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of Caroline’s ex and Emerson’s father as she tapped a few more keys. “Okay. Here we go.” She shifted noticeably from quiet sadness to business. “Rooms three, five, and six are all checking out this morning, so they’ll need to be cleaned. Two of them will have new guests by three.”
    As if on cue, a middle-aged couple entered the sitting room and set their suitcases near one of the leather couches.
    “Ugh,” the woman said, leaning heavily on the counter. “We don’t want to leave. Don’t make us.”
    Mary smiled. “You are welcome back any time, Mrs. Todd.” As Mary typed on the computer and printed out the couple’s final bill, Gordie sat next to Cassie’s feet, his whole body thrumming with the desire to greet these people.
    “Stay,” Cassie commanded softly.
    The woman heard and peeked over the counter. “Oh my god, he’s beautiful. Is he an Aussie?”
    Cassie nodded, then said to Gordie, “Okay. Go say hi.”
    Gordie zipped around the counter faster than a fleeing centipede, and the woman squatted to lavish attention on him while Mr. Todd paid the bill.
    “Seriously, we love it here,” he said to Mary. “We’ll be back next year.”
    “Or sooner if I have anything to say about it.” Both Cassie and Mary laughed, as neither of them could see Mrs. Todd, but her voice was clear as could be. Her husband shook his head good-naturedly.
    Mary finished up the paperwork, and with a last goodbye to Gordie, the Todds grabbed their luggage and headed for the door.
    “See you next year,” Mrs. Todd promised.
    Mary sighed as the door closed behind them. “I hope we’re here next year.”
    Cassie spent the next three hours cleaning the vacated rooms, changing sheets, running the vacuum, and thinking about what Mary had said. How strange that it hadn’t occurred to her that The Lakeshore Inn might be closed. Caroline only had one child, Emerson. Her parents were gone and there were no siblings. Of course she’d have left the inn to Emerson. It only made sense. But Emerson didn’t live here. Emerson hadn’t lived here in more than ten years. What were the chances of her staying in Lake Henry and keeping The Lakeshore Inn up and running?
    “Pretty slim,” Cassie whispered as she threw a load of sheets into the high capacity washing machine in the inn’s laundry room. Her cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. Checking the screen, she saw that it was Jonathan.
    “Good morning, gorgeous,” he said by way of greeting.
    “You sure know how to make a girl feel good,” Cassie said. “We should date.”
    “Bitch, please. You could not handle this much sexy.”
    Cassie barked a laugh. “That’s true. Also, you’re way too high-maintenance for me. Girls are much easier.”
    “How are you doing, sweetie?” Jonathan’s voice gentled. “Are you at the inn now?”
    “Yeah. I didn’t want Mary to have to do everything herself.”
    “You’re a good friend, Cassandra. How’s our favorite innkeeper doing? Hanging in there?”
    “As well as can be expected, I guess.” Cassie finished loading the sheets one-handed, set the washer, and pushed start. “But I think she’s worried about what’s going to happen to the inn. I never even thought about that. I mean, what happens now? It’s not hers. It was Caroline’s.”
    “So it probably passes to the Ice Princess. Shit.”
    “Or Fredrik.”
    “The Ice King? No way.”
    “If Caroline’s will is old, it could very well leave everything to him.”
    “God, let’s hope not. This town isn’t big enough for his ego. The Ice Princess is the lesser of the two evils.”
    “I saw her today,” Cassie told him. “I mean face-to-face. We shook hands.”
    “You did? Were hers blue and freezing cold?”
    Cassie chuckled. “No. She was nice enough. Didn’t say much. And I think she was in her pajamas.” Cassie flashed back to the outfit, the blue of those eyes. “She’s really attractive.”
    “Yeah, well, looks aren’t everything, my