The Luck of the Paw (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 9) Read online

  She strolled along the forest trail, looked up at the tall trees, and took a deep breath. Although her life was more complicated now, there was no place she’d rather be and she was eager to find out what the future might hold.

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  On Thanksgiving Day, late in the afternoon, Mia and Chris exited the trailer to walk over to the kennel and tend to the dogs. A light snow had fallen overnight and the evergreens that surrounded the trailer were dusted with white.

  As they walked along the densely forested trail, a commotion arose from the tree canopy above, and snowflakes fluttered around them, shimmering in the sunlight like a cascade of sparkling diamonds.

  Mia looked up, where a squirrel was leaping from branch to branch. “I think Potty Mouth is angry that he can’t figure out how to join us inside for dinner.”

  Chris stopped and took Mia’s hand as the squirrel scolded and chattered above. “He’s really annoyed with you.”

  “It’s your fault. You’re the one who fixed the hole after Gwen’s patch fell off.”

  “I’m glad Joel has all those tools. Trying to cut anything with Gwen’s old rusty handsaw was no fun. And when the handle broke off, it was over.”

  After the squirrel disappeared into the woods, they resumed walking. Mia glanced at Chris. “I can’t believe you never told me you worked at a cabinetry shop in high school.”

  “It was just a part-time job. I haven’t done any woodworking in years. The people in my apartment building used to frown on the use of power tools. I was too busy with work anyway.”

  “So you really made furniture?”

  “Not by myself, but that’s what they did at the shop.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Working with wood can be satisfying. You make it fit together into something useful. I like sanding it, finishing it, and seeing the patterns of the wood grain appear. Sometimes you can transform even a cheap piece of wood into something beautiful.”

  “So if I ask nicely, will you build us a new kitchen table? As we discovered this afternoon, Gwen’s ugly linoleum-and-metal thing is really rickety.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad it didn’t collapse under the weight of all that food.” He turned to smile at her. “I could be convinced, assuming you can get Joel to let me use some of the fine woodworking tools he’s got.”

  “I’ll get Kat to ask him. She’s a lot more persuasive than I am, particularly with Joel.”

  The trail ended, opening up into the clearing where the kennel was located. The house sat off to the right and Kat and Joel were walking down the steps. Kat was carrying grocery bags that she handed to Joel, who was already holding a casserole dish. He walked to the green truck with the food while Kat waved at Mia and Chris and headed toward them.

  Kat met them at the kennel and gave Mia a hug. “Happy Thanksgiving! You’re sure everything will be okay, right? We’ll only be gone a few hours. I learned during last year’s Thanksgiving blizzard that it’s better not to leave Joel and his sister together any longer than an afternoon.”

  Mia said, “Actually, coming over here is a nice break. The trailer isn’t very big and having Dad, Gwen, Heather, her husband, Gizmo, and lots of food all crammed in there together is sort of complicated.”

  “It’s nice to be outside in the fresh air,” Chris added.

  “I was going to bring Gizmo, but he refused to be separated from all the opportunities for snacking.” Mia sighed. “Dad is supposed to be watching the dog, but really he’s just sneaking food to him. I hope Gizmo doesn’t get sick.”

  Joel walked up to the group and Kat took his hand. She turned back to Mia. “If anything happens, please call me. We’ll come right home. You have the number at Cindy’s house.”

  “If we have to come home early, it’s okay,” Joel said.

  Kat gestured toward the house. “Our dogs are all fed and sleeping in the house. If you need to go inside, make sure that you don’t go into my office. Maria’s cat Scarlett is in there and you do not want to let her out.”

  Joel glanced over his shoulder. “You really don’t.”

  Mia said, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

  “I know. You’re not the first to point out that I worry too much,” Kat said.

  “I’ll walk the dogs and they’ll all go back to sleep. Have a good time. Enjoy your meal,” Mia said.

  As Kat and Joel walked to the truck, Mia glanced at Chris, who seemed to be lost in thought. “What are you thinking about?”

  “All the plans we’ve talked about in the last day or so. It’s kind of scary, but I’m excited. I suppose way back when Gilbert, Tingler, Halberstam, and Associates Architecture was just a twinkle in Leon Gilbert’s eye, he felt the same way.”

  “I have no doubt that once people see the house you’re working on for Ben, they’ll be impressed and want you to design something for them too.”

  “It doesn’t hurt that Ben seems to have already told a bunch of people about that lake house. He gave me a card for another friend of his who has land and wants to build a summer place. He wants me to call the guy after the holiday.”

  “Kat says she has about a hundred books on starting a business you can borrow too. And I can help you manage the money stuff.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “The only one who doesn’t believe it is you.”

  With a laugh, he put his arm around her shoulder. “Gee, where have I heard that before?”

  “I want to hire you too before your rates go up. If Gwen agrees to let me buy her place, you’ll have another project.” She turned to look at him. “I’ve seen the drawings you do when you think no one’s looking, and I want one of those houses.”

  “When it’s being built, if you let me do a little cabinetry work, I’ll give you a really good deal on that too.” Chris pulled her into a hug. “You know what else I can’t believe?”

  Mia looked into his eyes. “What’s that?”

  “How lucky I am to be here with you.”

  “I’m not sure how much luck has to do with it, but I’m glad you took a gamble on the mushroom girl”

  “Sometimes you’re lucky enough to meet the right person at the right time, I guess.”

  “I’m glad that person was me.”

  Chris bent to give her a kiss. “I am too.”

  The End

  You’ve reached the end of Book 9,

  but not the end of the series.

  For more Alpine Grove adventures,

  check out Book 10!

  Thanks for Reading

  Thank you for dedicating some of your reading time to The Luck of the Paw. I hope you enjoyed Mia and Chris’s adventures. I’ll be writing more books that will feature Kat, Joel and various other residents of Alpine Grove who bring dogs to the new boarding kennel. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next novel.

  If you would like to be notified by e-mail when I release a new book, you can sign up for my New Releases e-mail list at SusanDaffron.com.

  I know that not everyone likes to write book reviews, but if you are willing write a sentence or two about what you thought of The Luck of the Paw, I encourage you to post a review at your favorite book vendor site or share a message with your social networking friends.

  If you would like to share your thoughts about the book with me privately, you can reach me through the contact page on the SusanDaffron.com web site.

  I look forward to hearing from you!

  ~ Susan C. Daffron

  Dedication

  Like all of my books, The Luck of the Paw

  is dedicated to

  my husband James Byrd,

  my best friend and biggest supporter.

  Thanks for everything!

  About the Author

  Susan Daffron is the author of the Alpine Grove Romantic Comedies, a series of novels that feature residents of the small town of Alpine Grove and their various quirky dogs and cats. She is also an award-winning autho
r of many nonfiction books, including several about pets and animal rescue. She lives in a small town in northern Idaho and shares her life with her husband and three really cute dogs.

  Books by Susan C. Daffron

  Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy

  Chez Stinky

  Fuzzy Logic

  The Art of Wag

  Snow Furries

  Bark to the Future

  Howl at the Loon

  The Good, the Bad, and the Pugly

  Treasure of the Hairy Cadre

  The Luck of the Paw

  Book 10

  Susan is also the author of a number of award-winning nonfiction books, including several about pet care and rescue. A complete list is available at:

  www.susandaffron.com/books/

  Get book release notices by email:

  www.susandaffron.com/releases