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and give you an adoption fee before I take him home?”
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    Well, let me tell you, Tansie nearly had a cow when she saw me and Sunny get Matlock out of the car. Matlock’s the dog, of course. I decided to name him after one of my favorite sleuths, and the name just seemed to suit him.
     
    I saw Tansie peering across the hedges at us—that big piehole of hers flopped open like a wide-mouthed bass. Just to irk her, I hollered, “Hey, Tansie, come on over and say hello to Matlock!”
     
    She put a hand up to her forehead to shade her eyes. “Who?”
     
    “Matlock, my new dog. Don’t you wanna welcome him to the neighborhood?”
     
    “Well, um, sure; but I can’t right now. I left something simmering on the stove and I need to get back inside.” She high-tailed it into the house.
     
    I grinned at Matlock and patted his head. “If you can make Tansie stay at home, you’ve earned your keep right there.”
     
    I had Sunny take Matlock on inside while I got all the stuff I’d bought at the pet store out of the trunk. Matlock had a nice big bed, a bag of food, two silver dishes, a handsome blue collar with a matching leash, some rawhide chews, a tennis ball, a knotted cloth rope, and a squeaky plush Holstein cow.
     
    Sunny was tickled pink that she now had a part-time dog. Faye, on the other hand, wouldn’t even come into the house when she came to pick up Sunny.
     
    “Mother, what on earth were you thinking?”
     
    “Oh, lighten up, Faye,” I said. “Don’t you even want to come in and see him?”
     
    “I can see him just fine through the storm door, thanks. Besides, you know I can’t come in that house with that dog in there. My allergies would—”
     
    “Yeah,” I said, “I know.”
     
    Sunny gave Matlock one last kiss on the head and started to leave. I had to remind her to give me my hug and kiss. As she and Faye backed out of the driveway, I told Matlock, “I guess I’ll be second fiddle to you from now on, at least as far as Sunny’s concerned.”
     
    I closed the door and sat down on the couch, suddenly feeling very tired. Matlock came and put his head on my knee.
     
    I scratched behind his ears and looked into those soulful eyes. “You got any kids out there anywhere?”
     
    He wagged his tail a little, but I didn’t know whether to take that as a yes or a no.
     
    I sighed. “I remember when me and Faye were as close as me and Sunny are now.” I shook my head. “These days I feel like I know you better than I know her—and we just met. How’d me and Faye get to be so distant—and her my own flesh and blood?”
     
    He wagged his tail again. That seemed to be his answer to everything, as opposed to a “woof” or a growl or something.
     
    “Tell you what,” I said, “let’s you and me take a little nap. We’ll feel better about the world in general when we wake up.”
     
    He wagged his tail.
     
    I stretched out on the couch, leaving my shoes on because I didn’t know Matlock well enough yet to tell whether or not he’d chew up shoes. He didn’t look the type, but I figured it paid to be careful.
     
    Matlock did a big doggie sigh and lay down between the couch and the coffee table. I made a mental note to remember he was there. I’d hate to wake up having forgotten all about him and then go into hysterics. He might panic, too, and kill me. And even if he didn’t kill me, Tansie might hear me screaming and call the law; and then everybody in the neighborhood would get a big kick out of Myrtle Crumb bein’ afraid of her own dog. So I dozed off with Matlock on my mind. That way, I knew I’d expect to wake up and see either a huge Chocolate Lab or Andy Griffith.
     
    Thank goodness I didn’t sleep all that long . . . just about an hour. When I woke up, it was still light outside. Matlock was snoring. It was kinda nice not bein’ alone. Actually, it was real nice. I stayed where I was and just listened to him snore. That sounds pathetic,