by Alex Brown
‘Yes, I remember her talking to me about her husband.’ April nodded solemnly, before smiling and adding, ‘That’s settled, then. The barn is yours − a good cause for the animals. Much better than letting it go to some unscrupulous property magnate looking to make a quick profit – I get them all the time trying to entice me to sell sections of the fields, orchards and the old barns.’
‘Well in that case, we can’t thank you enough,’ Amber said, her voice full of relief. ‘But I’m imagining the barn will need an awful lot of money spending on it.’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ Taylor immediately said, completely unperturbed. There was no way she was letting this chance go. She was determined, and had instantly decided that she would do absolutely everything and anything to make the barn into the perfect home for her precious pets.
Chapter Six
With no time to waste, Taylor had set to work right away. In just a few days she had already managed to rally some of the villagers into helping out with fundraising. Monty had made a special guest appearance at the British Legion Christmas luncheon in the village hall, where all the members had generously donated over £300 in total, which was a fantastic start, and now she was busy setting up a Just Giving page online to see if any fellow animal lovers around the world would be moved by the plight of the animals at Paws Pet Parlour. Even if only a handful of people donated a few quid each it could make a difference and pay for some much-needed pet beds and food at the very least. And, as soon as Christmas was over, she fully intended to canvas all the local Tindledale tradespeople to see if she could persuade some of them to help out with the renovation work required on the barn. Having seen it now, Taylor knew that April certainly hadn’t been exaggerating when she said it needed work. Surely some of the farmers would help, and she was pretty certain her uncle could be persuaded to lay a proper floor at cost price. He owned a carpet shop in Market Briar, so was bound to be able to get his hands on some lino, which was all that was needed, really. Practical and easy to keep clean.
‘Ta-da!’ Taylor pressed enter on the keyboard of her laptop and watched as the Just Giving page went live online. ‘Right, now we must get on and help Mum in the pet parlour,’ she whispered to Monty, giving him an affectionate stroke as she went to stand up. ‘Oops!’ She ducked down to retrieve the pen that was on the table and had slipped off as she moved. But, before she could do so, Monty darted under the table and got it with his paw to stop it rolling away. He then picked it up in his mouth and carefully placed it back on the table. ‘Wow! Did you see that, Mum?’ Taylor bellowed.
‘See what?’ she bellowed right back from the pet parlour. Taylor walked through the doorway, motioning for Monty to follow. And, sure enough, when bidden, Monty retrieved the pen again from the floor under the reception desk, then replaced it in exactly the same spot from where it had slipped off. ‘Blimey, that’s clever. What else can he do?’ Amber asked as she shampooed Basil, the naughty black Scottie dog who belonged to Sybs, the manager of the Haberdashery shop, and who was currently covered in fox poo after his morning run in the fields.
‘I don’t know. I just came across this by chance. Let’s see …’ Taylor tipped a big basket of towels out onto the floor.
‘What are you doing?’ Amber yelled. ‘I’ve just stacked them all there ready to go into the washing machine.’
‘Watch and wait. Monty’s clearly a very clever boy − I bet he’ll get the hang of this in no time.’ And she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as if to call him over to her before kneeling down on the tiles and picking up one of the towels with her teeth. But nothing happened. The majestic black Labrador tilted his head to one side and gave her a weary look as if to say, ‘What on earth are you doing, woman?’ Taylor giggled and shook her head. Cheeky boy. She wondered what his command was. If it wasn’t the tongue click, it must be a hand gesture. She pondered, determined to figure it out. And then, yes, of course, she should have known: Ed would have trained Monty to obey a silent command. there was no way a soldier could risk making a single sound if he was busy staking out an insurgent’s hideaway. He’d blow his cover in seconds. But what was it?
‘What are you doing?’ Amber frowned as Taylor tried various hand commands before stumbling across the thumb-and-forefinger movement, which made Monty come to her right away.
‘Cracked it. See?’ And Taylor did it again, tilted her hand, and Monty sat right on cue. ‘OK, let’s see if he does it now.’ After showing Monty where the washing machine was and putting one of the towels in the drum, Taylor gave the command and, as if by magic, Monty dived into the pile of laundry and, one by one, he picked up the towels and put them into the washing machine in record time.
‘Blimey, Taylor, that’s incredible!’ Amber said, securing Basil and then putting her hand on her hips. ‘Well, he can certainly stay as long as he likes.’
‘Look!’ Amber cried and they both turned to see Monty deposit the last towel in the drum and then push the washing-machine door closed with his good paw. ‘Awww, who’s a clever boy, then?’ Taylor gushed, going to smother Monty with cuddles, who deftly lay down on his back instead and gently kicked his legs in her direction.
‘He wants a tummy rub,’ Amber said, and they both willingly obliged.
‘I wonder what else he can do.’
‘Now don’t be making him perform like a circus animal, love. Remember he’s a highly trained working dog.’
‘I know. But he’s enjoying it, see?’ And indeed he was. Monty was sitting in front of Taylor now, his good eye all sparkly and alert, his tail sweeping the floor as he waited for his next task.
‘In that case, see if he can run the hoover round,’ Amber suggested with a laugh.
‘Ha-ha, very funny, Mum.’
The door opened and Kitty came into the pet parlour with Teddie beside her clutching a piece of paper in her mitten-covered hands.
‘Hiya, we just wondered how Monty was getting on. Is now a good time to visit?’ Kitty asked, smiling tentatively.
‘Yes, of course. Come in and see for yourself,’ Taylor started, looking around for Monty, but he was nowhere to be seen. ‘Where did he go, Mum?’
‘Into the lounge, I think.’
‘I made him a card,’ Teddie said, pushing the piece of paper out to show to Taylor. It was a picture of a black felt-tip blob with four legs sticking out of it, surrounded by kisses and snowflakes and mini-Christmas trees.
‘Ooh, he’s going to love it,’ Taylor enthused.
‘It’s to make him happy because he’s sad and misses Daddy,’ the little girl said, looking at Kitty for reassurance.
‘Come on, let’s see if we can find him.’ Taylor led them through to the lounge and stopped abruptly. Curled up on the sofa together were Monty and Lexie. Cuddling almost. Monty was stretched out taking up half the sofa and little Lexie was nestled in beside him with her tiny chin resting on his tummy. Both dogs were snoring contentedly.
‘Awww, how sweet,’ Kitty whispered, so as not to wake them, but, the second she spoke, Monty opened his one eye and sat up before nudging Lexie to move along so that he could leap off the sofa. He came over to Teddie and stood right in front of her wagging his tail but keeping his head bowed as if he were apologising for upsetting her with the quilt. Teddie gingerly reached out a hand to stroke him, and the dog instantly perked up. He lifted his head and let her tickle his chest before licking the back of her hand. Teddie giggled.
‘My hand’s all wet!’ She grinned.
‘He’s just kissing you,’ Taylor said encouragingly. And then they all watched as Monty nudged Teddie’s hand and went to turn back to the sofa as if asking her to follow him. She did, and then squealed with delight when Monty pressed his nose against the side of the caramel-coloured cocker spaniel’s face. ‘I think he wants you to stroke Lexie, too,’ Taylor suggested before turning to Kitty and adding, ‘She’s so shy and timid, poor thing.’
‘Ah, look!’ Kitt
y exclaimed as Teddie ran her fingers gently over Lexie’s silky-soft, honey-hued ear. Monty was wagging his tail so enthusiastically it was making his whole body ripple. Lexie tentatively shuffled herself closer to the edge of the sofa, keeping her eyes on Monty as if for reassurance – he obliged by giving her head a big, encouraging lick, so she pressed her two front paws down onto the carpet in front of Teddie, who wrapped her arms around the little dog’s neck to give her an enormous cuddle.
‘She loves you, Teddie,’ Taylor said, grinning, and then they all looked at Monty, who was wheedling his head in and under the side of Teddie’s arm now, keen for a big cuddle too. ‘Oh, dear, looks like someone’s getting jealous.’
Kitty laughed and looked at Taylor.
‘Thank you so much for taking Monty in. It looks as if he’s made himself right at home.’
‘He has, and he’s no trouble. And so clever, too. He helped with the washing earlier.’
‘Really?’
‘Yep. When do you think he can come home?’ Taylor paused and looked at her mum. ‘No pressure.’
‘Soon. I promise.’ Kitty watched Teddie and Monty − and little Lexie − together. The three of them were cuddled on the sofa now and the scene was idyllic, but what if the same thing happened again? Kitty couldn’t help worrying that it might be worse next time. What if something else triggered Monty’s anxiety over losing Ed − a toy or a piece of music, anything?
‘Well, just let me know when you’re ready. He can stay for a bit longer, but—’
‘I know, and thank you.’ Kitty smiled apologetically. ‘You’re fit to bursting, I can see that, and if there’s anything I can do to help with your fundraising … I heard from April that you’re hoping to move into one of the old barns.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘Well, I’m truly grateful for you helping out with Monty, so what’s the best way to make a donation?’ Kitty went to find her purse in her coat pocket.
‘Thank you,’ Taylor beamed. ‘I’ve actually set up a Just Giving page online.’
‘Perfect, if you can show me how it works, I’ll make a pledge right now.’
‘Oh, that would be lovely. It’s right here on my laptop.’ Taylor turned to open the screen and, after tapping the mouse pad, she gasped.
‘What is it?’ Kitty leaned in to see.
‘Look.’ Taylor tapped the screen to show the balance. ‘I only set it up a little while ago and there’s nearly six thousand pounds donated already.’ She placed her hands over her mouth, which had now formed a large O.
‘Wow!’ The pair of them scanned down to see the donations. Mostly five or ten pounds each, so how come it was so high? And then they spotted it. ‘Five thousand pounds from a company called DW Gourmet in Tindledale!’ Kitty exclaimed, wondering who had been so generous.
‘DW Gourmet?’ Taylor echoed, and then clapped her hands together, exclaiming, ‘Dan Wright! It has to be. The celebrity chef from London. He lives in Tindledale now, and who else do you know in the village who has money like that to give to my motley crew of furry friends?’ Taylor was ecstatic and vowed to visit Dan to thank him − with a bit of luck his food truck would be stationed in the village square this evening as it usually was, selling gourmet burgers and artisan pizzas from his mobile wood-fired oven.
‘It’s amazing!’ Kitty patted Taylor’s arm and, after making her more modest donation, she went to untangle her daughter from between the two dogs, Monty and Lexie, all three nestled together on the sofa.
Chapter Seven
Taylor secured the festive red ribbon to Monty’s collar and, after making sure it was positioned just right, she did the same for Lexie and made her way into the old folk’s home in the cul-de-sac on the new housing development down near Tindledale train station. She had volunteered to come and entertain the elderly residents with some of Monty’s clever abilities, having seen him do all sorts now: pick up a sock and pull it on and over her toes before tugging it up to her ankle; open a packet of crisps by holding it on the floor with his good paw and giving it a good, but careful, yank with his front teeth; not to mention his expertise with the laundry. And Lexie, having come out of her shell a bit more with Monty’s encouragement, was the perfect comfort dog. Lexie loved hopping up onto a lap for a cuddle, so Taylor was hoping the residents would enjoy that as part of their visit, too. The manager of the home had said that Taylor could do a collection to help with the barn conversion, not that she was expecting the residents to dip into their modest pensions − definitely not − but she figured, very gratefully, that every penny counted when it came to raising funds for her animal shelter, and she had knitted a lovely crimson Christmas stocking for Monty to trot around the room with, held between his teeth. When they had practised at home, he had enjoyed it very much, even popping the stocking onto her lap before sitting back on his haunches with his black furry head tilted to one side as if saying, ‘Please, spare some change for the poor abandoned pooches.’
‘Oh, there you are!’ It was Deedee, waiting in the little reception area. ‘And don’t the dogs look adorable?’ She crouched down to give Lexie a stroke, who, after glancing at Monty, tilted her chin up towards Deedee’s hand.
‘Thank you so much for organising the visit for us,’ Taylor said, before grinning at a passing elderly gentleman who was working up a steam on his walking frame in order to bag his seat in the lounge.
‘My pleasure, darling. The young-at-heart residents here are going to love seeing you and the dogs, but promise me one thing?’
‘What’s that?’
‘You’ll come along for a shimmy’ – she paused to clutch Taylor’s arm – ‘at our Christmas tea dance next week and bring your friends? Most of the old dears here will be coming along, so it would be lovely to have some youngsters to liven things up.’ Taylor nodded. ‘Right you are. Now follow me and I’ll take you to where the action is.’
Half an hour later, the ceiling of the big lounge was festooned with red, gold and green paper chains cascading outwards from the central lampshade to the four corners of the room, courtesy of Derek, the handyman, and his stepladder. Sparkly tinsel was twisted around each and every door handle, window frame, table leg and walking frame, and even a couple of wheelchairs had been modified with festive additions to wheels and handles. Twinkling lights flashed around pillars and a trillion Christmas cards were neatly hanging by individual miniature pegs from string swathed like garlands across the walls. And the grand finale was the real six-foot pine tree in the corner, donated by the Rotary Club, and decorated in a multicoloured rainbow of baubles, lights and silver lametta. On it, Taylor had even hung twenty little woollen elves that she had knitted especially for today.
After taking a step back, she folded her arms, feeling satisfied with a job well done. Sandy, the manager, handed her a mug of tea from a big urn on a trolley.
‘The place looks amazing,’ she marvelled. ‘You and your furry friends sure are a hit with the residents − I’ve topped up their water bowls, too, by the way. And did you see the way Monty was watching your every move?’ Taylor nodded, impressed how Monty had entertained the old folks by bringing her lengths of tinsel and baubles carefully carried in his mouth for her to put on the tree. ‘He really is something.’
‘Yes, he is.’ Taylor nodded. ‘We just need to get this Star of Wonder into place at the top of the tree’ – she paused to pick up the gold star – ‘and then I think we’re done.’
‘Ooh, yes, can’t believe we forgot to do that.’ They both glanced over at the top of the tree, which looked woefully bare compared with the rest of the branches, which were lit up like a theme park. Even Monty took a look before hunkering back down on the carpet at Taylor’s feet. ‘I’ll fetch Derek’s stepladder,’ Sandy offered. ‘He’s had to pop out to the hardware store to pick up a new plunger. Blockage in room ten,’ she explained, lowering her voice.
‘Ah, I see.’ Taylor suppressed a giggle and sipped her tea until Sandy returned with the steplad
der.
‘There we go,’ Sandy said, positioning the stepladder into place beside the tree.
‘Do you mind if I take a few pics of the decorations before I finish the tree, maybe record a little film clip of Monty and Lexie wandering around? I shan’t bother anybody.’
‘Of course not, love. I know how you youngsters are with your phones.’ Sandy chuckled as Taylor pulled hers out of her pocket. ‘Cup of tea?’ Sandy then yelled over to Deedee, who was helping one of the elderly ladies to get comfy in an easy chair.
‘Pardon?’ Deedee said, cupping her ear to hear over Frank Sinatra’s ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, which was now filling the room as someone had cranked up the volume. The residents were singing along and swaying as they bit into the mince pies that had been served along with their cups of tea.
‘Cup of tea!’ Sandy yelled again, but it was no use. Deedee shook her head and frowned, still unable to hear, so Taylor placed the gold star down by her feet and, after carefully manoeuvring her phone out of the way, made the universal ‘do-you-want-a-cuppa?’ sign by placing her right index finger horizontally over her left index finger in the shape of the letter T. Deedee nodded and Taylor quickly returned to filming Lexie on her phone, who was looking completely adorable, all snuggled up on one of the gents’ laps.
‘Oops!’ Suddenly, Taylor was nearly toppled over as Monty shot up from where he had been sitting on the carpet close to where she was standing, grabbed the star from beside her feet and raced across the room with it towards the tree.
‘What on earth? Monty! No, stop!’ Taylor started, waving her phone in the air as she attempted to get to him. But it was too late: he was halfway up the stepladder.
Taylor could scarcely believe what she was seeing, but had her wits about her enough to point her phone at Monty and continue recording.