Free Breaking the Rules: The Honeybees, book 1 by Amy Archer Page A

got the call that his owner hadn’t—that they couldn’t find his owner, I saw the label on his cage. It said he was a brown and white dog.”
    Devin’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head in disbelief. “All that time,” he said. “I can’t believe it. You have no idea. Sophie, you have no idea how hard I tried to find him.”
    I felt guilty, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Or maybe I had: I hadn’t pressed when I’d noticed the brown and white descriptor on Taco’s cage, hadn’t even thought that it might mean anything of significance. And perhaps more importantly, I had judged Devin for his inattention, for letting Taco disappear, for not finding him at the shelter when he’d had the chance. And all this time he’d been searching for him. He’d put up flyers. Of course I hadn’t seen them—by then I’d been long gone. I’d only been in that neighborhood by chance that day because it was where Les Etoiles was. If someone else had found Taco, someone who lived in that neighborhood and would’ve seen the posters, they would’ve called Devin and told him where to find his dog. If a simple error hadn’t been made at the animal shelter, he would’ve found Taco. Maybe if I hadn’t been so quick to take him to the shelter in the first place, Devin would’ve found Taco in the park. He said he’d searched for hours that night, but I had only stayed with Taco for an hour and a half before I’d taken him to the shelter.  
    This was all a huge mistake. Taco should still be Devin’s.  
    I didn’t speak for a moment. The two of us watched Taco together as he play-fought with another dog, then ran back to hide behind our legs, then ran toward the dog again for a surprise attack. This dog who had felt like a gift of fate was not supposed to be mine.  
    Yet I had cared for Taco for weeks, had made sure he was safe that night. I remembered then the moment when Taco had almost run into the street. If not for me, he might’ve gotten hit by a car. He might not have had food or water, would’ve spent the night cold and alone. Taking him to the shelter had been the right thing to do.
    Devin wasn’t the only one who had claim to the dog. It may have been due to random circumstances that he had become mine, but now I had a legitimate claim to him too. And he had helped me so much. Surely Devin couldn’t ask me to throw all that away.  
    “I had no idea that you tried so hard to find him,” I said finally. “I’m—I’m sorry, Devin. I don’t know what to do. It’s clear you really love him. But…I love him now too.”
    “I know,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve taken such good care of him. It’s just…this sucks.” He lifted his arms in a full upper-body shrug.  
    I sighed. I had been so convinced that Devin was in the wrong, that Devin may have been fun and interesting and good at making people feel welcome in the running group, but that he was definitely a bad dog owner. I had been so convinced that my claim to Taco was undeniable and that he was crazy to ever think I’d give him back, that I was being generous by even agreeing to go on doggy play dates with him. But now I had to face the fact that that just wasn’t the case.  
    “Maybe,” I started tentatively, “maybe we could work something out. Like a…shared custody sort of thing.”
    Devin looked at me with a crooked smile. “That didn’t work out so great for my parents,” he cracked, then straightened up. “Really?” he asked.  
    I nodded. “If you want to.”
    He smiled at me now, a real smile. “That would be great, Sophie. Thank you.” The joy on his face was obvious, and my heart swelled for a moment at how happy he looked at the idea of spending more time with Taco.  
    Then I remembered that it meant I would spend less time with the dog.  
    It’ll be okay , I told myself. Focus on the rules for getting back on track. Taco was a lot of fun, but if anything he was a distraction from the rules. He was a