‘You approve?’ He wasn’t sure why he had asked that question when it didn’t make any difference to his decision to adopt Derek whether his sister was happy with the notion or not.
‘Thrilled.’
‘Seriously?’ Usually she thought him impulsive, or boring. One of those extremes anyway.
‘Yes. It means you’re settling in nicely here and you’re intending to stay.’
He took a careful sip of his hot tea. ‘Of course I’m staying. I wouldn’t have invested in the lease for the practice if I hadn’t planned on doing so.’
‘Calm down. I was only thinking how nice it’ll be to have youhere all the time. Anyhow, you’re obviously lonely here, so this sweet dog will be company for you.’
‘Why do you think I’m lonely?’ He wasn’t sure why he felt so indignant, but even if his sister hadn’t meant her comment to be a criticism of him, he couldn’t help feeling like he must be failing in some way. ‘I’ve got a date, of sorts, with someone tomorrow evening, if you must know.’ Why had he said that?
He could see the interest his words had sparked in his sister’s eyes. ‘I wasn’t being mean,’ she said, her voice softer. ‘I just meant you’ve been busy with settling in at the practice since you arrived back on the island and can’t have had much of a chance to catch up with old friends from years ago.’
‘I see.’ His feelings for his sister softening, Brodie reminded himself that although he and Maddie had always bickered, she could be sweet on occasion. Not very often, but this appeared to be one of those times and he was happy to hear her approval.
He gave her a conciliatory smile. ‘Thanks, Madds. I don’t mean to sound defensive and I’m glad you’re happy I’m staying here. And that I have Derek here as my companion. He is a real character and I’m looking forward to training him a little and taking him for walks. He’s already made a good impression on the staff and clients at the practice, you know?’
She smiled fondly at the snoozing dog. ‘I’m sure he has.’ She put her cup down on the table next to her and tapped the purple folder.
34
LETTIE
Four weeks to go
It had been another difficult day on the farm. The last of the Jersey Royals had been harvested and the equipment cleaned and put away. Lettie thanked the workers, and after treating them to an enormous cottage pie, she bid them farewell and called her uncle to thank him for letting his employees come to her farm to help her getting in the harvest.
‘You’ve done an excellent job there, Lettie,’ he said. ‘I was disappointed at the beginning when you mentioned your intention to try and run Hollyhock Farm, but I’m glad your father gave you the opportunity. You have the makings of a farmer and you should be proud of yourself.’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ she said close to tears. ‘I’ve never been this tired and I’m sure I haven’t done all that much really.’
‘If you sat and wrote down all that you have done each day you’d probably be surprised.’ He laughed. ‘It is a bit daunting though for you, I imagine.’
She sighed. ‘Most days I feel like an exhausted hamster on oneof those wheels, constantly running to catch up with myself and getting nowhere.’
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself.’
They ended the call and Lettie leant back against the barn door. She knew her uncle meant well and was trying to bolster her confidence but she also knew that she couldn’t keep this up. Her stamina might be building and her muscles were more toned than ever before, but she was drained. Realising the time, she hurried inside and showered ready for Brodie to collect her and Spud on his way to the beach.
Lettie sat next to him in his car, enjoying their friendly banter as he animatedly relayed stories about his day at the practice.
‘Then Mrs Fitch told me that her husband was insisting they keep the largest of the pups from the litter, whereas she wanted to keep the runt. They apparently fell out.’ He shook his head and laughed as he turned down a lane taking them to the beach.
‘And, don’t tell me…’ Lettie giggled feeling slightly better now that she had stepped away from her responsibilities for a while. ‘They ended up keeping both and together with the mum they now have three dogs.’
‘Five.’
‘Five?’
‘Yup.’ He slowed and waved the driver of a small car out of a difficult turning before continuing on their way. ‘They already had a couple of dogs their daughter insisted on taking on when she moved back home a couple of years ago. She’s since moved away and is working in Spain, leaving those dogs with her parents.’
Lettie tried imagining having so many pets somewhere that wasn’t a farm. ‘It sounds like they have a right menagerie going on there.’ She heard the crashing waves before she saw them and closed her eyes to listen more intently to the sound that took her back to her childhood.
‘Being back on the island I can’t imagine how I managed to live away for so long,’ she said almost to herself.
‘I was thinking the same thing when I was out surfing the other day. How do we islanders ever really imagine we’ll be able to settle anywhere far from the sea?’
