Harry“Okay, let’s take a look at the first row we have up for adoption right now,” Raina replied. “I know most of them pretty well, so we can talk about the ones that suit you best, okay? Let’s get started.”And with that, we were off, and I had to admit, this was a harder task than I had expected it to be. All these dogs had such personality, and all of them looked at us with such hope. Raina explained the breeds and the temperaments and the backstories to these little hounds, and Winnie interjected with what she had learned from all her studying recently.It was nice to hear her so passionate about something. She had obviously dedicated so much time to this, time to prove that she was worthy and capable of handling the hard work of a dog all by herself. I knew that whatever animal we took in, I was going to end up covering for a lot of its care, but that was all right.Maybe she just needed something to love once more. Something that she could take care of. Something that she could

RainaIt was clear from the way Frankie was gazing at him that she was thoroughly enjoying his presence there, especially since it wasn’t like we got a lot of hot guys hanging out around these parts. I felt a little swell of protectiveness. He was mine, wasn’t he? At least, that was what I thought. Even though I had turned him down for that second date, even though I was only seeing him again because he wanted a dog...“Frankie, could you get all the adoption papers we need ready?” I asked, and she nodded, not taking her eyes off Harry for a single moment. It was like cartoon hearts were pumping in her eyes. She couldn’t have made it much more obvious if she tried. But then, I supposed I could hardly claim that I was the best at playing it super cool.Frankie shuffled the papers together and then handed them off to Harry. She eyed him as he filled out the forms in front of him, and when she saw him write his name down, it looked like her eyes were going to bug right out of her head.“

Harry“Well, you wouldn’t have gotten your hands on this dog without me, for one,” Yara pointed out. “If I hadn’t set you up on that date...”“Hey, I think you underestimate the convincing powers of my niece,” I replied. “I’m sure she’d have gotten me to give in some time or another.”“Nonetheless, I’m taking full responsibility for this,” she said as she leaned down to give Tink another cuddle. “Which means I get to see him whenever I want, right?”“Something like that,” I agreed. “Though you’re going to have to fight Winnie for him. She’s already treating him like her little baby. I don’t think you’re going to have an easy time getting through her to get your hands on him.”“Bring it on,” Yara said with a grin. “She’s little. I’ll win. Anyway, I’m going to go get on this shelter and see what I can set up. You take care of this little guy for me, okay? I’ll be back to see him as soon as I get the chance.”“See you,” I said, and with that, she headed out to leave me to the rest of my

RainaThe food was good, and the conversation flowed, and I managed to keep it, for the most part, away from my dating life, much to my relief. Even though Reed poked and pried a little, I deflected his questions. I doubted he wanted to hear the answers to them anyway. He was just trying to find an excuse to set me up again, and there was no way in hell that I was allowing him to do that.After a while, the conversation turned to Lizzie’s work, and we chatted a little about her current case, something for some big business who were suing an even bigger business for their troubles. Something to do with infringement on a copyright. I really didn’t follow the story that well, but I nodded along anyway.“These people need to get a grip on reality,” Reed remarked, shaking his head. “Focus on what really matters in life.”“Yes, but then where would I get my work from?” Lizzie reminded him with a chuckle.“Yeah, that’s a good point,” he conceded. “But we all can’t be Harry Porters, can we?”

HarryI followed her into the room, and she talked through what she was doing with Winnie every step of the way. Winnie had been a little freaked out about handing over her new best buddy to someone that she hardly knew, but now that she was actually watching it unfold in front of her, she seemed to have calmed down a little bit.I was pleased to see how well she was holding herself together. I had been worried that she would be too protective of her little furry friend to think straight, but she was doing a great job. And it helped that Raina was so patient with her, took her time so carefully to make sure she understood every little thing that was going on. By the time she was done with this, I would practically have been able to perform the operation myself.“And it looks like everything is exactly where it needs to be,” Raina finished up. Her voice was so smooth and so confident that I had found myself tuning out of the actual details of what she was saying and focusing instead on