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“Me too,” Teague said quietly. “And sorry about dinner. Again. Am I too late for Corn Flakes?”
“She won’t let us have Lucky Charms,” Miss Adeline grumbled. “Hope you like granola and fiber.” She made a face.
“It’s good for us.” Teague grinned and threw down his bag by the counter. “I’m going to have a look around, then I’ll be back.”
Ash happily followed him as he disappeared.
“What do you think happened to that door?” I asked.
Miss Adeline polished off the milk in her bowl and wiped her mouth. “I have no idea.”
“Daniel and Vivian came by, but I don’t remember them going in the back.”
“Lexie and Eric dropped off the food this afternoon.” She lifted a shoulder and lowered it. “But we let them in and out.”
“Maybe it happened then.” It was hard to remember when so much else was happening.
“Speaking of the Elliotts, what do you think of their proposal?” She leaned back and folded her hands. “It was hard to tell on the video chat, but it looked nice.”
“Believe it or not, they have more space there than we do here.” The area they’d showed me earlier was overwhelming in a good way. It was easy to envision a setup for the dogs that was conducive to their wellbeing.
“Oh I believe it.”
“They’re even willing to knock down some walls and create an outdoor space indoors.” It was hard to wrap my head around, especially when Vivian started talking fast.
I wanted that for the dogs we had now and the ones in the future.
“But?” Miss Adeline knew me too well.
“This is home. And we’re already spread so thin. How can we make two locations work?” The idea of another location excited me for the dogs but stressed me out thinking about the logistics.
“At some point you’re going to have to rescue less dogs or learn to give up some control.” Her eyes bored into me. “To trust.”
I let out a long sigh as a pit formed in my stomach. “I hate when you talk like that.”
“I’m on borrowed time.” She held up both hands when I opened my mouth. “Everybody at my age is.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I can’t do this without you.”
“You’re already better than I ever was. You run this place. I’m just here as the entertainment.” She pouted. “I can’t even say I’m the beauty of this operation anymore.”
I laughed. “I know some firemen who would disagree.”
She grinned. “Yeah, they would.”
“Everything looks secure.” Teague breezed back into the apartment like he’d always lived here.
“That’s so weird.” I still couldn’t figure out how that door had gotten unlocked.
“I double-checked. All the doors are locked now.”
“Has it been forty-eight hours?”
Dread filled me at Miss Adeline’s question. I hadn’t completely forgotten about the inspector, but I had managed to push him to the back of my mind.
“I think so, but the days are all running together.”
“What’s in forty-eight hours?” Teague rummaged through the cabinets until he found a bowl.
