Page 9 of A Winter Thaw

Animals are amazing, really, she thought. I think they draw instincts of love and protection out of people in the same way our children do. We’re meant to have them in our lives, whether we adopt them or just interact with them sometimes.

She knew, however, that her desire to adopt was getting stronger by the second.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Harper said cheerfully as soon as Michelle had started to pet Pancake, who was a fluffy orange cat with a grumpy-looking face.

“Hi, sweetie,” Michelle said, stroking the top of Pancake’s head. “Who’s a good little guy?”

Pancake proved that his grumpy expression was all an act by purring loudly a few seconds later.

“Michelle,” Audrey said slowly, her tone immediately wheedling.

“Absolutely not,” Michelle said firmly. “You know how busy we are with the hotel right now. We’re going to be insanely busy this whole month. Now is absolutely not the time to be thinking about adopting a pet.”

Audrey sighed. Pancake swished his tail, purring louder.

“There he is!”

An elderly couple walked up to Pancake’s cage, and the woman clasped her hands together, staring at Pancake with wide eyes.

“Isn’t he absolutely perfect? He reminds me of Mr. Jeffries.”

The old man peered at Pancake’s information sign and grunted. “I like him,” he said.

Michelle and Audrey shared a grin and stepped away from Pancake’s cage.

Well, at least he’s being adopted, even if we aren’t getting him, Audrey thought. But I’m in trouble. This itch to adopt a pet is getting stronger all the time.

The next animal they spent some time with was a teenage Doberman Pinscher named Molly, who was an angel and just wanted to cuddle.

“Don’t even think about it, Mom,” Michelle said with a laugh. “Don’t even make eye contact with me. I adore her but she’d scare the heck out of half our guests.”

“She’d scare any burglars away too,” Audrey wheedled.

“Absolutely not.”

Sighing, Audrey stood up and looked around the room again. She was starting to feel as sneaky as Harper, and she found herself wondering what pet in the shelter might be cute enough to melt even Michelle’s resolve.

“Hey!” she said, noticing something golden and fluffy wriggling on the other side of the room. “Let’s go over there.”

“Uh oh,” Michelle said, but she allowed herself to be led over to the fenced-in area that Audrey was taking her to.

“Look,” Audrey said, unable to keep the squeal of glee out of her voice. “A puppy!” She glanced at the sign that was hanging over the side of the little indoor fence. “A goldendoodle.”

“Hey, you,” Michelle said, kneeling down and holding her hand out to the puppy, who immediately started to lick it with boundless enthusiasm. “Aren’t you a sweetie pie. Are you in here all by yourself?”

“Looks like the rest of the litter got adopted already,” Audrey said, looking at the sign again and seeing that there had been seven puppies. “There’s only this one left.”

She was just about to give Michelle the “Please?” look when she saw Harper hurrying over to them with an eager expression.

Perfect, Audrey thought with a chuckle. Backup.

“Hey, isn’t she darling?” Harper said. “She’s the last one left of that litter. What a cutie.”

The puppy, who had been rolling around on the floor, paused and cocked her head at Harper, her brown eyes gleaming with intelligence.

“She’s so fluffy,” Michelle said, laughing uncontrollably. “What a cute little face.”

Audrey grinned, noticing with glee that Michelle was starting to melt.