Page 149 of Burn Bag

“Actually,” he cleared his throat. “Um…we may have acquired a dog.”

My jaw dropped in shock as I took in what he said. “A dog?”

“Are you mad?”

I started laughing, unable to stop. “How did you acquire a dog?”

“Look, it wasn’t my fault. Seriously, I was in town and this littlepuppy ran up to me, begging for food. So, I took him around town and asked if anyone knew who he belonged to. It turns out, there was an old couple in town who had just gotten him, but the wife died and the husband has no interest in caring for a puppy.”

“So, you adopted it,” I grinned.

“Well, it was just supposed to be temporary until they could find him a home.”

“But?”

“Well…he’s cute. And Tigger loves him. I can’t take him away. They take naps together!”

I burst out laughing, wiping the tears from my eyes as I thought of Bradley curled up with a dog and a cat. And once I started crying, I couldn’t stop. The tears just kept coming until I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. My dad walked into the tent and spotted me, seeing my distress, and walked over.

“Daphne! We need to leave!” he called out, buying me an excuse to get off the phone.

“I’ll talk to you later. I love you,” I managed to choke out before the phone fell from my fingers and I collapsed on my knees, crying onto my dad’s shoulder as he caught me.

“Hey,” he said soothingly, rubbing my back. “What’s this about?”

“He got a dog,” I cried, my chest heaving with every breath I tried to take.

“Okay,” he hummed. “I see.”

“Do you?”

I felt his head move in a nod as he continued to rub my back. “I do, sweetie. It’ll be okay.”

“Will it? I’m over here and he’s over there,” I cried, the tears sliding unchecked down my cheeks. “Why am I being so stupid? He’s just living his life!”

“Without you,” my dad sighed. “Do you want to go home?”

I shook my head furiously, even though my heart was screaming yes. I wouldn’t leave, not when there was so much to do, so much to discover.

“If I can’t make it a few weeks without him, what does that say about me?”

“It says you’re in love, sweetie.”

“But you’re not like this with Mom.”

My father’s big hand rubbed soothing circles over my back. “Well, your mother and I happen to like the same things. We’re together so often that it’s nice when we take a break from each other. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but your mother can be quite demanding.”

I laughed against his chest, wiping at the tears on my cheeks. “God, I’m such a mess.”

“You are, but that’s okay.”

I pulled away from him, trying to get myself together. “What am I going to do?”

“Well, I imagine you’ll either finish this dig or you’ll call him and beg him to come get you.”

I laughed, trying to imagine him over here. “He would never come near a mummy. He’s terrified of them.”

“Of mummies?” my dad asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Does he realize they’re dead?”

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