Page 32 of Promise Keeper

"After Fiona's little breakdown yesterday, Mom thought it would be best to come home and manage things." Ben made air quotes around the words,manage things.

"Does that mean me? She's coming home to manage me?"

"I don't know what it means other than Ellsworth is getting picked up in a few hours."

"Oh, poor Liam will miss his little buddy." I glanced over to the couch where they were snuggled together taking a mid-morning snooze on a blanket.

"Maybe we should get a cat," Ben said. "You know, for Liam."

"For Liam, huh?" I rolled my eyes at him. "You're not fooling anybody."

"I'm not kidding. They were playing all evening. That cat thinks he's a dog. They were playing tug of war with one of Liam's bones."

"Irene said he thinks he's a dog. Guess she wasn't exaggerating."

"I need to get back to work," he said. "I'm hoping Pamela gets DNA results today."

"That would be fast. I thought that a DNA profile could take months to get back from a lab."

"With Pamela working with Franklin County, we got a rapid DNA test, but it'll take a lot longer to get the entire sequence."

"So this rapid one could tell you who the bones belong to?"

"It could tell us if they match anyone in the crime database."

"And if they don't?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he said. "I'm not hoping for miracles, but one step at a time."

He gave me a kiss and headed for the front door. "I'll stop at the hardware store and get heavier wire mesh for the attic vent. I kept thinking I heard the raccoons in the attic again last night."

"I'll go up there today and see what kind of mess we're dealing with."

After he left, I poured myself a huge mug of coffee. Ellsworth was awake and stretching. I sat beside him and Liam's cuddle pile on the couch and pet them both. "What good boys you are. I hear you played together all last night."

It was nice for Liam to have someone his size to pal around with. I'd have to give some thought to getting a cat, or even another small dog. I knew as soon as the other dogs got home I'd stop considering it. They were a handful, and even I knew it would be crazy to get another pet.

* * *

"Hello!"Monica called from the foyer.

"In the family room," I said.

"Still in your pj's?" She plopped down on the couch beside me.

"I played catch up with sleep," I said. "What's on your agenda today?"

"Not a thing. Since Friday I've baked treats, I've painted, I've cleaned and unpacked. There are a million things I still need to do, but I'm not doing anything today. I'm taking the day off."

"Who's running Dog Diggity? Don't say Elaina."

"Elaina." She laughed. "Grandma Diggity is in charge."

"She's going to give away the farm. There won't be one treat or dog sweater left."

"She'll be okay. Old Dan's in there helping her."

"Both of them? That's the blind leading the blind. Speaking of Old Dan, that reminds me. I have to talk to my bees."

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