Practically Perfect (24 page)

‘They are quite small for families,’ Rob said.

‘I know.’ Anna sighed. ‘I don’t know how Chloe manages. Three children! Just as well they’re close. My house is quite crowded enough and it’s just me and Caroline.’

‘And quite a lot of furniture.’ He chuckled. ‘Talking of Caroline, have you found anywhere where you can let her off the lead to have a really good run yet?’

‘Chloe did mention somewhere, once, but quite honestly, I haven’t had much time to explore.’

‘And it’s hard to explore on a bicycle, with a dog.’

‘Don’t knock bicycles. They keep you fit!’

‘Of course they do, but you can’t go more than a certain distance on them when you’ve got a dog to consider.’

Was he being Bastard Dog Man again? She couldn’t quite tell with him. ‘I wouldn’t dream of taking Caroline with me on my bike,’ she said, horrified. ‘Think of the traffic!’

‘It might strain her heart, too.’

Anna considered. He was twinkling at her. Well, two could play at that game. ‘I could fix up some sort of child seat, so she could go on the back.’

He shook his head seriously. ‘You’d never get a helmet to fit her.’

‘I bet they sell them in those catalogues that sell coats and leads, stuff like that.’ She tried not to smile.

‘Except I think they call them Dogalogues.’

‘Idiot!’ Anna pushed at him playfully.

He smiled back. ‘Tell you what, why don’t you take a day off for flexitime?’

‘What on earth …?’

‘Let me take you and Caroline to a field near me that’s totally secure, and where there are usually a few rabbits to chase, to get her going.’

‘I don’t want Caroline to chase rabbits!’ Anna said rather loudly.

‘She’ll chase them whether you want her to or not, but she won’t necessarily catch them. She’d appreciate a good run. It’s probably been a while.’

The thought of a proper outing, with Caroline, was very tempting. ‘I really mustn’t. I was going to start my staircase.’

He didn’t speak and she looked at him. The thought of some time off too was equally tempting. ‘Oh the other hand …’

‘What?’

‘I meant to buy a new saw today and forgot. It’s amazing how many of them you get through.’

‘And no one sharpens them these days.’

She laughed. She was enjoying their easy banter.

‘It would be better to start when you’re really fresh. You’ve earned some time off. I’d like to see Caroline really move, to make sure she doesn’t need a vet for any reason.’ He grinned. ‘Now I know why you haven’t taken her to be checked up.’

‘Well, she wouldn’t have a “backy” and we’ve discussed the helmet issue.’

He grinned, and his teeth looked very white in the darkness of his emerging beard. ‘Come on.’

Anna considered.

‘I won’t press you if you’d really rather get on, but I
genuinely
feel you’ll work better if you’ve had a bit of time off. I know that from my experience.’

As this tied in with her own she made her decision. ‘OK.’

‘Great. Right, get your coat, and Caroline’s, and we’ll go for a run.’

‘Will you bring your dogs?’ Anna said as they went downstairs.

‘Next time, when we can introduce them properly. Now I just want to see how Caroline gets on.’

Caroline jumped up into the back of Rob’s Volvo as if she’d been doing it all her life. Anna said as much.

‘They’re very agile, as a rule, they can leap huge distances,’ said Rob.

Anna got into the front seat. ‘I should get a car, really.’

‘Can you drive?’ Rob asked as he started the engine.

‘Sort of,’ Anna replied, adjusting her seatbelt. ‘I passed my test, but then never drove. What with the house and everything, getting a car never seemed a priority. But that was before I had Caroline.’

It wasn’t a long journey, but surprisingly pleasant. The hedgerows and trees were in their freshest greens, the summer waiting for the moment to arrive. Anna gazed out of the window, melancholy at the thought that she might not be here to see summer at its height.

They parked the car and headed for the field, Caroline on her lead.

‘That’s not a field, it’s a precipice,’ said Anna, as she looked over the gate.

Rob laughed. ‘It is a bit steep. It belongs to a friend of mine. He lets me run my dogs in it whenever I want to as long as there’s no stock in it. Luckily, they must be in the other field today.’

There were a couple of fields before a stream separated them from a small wood. It was extremely pretty. ‘Perfect for a picnic when the weather’s warmer,’ said Anna. ‘I wonder if Chloe knows about this place.’

‘You’ll be able to tell her.’

Just inside the gate Anna unclipped Caroline’s lead.

‘You’d better take her coat off,’ said Rob.

‘Why? She feels the cold terribly.’

‘If she really goes for it, she could get her paws caught,’ explained Rob patiently. ‘But if she just stands around shivering, we’ll put it back on and walk sedately about.’

Walking sedately about wasn’t really an option. Caroline stood and sniffed for a few seconds, then spotted a rabbit and was off. It was a thrilling sight: her legs curling under her and out again, so fast all her feet were off the ground at the same time. It didn’t last for long, though. The rabbit was used to being chased by greyhounds and wheeled away, down a hole, before Caroline was even close. Caroline came bounding back up to them, panting hard, demanding congratulations, which Rob and Anna gave lavishly.

‘Wow,’ said Anna. ‘That was utterly amazing. Now I understand what they mean by poetry in motion, although it was very fast poetry. I hope she hasn’t pulled a muscle or something, taking off like that.’

‘She looks fine,’ said Rob, running professional hands down Caroline’s legs. ‘And yes, it is wonderful seeing them run. I have to say, it’s even more exciting when they’re racing. I’d ban it tomorrow, but you can see why people like it, apart from the betting angle, I mean. Now, do you want a hand going down the field?’

‘Of course not! I’ve been walking on my own for years,’ said Anna glibly, and then set off.

It was far harder than she had imagined, and her boots were not as grippy as she’d thought they were. To take
the
attention away from her stumbling progress she said, ‘Can you train greyhounds to retrieve? It would save me having to lay on rabbits, if I did find a good place for her to run in a bit more locally.’

‘Not very satisfactorily. They might do it a couple of times, to please you, but they’re hounds, they’ve got minds of their own.’ He was obviously accustomed to walking down cliff faces and strode ahead without having to look at his feet.

Anna, feeling terribly citified and inept, was making for a patch of brambles that marked the bottom of the gradient. She stumbled and he took her arm. Her instinct was to shrug it off, but she thought better of it. After all, it was easier with two of them and she’d look so silly if she fell over.

Max flashed into her mind – which was odd because he usually lived there – and Anna wondered how he would cope with this steep field. No, Max was not one for long country walks with dogs. Or even short ones. He was strictly urban. Or at least, as far as she knew he was. Could she go back to London, having lived here? But somehow she felt that although she loved him so much, and would do anything for him, he wouldn’t ask her to marry him, or even live with him. His interest in her was surely only passing – after all, why should someone as sophisticated as him be attracted to a slightly gauche young woman who did up houses for a living? It could only end in tears – her tears – and this insight made her all the more determined to enjoy him while she could.

When they reached the bottom, Anna let go of Rob. She didn’t want to look clingy; she was an independent woman. Caroline was loping along, her nose to the ground, her energy momentarily spent. Rob seemed lost in his own thoughts too.

Anna walked on, along the bottom of the field, wondering what on earth she’d do with Caroline if Max really surprised her, and did want her to live with him in London. There were the parks, of course, but they were always full of small dogs and squirrels: things dogs shouldn’t chase. Still, Caroline hadn’t seemed to miss running. But having seen her do it, she didn’t want to deprive her of the opportunity for ever.

She was just considering this when she tripped over a tuffet of grass and fell headlong into the mud.

‘Are you all right?’ Rob, who had gone off to inspect a potential gap in the hedge, came running up.

‘I’ll be fine,’ said Anna, ‘if you don’t laugh.’ She knew this was a tall order, because she was beginning to laugh herself, but she felt she should set boundaries. He put out a hand to help her up. She could tell he was fighting laughter, but took it gratefully. As her own hand was covered in mud, it slipped out, causing Anna to fall back into the mud again. This time her face got it, too. She tried to get up and couldn’t. Her legs kept slipping from under her. Although shock was still making her laugh, she began to think she’d never get out.

‘Come on,’ he said, his eyes still narrowed with merriment, and gripped her under her armpits and hauled her upright. Her muddy front collided with him, covering his fleece with mud.

‘Oh, look what I’ve done. I am sorry.’ She tried to break free and her feet slipped again. ‘I seem to have lost the ability to stand up unaided.’

‘Those aren’t the best footwear for walking. You need proper boots or wellingtons. Townie,’ he added.

‘I’m all right usually!’ she said indignantly. ‘I don’t often walk in places like this. How dare you call me a townie!’

He shook his head wisely, still trying to keep a straight
face
, ‘If you’re going to be a country-dweller, you’ll have to get used to a bit of mud.’

She smiled back at him and then said, ‘I may not be a country-dweller for much longer.’ She suddenly felt a bit melancholy.

‘You can buy another house in the country, even if you have to leave that one.’ He caught hold of her again and pulled her firmly towards him. Then he put his arm round her, holding her up. They walked together, as if tied up for a three-legged race.

When they had safely reached the top of the field he released her. ‘There you go. You should be all right now,’ he said.

‘Except I’m covered in mud. And so are you.’ She chuckled. ‘I’m such a nana.’

‘A what?’

‘It’s what Chloe’s children say. It’s short for banana.’

He laughed. ‘Come on. Let’s get you home. You need to change.’

They rounded up Caroline, who was surprisingly biddable, and put her coat back on. That too was fairly muddy, but mud, Anna decided, looked OK on a dog. Just as well I have no idea how it looks on me, she decided. The thought of Max seeing her covered in mud was on a par with him seeing her covered with cobwebs: just not an option.

They had gone a fair distance in the car before Anna realised that they were not going in the right direction. ‘Is this another way back?’ she asked. ‘I don’t know my way round here at all.’

‘We’re not going to your home, we’re going to mine. Let’s hope the dogs get on,’ Rob replied as they turned into a narrow lane.

‘But I can’t …’ began Anna, before she realised she
didn’t
quite know what excuse she could give, without sounding rude.

‘Have you got a washing machine at your house?’ he said, as if anticipating her objections. ‘I have. And I’ve got clothes you could borrow. Anyway we’re here now. I’ll let Caroline out, then my dogs. If they meet out here, they should be fine. They’re not particularly territorial.’

His house had obviously once belonged to a farm, although it was almost surrounded by a small wood. It had good proportions, but was in a bad state of repair. She realised he couldn’t have lived in it long. He wouldn’t have let the guttering drop off, the window frames begin to rot, and the outbuildings fall apart.

He opened the front door and called. Three huge greyhounds came milling out. They saw Caroline, sniffed her, and then turned all their attention to Rob. Anna was accorded the most cursory sniff.

‘Will they let her in the house? I don’t want her staying in the car for long. She’ll get cold,’ she said anxiously.

‘It should be fine. If there’s any trouble, I’ve got a room I can shut them in, and she can stay in the kitchen with us.’

Anna started to take her boots off.

‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Rob. ‘It’s all flags and rugs downstairs. The mud won’t matter and your feet’ll freeze if you walk about in your socks.’

He ushered her into a small, square hall, with doors opening off it. ‘Come in.’

‘It doesn’t seem right bringing all this mud in, somehow,’ said Anna, following him into the kitchen.

‘It’ll dry and then I’ll just sweep it up. Don’t worry. Come in and get warm.’

The kitchen was an interior designer’s dream. Anna couldn’t help sighing. It was full of original features and a long refectory table stood in front of a bright red Aga.
Rob
peered inside a saucepan that was on the top. ‘It’s all right. It hasn’t boiled dry yet,’ he said.

‘Oh good. What is it?’ It did smell delicious.

‘Soup. Would you like some?’

The thought of hot, tasty soup filling her body with warmth was magical and she realised she was hungry after all that exercise. ‘Oh yes. Soup would be marvellous. If you’ve got enough.’

He nodded and she pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. Caroline came and sat by her, resting her head on her knee, pretending to be a small dog and not a long-legged speed fiend. ‘That’s a wonderful Aga,’ she said.

‘Yes,’ he said, leaning against it for warmth. ‘But after I’d bought it, I didn’t have much money left for anything else.’

‘The house is a work in progress, I assume?’ Too late she realised she shouldn’t have assumed, but in her mind she was already demolishing a dilapidated tin lean-to she could see in the garden and replacing it with a proper wooden shed, seeing if there were original shutters in the window embrasure, and scrubbing the stone flags with something to get the grease off. There also seemed to be some sort of extension that was cutting off half the light.

‘You would know. Actually, it’s a money pit, but I fell in love. What could I do?’ he stated.