Free Dog Whisperer by Nicholas Edwards Page A

was at all cold out, but the man was wearing work boots, dark wool pants, and a heavy plaid barn coat, with a white turtleneck on underneath. He seemed to be talking to himself, which made her suspicious, but Zack was still swinging his tail happily back and forth. Obviously, she trusted Zack’s instincts—but she checked over her shoulder, just in case, to make sure that her father and grandparents weren’t too far away.
    â€œHi,” Emily said. “Pretty good race, isn’t it?”
    The man jumped. In fact, he almost seemed to levitate ! “Are you talking to me?”
    Well—who else? Emily took an uneasy step backwards, wondering why he looked so very pale. “Um, sorry. My dog just wanted to stretch his legs a little. We didn’t mean to bother you.”
    He was looking at her as though she were some kind of alien being—which she thought was pretty offensive. It wasn’t as though she was the only African-American person in Maine. She started to turn and walk away, but Zack sat directly in front of the man and lifted his paw.
    To Emily’s annoyance, the man stared at Zack as though he were an alien, too.
    Of course, to be fair, he could just be afraid of dogs, maybe. But, it was hard to imagine anyone being afraid of a dog as sweet and friendly as Zack.
    â€œYou can see me?” the grey-haired man asked, still seeming completely unnerved.
    It wasn’t really unusual to run into someone kind of eccentric in Maine, but this man seemed to be a lot more weird than the average crusty New Englander. Emily checked over her shoulder again, relieved to see that her father was still only about thirty feet away. He was kind of distracted, since he was leaning over the edge of the bridge with his camera, taking shots of brightly colored kayaks zipping through the water. But, if she called him, she knew he would immediately hurry over.
    â€œWhat do you see?” the elderly man asked urgently.
    He was much too strange, and she was really starting to get the creeps from this conversation. “I’m sorry, we have to go now,” Emily said. “My father is right over there waiting for us.”
    â€œIt wasn’t her fault,” the man said.
    Yeah, okay, whatever. Emily nodded politely, edging away from him.
    Zack didn’t want to cooperate, so she tugged a little harder on his leash.
    â€œShe needs to know that,” the man said.
    Emily nodded again, humoring him. “Okay. I’m sure it’ll all be fine. But, we have to go.” She gave Zack’s leash another small yank. “See you around.”
    The man looked disappointed, but then, he turned away and started looking off into the distance again.
    Emily hurried back to where her father and grandparents were standing, feeling a little chill run up her back. Maybe Zack’s judgment had been off this time? Because there was clearly something wrong with that man.
    Her father smiled at her. “What were you and Zack doing over there all by yourselves?”
    â€œWe were just—” Emily stopped. What did he mean, all by themselves ? “We were the only ones over there?” she asked.
    Her father laughed. “Emily, there are some really good races going on. You’ve been missing some great finishes.”
    Emily glanced over the bridge railing and saw that, indeed, paddlers were still crossing the finish line, and that more categories must have already been completed, because there were a few kayakers standing on the main dock with ribbons and small trophies. Then, she looked back at the rocks, where the older man was still standing all by himself.
    â€œDo you know him, Dad?” Emily asked, pointing.
    Her father looked around. “Who?”
    Wait, her father couldn’t see him? Even though the man was right there? “Over on the rocks,” Emily said.
    Her father looked around in that general direction, and then shrugged. “Where?”
    Oh,