He continued to stare hopefully as I ate, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes. I couldn’t hide in here forever, but there was nothing wrong with stealing a few quiet moments to myself.
Running into Toby this morning had been a surprise. Having him show up to harvest the mistletoe was downright shocking. Especially since the last time I saw him?—
“Now in here is my kitchen.” Mom’s voice floated into the room. “And where I make all the stuff we sell out front—oh,” she said, stopping when she saw me. “Archer, what in the world are you doing sitting in the dog bed?”
“Hanging out with Marlowe,” I said like it was obvious.
Movement behind her made me do a double take, the sandwich in my mouth turning to sand when I saw who was with her.
“What are you doing in here?” I demanded. Geez, I didn’t see the guy for ten years, and suddenly, he’severywhere.
“Trying to avoid you,” he shot back. “Figured you’d be chopping down a tree somewhere.”
“For heaven’s sakes. What is wrong with you two?” Mom wondered as Marlowe got up to rush over to greet them.
“Marlowe, come back here and lie down,” I called.
He ignored me and danced around Mom’s feet until she scratched behind his ears enough, and then he turned to Toby. I expected him to be leery. After all, the only time he’d met him was this morning when Toby was giving him a shot and tending to his paw.
But when Toby sank to his knees in front of Marlowe, his entire back end was wiggling—Marlowe’s,notToby’s—and he let out a little whine.
It sounded a lot like betrayal.
“Marlowe, hey, buddy.” Toby greeted him, setting aside the red cup from the hot chocolate stand to bury both hands in his fur to scratch him. “I’d ask you how you are, but I can see you are being spoiled and well cared for.”
Marlowe licked him across the face, and Toby laughed. “Do I smell like chocolate?” he asked, swiping the end of his nose with the sleeve of his jacket.
In yet another act of betrayal, Marlowe flopped down on the floor, showing Toby his belly. Toby laughed, the sound creating an instant ache inside me. Even though I hated it, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the sight he made leaning over my hairy dog to lavish him with attention.
He looked just as I remembered, with floppy brown hair that wasn’t quite curly but definitely wasn’t straight. His eyes, the color of the hot chocolate he was drinking, were currently crinkled at the corners as he smiled down at Marlowe. He was still pale and clean-shaven, a forever baby face that put people at ease immediately.
He was about the same size too, maybe a little broader in the shoulders and, if anything, a little thinner than I recalled. I knew he worked long hours. I’d overheard his mother tell mine on more than one occasion. I had no room to judge, though, because my mother could say the same about me.
He was the literal definition ofthe more things change, the more they stay the same.
Because in the past decade, lots of things had changed. Winterbury, Hodge Farm, my family… me. Hell, even as I sat here marveling at how he was the way I remembered him, I saw the differences too. He was more comfortable in his skin, confidence giving him an edge that wasn’t there before. And though his baby face was still intact, his jaw was more chiseled, the slope of his nose just a little sharper than before.
He still smiled so much, though. Smiling at literally everyone who approached him and charming them all. There was an openness to him that drew people in. He slid right back into the community as though he hadn’t even been gone at all.
That’s right. I kept an eye on him out there. Who knew what he was up to? Probably something.Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
He must have sensed my stare because his eyes flicked up before moving right back down. “Good boy,” he crooned, patting Marlowe’s belly one last time before grabbing his cup and pushing to his feet.
“His paw looks good,” he said, lifting the hot chocolate to his lips.
“Oh, snuck in a little exam there, did you, Dr. Thomas?” Mom said, clearly impressed.
“Toby,” he corrected. “Just took a quick peek. But be sure to give it a more thorough look when you change the bandage tomorrow.”
“We’re just so glad you were there to take care of him this morning,” Mom said, lifting the plate of cookies off the counter. “Cookie?”
“Did you make these?” Toby asked, looking over the cookies like it was hard to choose.
They were all exactly the same.
“They look incredible.” He went on.
“I did.”
