even is?”

  JayB nodded. “I do, actually. I think we can tell when a person or an animal is dead because we can see it. I think for a dog it’s the smell. They smell the change. Odin knows Helen is gone. What I’m not sure about is whether he believes Helen is ever coming back.”

  “Poor Odin.”

  “He was really devoted to your mom. A few weeks before she passed, he learned to do this crawling-approach thing because he was always jumping up on her, and we wanted to change that. Here, watch this. Odin, Down.”

  Odin looked at JayB, as if unsure of what he’d said.

  “Down,” JayB repeated, holding out a flat hand.

  Odin sank down to his stomach. I contemplated the fact that I didn’t see anybody’s hands digging into pockets for a treat. Otherwise, I would have done Down myself.

  “Now, call him,” JayB suggested.

  “Hey, Odin, Come,” Alana commanded.

  Odin rose to his feet and went willingly to Alana, who gave JayB a questioning look.

  JayB shrugged. “I guess he did it for Helen and nobody else. He would crawl across the floor, like a Marine making his way up the beach, and then when he got to your mom, he’d flop on his side and wag his tail hard while she gave him a belly rub. It was pretty cute.”

  “Oh, Odin, you’re such a good dog.” She gazed helplessly at JayB. “Any more thoughts about what I’m going to do about him?”

  “You mean, where he’s going to live?” JayB shook his head. “I love him, but I have to keep Spartan and Odin on leashes whenever Kelsey comes out from under the bed. I’m okay with it temporarily, but eventually I’d forget, and then Odin would be on her in a second.”

  Alana looked really unhappy. “I asked him again. Guy, I mean. He said absolutely no dogs.”

  “Is Guy’s issue the same—his cat?”

  “No. And she’s my cat. Rhiannon was living on the streets when I found her. She learned how to take care of herself there. I’ve never met a dog willing to mess with her.” Alana gazed mournfully at Odin. “It’s just that Odin’s so confused right now. I hate the idea of sending him off with strangers. He’ll think everyone he cares about has abandoned him.”

  For a long moment, they gazed at Odin, who felt their stare and looked back uncertainly. They were probably as bothered by his smell as I was.

  “Then don’t,” JayB said finally. “If Guy won’t accept Odin, get a new guy.” He gave her an ironic grin.

  “Oh, really? So am I not supposed to get the completely unsubtle point you’re making here?”

  “What?” JayB replied innocently.

  “You don’t understand. Guy is good for me, JayB. He stands up for me. When he’s around, no one can step all over me.”

  “What about standing up for me? You’re my new partner in my dog-walking empire. You leave and it’ll all collapse.”

  “I somehow think you’ll get over it.”

  “Yeah? I think maybe you’re underestimating your powers.”

  “My powers.”