Page 17 of A Beach House Beginning

Pam looked startled. “A ghost?”

Jenna gave a rueful smile. “We live in an old beach house. Brambleberry House? You might know it.”

“Oh yes. That wonderful place on the edge of town.”

She nodded. “Some of the previous residents are convinced we have a benevolent spirit who watches over all those who live in the apartments.”

She still wasn’t convinced and found it amusing that her friends Rosa and Melissa spoke about Abigail as if she were an old friend, though she had died more than a decade before either woman had lived in the house.

“A ghost!” Pam looked enthralled. “Oh, that’s lovely. How about that, Theo? Want to live in a house with a ghost?”

The dog’s tongue lolled out and he actually looked enthusiastic, but that could have been more evidence of his growing adoration for the girl holding him.

“Is he trained at all?” Jenna hated to ask but needed to know what challenges she might be facing.

“He’s getting there. He’s not a hundred percent but he is very smart, and it shouldn’t take him long to learn how to follow some basic commands, as soon as he adjusts to the routine of your house.”

“I can’t wait!” Addie’s eyes glowed. “I’m going to teach him to sit, to roll over, to shake hands and to catch a ball in the air like my friend Logan’s dog can do.”

“Those all sound great but first things first,” Jenna said. “We need to start with teaching him not to go to the bathroom inside the house. After that, we can work on the other commands.”

“We can provide you with some great websites and other resources that give good training advice,” Pam said. “We can also connect you with a few places locally that offer puppy training classes.”

“That would be very helpful,” Jenna said, again trying to push down her misgivings. She could handle this. She certainly had done harder things in her life than train a puppy.

“So have you decided for sure?” Pam asked.

Jenna gestured to her daughter and the dog. “I think these two have decided for me.”

“Oh great. And since you’ve already been approved for adoption, you can take him home with you today, if you’d like. We do have a few forms for you to fill out. Addison, would you bring Theo with you to my office?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. Pam provided a leash from a hook on the wall and Addie attached it to the dog’s collar, then proudly walked with him down the hall to a small office decorated with pictures of dogs and cats and their happy new humans.

A half hour and several signatures later, they walked out of the shelter with their new family member padding happily beside them.

All her misgivings came flooding back as she loaded Addie and Theo into the car. What had she done? She went through days when she felt as if she could barely take care of herself and her child. Adding another living creature to her responsibilities suddenly felt overwhelming.

“Can I go show Mr. and Mrs. Anderson downstairs? Theo also has to meet Sophie. Do you think they’ll be friends?”

The retired couple who lived in the first-floor apartment of Brambleberry House had a very cute—and very spoiled—toy poodle.

“I’m sure they will be great friends.” She hoped, anyway. “The Andersons left this week for their trip, remember? They left Sophie with their friend in Portland.”

“Oh right.”

“We’re going to have to pick up some supplies before we can take Theo home. Toys and food and a crate.”

She probably should have purchased all that in advance before taking home the dog, but she had been so busy wrapping up end-of-year school details, she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Can we take him into the store?” Addie asked. “I don’t want to leave him alone in the car.”

“No,” she agreed. “We shouldn’t do that. I know they let dogs into the pet store. We’ll go there.”

They parked at the pet store and headed inside, after stopping long enough for Theo to raise his leg on a fire hydrant conveniently placed near the door.

It didn’t take long to fill a shopping cart for the puppy. At this rate Theo would be as spoiled as Sophie, she thought.

They had nearly finished finding everything on the quick list they had made before coming inside when Addie suddenly exclaimed with delight. “Mr. Calhoun! Hi, Mr. Calhoun!”

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