Pet Friendly by Sue Pethick

some rest.
    As happy as Emma was that Archie had been found, her joy was bittersweet. Having his dog back meant that Todd would be leaving in the morning. Who knew if she’d ever see him again? Still, she reminded herself, it wasn’t her place to persuade him to stay.
    When at last Archie’s coat was clean, Emma set him down on a pillow, covered him with a blanket, and crawled back into bed. She’d been exhausted before; now she could barely move. She put her head on the pillow and had just begun to drift off when she heard a noise in the kitchen. Emma lifted her head and saw Archie, sitting in front of the open refrigerator door, surveying its contents. Had he opened it himself?
    â€œStill hungry, huh?”
    He glanced back at her and licked his chops.
    Emma was too tired to argue.
    â€œOkay,” she said. “Just make sure you close the door when you’re through.”

CHAPTER 11
    T he telephone in Todd’s room rang promptly at six. He rolled over and grabbed for the receiver twice before bringing it to his ear.
    â€œGood morning,” Emma said. “This is your wake-up call.”
    Todd shook his head. The phone had pulled him out of a dream; it took him a second to realize where he was.
    â€œI didn’t order a wake-up call,” he grumbled, squinting at the clock.
    â€œOh. Well, since you’re awake, why don’t you come down to my cottage? I’ve got something I want to show you before I start work.”
    He yawned and rolled a kink out of his shoulder.
    â€œGive me ten minutes,” he said, and hung up.
    Todd stepped out of the front door and shivered. When the rain left that morning, it had taken the cloud cover with it and the temperature had dropped noticeably. The puddles and tree branches were glazed with ice and the grass looked as sharp as knives. He thrust his hands into his pockets and started down the path toward Emma’s cottage, his breath leaving a trail of white puffs in his wake. If he couldn’t figure out how to open the suitcase soon, Todd thought, he’d have to find a store where he could buy some warmer clothing and heavier boots. He could already feel his toes getting numb.
    What was it that Emma wanted him to see? And why was it so important that he come right then, before she started work? He smiled. Maybe there wasn’t anything to show him. Maybe it was just an excuse for the two of them to be alone.
    Since seeing Emma last night, he’d been thinking a lot about the summers they’d spent together as kids. She was Todd’s first crush, the first girl he’d ever thought of as something other than a giggling, finicky annoyance. There’d been times in the past when he’d wondered if their feelings for each other had been blossoming into something more than a summer romance, but then he’d remind himself that it was foolish to dwell on what-ifs and put the thought aside. As the years passed, the question of whether or not he and Emma might have been falling in love became a moot point.
    Todd felt a twinge of guilt as he realized how excited he was to be seeing Emma again. He and Gwen were together now; they were about to become engaged. Fantasizing about another woman was not only childish, it was disloyal. How would he feel if Gwen were off somewhere flirting with an old boyfriend? Whatever Emma had to show him, he was determined not to stay for long.
    The cottage was in sight now, its whitewashed siding and periwinkle blue shutters a cheerful contrast to the wintry weather. Someone had removed the overgrown shrubs that had once shrouded the tiny structure and replaced them with a neat row of dwarf boxwood. Unless he missed his guess, there would be day lilies in the planting beds come springtime. The Spirit Inn might be an imposing Victorian mansion, but Emma’s cottage looked like a cozy English dollhouse. He wiped his feet on the welcome mat and knocked.
    Todd heard whispering inside, then