‘Good,’ Marcus said softly. ‘I’ll make room.’
Rowan held his gaze for a long moment, then stepped out into the evening with Atlas beside him.
Marcus stood in the doorway until they disappeared down the lane.
Behind him, Ruff to Regal was clean, quiet, and changed. The new calm space waited in the corner, made from old furniture and second chances.
Marcus looked at it and smiled.
For nervous dogs, he told himself.
For fresh starts.
And maybe, if Rowan was brave enough to keep showing up, for guarded hearts too.
Act 3 – Chapter thirteen
Opening his eyes, it took a moment for Marcus to focus. After days of sleepless nights, last night he’d finally slept right through.
Ribbons of bright light streamed through the cracks in his curtains, and Marcus watched particles of dust dance in their golden beams. He could hear the happy chirps of the garden birds, much louder than the distant calls of the gulls down on the cliff faces overlooking the seafront.
He felt calm today. Calm with a fuzzy warm feeling. Then he remembered why.
An image of Rowan’s dark eyes and his full lips came to the forefront of his mind. The kiss. His fingers raised to his mouth as he absentmindedly touched his lips.
It hadn’t been a dream.
Throwing back the covers, Marcus literally jumped out of bed, grabbed his mobile, and hummed all the way to the bathroom.
Turning on the shower to warm up, he realised his alarm hadn’t gone off yet. He looked at the time on his phone, and was surprised to see it was only five thirty. What was with these early mornings? Had his body clock reset itself or something?
Shaking his head with a smile, he quickly undressed and got into the shower. It was too early to go into work, as he’d done everything for the day ahead last night. He chewed his bottom lip as he thought about what preparations were left to do for the dog competition.
Thanks to Christine delegating jobs to friends and other residents from the bay, his load had lifted considerably. Really, all that was left for him to do, was on the actual day of the competition itself. Still, he didn’t want to waste the few hours he had spare that morning before he started work.
Marcus knew what he’d do, he’d sand down the newly scraped front door and window frames. He looked down at himself and shook his head. He was now clean. He would just have to shower again before heading to work.
After a quick breakfast of egg on toast, Marcus was outside the front door in his work clothes, sandpaper in hand, ear buds in, and his favourite tunes playing.
The sun was already high in the sky, and its rays warmed the back of his neck as he made a start.
Out with the old, in with the new.
A new start.
As he began sanding, Marcus couldn’t help but play out, scene for scene, what happened last night in Ruff to Regal.
Once again, he remembered the kiss, but then he remembered what Rowan had said.
Rowan had said,he would show up tomorrow.
But what had he meant by that?
What did,show upmean?
Did he mean for Atlas? For the competition? For Marcus?
Marcus tried to decipher the statement. But the longer he sanded, the more difficult he found it.
