‘Will you be calling in to buy flowers for anyone else? I can deliver discreetly you know. Hattie or Suzie wouldn’t have to know the flowers came from you.’
Marcus laughed off her remark. ‘You are a good sales woman, Mrs Flownder. Have your Peonies and Passion Flowers reached their peak and need selling off?’
Mrs Flownder looked down at the vase of Peonies in her arms and laughed loudly, throwing her head back. The action threw her off balance slightly and she stumbled back, knocking a metallic vase against another. A loud ringing noise echoed out, causing Atlas to jump back, in a protective stationary stance, that pinned Rowan against the window of the shop behind him.
Rowan didn’t panic, and Marcus witnessed his calm reserve once again, as he expertly talked Atlas down, while stroking him.
‘Sorry about that, love,’ said Mrs Flownder. Marcus noticed she looked mortified, as she retreated into the shop with the vases.
Marcus held a hand up. ‘No worries. No harm done.’
Marcus looked intentionally at Rowan, his brow lifted questioningly. He’d made the statement but he had no idea if he was being presumptuous.
Atlas appeared to loosen his stance, his shoulders relaxing, yet his eyes still on high alert.
Rowan nodded. ‘He’s fine.’
Marcus exhaled audibly. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘It’s not your fault. It’s life. This is what I’m trying to fix.’ He paused, ‘No fix is not the right word... overcome.’
Another snippet of information. Marcus fished for more.
‘Overcome from his trauma when he was in active service?’
‘Yes.’
‘When you were on duty together?’
Rowan visibly stiffened. He straightened without answering Marcus’s question. Choosing to deflect instead. ‘Let’s walk past Ruff to Regal... See if Atlas recognises it.’ He continued walking, and Marcus quickly caught up.
But Marcus couldn’t help but feel disappointed. ‘Okay.’
Instead of resuming his usual quite demeanour, Marcus was surprised when Rowan asked a question. ‘Tell me, what brought you to Seagull Bay? Ruff to Regal hasn’t been open a year yet, has it?’
‘Well, it’s not because I was running away from something, if that’s what you think.’ Rowan stopped in his tracks. ‘I hope you don’t think that comment has anything to do with you. It’s not a personal dig or anything like that... I don’t know anything about your or Atlas’s circumstances.’ Rowan licked his lips as he nodded and continued to walk, but Rowan could only see his profile, and it was unreadable. ‘I actually came to the bay because of circumstances. I needed a dog-grooming parlour fast, and Christine had just renovated an unused storeroom. It was just meant to be, I guess.’
‘Why did you need one fast?’
‘My business was already established in the city, but a lorry crashed into my shop, leaving it structurally unsafe.’
Rowan’s head spun to look at him after his statement. Marcus could see the concern behind his eyes.
‘Don’t worry. No one was hurt. The accident happened in the early hours.’ Marcus gave a small shrug, as if the movement could make the memory lighter than it was. ‘Anyway, I had clients booked in, and I needed somewhere to work from. The rest is history.’
He halted suddenly.
Rowan stopped with him.
‘Who am I trying to kid?’ Marcus let out a soft, humourless laugh. ‘I’m downplaying one of the biggest upheavals of my life.’
He started walking again, and Rowan matched his pace without a word.
‘My first dog-grooming shop was a completely new life for me. Before that, I was in sales. I’d been a salesman since leaving school. At first, I loved the freedom of it. I could be myself, instead of being whoever everyone else expected me to be. On the road, there was no pretence. But even though it felt freeing, that kind of life had chains too. Long hours. Too much travelling. Nowhere to put down roots.’
Marcus shook his head.
‘So when an opportunity came along for redundancy, I followed my heart for once. I opened my own dog-grooming parlour.’
