Rufus sat quietly, eyeballing every bite of toast Joe put into his mouth. The dog licked his lips when a blob of scrambled egg followed, his eyes fixated on the man.
“This is mine,” Joe said to the dog. “All mine.”
Rufus thumped his tail on the floor, his face saying, “Mine, too.”
“Oh, brother, look at you two,” Rachel said as she walked by them and into the kitchen. “Don’t turn your back or Rufus will swallow up your breakfast in one sweep of that tongue.”
“I have no intention of taking my eyes off this plate,” Joe said, taking a generous portion of egg onto his fork. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I can’t sleep. I just keep seeing the blood on the wall and then I feel miserable,” she said, pulling the carafe from the coffee maker and pouring a cup of coffee. “And Eneida came int
