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

by Lucy Daniels

  James had placed the litter tray back into the cage and was in pursuit of two of the kittens, who had escaped and were chasing each other around his legs.

  ‘Mandy, we’ve got something to show you,’ Adam said. ‘You too, James, if you’re interested.’

  Shooing the kittens into the cage with their mother, James stood up and tucked in his shirt-tails. There was colour in his cheeks and his hair was sticking on end. ‘Who’d have thought such tiny animals would be so much work?’ he panted.

  Mandy wanted to hug him. He was so brave, so strong on this grim day. No wonder Paul had loved him. She contented herself with grinning at him as they made their way to the kitchen. Emily put the kettle on as Adam took out some plates. He carved thick slices of Gran Hope’s parkin and shared them out before he turned and drew some papers from a folder that was lying on top of the stove.

  With a flourish, he laid them in front of Mandy and James. ‘We’ve been working on these with Maurice Frederick,’ he announced.

  Mandy stared up at her dad. ‘The architect?’

  ‘He’s drawn up some revised plans for Hope Meadows,’ said Emily. ‘Your dad and I have been in touch with the council and we made some suggestions that should make it easier for you to get planning permission.’

  Mandy stared down at the papers. There it was in black and white: Hope Meadows. ‘What have you done to the barn?’ she said. ‘It looks much bigger than before.’ She traced her finger over the drawings. In place of the separate wooden structures she and Maurice had planned, a stone and glass construction doubled the size of the barn. Wooden extensions stood on either side, linked to the main building. Mandy turned the page and studied an image of what the completed centre would look like. Old stone was offset by stained wood. Large windows would allow natural light into all corners. The building looked graceful, classic, and functional. She couldn’t have asked for anything better.

  ‘We’ve already spoken to the council,’ said Adam. ‘As it’s only one storey and it counts as an extension of the surgery, there shouldn’t be a problem with planning.’

  ‘Maurice designed it so the materials would fit with its location,’ added Emily.

  Jumping up, Mandy hugged her parents in turn, then sat back down beside James to gaze again at the plans.

  ‘It’s beautiful.’ James ran one slender finger over the drawings. ‘And you’re really calling it Hope Meadows?’ His voice was husky. Shaking his head, he reached out to Mandy. ‘Paul would be so proud,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll never forget that he named Hope Meadows,’ Mandy promised. ‘I’ll think of Paul every single time an animal in need comes through the door.’

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Putting her mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table, Mandy dropped onto the sofa, stretching out her legs. For a moment she closed her eyes, enjoying the silence. It was Friday evening; her clinic duties were over for the weekend. She only had her rescue animals to consider, and with assistance from Graham and Jimmy with the farm animals, the immediate future looked more peaceful than it had done for several weeks.

  When the doorbell rang, she sighed. Pushing herself upright, she made her way round to the kitchen door. Outside, a huge bunch of flowers tucked under one arm, stood Simon.

  ‘Surprise!’ He swept inside and threw his free arm around her. For a moment, Mandy’s body tensed, but as she breathed in the scent of soap and sandalwood, she relaxed.

  Loosening his grip, Simon stepped back, and with a half-bow, presented her with the bouquet. As always with Simon, he had spared no expense. Gorgeous scented freesias were blended with white roses and carnations.

  ‘They’re beautiful,’ said Mandy.

  Simon looked pleased. ‘There’s something else,’ he said. ‘I haven’t booked anything yet, but I’ve made enquiries and they can fit us in. How would you like a weekend in the Crossley Arms Hotel? Dinner tonight, afternoon tea tomorrow and a horse-drawn carriage ride through York in the evening?’

  Mandy felt herself go hot and cold. It sounded wonderful, and perhaps it meant Simon was softening about York, but there was no way she could go off for the weekend. Mum and Dad had done so much in the past weeks. She couldn’t ask them to care for all her rescue animals as well.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Simon was studying her face. ‘Can’t you get away?’

  Mandy sighed. ‘I really can’t,’ she confessed. ‘Not this weekend. I need to stay and do some work with the rescue animals. Some of them have made amazing progress.’ She pictured the two oldest kittens, who were now almost fully socialised, could sit and come when called, and would walk on a harness. And Sky, of course, who was becoming far more than a mere rehabilitation project.

  Simon’s face had fallen. Mandy felt a stab of remorse. There was nothing else she could do, but Simon wasn’t ready to give up yet. ‘Really?’ he said. ‘Does it have to be you? Couldn’t someone else step in?’

  ‘There isn’t anyone else.’ For a moment, Mandy toyed with asking Jimmy, but she couldn’t ask him to do any more. Simon looked as if he was fighting back anger. Mandy felt caught between guilt and irritation. He had obviously gone to a lot of effort, but if he had asked her first, she could have told him she wouldn’t be able to get away. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed, too. The Crossley Arms was the hotel they had stayed in the first time they had been away, and they had promised one another they would go back for the carriage ride one day.

  She looked again at the huge bouquet. It reminded her of Paul’s flowers. There had been so many flowers at the funeral. It was odd, she thought, that Simon hadn’t asked about it. Mandy gave herself a mental shake. Paul and James had been her friends. Perhaps it was natural he didn’t want to discuss it.

  ‘I need to put these in water.’ She went over to the dresser, opened the cupboard and pulled out a vase. Once she had done that, she would make Simon a cup of tea and show him the Hope Meadows plans. Maybe, despite his disappointment, he would be able to see how neatly everything was falling into place. A pang of guilt crossed her mind as she filled the vase with water and crushed the stems of the flowers. She should have shared a lot of the details with him earlier, but it had been impossible, one way or another, to contact him, and things had moved so quickly. Putting the magnificent flowers in the centre of the scrubbed pine table, she put the kettle on.

  ‘Would you like some tea?’ She began to pull out mugs and the proper teapot from the dresser. Simon liked leaf tea in a warmed pot. Decanting some of the hot water from the kettle, she swirled it round in the pot and emptied it in the sink before adding the tea. Two teaspoons and one extra for the pot. ‘Milk or lemon?’ she prompted, and to her relief, he managed to find a wan smile.

  ‘Lemon, please.’ With a sigh, he sank into a chair. Pouring the almost-boiling water onto the tea, Mandy set the pot on the table, sliced some lemon and sloshed some milk into her own mug. Grabbing the plans, she sat down beside him.

  ‘What’s this?’ Simon frowned as he took the papers.

  Steeling herself, Mandy explained, ‘It’s some plans. Architect plans for a rescue centre. I’ve spoken to Mum and Dad and they are happy for us to go ahead. In fact, they’ve been really helpful.’ She stopped, aware she was talking too much. Better give Simon a chance to look at the drawings for himself. It was time to pour the tea. Her hand was shaking.

  When Simon spoke, his voice was cold. ‘I would have thought,’ he said, ‘you would have talked to me before throwing time and money at some idea we hadn’t agreed on. How can you work here if we’re running a clinic in Leeds?’

  Mandy winced. ‘It’s like I told you before. If we have the rescue centre here, we can run a clinic in York. It can still work.’

  He was glaring at her now. ‘I know you suggested that,’ he said, ‘but I told you I didn’t want to. We have to be practical about how we spend our money. There’s no way we can run a clinic in Welford, and York is an unknown quantity. I’m not giving up all that we’ve planned, least of all for some
fairy-tale, pie-in-the-sky, idealistic nonsense.’ Mandy blinked. ‘I’ve spent hours visiting premises in Leeds. Samantha and I thought two of them were pretty much perfect. Have we been wasting our time completely?’

  Mandy was reeling. Idealistic nonsense? Was that really what Simon thought of her rescue centre idea? And she had tried to talk to him. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known she was considering something different. If she had pursued her ideas without telling him, so had he, dragging Samantha around to look at properties.

  Since Paul’s death, it felt even more important to Mandy that she was near York. James would need her in the next months. She was about to say as much before she bit the words back. The last time she had mentioned James and Paul with regard to Hope Meadows, it had escalated the row she and Simon had never quite resolved.

  ‘If I’ve been wasting my time and money, then you have just as much,’ she said. ‘I told you about my ideas before. Why did you carry on looking at places in Leeds? And what does Samantha have to do with us?’ Samantha and I thought two of them were pretty much perfect. ‘It’s none of her business what we decide.’

  Simon ran both hands through his hair, making the curls spring up. ‘You’re right. It isn’t. But do you expect me to do everything on my own? I was honestly only thinking of us. I thought it was what you wanted.’

  A wave of tiredness passed through Mandy. ‘I can’t cope with this right now,’ she said. ‘Not after the last week.’

  Simon’s voice was more gentle as he went on. ‘I know your rescue centre means a lot to you. But other people have ambitions, too. If we want to do this together, we have to find some common ground.’

  Mandy lifted her mug and took a mouthful of tea. Wasn’t that what she was trying to do? She couldn’t tell any more who was right and who was wrong.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, fighting to keep her voice steady. How complicated this had all become. ‘I should have discussed it with you before going ahead with the architect. Can we talk about it later?’

  Simon sighed. ‘Of course we can.’ Reaching out a hand, he patted her knee. ‘You do get carried away, saving your animals one by one, don’t you?’

  One by one. Mandy thought of the wedding. Poor Paul. Poor James. Compared to what he was going through, any squabbles she had with Simon were meaningless. Or perhaps – Simon didn’t have as much meaning for her as he used to? Mandy swallowed. Have we reached the end of the road?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Simon kept his word and didn’t raise the subject of Hope Meadows again that evening. Instead, he went to Upper Welford Hall with Mandy and met Bill, the sheep and the cows for the first time, then helped her do the evening rounds in the residential unit.

  Mandy was amused by his fascination with the tortoiseshell’s kittens, and the simple things she had taught them.

  ‘I always thought cats were impossible to train,’ he said as he watched the kittens race across the floor when Mandy called to them.

  On Saturday morning, Mandy asked him to come with her to see Roo Dhanjal and check her house was suitable for cats. Simon beamed at her. ‘You take this all very seriously, don’t you? Of course I’ll come.’

  As they walked through the campsite, Mandy’s heart was racing. Although she and James had rehomed so many animals before, this was the first time she had carried out an official inspection on behalf of Hope Meadows. She had a mental checklist of things she wanted to discuss, and she’d found a form online which would give the Dhanjals official responsibility for the cats.

  The campsite looked much smarter than Mandy remembered. As well as an area for tents and caravans, there were wooden chalets set at polite distances along the riverbank. Mandy was pleased to see the campers were encouraged to leave their vehicles in a car park outside. Any cars that did enter were limited to walking speed, and had to give way to bicycles and pedestrians. She couldn’t have asked for a safer environment for two cats.

  The Dhanjals’ house, like the chalets, was made of dark varnished wood. The sound of a radio drifted from an open window. Stepping onto the terrace at the front, Mandy rang the bell. As they waited for the door to open, she turned around. Almost the whole campsite was visible from here, spread out across inviting green grass.

  When the door swung open, they were greeted by the warm scent of cooking spices. Roo Dhanjal stood there carrying a delectable baby in her arms. A small girl was half hidden behind her, peeking out from the folds of her mother’s wide-legged trousers. Today Roo’s hijab was the colour of copper beech leaves, glowing against her skin.

  ‘Hello. Welcome.’ Pulling the door wide open, Roo beckoned them into a large open-plan living area. ‘This is Herbinder … Herbie.’ She put a hand on the little girl’s head. Huge brown eyes peered up at them before they disappeared again into Roo’s tunic. ‘And this is Kiran.’ She indicated the baby. ‘Is this your young man?’ Her eyes twinkled at Simon.

  ‘Sort of,’ Mandy managed. ‘This is Simon.’

  The house was just as attractive inside. Wooden beams were supported by thick upright timber posts. Heavy terracotta pots held palm plants, their deep green fronds lending a cool feel to the room.

  ‘They’re Paradise palms.’ Roo noticed Mandy stroking one of the leaves. ‘They’re safe for cats. I did check. And the pots are heavy enough they can’t be pulled over.’ She led them across the room and opened a scrubbed wooden door, which had already been fitted with a cat-flap. ‘They’ll have a litter tray in here.’

  Mandy could see it was a sizeable cupboard, which would be nice and private.

  ‘And there will be another in the utility room off the kitchen. They have a bed in here.’ Roo led her through to the kitchen. ‘We thought we could feed them and get them used to their cat basket at the same time.’ She led them through to a smaller room off the kitchen, which had a sink, as well as a washing machine and tumble-drier. ‘For now, everything is stored in the utility room, which is out here.’

  Throughout the tour, Mandy had been ticking off the list in her head. They discussed worming, vaccinations, flea control and future veterinary care. Roo seemed to have thought of everything.

  ‘I’ll be at the end of the phone day and night if anything crops up,’ Mandy told her, ‘but for now, do you have any other questions?’

  Roo smiled. ‘I don’t think I have any questions about the kittens,’ she said. ‘You’ve been very thorough. But would you like to have some lunch? It would be lovely if you would stay a while.’

  ‘That would be nice,’ said Mandy, adding, ‘I’m vegetarian, though. If it’s not possible, then don’t worry.’

  ‘Come through to the kitchen.’ Roo turned and led the way. ‘We have plenty of dishes without meat. Sit down, please.’ She pulled out two chairs and ushered Simon and Mandy into them. Placing Kiran into a pram and strapping him in, she rocked him for a moment. She lifted Herbie into a high-chair and handed her a piece of chapatti. Mandy was amazed how quiet the children were. The kittens would be more boisterous!

  Roo bustled around the kitchen, taking pots and pans from a cupboard in the corner, boiling water to cook rice. As she heated up the sauces, wonderful scents hovered in the air. Mandy’s mouth started watering.

  ‘These look delicious,’ she said as Roo set down the dishes on the table.

  ‘Please help yourselves,’ Roo urged. ‘This is a kadala curry: a Southern Indian curry made with chickpeas. And this is our brinjal bhaji.’ Mandy could hardly wait to try the food. Aubergine bhaji had long been a favourite. The chickpeas smelled wonderful as well.

  Roo served Herbie some of both dishes, and more chapatti, and then turned to Simon. ‘So tell me more about yourself,’ she said. ‘You’re very lucky to have such a lovely young lady.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he said. Mandy felt her ears burn.

  ‘How long have you been a couple?’ The question was directed at Simon. Mandy took a mouthful of curry. The flavours of tomato, chilli and coconut cream sang on the fork.
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br />   ‘Just over a year.’ Simon looked down at the food on his plate. ‘This is great, thanks.’

  ‘It’s amazing.’ Mandy seized the opportunity to join the conversation and hopefully steer it away from the subject of their relationship. ‘What spices do you use?’

  ‘A whole selection,’ Roo replied. ‘There’s chilli, coriander and cumin and some of my husband Josh’s special garam masala.’ She looked from Simon to Mandy and back again.

  ‘So you two …’ Mandy’s toes curled as she heard the playful tone. ‘I know a year isn’t considered long these days, but Josh and I got married much more quickly than that. He’s a wonderful husband. I’m sure you would be, too, Simon. What do you say, Mandy?’

  Mandy could feel her face going scarlet. The only proposals she’d heard from Simon had been business proposals. ‘I’m sure he would,’ she said. The conversation was becoming excruciating. She began to eat more quickly, swallowing down the delicious scented rice, chickpeas and aubergine. ‘This really is delicious.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Roo stood up and moved to the counter. ‘Would you like something sweet?’ she offered. ‘I have some imarti here that Josh made earlier.’

  Mandy pushed her chair out. ‘I couldn’t eat another thing,’ she said. ‘And we’ve got another appointment,’ she added. They had arranged to meet Molly Future at Upper Welford Hall. After years of seeing her parents eat on the run, it wasn’t like Mandy to cut any meal short unless it was essential. But with the chat taking a direction that was torturously uncomfortable, she was glad of the excuse to escape.

  ‘You’re quite sweet enough anyway, aren’t you?’ Mandy tried not to cringe as Simon wrapped an arm around her waist before planting a kiss on her cheek.

  ‘You do look lovely together.’ Roo’s voice was wistful. ‘I remember when Josh and I met. He looked at me just like that.’ Having cleaned Herbie’s face with a dishcloth, she lifted the little girl down from her high chair. ‘You will come back, won’t you?’ she said. ‘See the kittens, once they’re here, and try some more food?’