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the reason she hadn’t returned to the hospital was because she’d been traumatized by the murders, or because she was still mourning the shooting death of her fiancé.
    Forcing his attention back to the film, he temporarily pushed all thoughts of the woman with the dimpled smile and sexy voice to the recesses of his mind.
     
    Celia heard whining and opened her eyes. She sat up and scrambled off the bed. Terry was sitting up in the makeshift bed she’d fashioned from a wicker laundrybasket and a pillow. After making certain he’d recovered from the effects of the sedative, she’d driven to a twenty-four-hour Walmart to pick up puppy food and supplies.
    Kneeling, she picked up the puppy. He’d soiled the wee-wee pad. “Good morning, baby boy,” she crooned softly. “How are you feeling?” Celia was greeted with a yawn. “Are you still sleepy from the drug?” Terry had become her first non-human patient.
    Cradling Terry to her chest, she walked to the French doors, punched in the code on the security keypad on the wall and opened the doors leading out to the deck. She placed Terry on the flagstone surface and returned to the bedroom.
    Celia made a mental list of the items she had to purchase from a pet store: bed, crate, lead and harness. She wouldn’t trust the terrier to have the run of the house until he was housebroken.
    She wasn’t certain whether Terry would eat, but she knew he had to get some nutrition or he wouldn’t survive. She removed the pad, returned him to the basket, carrying it down the staircase and placing it in a corner between the kitchen and pantry. The puppy’s nose twitched as he surveyed his surroundings.
    Sitting on the floor, she attempted to hand-feed the puppy when he sniffed the bowl containing a small amount of dry food. He’d walked away, taking furtive steps. It took Celia forty minutes to coax the dog to eat five pieces of kibble. She was more successful getting him to drink water before settling him on her lap where he curled himself into a ball.
    She traced the tan spots with her fingertips. “Don’t get too used to me feeding you, little prince. Once you’re healed, either you’ll eat by yourself or you’llgo hungry.” Terry opened his eyes, staring at her as if he understood what she’d said. Celia sat holding the puppy until it fell asleep, then placed it in the basket and went upstairs to ready herself before Gavin arrived.
     
    Celia patted the moisture from her body with a thick, thirsty towel, and then went through her morning ritual of applying a moisturizer to her face and perfumed cream to her body. She’d just slipped into her underwear when the telephone rang. It was a rare occasion when the house phone rang. Her family and close friends usually called her cell.
    Smiling, she lifted the receiver from its cradle when she saw the caller ID. “Good morning, Hannah.”
    “Good morning, Celia. I’m sorry to call so early, but I forgot to ask you yesterday if you were going to Florida for the Memorial Day weekend.”
    Celia sat on a chair in the bedroom’s dressing area. She’d stopped the day before to visit the woman who’d welcomed her with a pan of scrumptious lasagna and an apple pie the day she’d taken possession of the house.
    Hannah Walsh, who’d been a newlywed, had just celebrated the publication of the first book she’d illustrated, and Celia made certain to buy copies for every one of her young cousins. Hannah had taught daycare, and her husband worked night security at a department store while attending classes to earn a criminal justice degree. Five years later, Daniel became a North Carolina state trooper and a father for the first time within the same week.
    “No. I’ve decided to hang out here for a while. I’m not certain when I’m going back.”
    “If that’s the case, then I want to invite you over for a Saturday afternoon barbecue. Please tell me you’ll come.”
    “Of course I’ll come. Do you want me to bring