“The dogs? You mean our three dogs?”

  “Did I tell you we’re having chicken stroganoff?”

  “So this morning when I left, you owned two dogs plus two houses and you were having trouble making the payments, and now you own three dogs and three houses,” Sabrina summarized.

  “That’s one way of looking at it,” Liam admitted.

  “And without even asking me, you bring home Archie. And you’ll be at work, so it will be my job to walk him and feed him most of the time.”

  Liam felt like they had somehow lost the topic of the chicken stroganoff and wondered how to get Sabrina back on track.

  The dogs settled down once it became apparent that the humans were going to sit on the couch, sip liquids, and talk in quiet tones.

  “Archie’s filthy,” Sabrina noted finally.

  “Well,” Liam corrected, “not dirty filthy. More like matted-and-tangled filthy. I gave the dogs a bath.”

  At that word, Riggs, Luna, and Archie looked up quickly. Riggs was disappointed to hear the word uttered aloud.

  “Do you ever think about how hard this is? I hate packing,” Sabrina complained. “I never know when we move into a place how long we’re going to be there before we move out.”

  “That’s what I do for a living,” Liam started to say again.

  Sabrina waved off the interruption. “We’ve been together for two years now, and yet I don’t know that I feel any more secure in our relationship than I did on the very first day we met.”

  Liam frowned at what felt like a radical and dangerous swerve of topic. “How could you say such a thing? You know I love you, Sabrina.”

  Sabrina bit her lip and nodded. Her eyes were moist now. Luna came over to her and sat, staring up in concern. “I know,” Sabrina agreed quietly, “and I love you, too, Liam. But I feel my life is nothing but chaos.”

  With that, there was a sound outside somewhere in the front yard. The dogs reacted instantly and protectively, racing to the window, jumping up on the couch so that they could bark at the outside. Archie didn’t know what was happening, but he pursued the rest of the pack with abandon. His leap was mistimed. He bumped into Riggs, fell sideways, and knocked over a floor lamp. They barked until Liam shouted, “Stop that noise!” At that command, Luna and Riggs went silent and dropped back down to the floor.

  Archie didn’t know why they had stopped barking, but then again, he hadn’t really understood why they had started. He agreeably followed the other two dogs back to their people. Luna resumed her sentry position on the floor next to Sabrina’s legs. Riggs sat and then sprawled down next to Liam, and Archie wisely decided not to try to chew on Riggs but rather satisfied himself by finding one of Luna’s stuffed animal toys and grabbing it. With gusto, Archie tossed it up in the air, fumbled the catch, and then dove on it. Luna watched all this with an unreadable expression.

  “I don’t know how you could call this chaos,” Liam protested, walking over to straighten the floor lamp. He turned and grinned at Sabrina, and she grinned back, but then her smile faded.

  “I just have no control over me. I go to my classroom full of plans and don’t get to do any of it. We keep relocating to new houses. I have to keep changing my phone number. Do you get how that feels? It’s my life. When do I get to make my own decisions?”

  “No, I mean, of course,” Liam responded, trying to come up with the right answer.

  “Do you know what your favorite expression is? ‘Let’s just play it by ear.’”

  Liam frowned. “I wouldn’t say that’s my favorite,” he corrected peevishly.

  Sabrina shook her head. “Everything is that way. I suggest we make reservations for dinner, and you say, ‘Well, let’s just play it by ear.’ I want to know where we’re going to stay on a road trip, and you say, ‘We’ll figure it out when we get there. Let’s just play it by ear.’ I feel as if my life is subject to whatever whims of the moment strike you. Nothing’s set.”

  “The table’s set,” Liam countered lamely.

  Sabrina’s expression was impatient. “You’re a commitment-phobe, Liam. You can’t make up your mind about anything, and yet”—she gestured to Archie—“you brought home another dog. Like another dog doesn’t represent one of the most important commitments in the world.”

  Liam’s face went blank. “Well, sure, but if you could’ve seen how poor Archie was living…”

  “You didn’t think that maybe you should at least call me?”

  “That does seem like it would have been wise.”

  “I don’t know what made you this way, and I don’t know what I can do about it,” Sabrina observed simply. “But it’s affecting me in ways I don’t like.”

  Liam straightened himself. “Well, I’ll try to—” He trailed off, not sure exactly what he could “try to” do that would be any different from the way he felt he essentially was. Sabrina nodded at him.

  “I know you’ll try,” she agreed in a defeated voice. “You’ve been trying.”

  “Well, hey, this new house—” Liam began enthusiastically.

  “Could we maybe not talk about the new house?”

  “Sure.” His expression was crestfallen, but he didn’t pursue the topic.

  Archie trotted over, took the now soggy toy, and thrust it into Sabrina’s lap, knowing it would cheer her up. She brushed it away, and Luna snatched it instantly, giving Archie a very clear warning look. Archie sat down and then barked.

  “Stop that noise,” Liam and Sabrina chided together. That did not sound like they were enjoying the barking game, so Archie went quiet.

  “I’ve never seen such matted fur,” Sabrina remarked sadly, reaching out her hand.

  “I’ll take them tomorrow to the dog groomer’s,” Liam volunteered. “Riggs needs his nails done anyway.”

  Riggs glanced up. He’d just heard his name, but it didn’t sound like anything fun was associated with it.

  Sabrina gave Liam a small smile. “Did I hear something about chicken stroganoff?” she asked.

  The three canines were enraptured by the dinner smells and sat loyally by the table, putting everything they had into deserving-dogs appearances. Archie followed the lead of the other two members of the pack. When he was tossed a delicious chicken morsel, he swallowed it so quickly he could barely taste the thing. It was divine.

  Sabrina sighed.

  “What’s up, babe?” Liam asked.

  She gave him a sad smile. “I just don’t think I can manage three dogs, Liam. That’s what I would have told you, if you’d bothered to call me. Can’t you just take Archie back to his owner?”

  6

  The next day, the three dogs piled into Liam’s truck. Luna was alert to the fact that Sabrina was not with them. Whenever Sabrina left in the morning, Luna always felt a gnawing anxiousness that the woman would not return. For Riggs, what was important was that unlike most days, they were all together in the truck. Riggs was hopeful they were going somewhere fun, and Archie assumed they were—after all, it was a car ride!

  Riggs put his nose to Liam’s hand, and Liam absently stroked Riggs’s head. Liam seemed pensive and preoccupied.

  The dogs were loyally facing forward. Well, Luna and Riggs were facing forward. Archie kept leaping up to look out the side window, and then would see something so exciting, he would turn and jump on Riggs, who at one point bared teeth in a silent snarl to make Archie behave. Archie, hurt, his ears back, sat down and stared at Riggs, feeling like a bad dog.

  At their destination, Archie was as thrilled to arrive as he had been to leave the house, but Luna and Riggs seemed to know where they were and were not wagging. All three dogs received leashes securely clicked into their collars. They boiled out the side door when Liam opened it, and Riggs lifted his leg while Archie squatted. It was occurring to Archie more and more to lift his leg, but usually he was so excited he forgot and squatted instead. Luna and Riggs displayed great reluctance as Liam half led, half dragged them to a door through which wonderful dog smells came pouring out.

  Once inside, canine odors were everywhere, and in a back room somewhere, they could all hear a dog’s plaintive barking. It was a lost and lonely sound, and Archie felt a twinge of sadness but then focused on the matter at hand, which was that the three of them were together as a pack with Liam in a place where many dogs had gone before them. It was hard to imagine a better day.

  Why were Riggs and Luna so apprehensive? Archie couldn’t fathom what had them so stiff with concern. Whatever they were doing was bound to be fun!

  Archie was led away first, taken to a small room where a very nice and gentle woman massaged him and then applied a buzzing machine against his fur. It felt wonderful. Archie was vaguely aware of his curls landing with soft impacts on the elevated table and the floor below. Each drift downward of dog fur carried with it some of Archie’s scent. A part of him was ecstatic at the fact that he was leaving his smell everywhere in this small room.

  “You are a good dog, a good dog,” the woman told him as she busily worked her hands along his body. Archie glanced up when he smelled Riggs, Liam, and Luna—they came down the hallway, their canine nails clicking, passing by his open doorway. He saw them all proceeding into a room just across the hall and hoped he would soon be joining them.

  After being shaved, Archie was shampooed. He didn’t enjoy that at all, but at the end of the ordeal, his skin felt incredibly alive. He was allowed to jump down, and he raced around the room, thrusting his face along the floor, rolling on his back, and kicking his legs skyward.

  The woman laughed delightedly. “You are such a silly dog, Archie!”

  When Archie rejoined the two other dogs in the front room, Riggs was remarkably colder toward the younger dog.

  Riggs did not know what Archie had done. He just knew that for the second day in a row, he and Luna had been subjected to the humiliation of a bath. This sort of thing had never happened before Archie arrived. Clearly, Archie had done something to bring this horrible fate upon them. As far as Riggs was concerned, Archie was a bad dog, and Riggs looked forward to them going back to being just Riggs and Luna in the pack.

  * * *

  Face was waiting in the driveway, his arms folded, when Liam pulled up. All three dogs saw the man, but only Archie reacted. At the smells of this place, of the odd, naked wood frame, of the loud banging noises, of the men, of the sun on the dirt, Archie recoiled. No, he did not want to come back here. He had a new home now. He lived with Liam and two other dogs, and there was that nice woman, Sabrina. Why was he here? He did not want to live with Face anymore.

  Liam came around and opened the door, and Luna and Riggs jumped down briskly. They were both well-behaved enough to remain at Liam’s feet and not run off, though clearly this was what Luna especially wanted to do, to lower her nose and sniff and hunt for prey. Riggs, on the other hand, was loyal to Liam, and until commanded otherwise, he was going to stay with his person.

  Archie wouldn’t get out of the cab.

  “Here, Arch. Come on, Archie,” Liam called.

  Archie feebly wagged his tail but otherwise didn’t move. His ears were down. His eyes seemed to be sunk in his head.

  Liam gave him a kind smile. “Come on, Archie. You know where you are. You’ve been here before.”

  Liam reached forward with kind arms and gathered Archie up. Archie closed his eyes, luxuriating in the warm and comforting feeling of Liam’s broad chest.

  This felt like a parting. His time with the other dogs had only been temporary. He understood now that a dog like him did not deserve a new pack and a new family. He was meant to live in this yard on his chain with a bowl of fetid water and no shade. Dogs accepted the rules and determinations put forth by humans.

  Archie, sad but resigned to his fate, did not move when his paws hit the ground, but he did glance up at Face’s voice.

  “Hey there, Liam.”

  “Face,” Liam responded evenly.

  The two men walked toward each other. Riggs followed. Luna broke away and went sniffing, and Archie pursued her a little bit. She made a beeline for the scooped-out area Archie had called home for so many days. She sniffed it suspiciously, poking her nose in the dirty water dish. Then she touched her nose to Archie’s as if understanding that this was Archie’s home. Archie didn’t put his nose to his own feces and urine, even though Luna thought the matter worth investigating. Instead, Archie turned and made his way back to Liam. He simply didn’t know what else to do. Riggs watched Archie approach without enthusiasm.

  “So I heard you’re the new boss,” Face announced to Liam.

  Liam nodded.

  “Same as the old boss?” Face suggested.

  Liam shrugged. “Well, we have a deal. I told them everything looks good, so I’m buying the place. Obviously, the paperwork’s not done. But even though that part will take a while, yes, effectively, this is my home now.”

  “What does that mean for me and my crew?” Face wanted to know.

  Liam looked away from the question. He nodded toward Riggs, who was sitting at rigid attention, unsure of what was happening. “That’s my dog, Riggs, and you know Archie, of course.”

  Face glanced at Riggs and then frowned at Archie. “Ah, Archie, you got shaved.”

  Riggs felt Archie shrink away when his name was spoken and snapped his attention to this new man. Archie knew the man and didn’t like him, which was very unusual.

  Luna came trotting over curiously. “And that’s Luna,” Liam introduced.

  Face didn’t so much as look at Luna. Instead, he glanced pointedly around, and Liam seemed to understand the significance of the gesture.

  “I see you cleaned up the jobsite,” Liam noted.

  Face nodded. “I saw the back of your truck. I figured, yeah, you’re the kind of guy, likes everything nice and neat and orderly. Me, honestly, I feel like it’s more efficient to wait until the job’s done and clean everything up at once, but”—he gave a crooked smile—“you’re the new boss, like you say. So what do you think? Am I fired or what?”

  Liam’s gaze was cool as he delivered the news. “Well, I’m going to pay you through the end of the month, and then my crew will take over.”

  Face’s lips twisted bitterly. “So it’s like that?”

  “I told you,” Liam reminded him, “I have my own team. We work pretty well together. This place”—he nodded to it—“this is going to be my home, to live in, I mean, so that means I’m going to pay particular attention. I’m going to revisit the plans, change the finishes, the cabinets—I know what my girlfriend likes.”

  “I can do all that,” Face objected.

  “I know you can.”

  “We do damn good work here, Liam.”

  “I don’t disagree.”

  “So then what’s your problem?” Face asked angrily. “You can’t just show up here and get rid of us like we’re nothing.”

  “I never said you were nothing,” Liam responded patiently. “That’s why I’m willing to pay you through the end of the month. I expect to get honest work out of you. By your reputation, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “But we’re still fired,” Face responded, returning to what was, for him, the main issue.

  “If you want to put it that way, then yes,” Liam agreed. “I’m hoping you see that giving you until April 30 is adequate notice.”

  “You want to tell me why?”

  “Honestly, it’s got to do with the dog. I didn’t make up my mind until just now, even though when I first met you, you had Archie on a short chain in the sun. You maybe didn’t understand how a dog should be treated. But even though Archie probably thinks of himself as your dog, he wasn’t happy to see you, and you didn’t seem too overjoyed, either.”

  Face’s expression turned darker. “I explained to you about my brother. I told you the dog just got dumped on me. I gave the dog a home. I could’ve taken it down to the pound and had it put to sleep, but I didn’t.”

  “No, I agree,” Liam said mildly.

  Riggs still held his eyes on the man called Face. There was anger brewing inside him, and if that anger boiled up in any aggressive action, Riggs would defend Liam. That was what Riggs saw as his job in the world.

  Face clenched his fists, and Riggs prepared himself to react.

  7

  Liam calmly assessed Face’s red visage and balled fists. “You really want to do this?” Liam asked softly.

  At the sound of his person’s voice, Riggs let a low rumble settle in his throat.

  Archie, on the other hand, was cowering. He had seen this anger from Face before, and it had never turned out well. Now Archie wanted to do whatever it took to be good. He would go back to his chain. He would not dig in the dirt. He would lie there patiently in the sun, but he did not want the full boil of Face’s fury turned on him.

  “You’re going to sic the dogs on me?” Face demanded.

  “No, of course not. Riggs! It’s okay.”

  Riggs picked up Liam’s meaning and stopped growling.

  Liam nodded and turned back to Face. “And I’m sorry, I understand this will be a hardship for you. But I don’t want to work with somebody who would treat a dog like that.”

  “You’re firing me because of a dog?” Face repeated incredulously.

  “Right. That’s exactly right.”

  Face deflated. He glanced at the dirt as if to spit at it, and Archie quailed, but then the man turned and strode away in the dust.

  * * *

  Archie, Riggs, and Luna burst through the front door of their home, instantly aware that Sabrina was in the house.

  Archie was ecstatic. Despite all expectations, he was not now lying in the dirt, waiting for Face to complete his day to take him home and feed him in the backyard. He was here with a pack, with loving people. He’d taken a car ride!

  Even Sabrina, who had greeted him soberly the day before now, fell to her knees and stretched out her arms. “Oh, Archie, you look completely naked,” she squealed. “What happened to all your fur?”