He whined and lowered his head before laying in the snow that had drifted onto the porch. He tucked his face between his paws and stared up at me.
“No.”
He huffed then curled himself into a ball, tucking his nose under his tail.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Dog!” My gaze zeroed on the house across the road. Phoebe was standing in the golden light of her doorway. “You’ve had enough time to do your business! C’mon!” She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders showing only the top half of her face as she stomped her feet.
The wind howled and I stepped back with a gasp. While San Francisco got cold on the foggy days, it was nothing like that brutal wind.
The dog lifted his head, hope in his dark eyes.
“Go on. She’s calling for you.”
He looked over his shoulder then back at me and retucked his nose under his tail.
“You can’t stay out here. You have a perfectly warm spot to hang over there.”
He just tucked himself into a tighter ball.
I tipped my head back. “You’re not coming in.”
The wind whipped up the steps, bringing snow with it. My toes curled at the cold and I stepped back. “You gotta go.”
“Dog!” Phoebe called again in the distance.
“You still don’t have a name?”
The dog picked up his head, giving me a long look, eyes ridiculously forlorn.
“Freaking mouse.”
He stood up, his tail swishing.
“That wasn’t an invitation.”
His head lowered.
“She’s calling for you, Mouse.”
He stepped forward hesitantly.
I nodded toward Phoebe’s house. “That way.” I stepped back and closed the door, my hand still clenched on the doorknob. “Go,” I barked through the door.
I checked the peephole and finally, he slunk back down the stairs.
I forced myself to walk away. He was fine. Phoebe would make sure he was safe and warm back at her house. I limped my way to the kitchen and stared into the fridge. I gulped down some milk as I picked around the shelves for something to eat. The soup from the day before was packed away in leftover containers, neatly stashed on the top shelf.
Hell.
She’d even put away the soup she’d made for us.
Who the hell was this girl?
Woman.
Definitely a woman. No matter how much I wanted to ignore her, there was no denying she was a fully grown woman whomade her own decisions. I reached past the trio of neatly stacked leftover containers for the bag of pepperoni and slammed the door shut before I ripped it open.
