“Don’t worry about it,” Heather said, smiling. “Kelly isn’t keen on boys herself.”

“They’re creeps. I’d rather ride my bicycle than play with a boy,” the girl announced. “But Mom wanted me to come over with her so she didn’t look like a busybody. Right, Mom?”

Heather blushed and threw her daughter a murderous glance.

Robin laughed. “I thought it would take several weeks to get to know my neighbors and I’ve met two in one day.”

“Someone else has already been over?”

“Cole Camden introduced himself this morning,” she explained, keeping her eyes averted to hide the resentment she felt toward her unfriendly neighbor. Even now, hours later, she couldn’t help thinking about the way he’d reacted to her and Jeff.

“Cole Camden introduced himself?” Heather repeated, sounding shocked. She frowned, staring into space as though digesting the fact.

“To be honest, I think he would’ve preferred to avoid me, but his dog wanted to make friends with Jeff.”

Heather’s mouth opened and closed twice. “Blackie did?”

“Is there something strange about that?”

“Frankly, yes. To say Cole keeps to himself is an understatement. I don’t think he’s said more than a handful of words to me in the entire two years since Kelly and I moved here. I don’t know why he stays in the neighborhood.” She paused to respond to her daughter, who was asking permission to go home. “Thank Robin for the juice, honey. Anyway,” she went on, turning back to Robin when her daughter had skipped out the door, “he’s all alone in that huge house and it’s ridiculous, really. Can you imagine what his heating bills must be? Although, personally, I don’t think money is much of a problem for him. But I’ve never heard any details.”

It didn’t surprise Robin to learn Cole lived alone. She’d barely met the man, but guessed that life held little joy for him. It was as though love, warmth and friendship had all been found lacking and had therefore been systematically dismissed.

“Apparently, he was married once, but he was divorced long before I came here.”

Robin had dealt with unfriendly men before, but something about Cole struck her hard and deep, and she wasn’t sure what it was or why he evoked such a strong feeling within her.

“He and his dog are inseparable,” Heather added.

Robin nodded, hardly listening. He’d intimidated her at first, but when she’d pulled herself together and faced him squarely he’d loosened up a bit and, later, even seemed amused. But then Jeff had asked him about children, and Robin had seen the pain in his eyes.

As if by magic, her son’s face appeared around the door. When he saw that Kelly was gone, he walked into the room, hands in his back pockets.

“Do you have a dog?” he asked Heather.

“Unfortunately, no. Kelly’s allergic.”

Jeff nodded as though to say that was exactly the kind of thing he expected from a girl. “We’re getting a German shepherd soon, aren’t we, Mom?”

“Soon,” Robin responded, feeling wretched. After Heather left, she was going to tell Jeff the truth. She fully intended to let him have his dog, but he’d have to wait a while. She’d been practicing what to say. She’d even come up with a compromise. They could get a cat. Cats didn’t seem to mind being left on their own, and they didn’t need to be walked. Although she wasn’t happy about keeping a litter box in the house, Robin was willing to put up with that inconvenience. Then, when she could afford to have a fence built, they’d get a dog. She planned to be positive and direct with Jeff. He’d understand. At least she hoped he would.

Heather stayed only a few more minutes. The visit had been a fruitful one. Robin had learned that Heather was divorced, worked mornings in an office and provided after-school day care in an effort to spend more time with Kelly. This information was good news to Robin, and the two women agreed that Jeff would go to the Lawrence house before and after school, instead of the community center several blocks away. The arrangement suited them both; even Jeff shrugged in agreement.

Robin would’ve liked to ask her new friend more about Cole, but his name didn’t come up again, and she didn’t want to seem too curious about him.

After Heather left, Robin braced herself for the talk with Jeff about getting a dog. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well. It seemed that after waiting nearly ten years, a few more months was completely unacceptable.

“You promised!” he shouted. “You said I could have a dog when we moved into the house!”

“You can, sweetheart, but not right away.”

Unusual for Jeff, tears gathered in his eyes, and he struggled to hold them back. Soon Robin felt moisture filling her own eyes. She hated disappointing Jeff more than anything. His heart was set on getting a dog right away, and he considered the offer of a cat a poor substitute.

He left the house soon afterward. In an effort to soothe his hurt feelings, Robin cooked her son’s favorite meal—macaroni and cheese with sliced sausage and lots of ketchup.

She didn’t see him on the pavement or the street when she went to check half an hour later. She stood on the porch, wondering where he’d gone. His bike was inside the garage, and he’d already aired his views about playing with any of the girls in the neighborhood.

It would be just like him to storm into his room in a fit of indignation and promptly fall asleep. Robin hurried upstairs to his bedroom, which was across the hall from her own.

His bed was made and his clothes hung neatly in the closet. Robin decided that in another day or two, everything would be back to normal.

It wasn’t until she turned to leave that she saw the note on his desk. Picking it up, Robin read the first line and felt a swirling sense of panic.

Dear Mom,

You broke your promise. You said I could have a dog and now you say I have to wait. If I can’t have a dog, then I don’t want to live with you anymore. This is goodbye forever.

Love, Jeff

Two

For a moment, Robin was too stunned to react. Her heart was pounding so hard it echoed in her ears like thunder, so loud it seemed to knock her off balance.

Rushing down the stairs, she stood on the porch, cupped her hands over her mouth and screamed frantically. “Jeff! Jeffy!”

Cole Camden was standing on his front porch, too. He released a shrill whistle and stood waiting expectantly. When nothing happened, he called, “Blackie!”

“Jeff!” Robin tried again.

“Blackie!”

Robin called for Jeff once more, but her voice cracked as the panic engulfed her. She paused, placed her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure.

“Blackie!” Cole yelled. He looked furious about his dog’s disappearance.

It took Robin only a moment to put two and two together. “Cole,” she cried, running across the lawn toward him. “I think Jeff and Blackie might have run away together.”

Cole looked at her as if she was deranged, and Robin couldn’t blame him. “Jeff left me a note. He wants a dog so badly and we can’t get one right now because…well, because we can’t, and I had to tell him, and he was terribly disappointed and he decided to run away.”

Cole’s mouth thinned. “The whole idea is ridiculous. Even if Jeff did run away, Blackie would never go with him.”

“Do you honestly think I’d make this up?” she shrieked. “The last time I saw Jeff was around four-thirty, and I’d bet cold cash that’s about the same time Blackie disappeared.”

Cole’s gaze narrowed. “Then where are they?”

“If I knew that, do you think I’d be standing around here arguing with you?”

“Listen, lady, I don’t know your son, but I know my dog and—”

“My name’s not lady,” Robin flared, clenching her hands at her sides. He was looking at her as though she were a madwoman on the loose—which she was where her son was concerned. “I’m sorry to have troubled you. When I find Jeff, I’ll make sure your dog gets home.”

Cole’s eyes shot sparks in her direction, but she ignored them. Turning abruptly, she ran back to her own house. Halfway there, she stopped dead and whirled around to face Cole again. “The fort.”

“What fort?” Cole demanded.

“The one that’s in the back of your yard. It’s covered with brush…. Jeff found it earlier today. He wouldn’t know anywhere else to go and that would be the perfect hiding place.”

“No one’s been there in years,” Cole said, discounting her suggestion.

“The least we can do is look.”

Cole’s nod was reluctant. He led the way to his backyard, which was much larger than hers. There was a small grove of oak trees at the rear of the property and beyond that a high fence. Apparently the fort was situated between the trees and the fence. A few minutes later, in the most remote corner of the yard, nestled between two trees, Robin saw the small wooden structure. It blended into the terrain, and if she hadn’t been looking for the hideaway, she would never have seen it.

It was obvious when they neared the space that someone had taken up residence. Cole lowered himself down to all fours, peered inside, then looked back at Robin with a nod. He breathed in sharply, apparently irritated by this turn of events, and crawled through the narrow entrance.

Not about to be left standing by herself, Robin got down on her knees and followed him in.

Just as she’d suspected, Jeff and Blackie were huddled together in a corner. Jeff was fast asleep and Blackie was curled up by his side, guarding him. When Cole and Robin entered, the Labrador lifted his head and wagged his tail in greeting.

The fort wasn’t much bigger than the tent Jeff had constructed the night before, and Robin was forced to pull her knees close and loop her arms around them. Cole’s larger body seemed to fill every available bit of space.

Jeff must have sensed that his newfound home had been invaded because his eyes fluttered open and he gazed at Robin, then turned his head to stare at Cole.

“Hi, Mom,” he said sheepishly. “I bet I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

Robin was so grateful to find him that all she could do was nod. If she’d tried to speak, her voice would’ve been shaking with emotion, which would only have embarrassed them both.

“So, Jeff,” Cole said sternly. “You were going to run away from home. I see you brought everything you needed.” He pushed the frying pan and atlas into the middle of their cramped quarters. “What I want to know is how you convinced Blackie to join you.”

“He came on his own,” Jeff murmured, but his eyes avoided Cole’s. “I wouldn’t have taken him on purpose—he’s your dog.”

“I’m glad you didn’t…coerce him.”

“All you took was a frying pan and an atlas!” Robin cried, staring at the cast-iron skillet and the atlas with its dog-eared pages.

Cole and Jeff both ignored her outburst.