Chapter 18

On Saturday, Josie woke up thinking about Sam. She ate a quick breakfast with Annette as usual and then set off to the barn. Annette shouted something after her, but she didn’t register it. Her brain seemed to be stuck on Sam. On the way to the barn, it occurred to her that she still hadn’t heard from Jack.

Part of her was actually quite happy about it. The longer they went without speaking, the more certain she was that she needed to end things. Her mind wouldn’t focus on Jack for long, and her thoughts jumped quickly back to Sam. It had been a fun evening in the pub, but she couldn’t help but think that her favourite part of the night was the walk home. There was something about standing outside the house with Sam in the moonlight that reminded her of the night they’d kissed on the beach.

And that was exactly what she was thinking about when she opened the door to little Pixie’s kennel and slipped inside. The only problem was that as she stepped quickly inside, Pixie – who’d previously seemed like a docile little dog – ran out.

“Woah!” Josie shouted. She hadn’t closed the barn door behind her when she’d come in, and she quickly panicked about whether or not the gate to the road was open too. She was sure it wasn’t. “Stop,” she called as she raced after the speedy little dog. Outside, she glanced at the main gate and breathed a sigh of relief. At least Pixie was fenced in and couldn’t get out …

“No, no, no!” Josie said quietly as Pixie jumped the fence. It didn’t even seem possible for such a small dog to make such a jump, but she made it look easy. Josie stopped for a moment, glancing at the house to make sure Annette hadn’t seen. Then she ordered Macy and Charlie to stay put and took off at a run after Pixie. There was no way in the world she’d catch her at the speed she was going. Josie felt like she was about to have a heart attack after two minutes, and she was sure she was about to lose the dog from sight.

In the valley, she hopped the stepping-stones over the little stream but lost her footing and ending up with soaking wet feet. She carried on regardless. At the top of the next hill, she had to stop to catch her breath.

Pixie was nowhere to be seen. Had she really lost a dog? It was only her first day of looking after dogs and she’d lost one. She straightened up and scanned the area. There were fields stretched out to one side, and she could just about make out the village in the distance. Trees were dotted around the place and one direction led to a wooded area. She hoped Pixie hadn’t gone that way.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out to Pixie, although she wasn’t really expecting it to have any effect. She had to do something. The last place she’d seen Pixie was at the stream, so she walked quickly back there and then jogged beside the water, calling out and scanning the area as she went.

Before long, she came to Sam’s house and contemplated asking him for help. He knew the area, and he probably knew the dog too; he might know where to look. It would be embarrassing, though, admitting to him that she’d lost a dog. Plus she looked a complete state. Her hair had come loose from her ponytail and she had mud splatters up her legs. She was still struggling to catch her breath too. It didn’t really matter, though – it was just Sam, and who cares what he thought? She did, she admitted to herself reluctantly.

Josie was about to turn around and go back the way she’d come when she saw movement by the garage at the back of the house. Sam stepped out. He had the Road Runner of dogs in his arms. Josie wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. She was so relieved.

“Did you lose something?” Sam called.

She headed over to him, pulling her hair into a fresh ponytail as she went. “She’s so fast,” Josie said. “I opened the door to the kennel and she took off. And you should’ve seen her jump the fence!”

“Pixie’s a little rascal. Didn’t Annette warn you?”

Josie thought back to when she was leaving the house. Annette definitely shouted something to her. “She might have done.” She stroked the little dog in Sam’s arms and quickly became aware of her proximity to him. She was a sweaty mess after her spontaneous run.

“You okay?” he asked when she took a step back. “You look a bit red.”

She inhaled deeply. “It’s more exercise than I was expecting this morning.”

“Come in and have a drink,” he said.

“I probably shouldn’t …” she stammered as Sam wandered to the back door. “I think I’ll just take Pixie home. Don’t take the dog inside anyway, she’ll be all wet and dirty …”

“It’s fine,” he said, then turned and caught the panic in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. But I can sit out here for a drink.” She gestured at the patio table.

“Why don’t you want to come inside?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her shoulders drooped as she sighed. “If I tell you, you’ll tease me.”

“I promise not to tease.” He managed to keep a straight face but his eyes sparkled.

Josie’s gaze dropped to her shoes. “The blue ones don’t show the dirt … but they’re not really waterproof.” She lifted up onto her toes and then squelched back down again.

“Nope,” Sam said, barely suppressing a smirk. “They’re definitely not waterproof. I’ll bring you a glass of water out!” First, he went into the garage and found some string to tie Pixie up.

Josie baulked when he went to secure her to the table leg. “I’ve seen how that dogs moves. You should attach her to something fixed down or you might lose your table!”

Sam dipped his eyebrows and chuckled before tying the dog to the outside tap. “Better?”

“Hope so.” Josie took a seat. “Or she takes out the whole wall. We’ll see!”

Pixie lay down and closed her eyes, apparently worn out after her little adventure. Sam fetched two glasses of water and sat down with Josie.

“I’m curious as to how you think I’d tease you,” he said, smirking. “Did you think I’d remind you how I suggested you’d need waterproof boots around here?”

“I didn’t know I was going to be chasing a dog through a stream!”

“It’s probably something you should always assume,” he said.

“Hey!” Josie straightened a leg to kick him, and he tapped her soggy foot away with his. “I’m not going to lose a dog again. This was just a drill. Practising what to do if I lose a dog.”

Sam broke into a full laugh. “Really?” he said. “Well at least now you know what to do … Run through the stream to Sam’s house to ask for help!”

“I wasn’t coming to ask for help,” she said. “I followed Pixie straight here.”

“You were quite a way behind her!”

She grumbled. “I knew you’d tease me.”

“Sometimes it’s really hard not to. What is this, your first official day of work? And you lost a dog?”

“No!” she said. “I haven’t lost a dog. The dog’s right there. We had a morning run, that’s all. And technically it’s my second day of work since the dogs arrived yesterday.”

Sam didn’t comment further, just sat looking quietly amused.

“Fine,” Josie said after a moment. “I lost a dog already. I can’t believe I did that. Don’t tell Annette, will you?”

“Annette wouldn’t care,” he said. “And like you said, the dog isn’t lost. She’s right there. No harm done.”

Josie sighed, embarrassed. Was this going to be another job she couldn’t manage to keep? Surely she wouldn’t last long if she kept losing dogs. It was a depressing thought. She was enjoying life at Oakbrook much more than she’d expected.

She stood abruptly. “I better get back, I suppose.”

“Are you sure? I can get you a coffee if you want …”

“No, thanks.” She wriggled her feet in her squelchy shoes. “I need to go and dry off. I’ve got to walk the other dogs too. Wish me luck with that. Hopefully I won’t lose any more dogs today.” She meant to sound bright and breezy, but somehow it came out quite the opposite.

She felt Sam’s eyes on her as she untied Pixie and nudged her awake.

“It’s a new job,” he said. “Any new job takes time to get used to everything.”

“I know.” Again, she didn’t manage the breezy tone she aimed for.

“Don’t worry about today. Pixie’s always full of mischief.”

“Thanks for catching her,” she said quietly as she led Pixie down the garden.

“You know, I had bacon for breakfast,” Sam called after her. “I bet Pixie smelled it. It’s probably all my fault she ran away.”

Josie smiled, but her eyes involuntarily filled with tears, and she focussed on Pixie so Sam wouldn’t see. “I’ll see you later,” she called over her shoulder.

Her feet squelched in her shoes as she marched wearily back to Oakbrook. She really wanted to be good at this job, and she felt like she was failing already. It was embarrassing that Sam had been witness to her incompetence. And then he was so sweet to try and reassure her.

It was a fairly stark contrast to Jack, who hadn’t called her all week and apparently hadn’t even noticed that she hadn’t come home for the weekend.