Springtime at Wildacre: the gorgeously uplifting, feel-good romance (Animal Ark Revisited Book 3)

by Lucy Daniels

  James grinned. ‘I love a good mystery.’

  Jimmy opened the door before they had even had a chance to ring the doorbell. ‘Come in,’ he urged them. ‘In the kitchen.’ He seemed almost too enthusiastic.

  A large cardboard box stood on one of the chairs. Abi and Max were peering in through a small gap in the lid. They were still in their pyjamas. Both of them looked up as Mandy and James came in.

  ‘Come and look.’ Mandy had never seen Abi’s eyes so wide. The girl had a breathless air, as if sharing whatever was in the box was a wonderful treat. Max’s eyes had only briefly flicked upwards on their arrival as he sent them a grin. He seemed unable to take his eyes off whatever was inside.

  Mandy walked over to the chair and peered in through the gap. In the corner a tiny shape was huddled. Reddish brown fur and a tufty tail curled upwards.

  It was a baby red squirrel. Mandy felt herself become still. She too found it difficult to take her eyes off the tiny creature, but not just because it was hypnotically cute. Mandy’s brain was suddenly whirring at a hundred miles an hour.

  Red squirrels were a protected species. If the twins had found a baby one, that meant there must be at least two more in the area. And that was wonderful, but …

  ‘What do you think?’ Abi asked, interrupting her train of thought. ‘We found it in the grass last night when we were out with Zoe and Simba.’

  ‘We think it must have fallen from its drey.’ Max’s voice was earnest.

  ‘It was in shock,’ Jimmy added. ‘We brought it home to recover. Isn’t it great?’

  Their eyes were expectant as they looked at her. They wanted to share this with her, were offering it as a treat.

  Mandy’s heart sank. Didn’t Jimmy know not to remove a wild animal from its habitat without very good reason, Mandy wondered? He must know that. When she looked back to Jimmy, his expression was guarded.

  ‘Abi and Max wanted to take care of it,’ he said. ‘We were worried about the little thing. They’ve done a good job of looking after it. It’s much better this morning.’ Though he was trying to keep his tone light, a touch of defensiveness had slipped in.

  He knew it was the wrong thing to do, Mandy thought, her heart sinking even further. Max and Abi were still gazing at her, wreathed in smiles, hoping she would add her praise.

  James was standing very still beside her. Dragging her eyes away from Jimmy, Mandy glanced at him. It wasn’t just that it was important to leave wild animals where they were; red squirrels were endangered. To remove them was breaking the law. James knew it as well as she did, but when she looked back at the children, they were still waiting for a reply.

  She dredged up a smile, trying to take the sting from her words. ‘It looks … comfortable,’ she said. ‘But, you guys, red squirrels are endangered. There are hardly any left in England so it’s really, really important not to disturb them even if you find a baby one by itself.’ She paused for a moment. The excited expressions were slipping. ‘You should have called me if you thought it was injured or unwell,’ she said. ‘Not brought it home, even if you were worried.’

  ‘We did phone you,’ Jimmy objected. ‘Your mum said she’d get you to ring right back.’

  Why hadn’t they just asked Emily, Mandy wondered. Had Jimmy not wanted to trouble her? He knew Mandy was worried about her mum. She felt her own guilt rising. If she hadn’t put the phones through …

  ‘You should have asked Mum or left it where it was and called again,’ she said to Jimmy, then spoke to the twins. ‘We’re going to have to take it back,’ she told them. ‘Straight away, I’m afraid. It was actually illegal to remove it from wherever you found it.’ She tried to keep her voice brisk, but it was the wrong thing to say. The effect was immediate. Hurt appeared in the two sets of green eyes. She looked round towards James, whose expression was grave.

  So much for being a fun friend …

  Mandy looked at Jimmy, pleading with her eyes for him to understand.

  He sighed. ‘Mandy’s right,’ he said. ‘We should take it back.’

  Mandy smiled, glad of his intervention, but he was looking at her with an odd expression. What was it he wanted? Was she supposed to tell them they’d done a good job taking care of the squirrel? They’d done the exact opposite. If the mother wouldn’t take it, then the little creature would die. However much they wanted to, the twins couldn’t look after it. What could she say? She wanted to please them, but she couldn’t lie.

  ‘You made a lovely little nest,’ she conceded, ‘but you should still have left it where you found it and we need to take it straight back.’ Despite her efforts, the twins’ expressions, which only a moment ago had been welcoming, had begun to close. Two bottom lips began to wobble.

  ‘It is a lovely nest you’ve made.’ James had dropped to his knees beside the box and having peered in, was now smiling warmly up at the twins. ‘Mandy’s right. We have to take them back, but I can see you’ve done your best to make them comfortable. You must love animals very much.’ He looked out of the back door to the garden, where Zoe was panting in the sun and Simba was dawdling round, sniffing at the flowerbeds. ‘Before we go, do you think you could introduce me to your dogs?’ he asked. ‘Are they friendly? I have two dogs myself, but they’re much smaller.’

  ‘They’re very friendly,’ Abi told him in a wavering voice.

  ‘Zoe’s going to have puppies.’ Max smiled at James as James got up from where he had been kneeling beside the box.

  ‘Wow, can we go and see them now?’ said James. The twins led him out into the garden, obligingly.

  How did he do it? Mandy wondered. How was he so easy and natural with them? There was no step-parent tension, obviously, but James had always been much better with children than she was. For a moment, she felt tears pricking behind her eyes. She blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry, but it was depressing to feel so awkward.

  She felt worse when she turned to speak to Jimmy. She wanted his comfort, but there was anger in his eyes.

  ‘Mandy,’ he said. ‘Come on.’ His voice was chilly. ‘Couldn’t you have been a bit more sensitive, told them what a good job they’d done?’

  Mandy frowned. Did he expect her to lie? She felt her own irritation rising. ‘I told them they’d made a nice nest,’ Mandy pointed out. ‘But I couldn’t tell them they’d done a good job. You know perfectly well you shouldn’t take wild animals home. You shouldn’t move them at all unless they’re hurt and then you should check with a vet. Seb Conway would have told you the same thing if you’d asked him.’

  ‘I did try to call you.’ Mandy could see Jimmy’s jaw muscles clenching.

  For a moment Mandy felt guilty again, but she pulled herself together. Jimmy had put her in an impossible situation. He shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. ‘I’m sorry if I upset them,’ she said, ‘but I don’t understand why you brought the squirrel home. You know it’s wrong. I wasn’t telling them off, but I’m not going to encourage them. I won’t lie to them.’

  ‘I don’t expect you to lie,’ Jimmy protested. He glanced again towards the door. Outside in the sunshine, James and the twins were chasing Simba. ‘But you told them they’d broken the law. Even if it’s true, there was no need to scare them. The squirrel looked dazed, they wanted to bring it home and I let them. If you want to lecture me for doing something illegal then go ahead, but leave them out of it.’

  Mandy found her fists clenching. Drawing in a long breath, she let it out slowly, making herself relax. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said again. ‘You’re right, maybe I shouldn’t have said about it being illegal, but I won’t lie to them and tell them they did a good job. I just can’t. It’s not right.’

  Jimmy’s face drew into a frown. For a moment, she wondered if Jimmy was going to ask her to leave. What was it Susan had said about her awful date? That when he’d started to tell her about the correct way to raise children, she’d taken him home? Wasn’t that what she was doing to Jimmy? But what else should she do when h
is actions might harm a wild animal? ‘I can’t tell them they did the right thing when they didn’t. It’s just who I am,’ she said finally.

  For a long moment, they gazed at one another and then the doorway darkened as James walked in, hand in hand with Abi and Max. The three of them walked straight up and stood in front of Mandy.

  ‘We’re ready to take the squirrel back now,’ Max told her. ‘James has explained how important it is not to take wild animals away from their homes.’

  ‘James said we looked after it really well and it’s good that it’s so much better this morning,’ added Abi.

  Both of them seemed so much calmer that Mandy couldn’t help but feel relieved. She glanced at James, who sent her an encouraging smile. How did he do it? she wondered. He seemed to have got the message over without upsetting them.

  ‘May I carry the box?’ James smiled as he looked from Max to Abi.

  ‘Okay, if you’re really careful,’ Abi replied.

  James bent down and lifted the carton with care. ‘We should try to be quiet,’ he whispered. ‘It’s important not to disturb it.’

  Max put his finger on his lips and Abi nodded.

  ‘Thanks James,’ said Jimmy, warmly.

  In a line, they walked outside. ‘It’ll be quicker to take the Jeep,’ Jimmy said, unlocking the door of the SUV. Abi and Max jumped into the back and James handed the box onto their laps, then climbed in behind them. Mandy was left to take the front, but Jimmy didn’t smile at her as she clambered in.

  ‘Where are we going?’ James whispered to Abi.

  ‘The little fir wood in the valley,’ Abi told him quietly.

  Mandy frowned. Which little fir wood did Abi mean? Most of the woodland here was deciduous. To her surprise, Jimmy drove the short distance down the lane, then turned onto Main Street, passing the village green, then up the lane that led towards Animal Ark. He pulled up at the side of the road beside a bungalow. One of Mandy’s clients, Liz Butler, lived there with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Emma. James got out of the car and Abi and Max led him through a gateway and up the track that threaded its way towards the little paddock beside Hope Meadows. The little trail led out onto the path she had walked along not so long ago with Susan Collins. A few minutes later, they were standing in amongst the ancient fir trees that stood in a group close to the fence.

  They stopped beside a tall Scots pine. ‘This is where we found him,’ Max said.

  ‘Poor little squirrel,’ James said, putting his arms around Abi and Max’s shoulders. ‘Hopefully, if we leave him here, his mum will come and find him.’

  Very gently between them, they tilted the box and let the lithe red-brown body out onto the clumpy grass. For a moment, it quivered there and then it made a scurrying rush across the ground, disappearing towards a mass of coppiced silver birch trunks.

  On the far side of the clearing, something white caught Mandy’s eye. ‘Planning permission,’ she read. ‘Westbow Holdings Ltd.’

  A cold feeling ran through her. This was the woodland where the factory was to be built.

  The worry about the twins and the argument with Jimmy thrust themselves to the back of her mind. If someone was building a factory here, they would destroy the squirrels’ home. It wouldn’t matter that the twins had moved the young animal if builders came and tore its habitat apart. Staring at the notice, it struck her how little information there was on it – no contact number, not even an e-mail address. For a moment she felt helpless, but then she pulled herself together. If the squirrels were in danger, then it was her job to find out what she had to do to help.

  At her side, the twins were whispering, their eyes fixed on the tree cover overhead. James and Jimmy were searching too. Mandy looked upwards. There was no sign of a drey, or that there had ever been any squirrel here. The dark green spiky branches looked black against the brightness of the blue sky.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was Friday morning again. Mandy slid the litter tray back into Pixie’s kennel. It had taken even longer than usual to clean out the cats because the catch on Gull’s cage had broken. It wasn’t difficult to mend the catches, but it was a fiddly job. It was also time-consuming. Mandy had more than enough to do already. She knew she needed to upgrade to new kennels, but there was no way she could afford it yet.

  She looked in on the rabbits, who were curled up together in a corner. The tawny owl, whom she’d named Frank, was alert but clearly quite nervous still. Mandy tried to keep her distance as she fed him and cleaned the cage. She didn’t want him getting used to human contact.

  All that was left, was to check on Mumma and her kittens. The little family were growing well with their supplemented milk. When she opened the cage door, Mumma seemed to remain calm. She was learning to trust, Mandy thought. All three fluffy babies started mewing. She reached out a hand to stroke each of them and was rewarded with three tiny purrs starting up.

  Other than the kittens, it hadn’t been a good week in general. After the squirrel had been released, Jimmy and the twins had come back to Hope Meadows to see the donkeys, but it hadn’t been a great success. James had been a hit, as had Holly and Robin, but it was obvious the twins didn’t want to be near Mandy.

  Jimmy had been polite, but Mandy had felt a distance between them that hadn’t been there before. Mandy found herself wondering how they could bridge it again. She would always put animals first, no matter what. But Jimmy would always put his children first. That was as it should be, but would this cause them to clash again in future? Were different priorities a long-term issue? Mandy just didn’t know. Sunday evening hadn’t gone as planned either. Peter Warry, who should have come for a visit to see Holly and Robin, had phoned to say there was an emergency and he couldn’t make it. He’d invited her over to see Rainbow Hill the next weekend, so she could check out where the donkeys would live. She was looking forward to it, but still it was disappointing to put Holly and Robin’s new life on hold for another week.

  When Mandy had returned to the house Emily had been in bed again. Other than James’s visit, the weekend had been a washout.

  The following week hadn’t been much better. There had been an awful lot of night calls recently. This had been her first spring in general practice and it had been tough. Despite being tired, Mandy had phoned the council on Monday morning to find out more about the planning permission for the new factory. If there were red squirrels on the land, it was important that they were protected. But the overbearing man she had spoken to would only tell her that the land had been passed for development. That meant all the checks were complete, he told her. When she had asked for contact details for Westbow, the company listed on the planning sign, he had refused to provide an e-mail address or telephone number. Mandy had written to the PO box address he’d grudgingly supplied, but she had heard nothing back. She’d been out walking with Sky on the land again and spotted a quick flash of red, but it was gone too quickly for her to take a picture, and when she got closer, she couldn’t find any evidence of squirrels.

  By now, all three kittens were on Mandy’s knee. Mumma was looking much better, Mandy thought. It was time for her daily weigh-in. She gave the kittens a last stroke as she set them back inside the warm box inside the kennel. Then she lifted Mumma and carried her through into the examination room. The scales were on a table and Mandy held the little cat in her arms as she pressed the button to switch them on. Taking her time, she lowered Mumma towards the cradle. As she released the slim body, a volley of barking rang through the wall from the dog kennel. Mumma’s eyes opened wide. She scrabbled wildly at the scales, jumped off the table, and the cradle fell to the floor with a crash.

  Mandy dropped to the floor and coaxed the frightened cat back into her arms. She held Mumma close stroking her silky fur and speaking softly. Once she was calm, Mandy carried her back into the cat room, and slipped her into her kennel.

  By the time she got through to the dogs, there was nothing to see. Brutus stood wagging his tail at her. Tablet
and Hattie stood up and stretched as if they had been lying down for ages. The other three dogs stood at their doors, peering out. There was no obvious cause for the disturbance. With a sigh, Mandy went back through into the examination room to inspect the damage. The scales were comprehensively smashed.

  For a moment, Mandy felt like throwing something at the wall in frustration. The scales had been expensive. She used them every day. Putting the pieces in the bin, she walked across to the clinic. Just before Christmas last year, everything had gone wrong. She and Jimmy had fallen out, Emily had been unwell and she’d been faced with the prospect of closing Hope Meadows, but the New Year had brought several months of peace. Emily had improved, and spring had breathed new life into the village as always. Now with summer on its way, Mandy felt her world should be filled with sunshine. Instead, her problems seemed to be piling up. At least her vet work was going well, she thought.

  Helen smiled as Mandy came in. ‘Morning! You’ll be pleased to hear it’s a quiet day,’ she said. As spring wore on, Animal Ark always became less busy. With June approaching and the animals out to grass, the rush of calvings and lambings had slowed to a trickle, though they were still busy with early morning visits to dairy cows at milking time.

  ‘Where are Mum and Dad?’ Mandy asked.

  ‘They’re in the cottage,’ Helen told her.

  Emily and Adam were sitting at the kitchen table when she went in.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Emily asked. She always knew when there was something wrong. Even after so many years, Mandy was still amazed.

  ‘The cat scales are broken,’ Mandy admitted. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of pouring out all her frustrations: about the factory being built where red squirrels were nesting, and her frustration with the kennelling and about Mr Chadwick and Mr Warry and the failed adoptions, and worst of all, Jimmy’s coolness, but she looked into Emily’s tired eyes and bit her tongue.

  ‘Well.’ Adam looked up from the newspaper he was reading with a smile. ‘Why don’t you go through to York and buy some more? You’ve had a lot extra to do lately. I’m sure we can manage.’