‘I sometimes wonder if he was more miserable about leaving Larry than Marina. Anyway, he’ll get to see the puppies. He left straight after surgery, with a very determined look about him.’ She paused. ‘He hasn’t said anything but I did wonder if he might be having it out with her.’
‘I don’t care.’ Ella looked unseeing out of the kitchen window. ‘He made it perfectly clear it’s nothing to do with me.’
‘I’d love to go and see them. I love puppies. Maybe I should get one.’ Bets looked fierce for a moment. ‘Except Marina would probably charge me for the visit. She’s such a witch. Devon needs to move on. Wonder where he’ll go? I reckon he’ll go back to Bristol, you know.’
Ella rather hoped he would. That would make things much easier, especially if she was able to rent the other barn conversion. It would save tripping over him every five minutes and having to be neighbourly.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Poor Larry looked exhausted. She’d whelped four pups already and there were another four to go. Devon kept his distance. He wouldn’t interfere unless it was necessary. Larry knew what she was doing and had managed beautifully with each of the pups, licking away the membrane sack and nipping through the umbilical cords like a pro. What a girl.
For once Marina had managed to curb her TV instincts and not touch any of the puppies yet, leaving nature to take its infinitely wonderful course.
‘Keep the camera focused on the puppies. Don’t let the audience see the dog eating the goo.’ Rick’s voice sounded as if he were filming an average day in the street. Devon wanted to punch him.
‘The goo is the placenta and is perfectly natural for the mother to eat it. It’s a source of protein and nutrients to help her rebuild her strength.’
‘Devon, darling, it is a little bit revolting. Viewers don’t want to see or know about that.’
‘They might not, but you’re giving a false impression. It’s also important to flag up that there should be a placenta for each pup. A retained placenta can make a dog very ill indeed.’
Devon worried that this nice sanitised puppy birth might encourage hundreds of viewers to start breeding their dogs, thinking this was all so easy.
He kept a careful watch on Larry nursing her four puppies. So far, so good, but occasionally there might be problems later as the bitch tired or if she rolled on a puppy and inadvertentlysquashed one. Her vitals seemed fine, she was alert and responsive and the puppies were all a good size. At the moment they looked more like little brown voles than Lab puppies. All their features had yet to sharpen, the heads and short stubby legs were disproportionately large and the barely-there ears just sprouting. Tucked in together next to Larry’s stomach, hungrily sucking away, they made a cute, cuddly sight, but there was a way to go yet.
‘Isn’t it wonderful,’ said Marina, slipping a hand through his arm, her recently touched-up lipstick glistening in the studio lights.
It was wonderful. Nature doing what nature did best. But just not on live television or internet or whatever it was. A litter of strong, healthy pups born with no complications . . . so far.
‘Fabulous television. Twitter and Facebook are going mad. The ratings will go through the roof. And there’ll be weekly updates on the puppies growing. I’m so glad you came. I knew I could rely on you to help.’
He looked at her as if she’d lost her marbles. ‘I came for Larry. To make sure she’s OK. To be on hand if anything went wrong.’
‘Yes, and that’s help, isn’t it?’ She smiled with a coy lift of one eyebrow that once he’d found sexy and was now merely irritating. ‘You always help me.’ In fact, the uptilt of her lips was more a smirk. She assumed that he would help. Assumed he would step in if she needed him to.
That smug, knowing look tore something. He thought of all the times she’d run things by him and he’d had to correct her veterinary knowledge. They should have been a team, equal partners, but she’d taken more and he’d been happy to give it. When had she ever helped him? Even now, having to divide their lives, their house, her career came first.Shecame first.
He looked around at the busy room. The mic in her hand, the thing in her ear relaying Rick’s direction, the heat of the lightsand the cameramen, cables snaking over the floor. What had once been the consulting room of their veterinary practice was now a fully kitted-out professional studio. One that her company benefited from. Ella was right. He was an idiot. A complete idiot. Things had been going so well that evening and he’d completely ballsed it up and he didn’t even know why. Ella had been trying to help and he tossed it straight back at her. His pride had been damaged when she’d been cool with him after Marina had come down. Now he realised he’d also been irritated by her assuming that he’d swallow all Marina’s twaddle about him going to work on her new TV programme. So he’d been deliberately cool back to her which was a pretty stupid thing to do considering for the last few weeks he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her or those soft kisses that had been added into the memory mix, the way that they whipped up his pulse and messed with his heart. Somehow, as he’d watched Ella grow and blossom, she’d slunk under his defences. Seeing her laughing uproariously and unselfconsciously at herself at the Village Fayre, in front of everyone, had hit him with a punch of awareness. At that very moment, with her cheeks suffused with pink, her eyes dancing and her graceful artistic hands batting the air with amused disbelief at her stupidity, she’d been picture perfect. And now it hit him, a sucker punch of sudden realisation. He’d fallen in love with Ella.
‘Devon. Devon, are you listening to me? I asked you what sort of nutrients there are in the placenta.’ Marina tutted. ‘And now I haven’t got time.’ With an irritated toss of her hair she strode off.
Devon stared, disbelieving, after her.
Marina had flitted off and was now doing a piece to camera. ‘And after each puppy is born, the placenta comes out. Now,’ she gave the camera a ‘this is the important science bit’ nod, ‘it’s not very nice but it’s perfectly natural for the mother to eat it. It’s asource of protein and nutrients which will help her rebuild her strength.’
Devon shook his head and pulled back out of the circle of lights. Yup, he was an A1 idiot.
At the edge of the studio, two executive-looking types in single-breasted suits and very pointy shoes with matching pointy goatee beards stood in front of a bank of three laptops.
‘Going well, is it?’ Devon asked, slightly bemused by them watching the video of Larry and Marina when the real event was taking place right in front of them.
‘You wouldn’t believe it. The hits are going through the roof. We’ve reached over 500,000 viewers.’
‘And you are?’
‘Account director for RV Pet Foods. We’ve sponsored the banner headline on the website today.’
‘Sponsored?’
