4. Hop To It
CHAPTER 4
Hop To It
I sla hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Mud covered her clothes, and she was sure some of that mud had seeped down into places where mud should never venture.
When the dog was as clean as he was going to get without a proper bath, they moved into the sun. Levi brought the bucket and the other part of what had to be his own lunch.
The dog didn’t take his eyes off the food, and once they sat, he curled up at Levi’s feet. Levi didn’t make him wait. He broke a chunk off the sandwich and held it out. When it was gone, he alternated between water and the rest of the food.
When it was gone, the dog licked his hand, flopped down, and closed its eyes.
For a moment, she considered doing the same. This open field felt safe and homey. All because of the man who sat beside her. “Do you know if there’s a vet nearby? He might have one of those chips.”
Levi shrugged. “No clue. I’ve never been here before yesterday.”
That made her laugh. “Me too. I can call my friend Tansy and see if she knows.”
Another shrug of those massive shoulders. “I’ve got friends here, too. Two are also living up at the farmhouse. Another is the local deputy. Someone will know. He seems healthy enough, but it looks like he’s been on his own for a bit.”
The thought that he might have a family waiting for him should have made her happy, but it was disappointment running through her. For a woman who’d never had a pet and hadn’t actually spared any thought to getting one, she was awfully attached to this one she’d known for about thirty minutes. “What should we name him in the meantime?”
“Not Phail, that’s for sure.”
Isla laughed again. “I can’t believe that’s the real name of the town.”
Levi’s lips lifted. “My buddy is a Phail, which also sounds ridiculous. Troy Phail. And he refuses to change his name or the name of the town. I think he enjoys being ridiculous.”
Isla couldn’t even imagine. Her name had only embarrassed her because it connected her to her father and his planet-destroying business. Strangely, she figured she’d be less embarrassed about being a Phail.
Her thoughts were too close to the surface, and she was glad Levi was studying the dog and not her.
He reached forward to pat the animal. “Under all that mud, he’s a Labrador retriever. Probably a couple of years old.”
That made her smile again. “I’ve worked in a couple of labs over the past few years, and he’s definitely no lab rat.”
“I thought you were a glass farmer?” His smile belied his words.
Her face was going to hurt from smiling. Those muscles were definitely out of practice. “That’s just a hobby. And thank you for that, by the way. I came over here to thank you when this guy found me.”
Levi nodded with a small smile but didn’t reply to her thanks. Instead, he continued to study the dog. “What about Hopper?”
“Hopper?”
That small smile lifted again. “My buddies want to start up a brewery. They’re convincing me I should grow hops for it.”
“That sounds pretty cool. Have you ever grown hops before?”
That brought a full-on smile that nearly made her light-headed. Which was also ridiculous. She was a pragmatic scientist, not someone who believed in love at first sight and happily ever afters. Well, unless someone peeked in her e-reader.
“Don’t know a single thing about them. Including if they can grow in this climate. But my buddies believe it might be fun.”
“You don’t look completely convinced.”
He boomed out a laugh. “Very observant.”
She wondered what it would be like to have a group of friends at her back like that. To take on an entirely new job he wasn’t sure about because he was part of a team. Even the thought of it had tears wanting to swim into her eyes. After cancer had taken her mom, Isla had never felt that support from anyone. Certainly not her father or her cousin. She wanted Levi to have that support from all directions. “Hopper it is.”
Levi patted the dog’s head. “That’s your name for now, Hopper. Do you like it?”
Hopper lifted his head and woofed softly.
For a while, they sat and talked to the dog. Eventually, Isla shoved to her feet. “I’d better get back. I’ll call Tansy about a vet and see if I can get him in for an appointment.” Not that she had a schedule to work around, but she did have plans. Plans she should be implementing.
Levi and Hopper both stood as well.
“I can take care of that for you if you need.”
Such a gentleman. Isla shook her head. “That’s okay. I’ll do it. I’ll let you know what the vet says.”
Levi grinned. “How about I give you my number, then you can call me?”
Another tingle of awareness ran through her at the sparkle in his eyes. “Sure.” She told him her number, and he input it into his phone. Seconds later, she felt hers vibrate in her pocket.
“Now you have mine as well. If you need help, let me know.”
“You’ve already helped me a lot. Thanks again for setting up the windows. I’m not great at visualizing things like that.”
He leaned down to pat the dog’s head. The man really didn’t like to acknowledge his good deeds. “You be a good boy for the glass farmer, Hopper.”
Isla most certainly wasn’t imagining those big hands of Levi’s touching her with that kind of easy affection. Or with lust. Nope. Definitely not.
“Come on, Hopper. Let’s go see if we can find a vet to check you out.”
The dog trotted beside her for a few steps, then stopped and turned back as if realizing Levi wasn’t coming with them. “It’s okay, Hopper. Come on.”
Hopper looked between them, and Levi grunted. “I guess he thinks we belong together.”
That sent another thrill through her. Vermont was making her imagination soar.
“Go on, Hopper. Go with Isla.”
Isla called the dog and moved slowly. Hopper looked between them again and whined, but when she kept moving, he moved with her. “That’s it, Hopper. We’ll find out if you have a family waiting for you.”
Isla waved at Levi, who watched them with his massive arms crossed over his equally massive chest. He nodded to acknowledge her wave, and she turned back to her field. The man was potent.
Hopper leaned into her side as they walked, but kept looking over his shoulder. Isla tried very hard not to do the same.
L evi planted his feet into the ground in order to stay put. He didn’t need to follow the woman across the field. He wanted to, but he didn’t need to. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and the dog.
When she had to climb and then haul herself over the fence, he grinned. Despite her intriguing presence, his glass farmer was a tiny thing. If he’d followed her, he could have got his hands on that cute ass to boost her over. Hell, he could have tucked her under one arm and still hopped over.
Hopper slid under the bottom rail and looked back through the fence at him. With a sigh, Levi turned and headed back into the barn.
He had no business wanting to pick things up with his neighbor, and he’d do well to remember that. Now that she was out of sight, he could shove her out of his mind.
Although that hadn’t worked well last night. He’d always been an early riser. Farmers had little choice in the matter. But he’d been up earlier than normal and hadn’t been able to stop himself from heading over to set up her windows.
Everyone in his family loved puzzles. Jigsaws, word games, logic puzzles. All of them. They’d spent evenings and winter days in the living room trying to best each other and laughing. So many good times. He’d bet Isla had never had family time like that.
I know what it’s like to be alone and without a home.
Her words echoed in his head and had him wondering about her past. She appeared to be friendly and easy with both people and animals. Whatever wounds her past had caused, she kept them hidden.
With an internal sigh, Levi ordered himself to focus on the task. The barn on the property was a large one. Sean had taken the section nearer the house as the home base for his construction business.
Was there still enough room in here for both the room he would need for his farm and a brewery? How much room did a brewery take up? What was involved?
He didn’t need to know anything about the second question except for how it would affect him and his end of the business. The barn needed to serve a variety of purposes, or they’d need to build another structure, which would be a pain in the ass.
How much room in the barn did he need to be a hops farmer? What equipment would he need? A quick look online the night before had shown him that hops needed soil that drained well. They also required a trellis system to grow on, which wasn’t something he’d done before.
According to the internet, there were several hops farms around Vermont, so it was possible. He wished any of those farms were close, but all required a drive of several hours, and he didn’t want to spend that much time on it.
He’d have to get into the soil and aerate it soon. Probably a few times, as it appeared to have been a couple of decades since the earth had grown anything but native grasses and weeds.
Levi had to admit he was getting more intrigued by the minute. Growing hops. Having a brewery on the property. Working with his team in a venture that didn’t involve rifles or innocent kids being blown up. Or a teammate losing a foot. Or losing their K-9 officer.
Maybe Vermont wouldn’t be so bad.
“Oz? You out there?”
Levi sighed at Epic’s voice, yelling out his call sign. That was a definite downside to his staying in Vermont. Troy appeared in the doorway and grinned. “Already hard at work. Glad you made the right decision.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “I haven’t decided a damn thing yet.” Except he probably had.
Troy laughed. “Right. That’s what they all say. I came out to see if you needed some help. Piper’s watching the store for me.”
That made Levi grin. “Can’t believe you and Falcon are both madly in love.”
Troy grinned back, not in the least thrown off his game by Levi’s words. “Piper’s amazing. Never thought I’d find a person who just fit me.”
Okay, that didn’t sound so bad at all.
Troy looked around the barn. “What do you think?”
He shrugged. “Hard to say. I haven’t looked through much. Not that I know anything about growing hops.”
Troy laughed. “But some of the equipment has to be the same. This place came with some old machines. Is any of that of use to you?”
“Let’s find out.”
An hour later, they’d sorted through the items left in the barn. An older tractor had a rototiller attachment, and a newer disc harrow attachment. Levi would have to find out how deep to till to best accommodate the hops. The fertilizer spreader attachment had seen better days, but it looked fixable. Same with an older baler, but he wasn’t sure if hops needed to be baled and if this machine was the kind he would need.
There was also an ATV and tons of hand tools you would find in any barn or workshop from the last hundred years. It was a good place.
While the equipment and space were dusty, it had all been well cared for. The evidence showed him the people had cared for the land. He just wished he could meet them, talk to them.
Would they be traditionalists like his parents—like him—and be worried about convincing the land to try something new? What had worked well on the land? What had been a mess?
He wanted to know what the old farts said about growing seasons because they always knew what worked best. He needed the wisdom of the generations who had lived and worked the land.
But he couldn’t deny the entire prospect intrigued him.
He’d given the dog his sandwich, so they headed up to the house at lunchtime. Sean and Branna were in the kitchen. The smell of fresh paint competed with fresh dough and marinara sauce.
“Pizza?”
Sean grinned at them. “We’re testing out some recipes for the Saloon. You’re lucky we made enough.”
Levi smiled. “Willing guinea pig, right here.”
“Thought you made yourself lunch this morning?”
He nodded. “Found a stray dog who gobbled it up.”
Jabba, the massive rescue dog that had adopted Sean while he’d been traveling the country, lifted his head and barked.
Levi squatted down and patted the enormous head. “It’s okay. Isla is finding out if there’s a vet nearby. She’ll make sure he’s okay.”
“Isla?” Three voices spoke at once and he sighed. He’d heard small-town gossip was legendary, but he was pretty sure it had nothing on military gossip. Anyone in the teams wanted to know everything about everyone else.
“Isla Duggan. She owns the land to the north.” He ruffled the dog’s fur, thinking that was all they needed to know.
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.