Summer at Hope Meadows: the perfect feel-good summer read (Animal Ark Revisited Book 1)

by Lucy Daniels

  When Ranjit returned, she spoke to him. ‘We’ve done our part,’ she said, ‘in removing the cats. You will be coming back to make sure Miss Kitty has help, won’t you? Not just practical help, but someone to talk to as well. Nobody in their right mind would think it was okay to live like this.’

  ‘I’ll get in touch with one of the council officers,’ Ranjit said. ‘They can come back with an order that would allow them access to clean up. I can get a doctor out as well. They’ll do an assessment.’

  ‘That would be good.’ Mandy was beginning to feel shivery again.

  ‘Speaking of doctors, we should get you to one.’ Geoff was looking at her wrapped-up hand. Blood had begun to seep through the handkerchief.

  Mandy shook her head. ‘I promised Miss Kitty I would look after these cats,’ she said. ‘Someone can look at me when we get back to the clinic.’

  Ranjit smiled at her, his eyes the colour of melted chocolate. ‘You really do love animals more than anything else, don’t you, Mandy? I don’t know what they’d do without you!’

  ‘You know what, Mandy?’ They were almost back at Thurston’s. Mandy could see the sign further up the road.

  ‘No, Geoff,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what.’ Her thumb was throbbing and she was holding her hand against her chest.

  The welfare officer glanced at her. ‘I think you could be as crazy as Miss Kitty. What did you want to go in that bathroom on your own for?’

  ‘Well, I didn’t know it was a bathroom,’ Mandy pointed out. ‘I didn’t know George was there. And I had absolutely no idea he would attack. Most nervous cats run away. George has learned to bite and scratch. Anyway,’ she added as the van drew to a halt, ‘better that I take George away before he hurts any other cats, or worse, Miss Kitty.’

  ‘You were very brave,’ Geoff said, ‘but still mad. Far too soft.’

  They climbed out of the van and walked round to the boot. Instead of opening it, Geoff stopped and looked at her. To Mandy’s surprise, he reached out and gave her a hug. ‘You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know,’ he said. ‘I’m going to miss you, Mandy Hope.’

  ‘I’ll come and visit you at your smallholding.’ Mandy smiled. ‘Gran is always looking for different kinds of wool. I’m sure she’d love to try alpaca.’

  ‘You would be more than welcome.’ Geoff opened the van. ‘Right then. We’d better get the ill and injured cats inside.’

  To Mandy’s relief, Peter and Jenny appeared. ‘Looks like you’ve got your hands full,’ Peter said, but Jenny was eyeing the now-red handkerchief that was tied round Mandy’s thumb.

  ‘Come on, Mandy,’ she said. ‘Before you do anything else, I’m going to take a look at whatever is under that dressing.’

  Mandy allowed herself to be led through to the prep room, where Jenny stripped away the makeshift bandage. The nurse cleaned the puncture wound on her thumb, as well as the scratches on her neck and arm.

  ‘You know all about Pasteurella infections, don’t you?’ Jenny reminded her.

  ‘I know.’ Mandy sighed. ‘If the wound on my thumb swells, or I get red streaks running up my arm, I’ll see a doctor.’ She knew how serious the problems could be with cat-bite wounds. It didn’t do to take any chances.

  Jenny looked sad as she finished bandaging Mandy’s thumb. ‘You really are a champion for all animals. Humans as well,’ she added. ‘I’m going to miss you.’ For the second time that afternoon, Mandy found herself engulfed in an unexpected hug. She felt heat rising up her face, but couldn’t help being warmed by Jenny’s words.

  She hugged Jenny back. Despite her excitement about going back to Welford, there were lots of things she was going to be sorry to leave.

  ‘I’ll miss you, too,’ Mandy whispered.

  Chapter Six

  Putting down her knife and fork, Mandy looked around the table at the people she had come to know so well during the past year.

  David raised his eyebrows at her across the table. His smooth hair hung loose around his face. ‘Was it as good as usual?’

  Mandy glanced at her empty plate, then back up, meeting his question with a smile. ‘It was great,’ she said.

  Jenny, Thurston’s head nurse, who had organised her night out, had booked Mandy’s favourite vegetarian restaurant in Leeds. Mandy had just finished a delicious plate of lentil and vegetable pie topped with mash. She would miss this place, she thought, looking around the low-ceilinged room with muted green walls. Simon and she had eaten here so often that the waiters greeted them by name when they arrived. Not that she was going to be away forever, she reminded herself, as Simon put down his cutlery and reached out to squeeze her hand under the table.

  From the far end of their group, there came a loud ‘chink, chink, chink’ and Mandy turned to see that Amy, the owner of Thurston’s, was tapping her glass with a teaspoon. Her boss was resplendent in an unexpected scarlet dress, which offset her dark curly hair and the gold earrings that glittered in the candlelight. She waited for silence around the table before she spoke.

  ‘We’re here tonight to say goodbye to Mandy,’ she announced. ‘Mandy, you’ve been with us for a year and we’ve learned a lot from you, as I hope you’ve learned from us.’ She definitely had, Mandy thought. She had arrived as a new graduate and was leaving with a year’s experience. ‘I’m not going to go on for too long,’ Amy went on, ‘but I wanted to thank you for all your hard work. Also, I wanted to say that if you feel like coming back to Leeds and returning to small animal work, I hope you’ll let me know and I’ll do my best to find something for you.’

  Mandy felt a burst of confused emotion. It was lovely to hear Amy’s praise, but it was something of a double-edged sword. She was acutely aware that the plans Simon was making would put them in direct competition with Thurston’s. She found herself thinking that if they did go ahead, they should look for premises in a different part of the city.

  ‘Thanks, Amy.’ Mandy knew she had to say something. Brevity was best. ‘I’ve enjoyed working with you, too.’ Her eyes flitted around the table, taking in the shining eyes and the faces, softened and golden in the muted light. ‘I’ve learned so much since I came here and I’ll miss you all.’ There were smiles and appreciative murmurs from all sides.

  ‘I think Jenny has something for you.’ Amy looked across the table at the head nurse, who had abandoned her usual jeans for a warm yellow jersey dress. Jenny reached down behind her chair and hoisted up a large plastic bag, from which she started to pull a series of oddly shaped presents.

  ‘These first.’ She handed over two distinctly boot-shaped parcels. How typical of Jen, Mandy thought with a private smile, to pack two boots separately. The paper was crazy, too: bright yellow gift-wrap printed with lime-green frogs, each wearing a crown.

  With a grin, Mandy ripped open the first parcel to reveal a matt-green Huntress wellington boot. She put it on the floor beside her foot and lifted the other boot-shaped package. ‘If this is another left boot, I’ll know you’re having a dig at my dancing skills,’ she joked, but when she ripped off the paper, it was the second boot of the pair. Slipping off her shoes, she slid her feet into them. They fitted perfectly.

  ‘We thought you should start your new job in comfort,’ Saloni said.

  ‘There’s more!’ Jenny pulled forth another parcel. This one was large and squashy, and Mandy was delighted to find a thick pair of socks with horses galloping around the top seam and some woollen thermal underwear.

  ‘I’m not sure why you think I’ll need thermal underwear in Welford in August,’ she said, ‘but I’ll store them carefully, and wherever I am when January comes, I’m sure they’ll be very useful.’

  But Jenny wasn’t finished. ‘One last thing,’ she said, and pulled out a rectangular box-shaped gift with familiar dimensions. Grinning, Mandy took the parcel and opened it. She was unsurprised to find a box of the long plastic gloves she would need for her large animal cases.

  ‘Well, thanks very much for these,’ she
said as everyone laughed at her expression. Pressing in the perforated section on top of the carton, Mandy extracted two gloves and pulled them on, right up to the shoulder. ‘Now I’m prepared for anything,’ she said. ‘But in particular, I think I might be ready for some dessert.’

  ‘Dressed like that, you’d be safe if you chose the Mississippi Mud Pie!’ called Peter, his blue eyes sparkling.

  ‘You’re always so thoughtful,’ Mandy shot back, making a face at her soon-to-be-ex boss. When the waiter came, she ordered the chocolate brownie with ice cream as usual. It might be the last time she had it for a while.

  The next day was her last in Leeds. When her shift finished at lunchtime, she wandered slowly around the clinic. Samantha was in the dental unit, while Jenny monitored the anaesthetic. Peter was in theatre with Momal. Simon was consulting. Mandy walked to the back of the clinic to her favourite place, the kennel room. This was where all the sick patients were hospitalised and where animals were cared for after operations, once they were sufficiently awake that they didn’t need constant supervision. Saloni was there, checking a bitch that had been spayed that morning.

  ‘How’s she doing?’ Mandy peered past the nurse into the cage. The little dog was sitting up, though she looked sorry for herself in her giant plastic collar. A white bandage covered the wound on her abdomen.

  ‘She’s doing well,’ Saloni replied. ‘Her colour’s good and she doesn’t seem sore. Simon’s going to discharge her when her owner arrives.’

  Mandy watched as the nurse removed the catheter from the animal’s vein, set a bowl of water in the kennel and then left. There was another dog in the clinic, which Mandy had admitted that morning for stabilisation of his diabetes. She felt sad she wouldn’t be able to see the job through. She opened the kennel and leaned on the metal edge for several minutes, scratching his ear. At least Samson was in good hands, she thought. Simon had assured her he would take responsibility for his ongoing care.

  She moved through into the cat kennel where a ginger tom who had come in for a tail amputation was recovering from his anaesthetic. He stood up when he saw Mandy, rubbing his face on the bars of the cage and meowing until Mandy opened the door. He crept out of the kennel and up onto her shoulder, pressing his face against hers. She closed her eyes, enjoying the caress of his soft fur against her cheek and the vibrations of his purr in her ear. A few moments later, knowing she had to get on, she disengaged his claws from her top and set him back down, shutting him in carefully. Forcing herself to turn her back on her patients for the last time, she went to look for Simon.

  He was still consulting. Mandy stood outside the door, listening to his voice, wondering what the future would bring. Maybe in five years she would be standing outside the consulting room of their own practice listening to the same positive tones. Unable to put off the inevitable any longer, she went to consulting room two, where she had spent so many hours during the past year. Her Littmann stethoscope was hanging from a hook on the wall, and she took it down with a feeling of sadness. Despite Amy’s kind words last night, it was unlikely she would be returning. Closing the door behind her, she walked through to the office. There were a couple of behaviour and animal handling books that she needed to collect from the shelf. With a last glance around the prep room, she exited the practice by the side door and walked across the car park to her car.

  It didn’t take long to drive to the flat that she had shared with Samantha for the year. Not that she had spent much time there since she and Simon had got together. She had already packed most of her things. The bedroom looked very bare. The clock her parents had given her when she left for university was missing from the bedside table. There was a space on the wall where she had taken down two paintings: one a sheep in a snowstorm, the other two ponies up on the fells. She had bought them, along with two wildlife books, from James when he had first set up his café. They would go on the walls back at home in her bedroom, she decided.

  Throwing the last few things into her case, she shut the lid and carried it into the hallway. Just the kitchen to check now. Samantha had stuck a photograph to the fridge door, Mandy noticed, and she moved nearer to look. It was taken on one of their practice nights out. Mandy remembered the evening well. They had gone bowling and had a drink together afterwards and the picture showed them just as they were leaving the bar. Jenny and Amy were there, and Saloni too. Samantha was grinning widely, one arm around David and the other round Simon. She had been really dressed up that night, Mandy thought, admiring Sam’s body-fitting red dress and dazzling necklace. She looked more closely at her own image. She’d shut her eyes as the flash had gone off. Not terribly flattering. Simon looked good though. He had worn a soft green shirt that night that suited him well.

  Mandy smiled at the memory and, leaving the picture where it was, did a quick check of the drawers and cupboards. Nothing left that she could see. She went back into the hallway, lifted her case and hauled it down the stairs. It felt very final as she shut the front door behind her. Now all she had to do was pop over to Simon’s to pick up the last of her things and she would be on her way.

  She was glad to see Simon’s car outside the house when she arrived. Even though the clinic didn’t provide its own on-call service, there was never any guarantee you would escape at the allotted time. Mandy had been touched when she asked if she should post her key through his letterbox and Simon had told her to keep it. ‘After all,’ he had said, ‘if you come back for the weekend and I’m not around, it will be much better if you can let yourself in. You’re welcome any time. I want you to feel this is your home just as much as your parents’ house.’

  Mounting the front door step, it felt so natural to get out the key and slide it into the lock without having to ring the doorbell. Mandy opened the door and walked in.

  ‘Hello again.’ Simon appeared from the kitchen and gave her a kiss. He was brandishing an oven glove and once again, the wonderful scent of cooking was wafting from the kitchen.

  ‘What are you making?’ Mandy followed him along the corridor.

  ‘Just some soup,’ he said.

  Mandy smiled. It was always ‘just’ something when Simon cooked during the week, but it inevitably tasted marvellous. ‘Cream of mushroom with garlic bread,’ he added, setting out bowls, plates and spoons on the table. ‘I thought you should have something to eat before your journey. If you want to throw a few things into your car, there’s time before it’s ready.’

  Mandy sighed. She was going to miss Simon so much and she would have loved to stay and watch him cook, but she did as he suggested and rushed around the house, trying to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Somehow it was hard to spot things when they were all mixed up with other stuff. ‘I hope I’ve got everything,’ she said as she arrived back in the kitchen.

  Simon put his head on one side and raised his eyebrows, his eyes amused. ‘It wouldn’t be so bad if you forgot something, would it?’ he queried. ‘You can leave as much stuff as you like. You’re only going to be a couple of hours away. It’s not like you’re moving to the moon. Anyway, you’ll be back at weekends, won’t you?’

  ‘Or you could visit me,’ Mandy pointed out.

  ‘I could do that,’ Simon said, ‘though there are things we have to tackle that we can’t organise over there. You’ll need to come over one weekday as well. We must talk to the bank about a business loan.’

  ‘I’ll need to see when I can get away,’ Mandy warned him. ‘You will wait, won’t you, before doing anything? There’s a lot we still need to discuss.’ Although she wanted to please Simon, she was finding it hard to see beyond the next few months. She wanted to make sure the situation at Animal Ark was properly settled before starting anything else. ‘That soup smells wonderful,’ she added, hoping to distract him from her non-committal reply.

  ‘I’ll just check the bread.’ Simon wielded the oven gloves again and within a moment, he was pulling apart a garlic-butter-slathered baguette. ‘Definitely ready,’ he said and
began to ladle soup into the two bowls. ‘Tuck in!’ With a flourish, he placed them on the table. Mandy sat down, realising she was very hungry. With all the upheaval, she had forgotten to eat any lunch. Both soup and bread tasted fantastic.

  After they had eaten, Mandy wandered into the sitting room at the front of the house while Simon finished putting the leftover soup away. A stack of papers lay on the coffee table, each with the name of an estate agent at the top. Simon must have put them out when she had been upstairs. They hadn’t been there earlier when she checked the room for things to pack. Picking up the top one, Mandy saw a photo of a glass-fronted shop. ‘2,000 sq. ft. Development opportunity,’ she read.

  Simon appeared in the doorway, carrying a jug of coffee and two mugs. ‘Good, you’ve seen them,’ he said, sounding excited. ‘What do you think?’

  Mandy, whose eyes had been glued to the enormous six-figure price at the top of the page, looked up at Simon and then back down at the papers.

  ‘What are these?’ she asked, though the answer was obvious. ‘I thought we agreed we would wait?’

  Simon was wearing his hurt look again. ‘I know we did,’ he said, ‘but I couldn’t resist having a look. I need something to look forward to, with you going away.’

  Mandy closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. When they had first discussed her move to Welford, Simon had seemed fine with it. He had even seemed encouraging. But now it was becoming a reality, he appeared to be pushing for her to come back as soon as possible. Mandy couldn’t help feeling frustrated. Not that she didn’t want to return. She very much did. But she didn’t want to rush away from her parents while they needed her. It wouldn’t be forever.