Chapter 36
Maggie Valley, NC
IT WAS QUITE cold when I took Thor outside early the next morning, but he didn’t seem to notice—probably because he had his own fur coat. We were sitting at the kitchen table after breakfast, nursing a final cup of coffee, when Thor perked his head up and trotted to the windows overlooking the deck. The dog had better ears than I did. Then we heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, so I went to the door. It was Lucinda Hawkins.
I opened the door for her and said, “Good morning.”
“Mornin’,” she said. “I just stopped by to see if you boys needed anything.” She looked down at her feet. “What’s this?”
I picked Thor up. “This is Thor. He’s the newest addition to our little family.”
“He’s so cute, and so little.”
“He’s gonna get a lot bigger.”
Mike had wa
