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Hunter smiled around at the activity, looking proud of himself.

We burst outside, leaving Daniel and his dog in the house.

When we got out on the lawn, we stood there gasping. Jessica was clutching the front of her shirt like she was having a heart attack and Gabby had an entire piece of French toast stuck to her boob from the table army-crawl. It began to peel off, slowly, and then it landed on the grass with a plop.

Breathing hard, we stared at it sitting there.

And then we started to laugh.

Uncontrollable, soul-releasing laughter.

We were laughing so hard when Daniel came outside a few minutes later to release the thing, we were crying.

Hunter bounded down the stairs and bounced among us, tail wagging. He let out a long roooooooooo! Then he ate the French toast.

I had to wipe tears off my cheeks.

Daniel came over to us, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry. He’s got a soft mouth,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s good for a hunting dog. Means they won’t maul the birds they retrieve. It also means they don’t kill the things they catch…”

Jessica howled. I don’t think I’d ever heard her laugh so hard. She was always so serious.

Daniel put a thumb over his shoulder. “I can replate everything if you just give me a few minutes,” he said, looking embarrassed.

Jessica nodded, wiping under her eyes. “Please do.”

When Daniel went back into the house, Gabby shook her head. “This place is so getting one star. What a shit show.” She laughed.

I sobered instantly. “What? You can’t give it one star.”

Jessica shook her head, still tittering. “I’m pretty sure live rodents at breakfast deserve one star, Ali.”

“It was an accident,” I said.

“Uh, that dog shouldn’t be around people,” Gabby said. “He’s not trained.”

“He’s a rescue. He’s still learning.”

Gabby wrinkled her forehead. “How do you know?”

“The guy told me. Seriously. Do not give this place one star. You’ll hurt his business.”

Gabby scoffed. “So, like, an entire squirrel at breakfast deserves what? Some rave review?”

I shook my head. “No. You don’t have to lie. Just don’t rate it at all.”

She crossed her arms. “If I treated patients the way this guy runs this B & B, I’d be sued for malpractice.”

“It’s not that serious, Gabby,” I said. “We all laughed.”

Jessica looked annoyed. “Ali, she had to climb across a table. Her new Lululemon shirt is ruined. And that dog practically knocked you over yesterday. He should be locked up at the very least. It’s extremely irresponsible.”

An acorn dropped behind her onto the grass with a muffled thud.

“You don’t think you’re being a little hard on him?” I asked, looking back and forth between them. “One star for the dog?”

“Frankly, no, I don’t,” Jessica said, waving off a dragonfly. “I think it’s warranted.”

We stood there in a tense moment of silence.