Oh shit.
Her eyes widen for a beat before her gaze turns slightly hard. “Luca, what have I told you?”
I stare up at him, hoping he picks up on this. “Told me?” he asks, sweetly.
“Please,” she says icily. “Call me Betty.”
“Right. Betty.” Luca gives her one more smile before waving and leading us back down the steps. I’m afraid of what I’ll see if I look back.
33EMERY
You said ‘Campbell,’?” I say, wincing as we step onto our own porch.
Luca does a tiny double take in confusion. “What?”
“Betty’s last name isCaldwell, not Campbell. That’s not something you’d ever get wrong, and she knows it.”
“Okay, well, that explains the weird vibe at the end there.” With a shrug, Luca moves past me and into the house.
He’s distracted, and I get it—we have bigger things to worry about with Honey gone. But the last thing I want is for Betty to ramp up her nosiness again and bring the police back into the picture.
I follow him through the empty house. It’s so quiet. How was it just the two of us for so long?
“We’ll find her,” Luca says, opening his phone to Google. “I’m going to call the local vets and see if anyone’s brought her in. Maybe you could check with Annie?”
“Good idea.” Standing in the kitchen, I chew on my index fingernail while I look out the window into the backyard. I do a double take. “Luca…”
“Yeah?”
I walk to the door. When I don’t answer, he follows my gaze. Honey. Our big, silly dog is standing near the vegetable patch, tongue out, tail wagging enthusiastically. She woofs when she sees us.
Luca takes off toward her and I follow, kneeling beside him as he hugs her. Our eyes meet over the top of her head and the invitation isthere. I throw my arms around them both, hugging my little family and working to not sob. “You goober dog, where did you go?”
“Was she here the whole time?”
I look up and the gate is closed again, fully latched. “Maybe? Am I losing my mind? Wasn’t the gate open?”
“It was, but we might have closed it when we left? Maybe she was just in the bushes or the shed and we didn’t see her?” He groans. “I’ve never been so scared. Is this what having kids is like?”
I feel along her body, making sure she’s okay. She seems completely fine. But then I feel a tiny patch on her front left leg where some hair is missing. “What’s this?”
Luca bends to inspect. “Looks like she got snagged somewhere.” He smooths it with his thumb, laughing. “Like the time Crash got his hair caught in his bike chain.”
I check the area, too.Not snagged, I think,shaved, with a tiny puncture mark and the beginnings of a bruise, almost like someone has drawn blood. But why—
And then Luca’s words catch up with me. “What did you say?”
“About Crash?”
“Yeah. When did that happen?”
“Junior high.”
“Oh my God.”
He looks up at me, brow furrowed. “What?”
“Did you just remember something from before the accident?”
