‘And she collapsed?’ His gaze meets mine through his silver-rimmed glasses.
‘Yes, soon as she came out of the water—’
‘I’m a vet,’ he cuts in. ‘I’m going to try CPR, okay?’
What am I going to say?No, I have a better idea? I blink at him and nod, still stunned by his sudden appearance. ‘Will it work?’ I ask.
The man doesn’t answer. He pulls off his specs and flings them aside, and now his mouth is already down on Minnie’s nose.
CHAPTER SIX
LAUREN
I can hardly breathe as he blows into Minnie’s nostril, then pushes gently against her side.Breathe, push. Breathe, push.Over and over he goes in a steady rhythm.
It feels as if time – as well as my heart – has stopped.
He could be lying of course, and not actually a vet; just some random weirdo who believes he can heal animals or wants to impress me or God knows what. But somehow I sense I can trust him. Even if he stops and says he’s sorry, there’s nothing else he can do – and Minnie dies after all – at least he’ll have tried.
‘D’you think you can save her?’ I blurt out.
He looks round briefly. ‘I’ll do my best.’
Come on,girl, I will her.Please, darling Minnie. Come on.
The man stops. Minnie flinches. ‘She moved!’ I yelp. A hind leg twitches, then her head. Now her side is rising and falling – barely detectable but there’s definitely movement – as she breathes in and out. ‘Oh, my girl,’ I exclaim. ‘Is she going to be all right?’ She makes some sneezy, spluttering sounds and lies still for a moment before getting up unsteadily.
‘I hope so,’ the man replies, ‘but you’d better have her checked out properly. Is there someone locally you can take her to?’
I hug her as much as she’ll allow and wipe at my wet face with my hands. ‘Yes, I’ll get her looked at. Thank you so much. She’s my parents’ dog. They adore her, we all do …’
‘I’m sure you do. She’s a lovely girl. And it’s okay, honestly.’ He looks relieved as he pushes a hand back through his neatly cropped hair. He has a lean, handsome face with a strong nose and clear blue eyes that radiate kindness. After picking up his specs from the dirty ground, he wipes them on the front of his grey T-shirt before putting them back on.
‘What could’ve caused it, d’you think?’ I ask.
‘It could be so many things. She might have had a reaction to something she’s eaten, or the heat, or an insect bite or something like that. Or it might be neurological—’
‘Could it happen again?’
‘If she gets a full check they’ll be able to give you a better idea,’ he says. With Minnie at my side, we start to follow the path through the forest that leads back towards the road.
‘I’m Lauren,’ I add.
‘I’m James.’
‘Hi, James.’ I smile, still overcome by gratitude. ‘I can’t believe our luck, that you came along and knew exactly what to do. But then, I guess this is pretty normal for you …’
He grins broadly and those blue eyes glint in the dappled light. ‘Not really. I mean, not in this kind of scenario.’
‘Well, I’m very grateful,’ I say, glancing down at Minnie. She is trotting along quite happily, as if a stranger rushes over to blow into her nostrils every day of the week.
The winding road is visible through the trees now. It clings to the mountainside, its hairpin bends and sheer drop to the side terrifying drivers who aren’t used to this sort of terrain. As James asks about my connection to the island, I tell him how my Corsican mum persuaded my dad – a Londoner through and through – to move out here, and how his initial reluctance has turned into a grudging love of the place.
‘Is this your first time here?’ I ask.
‘Yeah.’ James nods. ‘I only arrived yesterday.’
‘Enjoying it so far?’
