Page 28 of No Bed Of Roses

Nina’s eyes clouded with sadness, and she knelt beside the dog. “Hi, Hopper. I’m Nina.” She held out her hand for him to sniff. “I’m sorry someone left you to survive alone, but I’m really glad you found Isla and Levi.”

The dog sniffed her hand, then licked it. When he moved closer to lick her face, Nina laughed and threw her arms around him.

A petite woman approached. “Nina, honey.”

Nina turned to smile. “Hi, Mom. Meet Isla and Levi. I asked permission before I touched the dog. They’ve met Kimi, and she let them keep him. His name’s Hopper.”

The woman aimed a bemused smile at Isla and Levi. “Nice to meet you. I’m Addison. Nina doesn’t have many boundaries, especially around animals. I hope she’s not bothering you.”

They all looked at the dog, who was now on his back with his belly exposed for Nina to rub.

Levi smiled. “It’s all good. Hopper’s having a blast. Nice to meet you as well.”

Aisling came up to their group. “Hi, and thanks for coming, everyone. Levi, can you help Sean and Troy with the roof? They tell me you’ve got some experience with construction and demolition.”

His gaze shot to Isla’s, and she nodded. She’d be okay.

Then Aisling turned back to them. “Would you three mind helping sort whatever comes down into piles? Jim and Carl could use some help. I think Tansy, Bella, and Mitch are over there too, but there will be a lot of stuff.”

It wasn’t long before she was sorting wood and windows with the group. The conversation was surprisingly easy, and she contributed more than she’d expected. Nina’s fascination with the idea of a greenhouse made completely out of windows helped.

Her heart was full as they worked. Everything about Phail was turning out to be exactly as she hoped. Good people. Happy town. Levi.

A sudden chill swept through her, and she stopped working to look around the group. Levi was on the roof with his friends. Everyone was safe and working hard.

Just because nothing had worked out for her before didn’t mean the same thing was happening again. But the sun couldn’t chase away the chill.

CHAPTER 10

Plant One On Me

Working hard with a dedicated team meant the day flew by for Levi. He figured he’d been introduced to everyone in the town by the end, but he was lucky if he remembered even half of the names.

The people from Midnight Lake were the easiest to remember because he’d heard his buddies talk about them so often. He’d been invited out to view the property and the business. They sounded intriguing, and he looked forward to seeing what they were creating.

He’d kept an eye on Isla throughout the day as well. She’d been nervous about being in a crowd, but she looked to be handling it all well.

Her smile didn’t seem strained, although she kept checking the crowd. Which had him doing the same, but he saw nothing and no one that seemed out of place.

From what he could tell, Isla didn’t talk much during the conversations, but she was a part of them. Nina’s mom wasn’t talkative either, and they’d stuck together for most of the day, along with Piper and Branna.

“Got it bad, don’t you, Oz?” Of course, Troy had caught him watching Isla.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Troy slapped him on the shoulder. “Of course you do. For what it’s worth, I like her. She works hard with a smile on her face. Piper and Branna give her a big thumbs up.”

There was no point in protesting that he didn’t know Troy was talking about Isla. “She’s pretty great.”

But at the crowd’s edge, she frowned and looked around again. Levi decided he needed to see what was up.

He could feel Troy on his heels, but he focused on the crowd around Isla. Was anyone paying her too much attention? That had him halting. He might be better off watching before he approached.

With one arm, he yanked Troy from behind him so they stood side by side. His buddy frowned at him. “What is it?”

“Isla keeps looking around as if she feels something is off. I want to see if anyone’s paying her too much attention. Do you see anyone you don’t know in the crowd?”

The two of them scanned the group. Levi didn’t see anything out of the norm. No one skulking on the edge of the group. Everyone was working, or in conversation with someone else.

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