Kylie Cantrall's Arc

Chapter 12 of 78

Kylie tightened the last bolt on the heart bed at ten-fifteen and went downstairs to warm the pan. The car was thirty minutes out. She set the grilled cheese ingredients on the counter and heard a soft click of nails on the wood floor behind her. Her Yorkie trotted in with the red bow crooked over one ear. Bella stopped at the pantry, sniffed the air, and let out one sharp bark at the front door. Kylie set down the butter. Bella never barked at nothing. The second dog, her older shiba, padded in from the sunroom and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Yorkie, ears up. Both dogs were staring at the door. Kylie thought about Arianna's puppy on the taxi ride, shaking under a blanket. She thought about Arianna stepping into a hallway with two strange dogs charging her. She walked to the door and knelt. "Hey. Hey. Look at me." She held out her palm. Bella licked it. The shiba sat. Kylie needed them to know Arianna before Arianna knew them. She went to the coat closet and pulled out the tote Arianna had left at the estate—the one with the folded scarf still inside. She had planned to give it back today. She unfolded the scarf on the kitchen floor. "This is her," she said. Bella went straight to it and pushed her nose into the fabric. Her tail moved. The shiba sniffed once, then lay down on the corner of it. No growl. No stiff spine. Kylie rubbed the scarf on her own wrist and let Bella lick her hand again. She carried the scarf to the front hall and laid it across the rug where Arianna would step in. She sat on the floor between the dogs and the door. "When she comes in, you smell her, you sit. That's it." The intercom buzzed at eleven-oh-two. Kylie's stomach dropped. She stood, brushed off her jeans, and put both dogs in a sit at the edge of the rug. She opened the door. Arianna stood on the step with a covered dish in her hands. Her shiba puppy was pressed against her ankle on a short leash. Bella took one step forward, sniffed Arianna's shoe, and sat back down. The older shiba did not move. Arianna's puppy stretched its neck toward Bella. Bella touched noses with it and wagged. Arianna laughed, quiet and surprised. "They knew me." "I gave them your scarf," Kylie said. She reached for the dish. Their fingers touched under the foil. Arianna stepped inside without hesitation and closed the door behind her. Kylie let out the breath she had been holding since nine last night. The dogs followed Arianna to the kitchen like she had lived there for a year. Whatever came next—her mother tomorrow, the label after that—Arianna was inside the house, and the house had let her in.