Finding Home by Georgia Beers

Against Sarah’s wishes, Karen had taken him off his lead and thrown a tennis ball for him. He ran, fetched it, and brought it right back to her over and over and over, as if it never once occurred to him to run off into the nearby woods to explore or sprint up to the other visitors in the park and jump on them to get some attention. Sarah had been experimenting with a new camera and had snapped dozens of
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    FINDING HOME
    photos, but this one had been the best. It was as if she’d caught them both unawares, Karen hugging Bentley with such pride and love, and Bentley looking like he was actually smiling. Sarah had immediately had the snapshot enlarged and professionally framed, and here it had sat ever since.
    Chewing on her bottom lip, Sarah ran a Þ nger along the glass, tracing Karen’s face, then Bentley’s ear, certain that if she concentrated hard enough, she could actually feel the texture of each. Then she blew out a breath of utter exhaustion and shook her head. What the hell am I doing? They’re both gone. Long ago, she had vowed to stop being one of those pathetic people who wallowed, who couldn’t let go, who refused to move on from their heartbreak, and she was disgusted with herself for taking even one step down that path. Despite a detailed list of every pound and organization her parents had contacted, Sarah had contacted them all again, hoping against hope that somebody had her dog. Every avenue had led her to a dead end, with no sign of Bentley. She knew she had to try to convince herself that he now had a good home with somebody who loved him. It was the only thing that brought her even a modicum of peace. With a growl, she quickly tossed the picture into a drawer and pushed it shut with a slam, wishing there was some way she could close the door on her past once and for all.
    “Everything okay?”
    The voice startled Sarah and she ß inched in her chair before spinning back around to face the front and the concerned visage of her boss, Regina Danvers, who stood in the doorway. As always, Regina was impeccably dressed in a chocolate brown pantsuit, her auburn hair pulled back into a French twist.
    “Yes.” Sarah pasted a smile onto her face. “Everything’s great.”
    “Your Þ rst day back go all right?”
    “Fine. Just Þ ne.”
    “Well, we missed you around here, but word is you did a fantastic job overseas.” Regina tossed her a genuine smile and
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    GEORGIA BEERS
    Sarah suddenly felt like a third grader who’d just pleased her favorite teacher. “It seems like the Sarah Buchanan we know and love might actually be back, hmm?”
    Before Sarah could respond, her intercom buzzed and Patti’s voice came on the line. “Sarah?”
    “Yes, Patti?” She shot an apologetic look at Regina, who simply smiled knowingly.
    “A bunch of us are going to happy hour across the street at Joe’s. Want to go?”
    Sarah forced herself to wait a couple seconds to give the impression she was at least thinking about it. “You know, Patti, I’m really tired. I think I’m just going to go home tonight. But thanks.”
    “Oh.” Patti tried unsuccessfully to hide her disappointment.
    Then she perked right back up. “Well, I guess I’ll have to be the one to talk about being a Kiwi for three months.”
    “You do that,” Sarah said, pushing the button to end the call. She turned her gaze back to her boss. “Sorry about that. She forgets to check and make sure I’m not with somebody before she starts talking. We’re working on that.”
    “Is she driving you nuts?” Regina’s eyes twinkled in amusement.
    Sarah shook her head and smiled good-naturedly. “No. No, not at all. She’s doing Þ ne. Just needs some Þ ne-tuning.”
    “As I was saying, word on the street is that you went above and beyond overseas.” As she turned to look toward Patti’s empty workstation, she added, “And I imagine you did the majority of the work single-handedly.”
    Sensing Regina’s disapproval of