Read Online The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series by Margaret Standafer - Free Book Online

deemed treasure. Thank goodness for Shauna.
    With every trip to the dumpster, Susan kept her eyes peeled for the puppy. She filled a small bowl with dog food and set it where she and Riley had seen him. On her fourth trip outside she caught sight of him greedily devouring the food. Susan stopped in her tracks and quietly waited. After eating every bit of food and then licking the bowl until it flipped over at which point no amount of batting with his little paw was going to right it, he began sniffing around the dumpster, his tail wagging furiously. Slowly, Susan lowered herself to the ground and sat, leaving about fifteen yards between herself and the pup.
    She watched for a few minutes, her heart melting, as he entertained himself with a small section of PVC pipe, rolling it, chasing it, barking at it, and, when it disappeared under the dumpster, plopping down on his backside and cocking his head as if wondering why the game had to end. Determined not to scare him off this time, Susan further lowered herself until she was lying on the ground, head resting on her folded arms, and making just the smallest amount of noise so as to get the puppy’s attention. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he studied her, inching slowly closer.
    Susan took a couple of pieces of paper from the box she’d been carrying and gently crushed one into a ball. Tossing it lightly into the air, she caught it and watched as the puppy quivered with excitement. She tossed it again, this time forward a bit, before crawling and scooping it up. After a few more tosses she was closer to the dog who was now unable to contain himself and was jumping up and down in place, yipping enthusiastically. Ever so gently, she rolled the paper ball to him. He pounced on it, clenched it in his mouth with all his might, and swung his head back and forth prepared to do whatever it might take to vanquish that particular enemy.
    “Oh, so ferocious,” Susan crooned, as he happily shredded the paper. She crumpled another piece and immediately had the puppy’s attention. Unable to control himself, he charged at Susan and launched himself into her lap. He licked her face and bit at her hair while she laughed and hugged him tight.
     
    That’s how Riley found her, rolling around on the ground and giggling while the dog jumped on her and over her. He couldn’t tell who was having more fun. Susan looked so carefree, the stress and worry that went along with the remodel forgotten for the moment, and it pulled at Riley’s heart. He wanted to fight it, even tried to tell himself it was more about the puppy than about her, but he couldn’t. When she spotted him and her face lit up even more, he knew he’d do whatever he could to keep her looking just that way.
    “Look, he came back!”
    “I see that,” Riley said, taking a seat beside her and getting a dose of puppy love for himself.
    “Why are you here on a Saturday? You’re always accusing me of working too much.”
    “I don’t know, a little bored, I guess.” And, he realized, he had wanted to see her. “Frank’s working so the house was quiet. I thought I’d see how you and Shauna are doing then maybe put in a couple of hours.”
    “Hmmm.” Turning her attention back to the puppy she asked, “How old do you think he is?”
    “He doesn’t look very old, I’d say a few months. It looks like he still has his puppy teeth,” Riley added as the pup chomped playfully on his finger.
    “Do you think he’s lost? Abandoned?” Susan asked hugging him protectively.
    “From the looks of him, it seems like he’s been on his own for a while. He’s thin, dirty, and apparently starving.” They watched as he tried to eat the cardboard box Susan had been hauling outside. “If someone was trying to find him you’d think they would have. It doesn’t seem like he’s roaming too far.”
    “I suppose we should check?”
    Riley guessed she wanted to hear that it wasn’t necessary, but he knew it was. “We