Page 72 of No Bed Of Roses

Kimi grinned. “Yes. Hopper is officially your dog.”

Isla hugged Levi, eyes misty. “He’s ours.” Then she dropped to the floor and pulled Hopper in for a hug. Always willing to believe he was a lap dog, the lab settled in for some loving.

Levi squatted down beside them and Hopper licked his face. “Welcome home, Hopper.”

Isla blinked to stop her tears but Levi brushed away the ones that fell anyway. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Surprise.”

At his gruff whisper, she laughed, and the rest of the tears dried up. “I’m so happy.”

“So am I, Isla.”

Across the room, Oreo yipped and Hopper’s attention turned to finding his friend. When he spotted the little guy sitting with Jabba and Jetson, the lab bounded off to play with his buddies.

Levi helped Isla to her feet and Kimi hugged her. “Congratulations. Happy Gotcha Day.”

Those others in the room also came over to shake his hand and hug Isla. Sam and Tansy. Sean and Branna. Troy and Piper. Reg and Elaine.

Isla hugged everyone with a huge smile on her face. “Dad. Elaine. I can’t believe you’re here, too.”

Reg grinned. “We had to be here to welcome the newest member of the family.”

Levi and Isla posed in front of the Gotcha Day sign Kimi had painted on one wall. The vet snapped pictures of them, and then she added Elaine and Reg to the mix for more photos.

It wasn’t long before Kimi had a framed photo of him, Isla, and Hopper. Another wall in the office had a banner across the top that read Gotcha Wall Of Fame. Photos of other Gotcha Days covered the wall. Troy and Piper with Oreo. Sean and Branna with Jabba. Tansy and Sam with Jetson. And more of the Midnight Lake and Phail people.

Kimi hung up their new picture and then handed extra prints to Isla and her dad.

Reg grinned. “A family picture to add to the office when I get home.”

Kimi moved to a small table. “Bring Hopper over here and we’ll get his paw print for the wall.” Paw prints of each animal decorated the wall beside each photo.

On the table, paper plates held small amounts of paint of various colours. Hopper sniffed at them all, but kept making his way back to the red. “Red it is.”

Levi held the lab still while Isla dipped his paw in the paint. Then he carried the dog to the wall and they got his print on the wall beside their photo. Hopper kept looking between him and Branna and the wall as if trying to figure out this new game.

When they came back from the washing station, Hopper loped off to play with his friends. Kimi brought treats for the dogs and then brought out a Happy Gotcha Day cake for the humans.

Isla hugged her friend. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.”

Kimi hugged her back. “You’re welcome. This is my new favorite part of my job. Oreo was the first, but now we’re building a whole wall of happiness.”

Tansy smiled. “You’ll have to send a new photo of the wall to Piper so she can update the website.”

They spent some time laughing with their friends and enjoying the dogs playing as a group. They checked out Kimi’s new flock of rheas. While they wouldn’t reach the height of ostriches, they would grow to about five feet tall. He shouldn’t be surprised to find the South American birds in Vermont. At this point, he wasn’t sure much about this town could surprise him anymore.

Later, he, Isla, and Hopper returned to their fields through the rain. The hops stretched further up their trellises and all the variations appeared healthy. Isla’s comparative strains were growing as well. It would be interesting to tweak the results at the end of the season to see what needed improvements and what worked well.

And it would be interesting to be doing it in another dozen years. And another couple of dozen years after that.

Levi tugged Isla to a stop in the middle of the field. “Despite the ridiculous name, Phail is a good place to be.”

Isla leaned into him. The wet weather didn’t bother his Glass Farmer. “It is. I’m so glad we both ended up in the same place.”

He nodded, wondering how Troy had known all along this was where he was meant to be. Levi might have to help put pressure on Heath and Garrett to check out the town. Maybe they’d find their place here as well.

Using his cowboy hat to shield her face from the rain, Levi leaned down and kissed her. “Let’s go home, Isla.”

CHAPTER 24

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