A man? Ashley blinked, a frown creasing her face. She had nothing against her mother going out and meeting people - granted, men were a little touchy for her after her father - but it was the way she said it and the pause afterwards that confused Ashley. What sort of man was he, what was he like, what did he want?
"Mom?"
The doorbell cut her off from saying anything else and she huffed out a breath of annoyance. Nodding, she let Helen's hand slip out of her grasp, resettling herself on the couch to wait. A few minutes later, something big and black bounded into the room and Ashley frowned even more, staring at the thing as it stopped to look at her.
"A dog? You got a dog..."
Okay, not what she'd expected, but honestly could be worse things. And really, she's not that surprised that her mother would run off and adopt a dog without telling anyone, especially if she was bored or needed something to do. Ashley smiled in response, reaching out slowly to offer the dog her hand. Better a companion than an empty house.
"FYI, bringing a dog into the house isn't going to distract me from the new man in your life, so spill."