Randy is the only person who knocks on Katrina's door.
Aaron always comes and goes as he likes, like breaking into no man's land.
In his words, this is his home, and he goes wherever he wants.
Hearing the knock, Katrina assumes it's Randy and opens the door without a second thought.
When the door opens, she doesn't expect to see Aaron's handsome young face.
More importantly, the big black dog Beta squatting at Aaron's feet is the last thing she expects to greet her. Holding his toy ball in his mouth, Beta looks up at Katrina.
Katrina is shocked to see the dog suddenly.
""Ah!"" She screams and closes the door as quickly as she can in fear that Beta will break-in.
Aaron reaches out in time and stops Katrina, forcing the door open.
With Aaron's strength, Katrina is unable to shut the door, making her cry out, ""Aaron, let me go!""
Aaron looks down at Katrina's anxious face and says, ""Beta is clever and lovely. He won't bite.""
It's true. After a few days of discrete observation, Katrina finds out that although the dog looks very big and fierce, Beta is gentle and unaggressive towards the people around it.
But even that doesn't stop Katrina from being frightened of him.
Even if Beta doesn't bite, she's still frightened.
Shivering behind the door, Katrina whimpers, ""Aaron, please don't let him in.""
Beta drops the toy ball in the mouth to the ground. He pushes it through the door with his paw and looks up at Katrina. Sticking out his tongue, he looks like he has a smile on his face. His tail is wagging to show his affection.
Aaron patiently continues to reassure Katrina, ""He values his toy ball so much, that nobody can touch it except for me. You can see how much he likes you if he's willing to give you his toy ball.""
Katrina is touched to hear Aaron's words. Seeing the dog looking at her so hopefully only makes her heart soften more.
Nevertheless, she still can't contain her fear.
""Okay, thank you.""
Katrina quivers and picks up the ball cautiously.
Recalling Aaron playing catch with Beta in the yard, Katrina throws the ball into the distance. The dog immediately runs along the track of the ball to catch it firmly. Then he trots back, wagging his tail all the way, and puts the ball on the ground again. He pushes it through the crack of the door with his paw.
As Aaron watches Katrina interact with his beloved dog, Beta, a smile stretches across his face.
It's evident that Katrina doesn't reject Beta because she dislikes him.
She's a kind and gentle girl, not hostile to small animals. She's just afraid of dogs by nature.
Katrina plays a few ball games with Beta, and Aaron continues to guide her, ""Good, now touch him.""
Although Katrina isn't as scared of dogs as she used to be, she still isn't brave enough to touch him.
Katrina shakes her head from behind the door. ""No, I'm afraid.""
Noticing that she's still reluctant, Aaron suddenly changes his strategy. ""Do