Sunshine and Spaniels (12 page)

‘When you go and see Captain, will you let me come too? I’d like to apologize.’

Cat exhaled and smiled up at him. ‘Of course. That would be great.’ The front door closed and Polly leaned against it, her eyes closed. ‘Night, Joe,’ Cat said.

‘Goodnight.’

‘Is Captain even going to let us in with these?’ Joe held up the boxes of Silent Roar and waggled them at Cat. They had a photo of a male lion on the front and looked, Cat had to admit, like some kind of practical joke.

‘The guy in the shop said it works, and he’s a huge nature lover, has the whole of Fairview’s blue tit population in his garden regularly. Captain doesn’t want Paris to be upset, so I’m sure he’ll try anything.’

‘All right then, but you lead the way.’

Captain welcomed them, gave Joe a cheery handshake and ushered them into the living room, then disappeared into the kitchen to make them all a cup of tea. Cat ran her sweaty palms down her skirt, hoping he would forgive them when he found out they owned the cat that was frightening his dog.

She sat on the sofa next to the curled-up furry bundle. She reached her hand out, but Paris lifted her head and barked, then jumped up and sat on Cat’s knee, yelping excitedly.

Joe fixed her with his blue stare. ‘
This
is your depressed dog? Cat, seriously, what’s going on?’

Cat gawped at Joe. ‘I have no idea,’ she said, just as Captain came in with three full cups, slopping tea over the side as he put them on the table.

‘This is a turn-up, isn’t it?’ he chuckled, pointing at Paris.

‘It’s amazing. She seems like a different dog. We came to help, but…’ Cat was lost for words.

Captain leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his expression conspiratorial. ‘I caught the blighter. In the act, as it were.’

’The blighter?’ Cat moved the boxes of Silent Roar behind her on the sofa. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joe trying to keep a straight face.

‘A
cat
! A giant, ferocious cat has been terrorizing my Paris, and lots of other pets, too, I wouldn’t wonder.’

Cat closed her eyes. ‘Captain, we’re really sorry but—’

‘He was more like a panther than a cat. Nearly as big, black silky fur, yellow eyes.’

‘A
black
cat?’

‘Yes. Why, love? You look put out by something. Is the tea not nice? I checked that the milk wasn’t lumpy.’

‘No, it’s not that, it’s – we thought that – I mean…’

‘What Cat’s trying to say, Captain, is that we thought it was my cat upsetting your dog. I have a cat, you see, he’s large and ginger and not always the best tempered, and…’

‘We found this in our house.’ Cat took the charm out of her bag and held it out to Captain. She’d also bought Paris a new collar, this time in a beautiful royal blue.

He put them on the table. ‘Thank you for finding it, and for the lovely new collar. Very generous. It’s a wonderful city, Paris.’ He was lost in thought, and Joe frowned at Cat. She shrugged. ‘Ginger cat, you say?’ Captain asked eventually.

‘Yes,’ Joe said. ‘He’s quite a bruiser.’

‘He’s a pussy, in both senses of the word.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘I’ve seen him trotting round the walls, perfectly happily,’ Captain said. ‘And I’ve seen the two of them, him and the panther. Your cat, I’m sorry to say, doesn’t stand a chance. He runs away caterwauling, ears flat back, the whole nine yards.’

Joe leaned back and folded his arms. ‘Hang on a moment…’

‘How did the charm end up in our house?’ Cat asked.

Captain shrugged. ‘I reckon it was the panther pulled off my Paris’s collar. Your cat could have got it stuck on his claw, or the panther could have had a fight with him. Beats me, but it’s not your cat caused my Paris to suffer, that’s for sure.’

‘And she’s so much better,’ Cat said. The little dog was trotting backwards and forwards on the sofa, sniffing the air.

Captain chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

‘We brought you lion poo –’ Cat held out the boxes – ‘to stop the cats coming into your garden.’

‘Lion poo’s all very well, and thank you for your kindness, but I can guarantee that panther won’t be coming back. I shot it.’

‘You
killed
him?’ Joe said, aghast.

Captain’s chuckle turned to laughter. ‘Good God, girl, your fella may be well behaved, but he’s not got much grip on reality, has he? First thinking my Paris was scared of spiders, and now this. No, of course I didn’t kill him. I’ve got something much better.’ He pushed himself up and left the room.

Joe rolled his eyes, exasperated, and Cat resisted the urge to laugh.

‘No,’ Captain said. ‘No need for lion poo or killing the blighter when you’ve got this.’ He brandished a huge, luminous green water pistol with a pink trigger. Cat remembered having one when she was little, and, after everything else, the thought of Captain standing at his back door in his half-moon glasses with the Super Soaker, picking cats off the back wall, was too much for her to bear. She collapsed into heaps of laughter on the sofa and Paris started barking, her long ears pricked up, ready for anything.

Cat and Polly took Jessica’s Westies and Olaf to the park that evening. The sun was descending towards the trees and a blackbird was singing in the still air. Valentino, Coco and Dior seemed delighted to see Cat, and the feeling was mutual. She’d missed them, and as nice a kennel as they’d stayed in, she was sure they preferred being back at home with Jessica, and having the park to run around in.

Cat recounted her and Joe’s visit to Captain’s, and Polly laughed nearly as much as Cat had done at the image of the old man with a Super Soaker.

‘You figured it out together,’ Polly said, ‘and another Fairview resident and his dog are happy.’

Cat grinned and bent to let the Westies off their leads. Olaf barked and danced in circles, and Cat also released him, watching with relief as he stayed close to the others, running along the treeline. ‘It’s turned into a lovely summer,’ Cat said, keeping a close eye on the dogs. ‘And I can’t imagine anywhere I’d rather spend it. How’s Owen?’

Polly shrugged. ‘I’ve not spoken to him since our barbecue.’

‘But you will?’

‘Once the exams are out of the way.’

‘Pol—’

‘Don’t, Cat. I need to focus on them. I can’t let anything distract me, especially not now they’re so close.’

‘But you got on so well with him.’

Polly gave her a quick smile. ‘I did. But he knows I’m studying, and…I’ll see what happens when I’m free. Free!’ She lifted her hands up and raised her face to the sky. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘Me neither.’ She grabbed Polly’s hand. ‘We can celebrate for at least a month.’

‘Oh.’ Polly spun to face her. ‘Did I tell you that Leyla at work is interested in Frankie’s room? I mentioned it and she said she’s been looking for somewhere for ages. I’ve passed on Frankie’s details.’

‘That’s amazing news, Frankie will be thrilled!’ Cat and Polly fist-bumped, and Cat skipped up the path after the dogs. She’d not met Leyla, but Polly had mentioned her before, and Cat couldn’t imagine that someone who dedicated her life to looking after animals could be anything but wonderful – she just had to look at her best friend to see that. She called the dogs back and waggled her bag of treats, handing the leads to Polly when her phone rang.

‘Hello?’

‘Next Wednesday, seven o’clock, I’ll pick you up.’

Cat grinned. ‘Where are you taking me?’

‘You’ll just have to wait and see,’ Mark said. ‘But I hope it’ll make up for taking so long to get my arse in gear. Although –’ Cat could hear the smile in his voice – ‘the best things are always worth waiting for.’

‘Are you trying to convince me that
you’re
the best thing?’

‘You’ll have to wait and see about that, too.’

Cat put her hand against her cheek. ‘So much to look forward to,’ she cooed.

‘You’d better believe it.’ She heard the click as he hung up, and put her phone in her pocket.

‘Who was that?’ Polly had the dogs back on their leads, and they were looking up at Cat’s bag of treats. ‘Oh, don’t tell me, I can see from your grin. Has he finally decided to take you out, then?’

‘He has.’ Cat bent to stroke the pets and give them all a treat. ‘Aren’t you good? Especially you, Olaf. Lizzie and Emma will be very proud of you for coming back when we called.’

‘Details? Oh, no, don’t tell me,’ Polly said again, ‘there aren’t any. Well, I’m sure wherever he’s taking you will be glorious. I’m happy for you, Cat. Despite his dawdling he seems nice, and he’s pretty stunning to boot.’

‘He’s both,’ Cat said, smiling. But, along with the happiness of finally having a date in the diary, she felt a sense of unease. He
was
stunning, and had never been anything but nice to her, and he was clearly capable of charming the socks off a centipede. But he still felt out of her reach, as if he was behind glass, or floating underwater. He wasn’t immediately warm the way Owen seemed to be, or straightforward like Joe. She wondered if, after their date, she’d feel closer to him.

But with her life in Fairview, her dog-walking business and her new friendships all going so perfectly, was finding the man of her dreams on top of all that too much to expect? As they turned in the direction of Primrose Terrace and the dogs sensed they were on their way home, Cat tried to put Mark out of her mind. Hopefully he would prove to her that he really was worth waiting for.

If you loved Sunshine & Spaniels, make sure you catch up with the first part of the Primrose Terrace series, Wellies & Westies!

Catherine ‘Cat’ Palmer realises, too late, that bringing an adorable puppy into work at the local nursery was a bad idea, especially after the ensuing chaos gets her the sack.

Determined to turn a negative into a positive, Cat decides this is the perfect opportunity to get her dog-walking business off the ground with the help of her flatmates, Polly and Joe. After all, Primrose Terrace where she lives, is full of home-alone hounds…

Wellies and Westies is the first part of a serialized novel told in four parts – all set in Primrose Terrace.

Click here to buy now 978-0-00-813520-1

And look out for the latest canine adventures in Parts Three & Four of Primrose Terrace

It’s autumn and Primrose Terrace has never looked lovelier. But things are far from rosy for the Barkers at No.6. Cat’s been walking their pair of gorgeous Golden Retrievers and she’s noticed that things are distinctly chilly between owners Juliette and Will. For Cat, things are coming to a head with Mark, but is he the right man for her? Especially as she is getting closer to flatmate Joe. Cat thinks she must be able to do something to stop autumn falling on the Barkers marriage, but is there anything she can do to resolve her feelings about Mark?

Raincoats and Retrievers is the third part of a serialized novel told in four parts – all set in Primrose Terrace.

Click here to buy now 978-0-00-813522-5

Christmas is coming to Primrose Terrace, Pooch Promenade is doing brilliantly and Cat has made lots of new friends in the street, both dogs and their owners. Life seems good. Things start to go badly when Cat learns something about Mark that she wishes she hadn’t. Then, when one of Ellen’s lovable schnauzers, Chalky, gets ill, it looks like this Christmas could be turning into a dog’s dinner. But Cat has never given up on anything in her life – and this is one Christmas that’s definitely worth saving…