Will we have pets?” I bite back the question regarding kids. While this might be a fun fantasy, imagining being responsible for something like that is terrifying.<br />“Sure.” Noah stays near the fire on one bent knee and occasionally pokes it to keep the dwindling flames alive. “I had a dog once.”<br />“What type?”<br />“A mix of some sort. Part Lab, part something smaller than Lab. Its paws were too big for its body, so it skidded across the kitchen floor.”<br />“Is that what you want?”<br />“If we’re going to live alone on a mountain, we need a guard dog. A German shepherd. Something like that.”<br />“Guard dog?” Not what I had in mind for the fantasy. “We need something cute and cuddly.” I squish my fingers in the air as if I have the little puff ball in my hands. “It can sleep in our bed.”<br />“No fucking way, Echo. I’m not sharing my bed with a dog.