“What … what’s wrong with that dog?” asked the girl. Amy noticed that she was staring back at Rover with wide eyes and quivering lips. The color slowly drained out of the girl’s face, and she stepped away from Amy, putting her back against the wall of the store.

“Are you okay?” asked Amy, suddenly feeling scared for the girl. Maybe she had some sort of deathly allergy to dogs.

The tall girl opened her mouth as if to speak—but instead, she lurched forward and vomited across the concrete. All at once, people were yelling, crying out “Ew” and “Whoa,” and the girl’s parents were running over, asking if she was okay. The second girl backed away, looking like she might cry.

Amy bolted back toward Mom and Katie.

Rover trotted at her side with the blank look still on his face.

Chapter 3: Leader of the Pack

“You okay, kiddo?” asked Mom, putting a hand on Amy’s shoulder as they unloaded sandy towels and duffel bags from the back of the car.

“I’m fine,” Amy said, giving her a tight smile. Mom smiled back and seemed to buy it. Amy wouldn’t let her see how shaken she really was; that would only start a lot of worrying and arguing and long talks about how sometimes these things happened. Amy knew she had a habit of getting scared of things—the attic, failing in school, all sorts of stuff made her anxious—so she tried to play this off like no big deal.

Still, she kept replaying the scene in her mind. There was something about the look on that girl’s face, and how quickly she’d thrown up, that was unsettling. Somehow, Amy thought it would’ve been less scary if Rover had growled at them.

Rover stood on the lawn with Katie now. The little girl clapped and laughed at the dog, even as he stood calmly watching them unpack.

“Katie, don’t get too attached,” called Dad as he came back out of the house. “The minute we find a shelter with an opening, that dog is gone.”

“But, Dad, look!” Katie said. “Rover, sit!” Rover sat. “Rover, lie down!” The dog lay down, head up, attentively looking at Katie. Katie clapped again, excited. “Rover, roll over!” Rover rolled around onto his back and then back onto his belly. “Rover, speak!” Rover barked softly.

Amy couldn’t help but be impressed. There obviously had been some training in this dog’s past.

She brought her armful of bags and towels inside and immediately heard yipping and toenails clattering on the floor. Before she could even step into their foyer, Stormy, the family labradoodle, came rushing over to Amy and began leaping around excitedly at her feet.