Christmas at Mistletoe Cottage

by Lucy Daniels

  Helen beamed. ‘We’ll have the three wise men here in no time.’ She started to tidy away the bubble wrap where the baubles had been stored. ‘Did you get in touch with the police about the weird things that have been happening?’ she asked. ‘Roo Dhanjal called in while you were with your mum. They haven’t had any more strange reviews, but she asked after you.’

  Mandy felt her shoulders droop. She’d had so much on her mind, what with the visit to Robbie Grimshaw and then Mum being ill, that she’d forgotten she had to call Ellen Armstrong. She shook her head.

  Helen regarded her with sympathy. ‘I know it’s probably the last thing you want to think about,’ she said. ‘But I really do think you should phone.’

  A wave of apathy washed over Mandy. ‘I’ll do it later,’ she said. ‘When I get back from the house visit.’

  Helen, brisk as ever, put out her hand and rubbed Mandy on the arm. ‘I think you should do it now,’ she said. ‘Get it over with.’

  Mandy sighed. ‘Okay then.’ She looked round the room at the newly dressed tree and the star on the reception desk. Christmas was supposed to be a time for celebration. This year, it was hard to feel overwhelmed with good cheer. She took her phone into the cottage and up to her bedroom. She wanted some privacy for this call.

  As she ran through the list again – the hole in the hedge, the sabotaging of her food order and the TripAdvisor review – she found herself wondering whether Ellen would dismiss her concerns. But the police officer seemed to take her seriously at once.

  ‘Don’t forget about the gossip in the Fox and Goose,’ she reminded Mandy. ‘If there were fewer things, it could just have been bad luck, but it’s starting to look like some kind of campaign.’

  A campaign? Really? Mandy walked over to the window and looked out at the donkeys. Holly and Robin were standing nose to tail in the field shelter. Robin was chewing a thistle. Are you pretending to be Eeyore? Mandy thought. He only ate thistles.

  Ellen’s voice interrupted her musings. ‘Can you think of anyone who might have a grudge against you?’

  It was still raining. The stone and wood-framed rescue centre looked sturdy and secure against the dark sky. Mandy thought of the animals inside that were safe now. Why would anyone want to harm them? ‘I can’t think of anyone,’ she said.

  ‘What about Geoff Hemmings?’ Ellen suggested. ‘Or Mr Powell?’

  Mandy had already discussed this with Helen. ‘The hole in the hedge was before Mr Powell,’ she pointed out. ‘And Mr Hemming?’ She paused, picking a bit of dirt off the window pane. ‘Could he really feel so strongly?’ she asked. ‘It’s not as if Flame actually did any damage.’

  She heard Ellen sigh. ‘These sort of whispering campaigns can be very hard to deal with,’ she warned. ‘Keep a note of everything that seems odd, however small. I’ll get in touch with the Dhanjals and TripAdvisor to see if that sheds any light on who left the review. And in the meantime, let me know at once if anything else happens.’

  Mandy thanked her and ended the call. It was almost lunchtime but she didn’t feel remotely hungry. Making her way downstairs, she found Adam in the kitchen. ‘How’s Mum?’ she said.

  Adam smiled. ‘She’s been asleep most of the morning,’ he said. ‘I’m going up in a minute or two to see if she wants lunch.’

  ‘I’ll go,’ Mandy offered. At least she felt as if she was doing something useful by looking after Emily. There seemed to be nothing she could do about her invisible enemy, unfortunately.

  Just before two, Mandy loaded her bag into the RAV4 and drove to the Dillons’ house for the home inspection for Melon the Westie. She very much hoped that Melon would soon be in a lovely new home. Mum had still been asleep when she had gone up to see her, and lunch with Adam had been subdued. The Dillons lived on the far side of Walton, not far from the residential home where Mandy had visited Robbie Grimshaw. Mrs Dillon opened the door wearing blue linen trousers and a fluffy mohair sweater. The delicious smell of homemade biscuits greeted Mandy as she stepped inside.

  ‘Hello,’ she said. She glanced down at the paperwork she had brought with her. Despite having done a few of these visits, she liked to have a basic plan to follow.

  ‘Hello again.’ Mrs Dillon ushered Mandy through into the kitchen. The house seemed very neat and tidy, and very quiet. ‘Sam and Buddy are at school,’ Mrs Dillon explained. An image slipped into Mandy’s head of Sam with her statement haircut and piercings, paired with a school uniform. She wondered what the teachers thought, and hoped they had seen through to the gentle girl underneath. ‘Where do you want to start?’ Mrs Dillon asked.

  Mandy spotted that the kitchen had a door to the garden. ‘Maybe we could have a look outside first,’ she suggested. The rain had stopped, though the grass was still wet. Mrs Dillon followed her outside and stood on the patio as Mandy paced around, making notes. A well-kept lawn was surrounded by flowerbeds with a few shrubs. It only took a few moments to check that there was nothing poisonous to dogs if Melon fancied an al fresco nibble. Mandy walked around the perimeter. There was a wooden fence made of upright spars, quite close together: too small for Melon to get his head through.

  ‘Is the fence tall enough?’ Mrs Dillon queried. She was looking rather nervous, Mandy noticed with a stab of sympathy. Hopefully, she would be able to relax soon. From what she had seen so far, the house and garden were perfect.

  ‘It’s definitely tall enough,’ Mandy assured her. ‘I’m checking for small gaps at the base. Melon is a typical terrier,’ she added. ‘If he thinks can burrow under something, he’ll give it a try.’

  Mrs Dillon smiled. ‘I’ll watch out for signs of digging!’

  ‘There’s a couple of places where the ground dips right to the bottom of the panels.’ Mandy bent over, pointing out the risk points. ‘Those’ll need filling with a bit more soil.’ She straightened up. ‘But everything else is great. I’ll give you a list of recommendations and if you still want to go ahead with the adoption, you can sort them out and I’ll come back in a few days to check.’

  She peered through the fence at the garden next door. ‘Do your neighbours have dogs?’ she asked, and was relieved when Mrs Dillon shook her head. She usually recommended that any rehomed dogs should go for a walk with the neighbour and their dogs but that was one less thing for Mrs Dillon to worry about. ‘If any do move in,’ she said, ‘it’s a good idea to socialise them together. Try to take them out for walks and so on. That way Melon is less likely to react when they make a noise. You don’t want to set off the Twilight Barking in Walton!’

  With a final mark on her notes, Mandy led the way back inside. ‘Do you have an idea where Melon’s bed will be?’ she asked. ‘He’ll need somewhere that’s just his, somewhere he can get some peace if he feels like being on his own.’

  Mrs Dillon frowned. ‘We’ve already got him a bed,’ she said, ‘but I hadn’t really thought about where it would go. Is there anywhere you’d recommend?’

  Mandy opened a door and discovered a small utility room next to the kitchen. ‘What about in here?’ she suggested.

  ‘I’m in and out of here quite often.’ Mrs Dillon went in and looked around the little room. ‘But there’s space in the corner by the tumble dryer, if you think that would be okay. I don’t want him to feel like he’s been banished to the scullery.’

  Mandy smiled. Mrs Dillon was fast becoming a dead cert for Melon’s new mum. ‘I think it would be fine,’ she said. ‘Will you be able to feed him in here as well?’

  ‘We could put his food bowl beside his bed,’ Mrs Dillon said. ‘But perhaps his water bowl should go by the door in the kitchen, so he can always get to it?’

  ‘That sounds great,’ Mandy agreed. ‘Now, I know Sam and Buddy will be excited to have a new pet, but will you explain the importance of letting Melon have his own space if he looks like he needs it?’

  ‘Absolutely. I won’t let them bug him, I promise.’

  ‘And when you go out, he’ll be able to stay in here wi
th water and a few toys to keep him entertained. I can recommend some of his favourites if you like.’

  Mrs Dillon nodded. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ she offered. Walking back into the kitchen, she picked up a pair of oven gloves. ‘Must get these out,’ she said. When she opened the oven door, the delicious scent of biscuits that had greeted Mandy on her arrival grew stronger.

  Mandy sat down at the table and filled in another form as Mrs Dillon set the kettle to boil.

  ‘Have you thought about furniture?’ Mandy asked. ‘Yours, I mean. Do you think he’ll go on your sofa, or would you prefer him to stay on the floor? We can talk about training him, if that’d help. Some dogs have a special blanket they know is theirs which you can put out when you want them to join you.’

  Mrs Dillon poured hot water onto teabags in two mugs and set one of them in front of Mandy. ‘Would you be able to go through that at the second visit?’ she asked. ‘I’ll talk to Peter and then you can go over it with the children when we collect Melon, if everything’s okay, of course.’ She deftly slid the biscuits off the tray onto a cooling rack. ‘Would you like one?’

  ‘I would love one! Thanks.’ Mandy found her mouth was watering. ‘I’m happy to go through some training tips when everyone’s together.’ She took a bite of the biscuit and chewed for a moment, glancing down at her paperwork. Looking up again, she smiled. ‘There are only a few things to do,’ she said, ‘most of which we’ve already discussed. If you’ve got any questions, just ask. I’ll come back in a few days for a final check, and you should have Melon by Christmas! How does that sound?’

  ‘It sounds wonderful.’ Mrs Dillon beamed. ‘It’s been years since I’ve had a dog,’ she said. ‘I’m really looking forward to the company. And Melon is a very special little soul, I think.’

  Mandy held up her cup of tea. ‘I’ll drink to that,’ she said.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘That was the last one,’ Helen told Mandy as the final clients led their enthusiastic spaniel out into the darkness.

  Mandy had returned from the Dillons’ feeling much more cheerful. Before evening surgery, she had seen to the donkeys, dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs in a whirl of energy, buoyed up by the possibility that Melon would soon have a new home. Despite all the worries, or perhaps because of them, it was important to feel that the work she was doing at Hope Meadows was making a difference in the right way.

  When the waiting room door burst open, Mandy looked up, expecting to see a late-running client. She was pleased to see Seb Conway in the doorway, clutching two white plastic bags.

  ‘Surprise!’ he called out. Rubbing his feet on the mat, he strode across the room to kiss Helen. ‘Surgery finished?’ he asked, dumping the two bags on the counter.

  ‘It has,’ Helen replied. ‘What are you doing here?’ She looked confused. ‘You didn’t tell me you were coming.’

  Seb looked sheepish. ‘I heard Emily wasn’t well. I thought you might be too busy to cook,’ he explained, looking at Mandy. ‘I hope you don’t mind. I brought enough for everyone, but if it’s inconvenient …’

  ‘It’s not,’ Mandy assured him. What a thoughtful guy. Lucky Helen. For a moment, the thought of Jimmy popped into her head. He hadn’t called yet. Mandy had been tempted to call him to tell him about Emily, but given his odd reaction to her news about the cottage on Monday, she had postponed it. Pushing that particular niggle aside, she sniffed the air. From the scent that was emanating from Seb’s bags, it seemed he had brought some of Roo Dhanjal’s wonderful food. Mandy invited him through into the kitchen.

  ‘I’ll set the table,’ Helen offered, following them.

  ‘Thanks,’ Mandy said. She was about to go up to check on her mum when to her surprise, Emily walked into the kitchen. Although Adam was hovering close behind her, she was looking much more herself, and she smiled when she saw Seb and Helen in the kitchen with Mandy.

  ‘What a lovely surprise,’ she said. With Adam still shadowing her, she made her way over to the table and lowered herself into her chair. Helen had already set out knives and forks and was opening the cupboard to pull out some plates.

  ‘What have you got in those bags, Seb?’ Adam was sniffing the air like a hungry Labrador. ‘I was about to make beans on toast, but that smells way better.’

  Putting the two carrier bags on the table, Seb began to pull forth a series of plastic boxes. ‘They’re from the Dhanjals’ takeaway,’ he explained. ‘Actually, Roo gave me a call and suggested I could bring them round.’ He glanced at Mandy as he set the last of the containers on the table. ‘She said she wanted to help out.’

  ‘That’s really kind of her.’ Mandy hoped Seb wouldn’t say anything more. Emily didn’t know about the strange TripAdvisor listing and right now, Mandy didn’t want to tell her.

  ‘Roo’s lovely,’ Seb said.

  ‘We should eat it while it’s hot,’ Helen interjected. Mandy looked at her gratefully. She and Helen had discussed PC Armstrong’s reaction earlier. Helen had been pleased to hear the police constable had taken Mandy seriously, but she seemed to understand that now wasn’t the time to share the news with Emily.

  To Mandy’s relief, her mother managed to eat a portion of the curry and rice along with some of Roo’s delectable naan bread. After dinner, Emily insisted on seeing the newly decorated waiting room.

  ‘All we need now is some gifts under the tree,’ she said. ‘What about you, Mandy? Would you like another box of plastic gloves? We could wrap you up a new calving jack, perhaps. What do you think?’

  Mandy was relieved that her mum was feeling well enough to tease her. And she was amused to be reminded of her gift of a box of plastic gloves from the staff at Thurston’s, where she had worked before coming back to Animal Ark. ‘I was hoping for a new hoof rasp,’ she joked. ‘I’ve worn mine out already!’

  Emily had wandered over to the reception desk and was checking the appointments book. ‘Ah, I see the dental has been postponed. Thanks, Helen.’

  ‘No problem,’ said Helen. ‘Mr Hodges was happy to wait until next week to make another appointment.’

  Mandy waited for her mum to protest that she’d be back to work long before then, but instead Emily surprised her by yawning and heading for the door. ‘I’m going back to bed,’ she announced. ‘The GP told me to rest and I’m not going to argue. Thank you, all of you, for taking care of everything.’

  ‘It’s what we’re here for, Mum,’ said Mandy, giving her a hug. ‘Sleep well.’

  Adam appeared in the doorway to steer Emily upstairs, and Helen and Seb pulled on their coats. ‘See you in the morning!’ Helen called as they let themselves out.

  ‘Goodnight!’ Mandy called back. The clinic was very quiet when everyone had gone. She pulled out her phone. She hadn’t given up hoping to find a message from Jimmy, but there was still nothing. He’d said he would call as soon as he could and it had been two days now. The confidence Mandy had felt about their burgeoning relationship at the end of last week was beginning to drain away. Had Helen been right about his reluctance to allow her to hang out with the twins? Had she put too much pressure on him?

  With a sigh, she flicked through her contacts. She needed to take her mind off Jimmy Marsh. Maybe she could call Jenny from Thurston’s, she thought, prompted by the mention of the ridiculous box of gloves. Mandy could wish her a Merry Christmas, see how things were going over in Leeds.

  Finding Jenny’s number, she tapped the screen to dial.

  ‘Mandy! What a lovely surprise.’ The warmth in Jenny’s voice made Mandy smile. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m well, thanks.’ Pulling out a chair, Mandy sat down and leaned her elbow on the reception desk. She gazed at the star lamp, which glowed with a soft yellow light. ‘How about you?’

  ‘Oh … busy, busy. Same old routine, with added Christmas spirit!’ Jenny laughed. ‘Angela’s being strict with all the clients and going mad when dogs cock their legs on her desk. Peter still moans every time he gets an unus
ually sized animal in. Bossy boss Amy is bossing as normal. Nothing ever changes at Thurston’s,’ she commented. ‘Oh, except …’ Her voice tailed off.

  ‘What is it?’ Mandy was dying to hear whatever had brought Jenny to a halt. Up until six months ago, Thurston’s gossip had been a huge part of her life.

  Jenny sighed. ‘I suppose I might as well tell you. It’s not a secret. Samantha has moved in with Simon.’

  Mandy was glad she was sitting down. Although she and Simon were ancient history, there was still a shock that ran through her and left her legs wobbly. ‘Gosh,’ she said. ‘That was fast.’ She took a breath and let it out, feeling the immediate confusion pass. The idea didn’t sting as much as she had expected.

  ‘As far as I know, nothing started before you left,’ Jenny said quickly, as if she was trying to reassure Mandy.

  Mandy found, perhaps against the odds, that she believed what Jenny had said, at least as far as Simon was concerned. She thought back to six months earlier, when she had left Simon behind to come to Welford. Simon and Samantha had become closer the moment the door shut behind her, that had been obvious. The pair of them had even gone out together to look at practice premises for Mandy and Simon to start a clinic. Mandy wanted to laugh at her naivety. It seemed obvious in hindsight that Samantha had been interested in snagging her boyfriend. There had been a flattering picture of Simon on the fridge in their shared flat that Samantha had put there. And she had been annoyingly flirtatious one night they had all been out during the summer. But there had been no sign back then that Simon was reciprocating.

  ‘How about you, then?’ Jenny’s voice broke through her thoughts. ‘Any new love interest in sunny Welford?’

  Mandy hesitated for a moment, but what harm could it do? ‘Actually, I have been seeing someone,’ she admitted. ‘It was all going well up until Friday, but we’ve both been really busy since then so we haven’t been in touch.’ It didn’t sound too bad when she said it like that. It was only a few days after all, and Jimmy had sounded very stressed on the phone. Something must have come up.