“There’s a horse here,” the sergeant said. “Goats too. They’re out the back.”
I shook my head and followed him outside. In the garden were six pygmy goats and a gangly old horse. I clicked my teeth and the horse came to me like a dog, nosing automatically at my hands for treats. He turned up a hay cube and some stale biscuit crumbs, and when he was satisfied that my pockets were bare, dropped his bucket head on my shoulder.
Fucker. Like I needed another reason to take him home. With a heavy sigh, I fished my phone out of my pocket. A message flashed up, but I dismissed it without reading it and called home.
Emma answered. “How bad is it?”
“I’ve seen worse, but I’ve got an old boy to bring home and a load of pygmy goats.”
“What?”
“You heard.”
“Joe, we’ve only just got rid of the last goat, and that one ate my favourite saddle.”
“Shouldn’t have left it lying about then.”
“Joe—”
“Allright,” I snapped. “They’ll have to go in Ma’s garden then. Just tell her I don’t give a witch’s tit about her vegetable patch.”
“You will when there’s no potatoes on your plate.”
“Whatever. I’m going to see if I can secure the animals and then come back for the horsebox.”
“Okay—” Emma broke off and spoke to someone else at her end. “Don’t worry about coming back. George just rocked up with some diesel. He says he’ll come to you.”
It was the best news I could’ve hoped for. I tied the old horse to a sturdy tree and studied the lively goats. There was nowhere to herd them, so I’d have to round them up when it was time to go.Brilliant. Catching goats had never been my strong point.
I poked my head back in the house to tell the police that I was taking the horse. A woman from a local cat charity was scooping cats into carriers. “Where are you going to take them?”
The woman shrugged. “Home, I’d imagine. My husband is clearing out the garage.”
“This lot is going to fit in your garage?”
“Not quite,” the woman admitted. “But we’ll make it work. Always do.”
I liked her. I helped round up the stinky cats and loaded them into her van. When she was gone, I went back to the garden and stood with the cuddly old horse as darkness fell around us. The police ignored me entirely, and I was pretty much asleep on my feet when I heard the horsebox pull into the driveway.
“Took your time,” I called out when footsteps approached me from behind. “Hope you’re feeling up to chasing goats in the dark.”
There was a pause and then a low chuckle that wrapped around me like the warmest embrace. Harry reached around me and patted the old horse. “Knack to it, is there?”
“If there is, I’ve never found it. Where’ve you been all day?”
“I’ve been into town to poach Wetherspoon’s WiFi. Yours is down and I had a lot to—uh—sort out.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“Not really.” Harry grinned. “Let’s get this squared away and I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.”
We rounded up the goats and led the old horse into the horsebox. He seemed unfazed by the gaggle of goats penned in beside him, and I shut the box with a rueful grin. If only all rescues were as simple as this one had turned out to be.
“Um, Joe?”
I glanced at Harry over my shoulder, my skin tingling at his close proximity. “Yeah?”
“I thought you said someone else had taken all the cats?”
