By the time she finished, she felt more like herself. She opened the door for Sally and stashed the watering can. She’d have preferred to spend her precious after-work hours on reading, music, movies, or a bubble bath. However . . .

“I feel obligated to spend time looking at pictures of train depots,” she told her pug.

Sally peered at Finley the way tourists peer at the Mona Lisa.

“Why do I need to look at pictures of train depots, you ask?” She dropped to her haunches and gave Sally a belly rub. “Because Dad’s clue is pointing me toward a train depot we once visited together. Ask me how much I remember about the depot.”

Sally snuffled happily.

“It was pushy of Luke to force me into researching the treasure hunt ahead of my wishes.”

Her conscience niggled. It had been pushy of her to force him into caring for Agatha.

She headed toward her office. She’d insisted Luke take a puppy for two reasons. One, they truly did divide the puppy care duties exactly the way she’d told Luke they did. Two, she couldn’t have scripted a better way to make progress toward points number four and five in the Restoration of Luke: Carefully condition him by exposing him to all the things he’d been avoiding including, but not limited to, the town of Misty River, close connections with others, and God. Train him how to behave constructively.

So far she’d been meeting his needs by bringing him plenty of food and water while he was at his desk. She’d been treating him with great patience. She had to admit that her attempt at point three in her plan, introduce him to daily quiet time, was not having the desired effect. But maybe she’d win him over to that soon.

Little Agatha would expose Luke to a close connection with a puppy who needed him. And caring for Agatha would train him to behave constructively. This, she knew.

Long ago, she’d rescued a beagle mother dog and her puppies. They’d been kept inside a plastic box with a lid. The conditions had been hot and suffocating. Two of the puppies had been dead when she’d arrived. They’d done their best to save the third, without success. Only the mother survived, but her spirit had been broken.

A few months later, the police department had brought in motherless terrier pups. Finley had placed the pups with the beagle and, in caring for those puppies, that mother had found purpose and joy. The change in her had been remarkable. Inspirational. She’d come back to herself.

Perhaps the same metamorphosis would occur in Luke.

She thought of his forceful nature. How he suppressed his emotions. How he isolated himself. He’d been avoiding showing love to others. But he couldn’t avoid it now.