‘I’m beginning to wonder,’ she said, sliding her hand into the next burrow. ‘Ouch!’
Pete chuckled. ‘I can remember the very first time I was bitten by a puffin. It was the same day I was bitten at work by a chihuahua. I’ve come across some big dogs in my time, and ones that looked as if they weren’t very friendly, but they were a walk in the park compared to this tiny creature. It was brought in in a designer handbag because it didn’t like walking on wet ground when it was raining.’
‘What a diva!’
‘“Twinkle”, she was called, “because she was a little star”.’ Pete rolled his eyes.
‘Aww, she sounds adorable.’
‘There was nothing adorable about her or the owner. She would make any excuse to visit the surgery with that dog. Every time I saw her name on the list for the day it filled me with dread.’
‘And the reason why the owner brought her in was…’
‘She thought Twinkle had a cold as she’d sneezed a couple of times. I was going to suggest maybe it was the perfume the owner was wearing. It was that strong it made me sneeze the second she walked into the surgery. Anyway, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the dog but as usual I went through the motions, giving her the once-over as the owner gave me the once-over. I turned towards the computer to write up the notes and something took a huge bite out of my backside. I wondered for years whether it was the dog or the owner.’
Verity laughed. ‘I know who my money would be on.’
Pete stopped at the next burrow.
‘I thought I’d miss the routine of my job but I have to say, at the minute I’m not missing it at all,’ she said.
‘That’s probably because it feels like you’re on holiday.’
‘You’re not the first person to say that and it’s probably true, but being in such a beautiful place, I have begun to question where I really want to be.’
‘You and every other tourist want to live here once they’ve visited, but unfortunately – or fortunately, if you’re a curmudgeon like me – it’s not very often a property comes up for sale.’ He looked up towards his cottage, now high above them on top of the cliff. ‘I’ve been offered ridiculous amounts of money for that place.’
‘Ever tempted?’
‘Never.’ He pointed to the next burrow.
Verity got down on her stomach again. ‘How come it’s me that’s constantly getting bitten?’
‘Because I’m chief supervisor, and if I’m honest with you, if I get down, I’m not sure I’d get back up at my age,’ said Pete with a laugh.
* * *
For the next few hours they continued to count the burrows and record their findings. Verity soon forgot the number of times she’d been bitten. Pete was right, after a while you became immune to it. In the early afternoon Pete called time on the count.
‘We’ll be burnt to a crisp and will be suffering from sunstroke if we carry on. Let’s reconvene early tomorrow morning.’ He blew a whistle and waved at the other rangers as a signal to quit.
‘I’ve really enjoyed myself today,’ said Verity. ‘Thanks for letting me tag along.’
‘It’s my pleasure.’
Back at the cliff top, they headed towards the cottage. Nathan was walking towards them, holding up the keys to Hetty.
‘She’s all yours, along with the bill,’ he said apologetically. ‘I wasn’t sure where to send it.’
Verity smiled. ‘Thank you, It’s great to have her back. I’ll sort out the payment and get it to you.’
‘Much appreciated. Oh, and Pete, I’ve just noticed Cooper up at the old surgery. He was asking if you were around.’
‘Who’s Cooper?’ asked Verity.
‘Remember I told you the vet from Sea’s End was looking to open a second surgery? That’s Cooper, he’s come to do some measuring up.’
‘The new surgery is going ahead then?’
