“If I’d called you, I wouldn’t have met Gabe. And there’s a good chance that dog on your porch would’ve drowned in his pen.”

It had been enough to stop her mom from any further protests. After they finished scooping the ice cream in silence, she asked, “Does this mean you’re dating him?”

“It doesn’t mean I won’t, given the opportunity.” Olivia set the scoop on the counter a little too hard. “Losing my phone hasn’t helped things be any less complicated.”

Her mom had wiped up a few drops of ice cream melting on the counter. “Just move slowly, will you? Those city boys have got a whole slew of problems nowadays. From painkiller addictions to that dark web they’re always talking about. The world’s a good deal more complicated than it used to be.”

Although she knew it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to her mom’s beliefs, Olivia had replied that addictions were popping their ugly heads up in rural areas too.

She sat on the grass in the soft morning light and rolled her shoulders, trying to dispel the tension setting up there. The truth was as obvious as the bright-yellow petals of the dandelions popping up all over the place. The longer she was away, the more obvious it was that a part of her had left the Bootheel for good.

Once the pointer had vacuumed up nearly half a cup of kibble from the palm of her hand, Olivia led him over to the back porch where she scooped out the rest of his breakfast. Coco spotted him through the window and let out a series of raucous squawks. Before dipping his head into the bowl to devour the rest of his breakfast, the nervous dog barked a single booming woof that sent Coco into a fresh tizzy.

After inhaling the rest of his kibble, the pointer licked his empty bowl. Olivia patted his back. “Good boy. Good…whatever your name is. I guess we’ll never know, considering no one even knew you existed.”

It wasn’t so much that she wanted the dog to bond with her; it was that she wanted him to bond with someone. She couldn’t imagine a dog more deserving of a bit of pampering than he was.

It didn’t even make a difference if his owner had been kind and caring or tough and stern or something in between. He’d been locked in a pen for nearly a month and had been slowly starving. What mattered now was that he end up in a loving, caring home and have a chance to bond with someone the way Samson had with Gabe.