Chapter 1
When I pushed the door open to take off my shoes, Daniel was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and Archie's gray dog bed, where he had slept for seven years by the couch, was gone.
Not just the bed.
The leather leash hanging on the entryway wall, the tennis ball Archie brought to me every single day, and the thirty-pound bag of kibble sitting against the wall were all gone.
Normally, the moment the lock turned, Archie would bound toward me, wagging his big, fluffy tail.
Yet today, after I had been inside for so long, Archie was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Archie?" I set my keys down on the entryway console, looking at Daniel.
He didn't turn around right away. He simply picked up the remote, lowered the TV volume by a notch, and spoke as casually as if he were discussing today's weather.
"I took him over to Kelly's."
My hand was still resting on the strap of my bag, my knuckles tightening instinctively.
"Over to Kelly's? Why?"
"Didn't her divorce finalize just last week? She's living alone in that empty apartment, suffering from insomnia every night."
Daniel got to his feet, carrying his water glass toward the kitchen, and casually patted my shoulder as he walked past me.
"She's in terrible shape, crying for days. I was headed that way today, so I dropped Archie off with two weeks' worth of food to keep her company," he said.
I stepped forward quickly, blocking his path to the kitchen.
"You shipped Archie off to play emotional support dog for your sister for two weeks?"
"Don't be so dramatic, Nora."
Daniel stopped in his tracks, letting out a somewhat helpless laugh.
"It's just a temporary stay. Kelly doesn't even have anyone to talk to right now. Archie is so intuitive. With him around, Kelly can at least muster up the energy to go outside for walks."
"Why didn't you ask me first?"
"I texted you this afternoon, but you were in a meeting and didn't reply."
He spread one hand, giving a careless shrug.
"It was getting late, so I just loaded the dog bed and food into the car and drove him over. It's really not a big deal."
"Not a big deal?" My voice was low, yet stretched taut. "Archie is seven years old. His joints are bad, and he needs a chondroitin pill every night. Does Kelly even have his medication? Do you have any idea how attached Archie is to his own bed and home?"
"I already explained everything to her. I brought her the medicine and the instructions."
Daniel frowned, a hint of impatience finally creeping into his face.
"Nora, Kelly is my sister. She just got divorced, and she's a mess right now. You're always so generous, so why do you have to be so petty about something like this?"
"Being generous doesn't mean you get to make decisions for me." I dug my car keys out of my purse, turning around to grab the doorknob. "I'm going to get Archie back right now."
Daniel stepped ahead of me, pressing his palm firmly down against the handle.
His hand pinned the latch, his body blocking the doorway.
"Can you stop making a mountain out of a molehill? I just dropped him off. If you go drag him back now, what will Kelly think? That she's not worthy of touching your dog? She needs Archie more than you do right now."
I looked up at Daniel, feeling sheer disbelief in my chest.
There wasn't a trace of guilt in his eyes—only self-righteous charity and total incomprehension of my feelings.
"Listen to me clearly, Daniel."
I looked straight into his eyes, speaking word by word. "I adopted Archie from the shelter when I was twenty-four. During the six months my mother was dying, he lay by my bedside every single night. Three years ago, when I suffered that severe hemorrhage from the miscarriage and recovered at home, your sister didn't visit me once. It was Archie who stayed by my side."
Daniel's brow furrowed even deeper, and he tried to cut in. "That's all in the past—"
"Archie is my family, not some pet to be handed around at your convenience."
I grabbed his wrist on the door, prying it down with force.
"Open the door, or call her right now and tell her to bring him back."