Page 70 of The Holiday Cottage

Miles sent her a curious look. “Do you have a dog?” He cut thick chunks of bread from a fresh loaf and added cheese and chutney from a jar with a handwritten label.

“No. I live in London.”

“People have dogs in cities.”

“Yes, but I work a lot. And unlike you, I can’t take the dog along with me. It wouldn’t be fair.” But she couldn’t stop thinking of how it might be to come home to that waggy tail every night. She was starting to understand why her colleagues were obsessed. She watched as the dog devoured the food. “You don’t already have a dog?”

“I had a German shepherd for eleven years. Alfie. Brilliant dog. Lost him a year ago. I still miss him.” He opened one of the cupboards and pulled out two plates. “I wasn’t planning on replacing him, but it seems the universe has different ideas. Although you’re the one Ralph is interested in. Time to feed the humans. Here...” He put a sandwich in front of her. “It’s not elegant, but the cheese is organic from the farm down the road and the chutney was a gift from Valerie. It’s homemade from the apples in her orchard. If you bought that in London, you’d pay a fortune for it.”

She really didn’t think she could eat, but she didn’t want to attract any more attention or questions so she balanced on a stool at the kitchen island and bit into the sandwich, keeping one eye on her new protector. “But you’ll keep him?”

“I made a promise to Valerie.” He drank his coffee, his gaze fixed on the dog. “He’s going to need training. I haven’t got time to search the countryside for him every time he decides to go for an adventure. Are we going to stick with the name Ralph?”

She put her sandwich down. He was talking as if she was a longtime friend, and not someone he’d just rescued from the side of the road. “You want to change his name?”

He shrugged. “As I said, Jim only had the one dog name. Maybe this chap would like to have a name that’s personal to him. He’s had a bit of a sad time, and this is a fresh start. Maybe he’d like a fresh name.”

Maybe that was what she should do. Change her name. Start fresh. Get away from her old life.

She brought her attention back to the present. “But does he answer to Ralph?”

“I don’t know.” He took a bite of his sandwich. “Why don’t you find out?”

She slid off the stool. “Come here, Ralph.”

The dog shot across to her, tail wagging.

Miles watched while he ate his sandwich. “Now go into the living room and call him Napoleon.”

“Napoleon?”

“Just try it.”

With a sigh, she walked back to the living room and took a breath. “Come here—Napoleon.” She felt like a fool saying it and then moments later started laughing because the dog came shooting toward her, just as he had the first time.

She took him back to the kitchen. “I don’t get it. Doesn’t he know his name?”

“Possibly, but he’s still young, and what he’s really responding to is the tone of your voice.”

She almost suggested they rename him Midas, but she stopped herself.

Midas was in the past. Midas wasn’t real. Her fake dog days were behind her. And if this dog was having a fresh start, so was she. No more pretending. Maybe she wouldn’t go as far as changing her name, but from now on she only wanted what was real.

“I like the name Ralph. It suits him. And I don’t think he needs a new name just because he’s getting a new life.” She slid back onto the stool and took another bite of her sandwich. It was delicious, but her stomach felt tight and no matter how gorgeous the dog, or how charming and good-looking his new owner, she was still reeling from the shocking revelation that Dorothy was her grandmother.

That reality hung in her head even while she was talking about other things. Sooner or later she was going to have to stop avoiding the issue and decide what to do.

“Ralph it is,” Miles said. “Welcome to your new home, Ralph.” He smiled as the dog thumped his tail. “He doesn’t seem too unhappy to be here. So now tell me more about yourself. You’re spending Christmas at Holly Cottage? It’s a great place for that.”

“I won’t be spending Christmas there.” Even as she said it, she felt a stab of regret. “I’m leaving later today.”

“Oh, shame. I was thinking maybe you could help me walk Ralph occasionally. When did you arrive?”

He was going to ask for her help with the dog? “Yesterday.”

“That’s a pretty short stay.” His gaze lingered on her face. “I gather you’re not impressed with our country ways.”

“It’s not that.” She hesitated. “It’s complicated.”

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