SEVEN

“Sure, I’ll help,” Stacy agreed. She stooped down and looked into the box. “The poor thing’s shivering.”

“And that’s not all,” Jason said. “He needs a bath, too. And I’m not fooling!”

The closer Stacy’s nose got to the homeless dog, the more she agreed with Jason. “Bring him inside a minute,” she said. “He could get frostbite out here.”

Jason nodded. He lifted the box and heaved it into the entryway. “Someone left him on my front step,” he explained.

“You’re kidding! They dropped a puppy off at your house?” Stacy said.

She hated to think of someone being so cruel. She also wondered about the deserted dog. Did it have something to do with her feeling earlier today? That something wonderful was going to happen to Jason?

“I never saw anyone anywhere,” Jason explained. He seemed very upset. “Muffie just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Muffie? You named the dog?” Stacy asked.

Jason pushed up his glasses. “Well, I had to call him something. You can’t go around with a poor little dog, calling him nothing. Can you?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Stacy replied.

She could hardly believe her ears.

Jason was being very kind! So kind she was sure he’d picked the kindness fruit for the year.

Stacy smiled back at him. “I was just cleaning house,” she told him. She eyed the box. “Better keep Muffie in there till I get my jacket.”

Jason stooped down and petted the dog. “Hurry, Stacy, it’s getting late. My mom said I couldn’t be out long,” he urged.

Stacy glanced at the window. The sun was setting fast.

Jason was right. They’d have to hurry.