I don't know what makes me do it -- I sure didn't plan to -- but I find myself crouching down in front of the kennel. And then I'm talking to the dog."Hey," I say.It doesn't move, but I think its eyes are looking my way."Bad day?" I ask, as if the dog can answer. And I don't know, maybe it kinda does. Its face certainly looks like it's saying, "Yes. Terrible day." I nod at it. "Me, too. A whole lot of them lately."Slowly, I reach my hand through the bars. I know Beth would probably tell me this ain't safe, -- I don't know this dog or what its temper is like, -- but I do it anyway. I move my fingers in a beckoning gesture. For a minute, I don't think the dog's gonna come to me. Not like I blame it. I didn't wanna move from my bed today, either.But then, it's like it takes a second to make up its mind, before but it starts to stand. It moves towards me real slow, as if second-guessing every step. I ain't sure what comes over me, but I hear myself cooing to it, softly saying, "Good dog. There we go. Come on." And silly as it might be, it works.The dog reaches me at last. It stares at my face for a minute. Its eyes are real big and brown and... sad. That's the only way I know how to describe them. Sad and maybe... lonely? Then it lowers its huge head to sniff my palm. Once it's done checking me out, I reach up and scratch behind one of its ears.And then we both let out this sigh. Right at the same time. Like whatever has just happened has lifted a weight. Like we're both relieved.That's how I meet Lila. Excerpted from Lila and Hadley by Kody Keplinger All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.