Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,7
arms. Lisa, the store owner, played with the soft ears of an adorable tricolor Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix.
Allie—or Dr. Shaw, as many people called the local veterinarian—went through a long list of instructions on the care and feeding of the two homeless dogs Lisa had graciously agreed to take care of while Allie went zipping off for the holidays to meet up with her fiancé, Ryan, and his daughter, Zoe.
“A Shorkie? Now, that’s just fun to say.” Hannah lifted the dog she was holding into the air. “And what are you?” The dog’s tongue lolled out of his mouth.
“No designer breed for that guy.” Allie pushed her brown hair over her shoulder.
“Well, he’s cute anyway. You don’t even need a cute breed name.” Hannah didn’t mind fighting for the little guy’s honor.
“I hate to leave these guys.” Allie seemed a bit frantic about leaving the two senior dogs behind at Christmas before matching them with forever families. “I thought for sure I’d have them adopted by now, but it’s just harder finding homes for older dogs.” She reached out and patted the dog’s head. “This is a terrible time for me to leave.”
“No,” Hannah said. “It’s not.” This wasn’t the first time Hannah had seen her childhood friend stress out about leaving Evergreen. The last time, it’d all worked quite perfectly with her meeting Ryan and falling in love, but Allie seemed to have not considered that leaving town might mean another stroke of good luck.
“Fine. You’re right. Okay, Lisa, this is Brutus that Hannah’s holding.” Allie pulled a blue pill bottle from her ski jacket. “Now. Brutus has a touch of arthritis in his front paws, but I brought you a prescription. I’m putting it in your pocket.” Lisa lifted her arm, giving Allie access to the pocket. “The directions are on the bottle.”
“Got it.” Lisa flashed an over-serious look, followed by a playful glance toward Hannah and Brutus.
“Now this guy…” Allie rubbed the head of the bluish-gray dog snuggled in Lisa’s arms. “Max here has a clean bill of health, but he needs a lot of snuggles.”
Lisa rocked her new furry friend in her arms. “Well, I have lots of cuddles to give you, Max.” She kissed the top of the old dog’s head, then shifted her attention to Brutus. “I hope both you guys are going to love being with me for the holidays. I’ve never been a foster mom.”
Allie pressed her hands to her hips. “But if you need anything while I’m away, Dr. Myer’s in—”
“Montpelier,” Hannah and Lisa sang out.
“We know.” Lisa said Allie’s next sentence for her. “He’s looking after all of your patients.”
Hannah added, “And if any cows go into labor, he’ll handle that too.” It was an inside joke from the year all the flights had gotten cancelled. That was when Allie had met Ryan, and they’d both been snowed in, so it hadn’t been all that bad. Allie had ended up with a new boyfriend, and Henry had ended up with Allie in town to bring his new calf into the world.
“Ha ha.” Allie’s lips pulled into a fake pout. “Well? I can’t help it if I worry.”
“We got this,” Hannah and Lisa assured the woman. “Don’t you worry one bit.”
“And you also have my cell phone number,” Allie reminded them.
“We do.”
Hannah was almost sorry to have to release Brutus to Lisa, but she had pugs at home waiting on her attention, so she handed the leash to Lisa, who took it in her free hand.
“And when Kevin’s back from the logging camp with Thomas, I’ll have help.” Lisa whispered into Max’s ear, “You’re going to love Kevin. He’s very nice.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Allie wrung her hands together. “I know this is asking a lot.”
“You have got to stop worrying,” Lisa said. “You’re going to Paris. Come on. Ryan’s going to be so excited to see you there when he accepts that award. It’s the trip of a lifetime.”
Joy twinkled in Allie’s eyes. “I know, but I’ve just never been out of Evergreen for Christmas and it will to be tough to say goodbye to my parents later and—”
“And you always talk about how there’s a big world out there and you want to go see it,” Hannah reminded her. “Seriously, Allie. Go be with Ryan and Zoey. I’ve got the truck keys.” She jingled the keys to the famous red truck from her fingertips. “And I’ll feed your fish.”
“That’s right,” Lisa said. “And I’ve got these two little