Rebecca took a gulp of her drink, letting the sweet fizziness soothe her, and nodded. “I think the dog is going to be okay. This guy came to help me, and we took the dog to a vet. I called to check on him yesterday, and I’m going to stop by the clinic this afternoon. But the guys who robbed me got away—one with a pretty nasty dog bite.”
“Well, I hope the wound festers and goes septic, the sick sonofabitch,” Kincaid said before tucking a big bite of pancakes in her mouth, the thought of septic wounds and revenge clearly not impacting her appetite.
“Amen,” Taryn agreed. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Bec.”
“Are you okay?” Liv asked, her gaze meeting Rebecca’s. “That sounds traumatizing in its own right, but…”
For us, it’s more. It’s always more. Liv didn’t have to finish that sentence for Rebecca to know what she meant. Rebecca rubbed the spot between her brows. “I think I’m okay. I haven’t slept much. Friday night, I had to call all my credit card companies and the bank to get my cards canceled. And even though I had a locksmith come out that same night, I haven’t been able to stop picturing people lurking outside my house. Then I go from scared to pissed, and that keeps me awake, too.”
“You know you can always stay with me and Finn for a few days if you don’t want to be at your house,” Liv said. “I know it’s a bit of a commute, but you wouldn’t be alone. And Finn wouldn’t mind.”
“Thanks. But I think I’ll be okay.” Rebecca appreciated the offer and knew it was coming from a genuine place. Finn was an FBI agent, so she’d definitely feel safe there. Plus, Liv and Finn’s place by the lake was in Wilder, far outside the city and away from any potential attackers. But the option didn’t hold much appeal.
Even though she was happy Liv and Finn had found each other again, being around them still held some awkwardness. Finn had been the one Rebecca had loved in high school, her best friend, the one her hopelessly romantic self had been convinced was for her. But all along, Finn had secretly loved Liv. And since all the ladies at the table had opened their high-school time capsule letters about their hopes and dreams a few months ago after the documentary filming, everyone knew how ridiculously head over heels Rebecca’s crush on Finn had been. She was still trying to figure out how to be around Liv and Finn without feeling like the uncomfortable teen she used to be.
“Were you able to get all of your credit cards squared away?” Taryn asked, kindly steering the conversation back to a safer topic.
The waiter dropped off Rebecca’s pancakes and provided refills all around before leaving them to it again. Rebecca poured syrup over her stack. “Yeah. I got a new debit card yesterday and a phone this morning. So I think I’ve got everything taken care of. All I have left to do is go check on my rescuer.”
“Did the dog belong to the guy who intervened?” Kincaid asked.
“No, he’s a stray,” Rebecca said between bites. “I’d fed him some of my dinner earlier on my walk, and he must’ve followed me. He was really sweet when he first came up to me, but he turned into a beast with the muggers. I’m not sure what would’ve happened if he hadn’t attacked the one with the gun. I completely froze.”
And accepted my fate.
She shook off the chilling thought.
“Damn, sounds like a badass stray dog,” Taryn said, adjusting the colorful headband she was using to keep her halo of black curly hair away from her face.
“Right?” Rebecca’s lips curved at the memory of the dog’s fluffy face while he tried to con her out of her bread. “He really was kind of amazing. The vet said he has to heal, and they have to make sure he’s not aggressive or rabid or something. But if he’s okay, I might…give him a place to stay.”
The words came out before she could evaluate them, but she realized they were true. A dog was not part of her plans. She worked too much, and her house wasn’t set up for one. But there was no damn way she was letting that dog go to the pound.
“You’re going to adopt him?” Liv asked.
“Maybe…foster him,” Rebecca said carefully. “Like, until he has a family to go to.”
Kincaid gasped and then did a fast clap with her hands like a happy child. “Yay, she’s doing the thing!”
“The thing?” Liv asked, her flat tone channeling her former emo self.
“The letter,” Kincaid declared like it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.
“Oh Lordy.” Taryn rolled her eyes. She held up a piece of bacon and swirled it in the air like a wand. “Here we go. She’s going to break out the spirit fingers. You’ve been warned.”
“Kincaid—” Rebecca began.
“No, it’s Bartholomew,” Kincaid declared. “Your time capsule letter said you would get a dog and name him Bartholomew.”
“My time capsule also said I would stay a virgin and marry Finn in Paris,” Rebecca said. “I don’t think we should take these things literally.”
“No, ’cause then we’d have to fight,” Liv teased. “The boy’s mine.”
Rebecca laughed and raised her palms. “He’s all yours. And as for the dog, he’s definitely not a Bartholomew.”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t fulfill something in your letter,” Kincaid insisted. “A few months ago, you said you didn’t have time for a dog. Now you might adopt one. Progress, Bec.”
“I still don’t have the time. Work is crazy, and I’m helping my dad with his campaign and this charity thing he needs me to do. All I said was foster the dog until he has a home. I’m not on some mission to fulfill something I declared when I was seventeen. I’m just not going to walk away from a dog who saved me if he doesn’t have a home to go to.”