Chapter 57
It was only when Yvonne had gone to bed and Daisy refilled Johnny’s water bowl she realised she hadn’t sent Theo a photo of the dog yet. It took several attempts to angle her phone properly so that only the boat and Johnny were in the photo, and only when she was certain she could see no trace of their location did she fire it off to Theo.
He looks at home
was the reply that pinged straight back.
It’s only temporary
she replied, though the text caused an unease to float around inside her. It had been two days, and apart from a few comments about how cute he was, there was nothing. No one had said he looked even vaguely familiar. Which meant it was probably time she moved on from looking for his old owners and found him a new home. However, as she opened up her phone to an animal adoption site, she yawned yet again.
It could wait until the morning, she decided. What she needed first was sleep.
Daisy lay in bed, listening to the sound of rain drumming on the roof above her, keeping her eyes closed. A slight smell filled the air. A clean, crisp aroma. Rain. It was raining. Which meant she didn’t have to get up straight away and open the coffee shop for all the early-morning walkers. A feeling of peace settled in her stomach.
At the beginning of her business venture, rain had been the worst outcome for a morning, and waking to the sound would be enough to make her insides twist in knots. She had so many bills waiting for her that closing, even for a few hours, was a massive setback. But now, weeks later, Daisy couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a lie-in. A bit of rainfall meant she might get a little rest, or at least a slower stream of customers. It was a shame that Theo wasn’t with her, though. Having Theo with her on a rainy day would make it perfect.
The realisation landed with a mixture of emotions. While the rain might stop her from opening up the coffee shop, a lazy day wasn’t going to be possible. If they didn’t keep moving, then they would fall well behind and there was no way she wanted that to happen. As she drew back the curtain and looked at the dark, thunderous clouds that filled the sky, the door to the cabin opened and Yvonne stepped out, this time wearing a bright-turquoise dressing gown. The array of nightwear she had really was spectacular.
‘That was some storm last night,’ she said as she moved across to the kitchen and poured a glass of water from the tap. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing the thunder on the water. All the storms I’ve heard and no two have ever been the same.’ She filled her glass and took a sip.
‘I didn’t hear it,’ Daisy admitted, sitting up. ‘I can’t believe how tired I was. Honestly, I was out like a light.’
‘Well, if that didn’t wake you, I can’t imagine that anything would,’ Yvonne said, before pausing. Her glass hovered in her hand as her eyes narrowed. She looked slowly around the boat, then scanned it for a second time, far more quickly, before finally looking back at Daisy.
‘Where’s Johnny?’ she said.
‘Johnny?’ It took Daisy a second to realise who she meant. The name was still so fresh. ‘Well, he’s outside, of course.’
‘And he’s been out all night?’ Yvonne said, her eyes widening by the second.
That was when it hit her.