Chapter Sixteen
‘That was the last one,’ Helen told Mandy as the final clients led their enthusiastic spaniel out into the darkness.
Mandy had returned from the Dillons’ feeling much more cheerful. Before evening surgery, she had seen to the donkeys, dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs in a whirl of energy, buoyed up by the possibility that Melon would soon have a new home. Despite all the worries, or perhaps because of them, it was important to feel that the work she was doing at Hope Meadows was making a difference in the right way.
When the waiting room door burst open, Mandy looked up, expecting to see a late-running client. She was pleased to see Seb Conway in the doorway, clutching two white plastic bags.
‘Surprise!’ he called out. Rubbing his feet on the mat, he strode across the room to kiss Helen. ‘Surgery finished?’ he asked, dumping the two bags on the counter.
‘It has,’ Helen replied. ‘What are you doing here?’ She looked confused. ‘You didn’t tell me you were coming.’
Seb looked sheepish. ‘I heard Emily wasn’t well. I thought you might be too busy to cook,’ he explained, looking at Mandy. ‘I hope you don’t mind. I brought enough for everyone, but if it’s inconvenient …’
‘It’s not,’ Mandy assured him. What a thoughtful guy. Lucky Helen. For a moment, the thought of Jimmy popped into her head. He hadn’t called yet. Mandy had been tempted to call him to tell him about Emily, but given his odd reaction to her news about the cottage on Monday, she had postponed it. Pushing that particular niggle aside, she sniffed the air. From the scent that was emanating from Seb’s bags, it seemed he had brought some of Roo Dhanjal’s wonderful food. Mandy invited him through into the kitchen.
‘I’ll set the table,’ Helen offered, following them.
‘Thanks,’ Mandy said. She was about to go up to check on her mum when to her surprise, Emily walked into the kitchen. Although Adam was hovering close behind her, she was looking much more herself, and she smiled when she saw Seb and Helen in the kitchen with Mandy.
‘What a lovely surprise,’ she said. With Adam still shadowing her, she made her way over to the table and lowered herself into her chair. Helen had already set out knives and forks and was opening the cupboard to pull out some plates.
‘What have you got in those bags, Seb?’ Adam was sniffing the air like a hungry Labrador. ‘I was about to make beans on toast, but that smells way better.’
Putting the two carrier bags on the table, Seb began to pull forth a series of plastic boxes. ‘They’re from the Dhanjals’ takeaway,’ he explained. ‘Actually, Roo gave me a call and suggested I could bring them round.’ He glanced at Mandy as he set the last of the containers on the table. ‘She said she wanted to help out.’
‘That’s really kind of her.’ Mandy hoped Seb wouldn’t say anything more. Emily didn’t know about the strange TripAdvisor listing and right now, Mandy didn’t want to tell her.
‘Roo’s lovely,’ Seb said.
‘We should eat it while it’s hot,’ Helen interjected. Mandy looked at her gratefully. She and Helen had discussed PC Armstrong’s reaction earlier. Helen had been pleased to hear the police constable had taken Mandy seriously, but she seemed to understand that now wasn’t the time to share the news with Emily.
To Mandy’s relief, her mother managed to eat a portion of the curry and rice along with some of Roo’s delectable naan bread. After dinner, Emily insisted on seeing the newly decorated waiting room.
‘All we need now is some gifts under the tree,’ she said. ‘What about you, Mandy? Would you like another box of plastic gloves? We could wrap you up a new calving jack, perhaps. What do you think?’
Mandy was relieved that her mum was feeling well enough to tease her. And she was amused to be reminded of her gift of a box of plastic gloves from the staff at Thurston’s, where she had worked before coming back to Animal Ark. ‘I was hoping for a new hoof rasp,’ she joked. ‘I’ve worn mine out already!’
Emily had wandered over to the reception desk and was checking the appointments book. ‘Ah, I see the dental has been postponed. Thanks, Helen.’
‘No problem,’ said Helen. ‘Mr Hodges was happy to wait until next week to make another appointment.’
Mandy waited for her mum to protest that she’d be back to work long before then, but instead Emily surprised her by yawning and heading for the door. ‘I’m going back to bed,’ she announced. ‘The GP told me to rest and I’m not going to argue. Thank you, all of you, for taking care of everything.’
‘It’s what we’re here for, Mum,’ said Mandy, giving her a hug. ‘Sleep well.’
Adam appeared in the doorway to steer Emily upstairs, and Helen and Seb pulled on their coats. ‘See you in the morning!’ Helen called as they let themselves out.
‘Goodnight!’ Mandy called back. The clinic was very quiet when everyone had gone. She pulled out her phone. She hadn’t given up hoping to find a message from Jimmy, but there was still nothing. He’d said he would call as soon as he could and it had been two days now. The confidence Mandy had felt about their burgeoning relationship at the end of last week was beginning to drain away. Had Helen been right about his reluctance to allow her to hang out with the twins? Had she put too much pressure on him?
With a sigh, she flicked through her contacts. She needed to take her mind off Jimmy Marsh. Maybe she could call Jenny from Thurston’s, she thought, prompted by the mention of the ridiculous box of gloves. Mandy could wish her a Merry Christmas, see how things were going over in Leeds.
Finding Jenny’s number, she tapped the screen to dial.
‘Mandy! What a lovely surprise.’ The warmth in Jenny’s voice made Mandy smile. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m well, thanks.’ Pulling out a chair, Mandy sat down and leaned her elbow on the reception desk. She gazed at the star lamp, which glowed with a soft yellow light. ‘How about you?’
‘Oh … busy, busy. Same old routine, with added Christmas spirit!’ Jenny laughed. ‘Angela’s being strict with all the clients and going mad when dogs cock their legs on her desk. Peter still moans every time he gets an unusually sized animal in. Bossy boss Amy is bossing as normal. Nothing ever changes at Thurston’s,’ she commented. ‘Oh, except …’ Her voice tailed off.
‘What is it?’ Mandy was dying to hear whatever had brought Jenny to a halt. Up until six months ago, Thurston’s gossip had been a huge part of her life.
Jenny sighed. ‘I suppose I might as well tell you. It’s not a secret. Samantha has moved in with Simon.’
Mandy was glad she was sitting down. Although she and Simon were ancient history, there was still a shock that ran through her and left her legs wobbly. ‘Gosh,’ she said. ‘That was fast.’ She took a breath and let it out, feeling the immediate confusion pass. The idea didn’t sting as much as she had expected.
‘As far as I know, nothing started before you left,’ Jenny said quickly, as if she was trying to reassure Mandy.
Mandy found, perhaps against the odds, that she believed what Jenny had said, at least as far as Simon was concerned. She thought back to six months earlier, when she had left Simon behind to come to Welford. Simon and Samantha had become closer the moment the door shut behind her, that had been obvious. The pair of them had even gone out together to look at practice premises for Mandy and Simon to start a clinic. Mandy wanted to laugh at her naivety. It seemed obvious in hindsight that Samantha had been interested in snagging her boyfriend. There had been a flattering picture of Simon on the fridge in their shared flat that Samantha had put there. And she had been annoyingly flirtatious one night they had all been out during the summer. But there had been no sign back then that Simon was reciprocating.
‘How about you, then?’ Jenny’s voice broke through her thoughts. ‘Any new love interest in sunny Welford?’
Mandy hesitated for a moment, but what harm could it do? ‘Actually, I have been seeing someone,’ she admitted. ‘It was all going well up until Friday, but we’ve both been really busy since then so we haven’t been in touch.’ It didn’t sound too bad when she said it like that. It was only a few days after all, and Jimmy had sounded very stressed on the phone. Something must have come up.
‘Perhaps something came up!’ Jenny’s words echoed what she had been thinking so closely that Mandy jumped. ‘Does he have family in the area?’
‘He has two children,’ Mandy admitted, suddenly wondering if something unfortunate had befallen one of the twins. She knew Jimmy well enough to guarantee that he would drop everything else if his son or daughter needed him. Jenny’s reaction had given her a different perspective on his radio silence, though Mandy very much hoped nothing bad had occurred.
‘I should probably go,’ Jenny said. ‘I’m supposed to be going round to walk my mum’s dog and it’s getting late.’
Mandy smiled. She should be getting on, too. She had to do the final check of the rescue animals. Tuck them into their beds before falling into her own. ‘Bye, Jenny,’ she said. ‘It’s been great talking to you.’
‘And you. Don’t forget about us down here!’ Jenny called, and the line went silent.
As Mandy stood up to go outside, the door opened and Adam walked in. ‘Mum’s asleep,’ he said. ‘She seems miles better already.’
‘That’s good,’ Mandy said. ‘I’m just heading out to check everything’s okay.’
She was pleased when Adam replied, ‘I’ll come with you.’ He seemed much more cheerful, to Mandy’s relief. Hopefully the doctor would find something in Emily’s blood tests and she would be treated and everything could get back to normal.
‘I just spoke to Jenny at Thurston’s,’ she told him, opening the back door and stepping outside. The air was sharp and cold, and the sky was scattered with stars. As they crossed the grass to look at the donkeys, Mandy could feel the ground was already firmer, as if it had started to freeze.
‘How is Jenny?’ Adam asked. Although he had never met them, apart from Simon, Mandy had often talked about her colleagues in Leeds.
‘She’s fine.’ Holly and Robin were standing close together in their shelter. With their thick coats, full of healthy oils, they didn’t seem to be concerned at the change in the weather. Mandy gave them each a piece of carrot. They nuzzled up to her, resting their heads against her body, closing their eyes with pleasure as she ran her hands through the thick grey fur behind their ears. They were adorable little creatures, and Mandy knew she would miss them.
‘Simon is going out with Samantha,’ she told her dad. She spoke the words almost as a test to see how they would feel, but she found that they didn’t hurt too much. She could see Adam looking at her in the dim light of the shed. ‘I’m fine with it,’ she added with a shake of her head. ‘I’m just glad I’m back here in Welford.’
Her dad reached out and patted her arm. ‘That’s wonderful to know,’ he said.
They headed into the rescue centre to check the dogs, cats and small furries. Mandy watched Adam carefully as they went through to the cat area; just as she had expected, he made a beeline for the old cat Tango.
‘Have you heard anything more about Roo’s awful TripAdvisor review?’ Adam had opened Tango’s cage and was stroking his ear, but he was looking over at Mandy. ‘I wanted to ask earlier when Seb mentioned she’d sent the food, but I didn’t know whether your mum knew.’
‘Thank goodness you didn’t,’ Mandy said. ‘I haven’t told Mum and I’m not going to until we know what’s wrong with her.’ She opened the door to one of the female cats, a delicate silver tabby with white paws. She stroked the soft fur and listened with pleasure to the purr before closing the cage. ‘I did call Ellen Armstrong earlier though,’ she admitted. ‘You know, the policewoman.’
‘And what did she say?’ Adam was still tickling Tango behind the ear.
‘She seems to be taking it seriously,’ Mandy said, joining her dad. Tango was pressing his head against Adam’s hand, his eyes closed, purring so loudly that the whole cage was vibrating. ‘I think that cat likes you,’ she teased. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of telling her father that he should just get on and rehome the little animal, but she wanted the decision to be Adam’s.
‘I know it’s worrying,’ Adam said, finally withdrawing his hand and closing the door of the cage. ‘But I’m sure whoever it is making this trouble, they won’t do any real harm. We’re here for you. Our clients are, too. Someone tells me every day how much they love having the rescue centre in the village.’
As they walked back through the chilly air, he put his arm around Mandy’s shoulders and gave her a hug. Mandy leaned into his sturdy warmth. She hoped, rather than believed, that her dad was right when he said it was all going to be okay.