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two forlorn-looking eyes blinked up at me.
    I froze. Not a skunk. Not a coyote. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, the creature trembled. " Artemis?"
    The tiny dog tried to step out of the bushes, but something held her back.
    "It's okay." I slowly crossed the street and approached the frightened Yorkie. "Are you stuck?" I crouched and held out my hand for Artemis to sniff. Her cold nose nudged my knuckle, then she gave me a tentative lick. Razor-like leaves scratched my hands as I worked to free the dog's harness.
    "You're lucky the owl or a coyote didn't get you." My words set off a wave of whimpering. "Don't worry, I'll take you home." I finally extricated the little beast and scooped her up in my arms. The dog snuggled against me and shivered.
    I located the house with the broken step and carried Artemis up the stairs. A warm amber light glowed behind closed curtains. As I approached the front door, a dog, probably Mitzi, emitted sharp, hysterical barks. Artemis's ears perked up. Before I could press the doorbell, the door flew open.
    "You found her! Oh thank you, thank you!" June reached out and Artemis leaped into her arms. "My poor baby! She's freezing. I thought for sure some mean old coyote had snapped her up." June hugged Artemis to her chest. Noticing my scratched hands, she exclaimed, "You're bleeding! Did Artemis bite you? Come in, come in," she said, not waiting for an answer.
    I stepped into the welcome heat. "She didn't bite me. She was stuck between a pair of holly bushes. I got cut freeing her."
    "You are my hero. Come, come, follow me." June led me into a cozy kitchen and pulled a fuzzy dog bed close to the heat register. Artemis jumped into the bed and Mitzi snuggled in beside her. "I couldn't sleep all night," June said. Which explained the purple dragon bathrobe over pants and sensible-looking shoes. "And I haven't been able to eat since Artemis went missing."
    June slid my messenger bag from my shoulders, her arm dipping when she realized its full weight. Despite it smelling like the back of the van and rightfully looking like it had never been washed, she hefted it onto her spotless white counter. "Here." She handed me a bar of soap. "Wash your hands." She laid a purple hand towel on the tile. "I'll be right back with some ointment."
    "I don't need anything." The warm water splashed over my cuts, stinging so sharply I sucked in air. At least the heat thawed my hands. The soap was a billion steps up from the rough soap powder dispensed in the city shelters. Breathing in the lavender-and-chamomile lather, my feet warmed by the heat blasting from the register, time faded away. I remembered my mother and our second-story walk-up in San Francisco. My heart constricted.
    I rinsed the soap from my hands and flicked the excess water into the sink. June appeared at my side — I hadn't realized she had left — and draped the towel over my hands and patted them dry. "Put this ointment on while I cook you an omelet. You like bacon?"
    "Yes, ma'am, but—"
    "No buts about it. Sit down." She pulled out a cushioned chair from the round table in the nook. The morning paper lay scattered across the polished wood. Red amaryllis in a glass vase perfumed the room. "And don't worry about school. I'll drive you so you won't be late."
    Dizzy from hunger and the air as warm as my mother's touch, I sank into the chair. The energy in the room was everything I had missed since Mom had become ill. I breathed it in, trapping it in my lungs for as long as possible… a lifeline to my past.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    "Do you see him?" Evie scanned the cafeteria.
    "Will you stop?" A rush of embarrassment heated my cheeks. "You don't even know what Aidan looks like."
    "But I know everyone else. Duh. Power of elimination." Evie's eyes gleamed. "He'll be the only handsome, mysterious stranger."
    I took a long swig of water. It was a perfectly normal act, one I hoped masked my pounding heart, which felt like a marathoner's on the final leg of