Page 71 of No Good Deed

Paper flowers and streamers decorated the barn’s interior. No balloons for this eco-friendly town. Kimi must be having a celebration to reunite Oreo with his family. Her heart sank even as she tried to muster up a smile. Oreo whined and licked her chin again.

She and Troy walked a few steps, and Kimi and several of their friends from Midnight Lake and town popped up. “Surprise!”

Piper froze in place. A glance at Troy showed he was as confused as she was. She checked behind her, looking for the other family, but no one was there.

Kimi moved toward them with a big smile on her face. “Happy Gotcha Day.”

Happy Gotcha Day? Piper didn’t have a clue what that meant. The others were smiling expectantly at her, but she didn’t know what was happening. She clutched Oreo more tightly to her.

Troy chuckled beside her. “Piper and I thought you were going to tell us you’d found Oreo’s original family.” His voice was light. He’d obviously figured out something she hadn’t.

“That’s not it?” Her voice wobbled.

Kimi rushed over and rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that. This is supposed to be a fun surprise, but I can tell I screwed up. I’m so sorry. A Gotcha Day is the day you adopt. There have been no responses to all my inquiries to surrounding vets. You can officially adopt Oreo if you want to.”

Piper clamped her lips together to keep from bursting into tears. Happy tears, but still tears. She nodded her head, but couldn’t speak. Kimi hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t consider it from that perspective. I’m sorry.”

After another deep breath, Piper managed some words. “It’s okay. As long as I can keep Oreo, it’s okay.”

Kimi laughed and let her go while wiping her eyes. “You can keep Oreo. I knew you two were going to be a great team. For a while now, I’ve been thinking of starting a Gotcha Wall of Fame, and celebrating Gotcha Days with every animal that gets adopted. I guess I shouldn’t have made it a surprise. But with all your great ideas for showcasing the town and the good we do, you’re the one who made me decide to finally do this. I’ll do better next time.”

Oreo yipped and licked Piper’s chin again. She held him up to look him eye to eye. “Did you hear that, Oreo? We get to stay together. It’s your Gotcha Day.”

From the other side of the room, Moose let out a deep woof, and Oreo whirled in his direction. Laughing, Piper set him down, and he trotted over to meet his big buddy. Potato was there, as well as Jetson, Spike, and Willow from Midnight Lake.

Kimi gestured at everyone. “Everyone who is here has adopted a dog from here. I wanted to celebrate together.”

Now that she understood what was happening, Piper looked around to see a cake for humans on a high table along with dog treats that had all the dogs’ names on them.

Paw prints painted on one wall decorated a section of the barn with the words Gotcha Wall Of Fame painted above. She had also painted Happy Gotcha Day over another area with stools and a carpet.

Kimi had Piper and Troy sit on stools in front of the first section. They held Oreo between them while Kimi snapped a bunch of photos. Then, she did the same for all the other groups in the room. “I’ve got a printer out back. Give me a minute.”

When she came back, she had the photos framed. She’d included their names and the adoption dates for each dog. Kimi put the frames on the hangers she already had set on the wall. Then she grinned at them. “Now for the fun part.”

She motioned everyone over to a table where she’d set out paper plates filled with paint. “It’s pet friendly paint, but we’ll wash their paws as soon as we’re done.”

Moose laid his enormous head on the table, and his sigh had the paint in the nearest dish sloshing around. Lia laughed as she steadied the plate. “Hey, big guy. Looks like you want your paw print to be in green?”

Joe looked at the wall under the Hall of Fame banner and back to Kimi. “Am I guessing right that you want his print on the wall by his photo?”

Kimi nodded, and Joe picked up the plate of paint. “I think it’ll be easier to do his foot over here. I’m not carrying that beast around.”

Seeing as the dog probably weighed as much as Piper, she figured that was a very good idea. In contrast, Troy set Oreo down on the table. “Which color bud?”

Oreo looked around the table and then sniffed at the plate with deep purple paint. Troy gestured at Piper. “Why don’t you do the honors?”

Piper lifted Oreo and held out his front right paw. Troy placed it in the tray and held it in place to get it covered in paint. He used a cloth to catch the drips while they moved to the wall. Piper lifted Oreo closer, and Troy pressed his little paw to the wall, making a bright purple print beside their photo. When she pulled him back a bit, Oreo yipped and tried to lick the photo.

Kimi hung Moose’s photo lower on the wall to make it easier to get his print. Then Jetson, Willow, Spike, and Potato all added their own. Kimi helped them clean all the paws in the back at her cleaning station, although they washed Moose’s paw right where he was.

After everyone was clean, Kimi passed out dog treats to all and then pieces of the Happy Gotcha Day cake to all the people.

Piper had snapped pictures of the cake and treats before they’d been devoured. Now, she took photos of the wall with all the pictures and paw prints. “This is fabulous, Kimi. It’s going to make a great addition to the website.” Which she still had to build. Now that Ethan was in jai,l and the police were doing their thing, she would have time to do it all.

Kimi’s eyes widened. “You’re going to add this to it?”

Piper nodded. “Definitely. You’ve got a wall filled with happiness. Doesn’t get much better than that.”

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