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‘Epic.’ Em is much cooler than I am, in all senses; her blush is a light smattering of pink along her cheekbones, I think I’ve gone beetroot-coloured all over. ‘Are you taking the girls out next, Jake?’
Gawd. She knows. How can she know?
‘I certainly am.’ He smiles, a lovely warm smile that looks totally genuine. ‘But I just wanted to check Sam and Sarah had arrived before I go and put their leads on.’ Phew, so the girls are dogs. ‘Okay if I meet you at the start of the Woodland Walk, Sam? I’ve got to make a quick phone call but I know Em here will take good care of you.’
All I can do is nod.
‘See you shortly then.’ He raises a hand, and smiles again, and the dimples at the corner of his mouth deepen.
I could stare at him all day, if he hadn’t just headed off. O-M-G I could end up taking this man to the wedding! It is really happening. He is even more gorgeous close-up in the flesh, and he hugs puppies. He couldn’t be more perfect if I’d handpicked him out of an escort catalogue (if they have such a thing).
Sarah is nudging me, and I realise that Em is talking. She has reverted to grumpy teenager mode.
‘I didn’t realise you were with Jake. Why didn’t you say?’ She is sounding slightly miffed. ‘Jake and his sister Amy help us out lots.’ She emphasises the last word, and shoots me a ‘hands off’ look. I feel a totally irrational twinge of possessiveness, then tell myself that she’s far too young for him. ‘He’s wonderful.’ Her voice loses its edge, then the phone rings and breaks her out of her daydream. ‘Come on then, I’ll take you through and we’ll find some dogs that need walking. You are used to dogs?’
We both nod. Honestly, how difficult can walking a dog be?
‘Oh yes.’ I wave an arm flamboyantly to make my case more clearly. ‘We’ve always had dogs.’ She doesn’t look overly impressed, though teenagers don’t often, do they?
‘Retrievers, collies, rescues … difficult dogs.’ I’m getting carried away. We had a very old Labrador at home that used to steal sausages off my plate and lie on my feet snoring and farting. The most difficult thing about him was his inability to resist food of any kind. And we had the mad springer spaniel. By the time he was six months old my parents had made a strategic decision to ‘manage’ rather than ‘control’ his behaviour. Which meant he did what he liked most of the time and this caused less stress all round.
‘We had a sausage dog when I was young,’ Sarah sighed. ‘She was so cute.’ She shrugs her shoulders in a ‘want to squeeze cute dogs’ kind of way. ‘I used to dress her up, and take her to bed with me.’
‘Awesome. I’ll give you Tilly then.’ Em grins, warming to this new cuddly side of Sarah that I didn’t know existed. Dogs do that to people. ‘She really misses her cuddles, you’ll love her. She is just so sweet and sensitive.’
She says something else, but her last few words are lost as we round a corner to where the kennel blocks are, and are met with a wall of barking. I never knew dogs could make such a racket. Terriers are leaping up and down as though they’re on springs, a collie is quaking in its boots, and a brindle Staffordshire bull terrier eyes me up silently as though he has seen it all before.
Em doesn’t seem to notice the chaos. She carries on talking, and we nod in the gaps when her mouth stops moving. I haven’t got a clue what she’s saying, but it can’t be that bad.
It turns out it is that bad.
She was asking if I thought I’d be okay with Tank, seeing as I was experienced and he could be tricky.
I must have nodded.
Tank sat down as she put his lead on, cocked his head to one side and stared as though to say, ‘I’ve got the measure of you’.
‘Go across that field, just follow the signs, the woodland walk is that way. Do a couple of laps, half an hour will probably be enough, but I suppose Jake will tell you. See you later, have fun.’ And she’s gone before we have time to say anything, not that I could have said anything as Tank is off, intent on yanking my shoulders out of their sockets. Half an hour of this? You’ve got to be kidding me, I already feel like one of those rubber stretchy men that kids throw at windows.
It’s also raining, that drizzly stuff that makes you feel a wimp if you put your hood up, but leaves you soaked if you don’t. My hair has started to curl, my fingers are numb and I’ve got a nagging twitch at my temples which normally heralds a headache. And we’ve not started the walk yet. But there is a bright light on the horizon. Jake.
‘Do I look like a drowned rat?’ Will he change his mind, when he sees me like this?
‘A bit.’ Sarah laughs. ‘Chill, he liked you, I could tell. He’ll do it.’
There is a big problem with walks in rescue centres, even when you’re doing the corner of the field bit and not the under trees bit, and that is everybody walks along the same path. Which means it is muddy, unless you’re in the middle of a dry summer. Which we are not.
Now I like dogs, I love dogs, but this is no normal dog. Sarah has a cute, nervous whippet which is side-stepping the boggy bits daintily, while me and the Tank-mobile wade straight through like a Sherman tank, scattering well-meaning dog-lovers as we go, saying sorry a lot. Me, not Tank. Tank doesn’t care. He is having the best time ever. Tank is a donkey crossed with a hippo, a hippo who has discovered freedom and a mud bath. He has been along this path before, he knows the way to the woodland walk, and nothing is going to stop him.
‘Look!’ Sarah has stopped dead in her tracks. Well, not dead. She’s bouncing on the spot.
I look, it’s hard not to though it does involve taking my attention off the Tank for a moment.
Mistake. Up until now I’ve been slipping and sliding a bit, in fact I probably look a bit like a first-time water skier, but now Tank leaps forwards, and I’m yanked off my feet. For a split second I’m airborne, then I’m eating mud.
‘Noooo…’ Tank is away, dragging me along in his wake.
‘There he is! It’s Jake.’
And we are heading straight for him. Jake is standing by one of the signs that marks the woodland walk, and he’s not looking at all like a drowned rat, or wimpy. He glances up, and sees us. How can he not, when Sarah is about as subtle as a panther in the snow, and I’m hurtling towards him like a bobsleigher, determined not to let go of the leash?
Even at this distance and with the mud that’s being kicked up in my face, I can see he’s got three dogs of assorted sizes at his side (all beautifully behaved), and half the staff are milling round him, though he absolutely doesn’t need any kind of help at all. Unlike me.
Tank barks a welcome, speeding up, and I’m pretty sure Jake’s jaw has dropped as we hurtle towards him. I’m not sure if he’s amazed the dog can pull me, or worried he’s going to get trampled.
‘Oh shit.’ He throws the leads at one of the bystanders. ‘Hang on.’ I am hanging on, that’s the problem. But I can’t catch my breath to say it. I close my eyes, this is going to end badly, I just know it is.
It hasn’t. We’ve stopped.
‘Settle down, settle down, good boy.’
I open my eyes. He has got Tank by the collar, and he’s crouched down, peering at me with a worried frown on his face.
‘Are you okay?’ My God, he’s strong. He’s stopped the unstoppable. He’s holding the dog with one hand, and now he’s managing to pull me to my feet with the other. ‘Sam?’
‘Sam, Sam.’ Sarah has caught up with us, and I can see she’s not quite sure how I’ll take it if she collapses in hysterics. ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anybody do that in real life before.’
‘Tank has.’ My rescuer shakes his head and very gently tucks a bedraggled strand of my hair behind my ear, his warm fingertips brushing my skin, which makes me shiver. ‘All in one piece?’
I swallow hard, and blink. I’m not quite sure if it’s his touch or that smooth, concerned voice that’s responsible for the weird sensation. I think even my scalp has got goose bumps.
‘No harm done.’ It comes out a bit shaky, with a very nervous laugh at the end that I didn’t intend at all.
Sarah looks like a cat watching a ping-pong game, her gaze switching rapidly from Jake to me, and back again. ‘I’ll er, leave you to it, shall I? Catch you later?’ At least I think that’s what she says, but I can’t really concentrate.
He’s staring at me. ‘I think you need to sit down, you’re in shock.’
‘I, er, do feel a bit wobbly.’
‘I’m sorry, I should have met you at the kennels, but I never thought they’d give you Tank. I’ll have words.’
‘Oh no, no, don’t have words.’ Jake being all masterful is sending goose bumps down my arms (they seem to be getting everywhere), and it would be quite nice to see somebody wading in to support me. But not very fair on the staff. ‘It was my fault, I said I’d be fine, I am, er, used to dogs.’
‘Are you sure? You could have been hurt.’ He’s looking at me like he seriously cares, and my legs are going a bit wobbly.
‘I’m fine.’
‘You sound breathless.’
That is probably down to my close proximity to him, not my adventures with Tank. He even smells good.
My dream was sending out the right signals, he’s already saved me, and we’re nowhere near Scotland yet.
His eyes really are as amazing close up as they were in the photos and from the other side of the restaurant. He’s got this steady gaze that makes me feel like he knows exactly what I’m thinking. Which could be dangerous.
‘Well, if you’re sure.’ Eek, his thumb is on my cheek. ‘Mud.’ His smile is so familiar, I feel like I’ve known him for ages. ‘There, that’s better.’ My face might now be clean, but there is no hope for the rest of me.
‘We’ll walk round slowly, shall we? Then grab a coffee? I’ll take Tank, I’m used to him. Here, you hold little Angel, and somebody else can take the other two dogs.’
Angel who is about six inches tall, and looks like a waft of breeze would carry her away, looks up at me trustingly. I like Angel. I also like Jake.
‘You did a great job of hanging on to him, most people would have let go.’
I rather wish I’d been most people, but Jake thinks I’ve done a great job, which makes me feel warm inside.
Miraculously though, just like that, Tank seems to have lost his head of steam. Maybe Jake is also a dog whisperer, as well as an actor.
Even at a slow-for-Tank walk, we lap most of the other volunteers who are sauntering along as though they’re on a Sunday morning stroll – which helps to dry me out. At least I’m going too fast to feel embarrassed. I really wish I’d gone for a date that involved wine, not fresh air and four-legged furries in need of a good home. I need to lie down.
‘So…’ Jake is studying me out of the corner of his eye, which is a bit unnerving and distracts me from the need to lie down. ‘You’ve not been here before?’
‘No, does it show?’ We both laugh, at exactly the same time.
‘I don’t know what got into Em, giving you this thug.’
I have got a feeling I know what got into Em. ‘It’s not a problem, honest. I’m fine.’ And I now know that he is more than capable of rescuing me from Loch Ness monsters, or any other attacks. His protective streak is a definite mark in his favour, not that I’ve found any reason not to beg him to come to Scotland with me.
‘He’s a nice dog really.’
‘Just big.’
‘Just big.’ We walk along in companionable silence for a bit, and it doesn’t feel awkward at all. ‘Amy tells me you work at the travel agent’s in town?’
‘I do, so if you ever need a discount…’
‘I might take you up on that sometime, must be handy.’
‘And you’re an actor?’
‘I am, you might have caught my finest TV moment.’ I glance at him. If this is a test, I’ve failed; I haven’t caught any of his TV moments.
‘Erm.’
He’s grinning, the faintest of lines fanning out from those mesmerising eyes. ‘You don’t mean you missed it? Tut. Watch Holby City?’
‘Well, yes.’ I’m wracking my brain, trying to picture him with a stethoscope and failing. Well, I can picture him with a stethoscope, but I certainly can’t picture him in an episode of Holby. Maybe I missed one.
‘I was in the third bed along, second episode this season.’
‘Ah.’
‘Arm in a sling.’ He laughs, and Tank jumps up and licks his cheek.
‘So is that what you want to do? TV?’
‘Jake!’ A girl yells his name and I realise with a jolt that we’re back near the kennels. Which is a shame. I’d quite like to know what he wants to do.
‘I’ll take the dogs if you like, and you can clean up?’ He’s grinning as he speaks, which he seems to do quite a lot, and I look down at my clothes. I’d almost forgotten about the mud. Almost. ‘I’ll catch you in the café, and we can chat more?’
‘Great, I’d like to.’
‘And you can tell me more about your indecent proposal.’ The way he says it makes me blush, and the wink leaves me dithering between objecting and wishing it actually was supposed to be indecent.
He whisks Angel up into his arms and has gone before my mushy brain can think up a suitably snappy reply.
Chapter 7 (#ulink_131790b1-5365-5124-b0a0-dc028f55d418)
When I get back to reception it is to find a new teenager-cum-twenty-something, who is just like Em. She is trying her hardest not to smirk, and makes no comment whatsoever about the wide strip of mud that covers the front of me from head to toe. She does tell me where the bathroom is though, and where to find Sarah.
‘I hope nobody filmed that,’ I whisper to Sarah, suddenly having visions of it being on their Facebook page. ‘It could be all over the internet.’
‘I doubt it, I mean it was funny but it isn’t going to help with rehoming him, is it?’ She grins. ‘I might have tweeted a picture though.’
‘You didn’t?’
‘Naw, don’t worry, I was too busy laughing, couldn’t hold my phone steady. Well?’
‘Well what?’ I studiously avoid her gaze in the mirror and concentrate on washing myself down.
‘Well, what did you talk about? Is he nice? Will he do it?’ She pauses, and leans in closer. ‘Do you fancy him?’
I don’t know which bits to ignore, and which to answer. I decide to offer highlights. ‘His name is Jake Porter, not Taylor-Smith, because Amy is his half-sister, they’ve got the same mum. Her dad was a writer and he ran off with his agent, and it was a massive scandal. Jake doesn’t know his dad as his mum had a fling, but now she’s met somebody that everybody likes and they’ve got this enormous family.’
‘Wow, you two must have hit it off, you got up close and personal.’
I frown at my own reflection. When I say it, it sounds like we did, but I almost feel like Jake was brushing over things. It’s a weird feeling. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m sure I’ve got the edited version, as though he’s used to saying it to deflect questions later. ‘Not really, maybe it’s on his CV, you know, ready prepared for the press.’
‘And do you fancy him?’
‘Sarah! It isn’t like that, I’m paying him,’ I drop my voice, suddenly worried we might be overheard. I mean, it’s not the type of thing you broadcast, is it?
‘That means you do. You do fancy him! I don’t blame you, I fancy him and Em definitely fancies him, and it’s good you fancy him. It’ll make it dead easy, you won’t have to pretend.’
I sigh. If I object, she’ll go on even more. And I do fancy him a tiny bit. He’s very fanciable.
‘So will he do it?’
‘We’re going to have a coffee and chat.’ I can’t help myself, I look at her and grin. ‘I think so though!’
