Chapter 15

On Wednesday morning, Josie took a call for a last-minute booking: two Bernese Mountain dogs to stay for the weekend. That cemented her decision to stay around. She was excited about her first customers.

Max came to collect Tilly on Thursday morning. Annette had gone off to do some shopping and Josie was sitting on the patio enjoying the sunshine. Tilly bounded over to him as soon as he got out of the car, and he made a big fuss of her before Josie got any attention.

She stood to greet him. “We weren’t expecting you until later.”

“I thought I’d come early and get some jobs done while I’m here.” He kissed her cheek and then his gaze roamed over the flagstones on the patio. “I was going to jet-wash the patio but it looks like someone beat me to it.”

“I did it yesterday,” Josie said happily.

He glanced over towards the gate. “And you cut the rhododendrons back?”

“We’ve got our first customers arriving tomorrow so I wanted to make sure everything looked perfect. I jet-washed the sign at the front gate too. And I painted the gate and stable doors when I got here.”

“All the jobs I’ve been meaning to get to. Do the dogs need a walk?”

“No.” She sat down again. “All done.”

“Did you leave me anything to do?”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t say no to a coffee!”

“Is Annette around?”

“Gone shopping,” Josie called as he disappeared into the kitchen.

He returned a few minutes later with coffee for them both.

“Are you okay?” Josie asked when he stared blankly into the distance.

“Yeah.” He stretched his tanned legs out and leaned back in his seat. “It’s weird being here and having nothing to do. I don’t really know the last time I just sat and enjoyed the view.”

“It must’ve been hard when Wendy was ill.” Josie had heard from Lizzie how torn Max had been, trying to juggle a new job and be around for Annette and Wendy too.

“I always seemed to be running around the place. There was always something that needed to be done. I didn’t mind,” he added quickly.

“Of course not.” They sat in silence for a few minutes. “So how was the honeymoon?”

“Great.” His face relaxed. “Really great.”

He pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of him and Lizzie on a pristine beach. “Swipe through,” he said, handing her the phone.

“It looks amazing.” She flicked through pictures of the wonderful scenery and the two of them looking so happy. “Is Lizzie okay?”

“Yeah. She was going to come today but she’s struggling with the jet lag.”

“I’ll catch up with her soon.”

“Why don’t you come over on Saturday? Sam was talking about driving over. You could come together. We can have a barbecue.”

“Okay.” It sounded lovely. Josie always enjoyed her visits to Hope Cove. That’s why she felt so excited by the idea, she assured herself. Not the thought of spending time with Sam. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

Annette arrived home half an hour later, and Max stayed to catch up with her for a while before packing Tilly into the car and heading back to Hope Cove.

 

***

 

It was lunchtime on Friday when their first customers arrived. Josie had been waiting for them, full of nervous excitement.

“They’re here!” She stood on the patio and waved as the car crawled up the driveway. Charlie and Macy were inside, out of the way.

“Hi!” Josie greeted the couple warmly as they stepped out of the car. Sarah and Ben Jones were middle-aged and both smiled warmly as they greeted Josie.

“I’m so happy you could take them,” Sarah said. “We’re going to Rome for the weekend. I found a last-minute deal that was too good to pass up but our usual kennels were full. My neighbour had seen one of your flyers in the local pet shop.”

“That’s perfect,” Josie said. “We’ve just reopened after a little break. I’m so glad you found us.”

“It’s gorgeous here.” Sarah looked around, smiling at the view.

“They can be a bit boisterous.” Ben opened the car boot to get the dogs out. He took a firm hold of the leads as they jumped out excitedly.

“Oh, they’re gorgeous,” Josie said. They were huge dogs with wonderfully big droopy eyes.

Ben passed the leads to Josie and she cooed and fussed over them as though they were children. Very quickly, they rushed around her and she moved to avoid getting caught in the leads as they went in opposite directions.

She made a strange whimpering noise and tried not to panic as the leads tightened around her legs. If she fell over, she’d die of embarrassment. Sarah tried to help untangle her, but they just got into more of a mess.

Annette had been hanging back until that point. She took hold of the dogs by the collars, unclipping their leads and telling Josie to step out of the tangled mess she’d created.

Holding out a finger, Annette let go of the dogs and told them to sit, her voice taking on a strange tone as though she were suddenly possessed. Amazingly, the dogs did as they were told, and Josie watched in shock as Annette told them to stay. They did exactly what she said.

“That’s amazing,” Ben said. “I’ve tried to train them so many times. They don’t listen to us.”

“It takes some practice.” Annette picked up the leads and clipped them back onto the collars. “We’ll show you where they’ll be staying.”

Josie felt utterly useless as they walked towards the barn. She was used to Charlie and Macy, and it hadn’t occurred to her that she could make a fool of herself so quickly. She’d looked utterly incompetent and hoped that Annette wouldn’t be annoyed with her. She listened intently as Annette chatted with the couple and gently put them at ease about leaving their dogs with them. It was amazing to see her so confident and professional.

When they walked back up to the house, leaving the dogs safely locked in their kennel, everyone chatted easily, and Josie made small talk with Sarah about her weekend away.

Josie turned to Annette when they stood waving the couple away. “I’m sorry. That was so embarrassing.”

“Don’t be silly,” Annette said. “It’s your first day on the job. You’ll get used to handling the dogs.”

“I hope so. I thought I was going to fall on my bum!”

“Me too.” Annette chuckled. “Perhaps when you walk them, you should take them out one at a time. Just while we’re quiet, and until you get a bit more confident.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me. What do I need to do? Should I take them for a walk now? Or feed them?”

“No.” Annette looked thoroughly amused. “Let’s go inside and have a cuppa. We can go through the routine.”

Annette patiently explained everything to Josie over the course of the afternoon. They walked the dogs together, and Annette showed Josie a few tips for keeping the dogs under control. She had a sing-song voice that she used for the dogs, and somehow they did exactly as they were told. When Josie tried it, it didn’t work quite so well. In fact, the dogs kept jumping up at her, and they were so powerful, they almost knocked her off her feet a few times.

“Why don’t they listen to me?” Josie complained as they stood outside the barn with the dogs. She’d spent ten minutes trying to get them to sit, but it was like they were completely deaf to her instructions.

“It takes time, that’s all. You’ll get the hang of things. Let’s get them back inside. Graham should be here soon with Pixie and Skittle.”

“Those are very weird names for dogs!” Josie said.

Annette nodded. “I know. But you’ll no doubt hear far worse soon enough. You have to learn to bite your tongue.”

“Great,” Josie said. “Another new skill to learn!”

When Graham arrived half an hour later, Josie was relieved to see that Pixie and Skittle were far smaller dogs than their other guests. They seemed much more docile, and Josie was sure she could handle them. Graham had a quick chat with Annette and then promptly left them to it.

Late in the afternoon, Annette took Josie out to the barn to explain the feeding routine.

“I’ll get used to this smell eventually, won’t I?” she asked Annette as she scraped the dog food from the tins. It was an effort not to gag.

“What smell?” Annette asked.

“This!” Josie mushed the food in the bowl.

“You’ll get used to it. I don’t even smell it any more.”

Josie turned her nose up and decided Annette’s sense of smell must have just given up and died at some point. She almost wished hers would do the same.

“I might go up to the pub later,” Josie said, trying to distract herself from the stench. “If you don’t need me.”

“That’s a good idea,” Annette said. “Why don’t you give Sam a call? He’d go with you.”

“Amber said she’d be there so I thought I might join her. She said she always meets her friend there on Friday nights.”

“Tara?” Annette said. “Yes, you’ll get on well with those two. Tara can be a bit wild. You’ll have fun, I’m sure.”