Page 13 of No Bed Of Roses

A timer beeped, and Falcon opened the oven and took out two pizzas. He lifted a pizza slicer and pointed it at Levi. “The price for some of this pizza is details about the woman and the dog. All the details.”

Levi considered making another sandwich, but the pizza smelled better. Damn it, he was going to have to share the details.

Most of them, anyway.

CHAPTER 5

At Your Own Risk

Isla woke to the sound of snoring. She had to blink away the sexy dreams she’d had revolving around Levi to realize he wasn’t in her bed with her.

It took another blink or two to remember she was now the foster mom of a chocolate brown Labrador retriever. Kimi Twinishe, the local vet, had been out on a call the night before and had stopped by Isla’s cottage in the evening to save her the trip.

She’d had a handheld microchip scanner, but Hopper didn’t have a chip. In less time than it would have taken to plant a row of seedlings, Kimi had checked over the dog and found no obvious injuries.

She’d left dog food, a dog bed, and dog care instructions with Isla before giving her an appointment to take Hopper to her clinic for a full checkup.

The vet had taken Hopper’s picture and was going to post it, but she didn’t have much hope that someone was looking for him.

People who don’t want pets anymore drive out to the country and dump them on the side of the road. It’s one of the most frustrating parts of my job, but I get lots of support from people willing to foster these poor, lonely animals.

Then she’d grinned at Isla, and waved as she left in her van. For a long minute, Isla and Hopper had stood watching the empty road. So many emotions had run through her. Excitement. Hope. Nerves. What if she screwed this up?

Then Hopper had peed on her car’s tire, making her laugh and sigh. Apparently, she was going to have to figure lots of things out. Instead of dwelling on the possibility of failure, she’d used the doggie shampoo Kimi had left and cleaned the dog properly.

Isla rolled over and checked out Hopper, who was sleeping soundly in his doggie bed. He hadn’t shown any new home nerves. She couldn’t quite say the same about herself. She’d never lived in a house on her own. Especially not one in the middle of a field. It was very different from living in a tiny apartment surrounded by dozens of families.

The quiet had been unnerving. Having Hopper had given her someone to talk to and had made her feel safer. Dogs were supposed to be able to sense threats, weren’t they?

Add in Sam’s security system, and she’d managed a few consecutive hours of sleep. More than she’d expected. More than she’d had in a while.

Hoping not to wake the sleeping dog, Isla slipped out of bed. But as soon as her feet touched the floor, Hopper’s eyes shot open, and he lifted his head.

“Good morning, Hopper. I’m going to get up, but you can sleep if you want to.”

The dog stood and stretched with an enormous yawn. He rubbed his body alongside hers and then stretched again. His routine made her smile, and she enjoyed his company as she dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

After checking with Kimi’s instruction list, she measured out food for Hopper, and put on oatmeal for herself. Adding cinnamon and bananas this time made it another perfect breakfast.

Constanza had cooked for Isla’s family growing up, and had often made oatmeal. Making it herself brought back some of her best childhood memories. Constanza had also cultivated a garden behind the house, and Isla had learned her love of plants from her. Isla had been closer to the quiet woman than anyone else.

Isla’s memories of her mom mostly revolved around the cancer that had eaten away at her for years. Her only good ones centered around the garden, where her mom would sit on a bench and watch as Constanza taught Isla how to tend vegetables, fruits, and flowers. For Isla, a house would never be a home without a garden and the memories it would bring.

“Okay, Hopper, today we start making this place a home. We’ll start on that patch of garden. I can work on it and on the greenhouse. I don’t have to choose between them.” Because she was in charge of her schedule.

The day was sunny, but the temperatures required a few layers of clothing. “Kimi says you don’t need a jacket, but you let me know if you get too cold. We’ll figure out something.”

Hopper followed her outside and didn’t seem bothered by the weather. “The land is drying, but there’s plenty of mud in the lower sections. Try to avoid it, okay?”

Hopper’s tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth, and she wondered if he was laughing at her.

When she stopped to study the garden, he plopped onto his haunches beside her and tilted his head. “Going to help, are you? Perfect. I think I’ll start with the basics this year. Carrots, beans, peppers, onions, some greens and herbs. Maybe some squashes, too. I can’t do garlic until the fall, but I’ll add those in later. We’ll maybe get some berry bushes near the fence, but they’ll take a year or two to get going.”

Warmth rushed over her. “And we’ll be here to see them grow. We’ve got a future here, Hopper, and it’s going to be a good one.”

She could picture the garden as it would look in the fall. Full of green and life. “Well, I can’t do anything without equipment. Time to check out the barn and see what the previous owners left for us. If there’s nothing there, I’ll text Tansy to see where to buy some.”

Or maybe she’d text Levi. She hadn’t seen him yet this morning. As promised, she’d texted him the night before to let him know about Kimi’s visit with Hopper.

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