CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Fritz was an energetic Border collie who needed a lot of exercise to keep him well and happy: something his former owners hadn’t realised when they’d bought him as a puppy. Now two years old, he was full of life and energy, needing to be kept physically and mentally active, and today Jakob had set himself the task of wearing him out.
However, after traipsing around the hills and moorland above Picklewick for two hours and several miles, Jakob realised he was the one who was worn out, not the dog. Fritz was as lively and as alert as when they’d set off. The same could not be said for him.
It didn’t help that he hadn’t slept well last night. He’d been awake for half of it, thinking about Gretta and Bertie, worrying that they were both alright. When he’d spoken to her yesterday, he’d been shocked that Bertie had found his way back to Picklewick, uplifted to hear her voice again, then crushed that she hadn’t wanted him to accompany her when she’d taken the dog back to Erica. She’d been distant and reserved, just as she’d been the first few times they’d met. Had he imagined the thaw? Had it been wishful thinking on his part because he liked her so much? Had Bertie been the only connection between them?
Jakob refused to believe it. There had definitely been a spark, which had ignited into a flame when they’d kissed. Surely it couldn’t have been so easily extinguished?
While he was wondering whether he should call her or send her a message (although he had no idea what to say), Jakob saw a flash of black and white on the path leading from the village to Muddypuddle Lane.
He slowed his pace, squinting, convinced it was a dog. Fritz had seen it too: his ears were pricked, his head was up, and he was on full alert.
Jakob came to a stop in the middle of the lane and used his hand to shade his eyes.
‘Bertie!’ The dog’s name tore from his lips. ‘What the hell?’
Bertie heard his name and bounced to a halt, casting around to find where the call had come from.
‘Bertie!’ Jakob shouted again, and the dog zeroed in on his voice, racing towards him, barking excitedly.
But for all Bertie’s happiness on seeing him, signified by stumpy tail wagging and excited whimpering, the little chap was clearly exhausted. His tongue was hanging out, and once the initial greeting was over, he flopped onto his tummy, his back legs splayed behind him.
‘What are you doing up here, boy?’ Jakob asked, checking him over. He seemed okay, despite having made the trip from Thornbury to Picklewick twice in as many days. In fact, he was in remarkably good condition, considering.
Scooping Bertie up, Jakob tucked him into the crook of his arm. He’d put Fritz in his kennel and settle him in, then he’d take Bertie back to Erica Hilliard. And while he was there, he’d have a word with the woman about taking better care of her dog and offer her some advice on how to keep him secure and stop him escaping.
Jakob had to take his hat off to the pup, though. Bertie was determined. And resourceful.
Maybe he thought he’d have more luck with Jakob than he’d had with Gretta and be allowed to stay?
It broke Jakob’s heart to think the dog wasn’t happy and was pining for Picklewick, but unfortunately Jakob had to return him.
As he bundled him into the crate in the back of his car, it briefly crossed Jakob’s mind to phone Gretta and let her know that Bertie had escaped again, but if he did, it would be just an excuse to talk to her, so instead he dialled Erica’s number.
‘Erica? It’s Jakob from Thornbury Animal Sanctuary. I’m at The Forever Home Kennels in Picklewick and I’ve got Bertie with me.’
There was a loud huff on the other end of the line, followed by, ‘It didn’t take her long to decide she couldn’t cope with him, did it? Well, I’m going to tell you what I told her – I don’t want him. He’s too much trouble. If she hadn’t said she’d have him, I’d have taken him to the sanctuary soon, anyway.’
Jakob was having difficulty following her. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Who can’t cope with him?’
‘My uncle’s neighbour, Gretta.’ Erica sounded impatient. ‘When she brought him back yesterday, she said she wanted him. Seems she’s changed her mind.’
Jakob was still confused. ‘Are you telling me she brought him back, then took him away with her?’
‘Said she’d have him. I agreed as it saved me having to hand him over to you lot, especially since I’ve got my uncle’s house to sort out. I was just about to drive over there, in fact; my son has arranged for a clearance company to come in today and he’s there supervising.’
‘You were going to take him to the sanctuary ?’ Jakob said, needing to check he hadn’t misheard.
‘That’s right.’ More impatience. ‘Didn’t she tell you?’
‘No.’ He wondered why, but that was quickly followed by the realisation that Gretta must be going frantic.
The next number he called was hers, but when there was no reply, it occurred to him that if she was working she may have turned her phone off, and if that was indeed the case, she mightn’t even be aware that Bertie had escaped.
‘Maisie, can you hold the fort for a while?’ he asked. ‘I’ve just found Bertie in the lane and I need to take him back to Gretta.’
‘Bertie? Doesn’t he belong to the old man’s niece now?’
‘He did, but she doesn’t want him, so Gretta agreed to have him.’
‘I thought she was here to foster a dog because she missed him? That’s what she told me.’
Jakob blinked. ‘When did she tell you that?’
‘Yesterday. I showed her the puppies because you were on the phone to Dawn. Didn’t you speak to her?’
‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘I didn’t. What time was this?’
‘Around twelve, I think.’
Jakob didn’t say anything: he was too busy thinking back to yesterday. Twelve was when Clare had arrived at the kennels…
It probably wasn’t relevant, he decided, but even as he thought it, he had a feeling it might be.
‘Bertie? Bertie!’ Gretta had been calling him for ages and with each passing second her worry grew. Where on earth could he be? She’d searched the house and the garden, and was currently in Mr Butler’s house, having also scoured his garden without success.
The issue she had was that Mr Butler’s house was being emptied by two burly men and one slim, bearded one, who seemed to be overseeing matters.
‘Are you sure you haven’t seen him?’ she begged. ‘He used to live here.’
‘So you said,’ one of them replied.
‘Might he have got into the van?’ It was half full already, and she feared he might have jumped into it and become trapped, or was lying low because…
Her heart went out to him. His home was being dismantled in front of his very eyes. No wonder the poor little thing didn’t want to be found.
‘Can you check again?’ she pleaded. ‘He’s got to be here somewhere.’ She didn’t want to think about the alternative, that he might not be here at all and that he’d run off. But where could he have run to? Gretta highly doubted he would have gone back to Erica.
No, he had to be here somewhere. He had to.
Then she heard it – his familiar bark – and she sagged with relief. ‘Bertie, where are you?’
He barked again, the sound coming from the street, and she darted outside. Then skidded to a halt because, standing in front of her house with Bertie at his feet, was Jakob.
‘There you are!’ she cried, hurrying over to the dog and crouching down. Bertie tried to scramble onto her lap. ‘Where have you been, you naughty boy? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’
Jakob said, ‘I tried phoning, but there wasn’t any answer, so I thought I’d bring him straight here in case you were working and hadn’t heard your phone.’
She had her face buried in Bertie’s fur but looked up when she realised what he’d said. ‘Bring him? You found him?’ To her dismay and annoyance, desire flared inside her when she met his gaze, and she chewed her lip.
‘I did. He was on Muddypuddle Lane.’
‘What was he doing there? ’ Gretta was incredulous.
‘No idea. I rang Erica Hilliard, and she told me that Bertie is yours now.’
‘Er, that’s right.’ She felt awkward, thinking that perhaps she should have let Jakob know.
She straightened up. Damn, it was good to see him. He looked tired, although she refused to think why that could be, as an image of him and the woman from the supermarket popped into her head. Best not to think about that.
Jakob was looking at the men hoisting an old-fashioned sideboard onto the van.
‘They’re clearing Mr Butler’s house,’ she explained. ‘I think it’s upset him.’
‘I expect it has. I’m not sure why he headed to Muddypuddle Lane, though. Get off, Bertie,’ he added, as the dog tugged at his jeans with his teeth.
‘I don’t suppose we’ll ever know,’ Gretta said. ‘Bertie, leave Jakob alone.’ Her eyes met Jakob’s. ‘Thanks for bringing him back.’
‘Do you need any help making the garden more secure?’ he asked.
Stiffly, Gretta replied, ‘I can manage, thanks.’ Assuming they were done, she reached down to grab her dog, who was still holding onto the bottom of Jakob’s jeans for dear life. ‘Let go, Bertie,’ she commanded, trying to prise his jaws open.
He let out a playful growl and gave her the side-eye.
‘This isn’t a game,’ she told him. ‘You’ve got plenty of toys in the house.’
The situation was getting embarrassing. Gretta was far too close to Jakob for comfort. Being this near to him was doing all sorts of odd things to her insides.
Considering Jakob was the expert on dogs, she fully expected him to put his expertise to good use and intervene, but he simply stood there, and when she glanced up, she found him studying her with a strange expression.
He said, ‘Maisie tells me you were at The Forever Home yesterday.’
Oh, God, had he seen her spying on him? Heat swept into her cheeks and she knew she was blushing. ‘I was thinking about fostering a dog, but now that I’ve got Bertie back…’ She ground to a halt.
He was still looking at her oddly. ‘You left without speaking to me,’ he said, and she knew she’d been rumbled.
‘I saw you,’ she muttered.
‘Was I with a woman?’
‘Yes.’
He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was an intensity in them that stole her breath. ‘You’ve been honest with me about your past. I need to tell you about mine,’ he said, then glanced up at the men who were now taking a breather on the tailgate of the van. ‘Not here, though. Can I come in?’
‘Okay, sure.’ She had doubts about this, hoping he wasn’t going to do an ‘I like you, but…’ speech. Seeing him snogging another woman was enough explanation, thank you. She’d got the message and didn’t need him to mansplain.
Bertie was happy though, finally releasing his hold on the jeans, leaving a slobbery stain on them.
Gretta wasn’t in the mood to offer Jakob a cosy cup of coffee (her heart was still thumping from the scare of losing Bertie – and from seeing Jakob unexpectedly) so once inside, she turned to him, folded her arms and said, ‘What is it you want to tell me?’
Taking a deep breath, he seemed to gather himself. ‘The woman at the kennels was my ex-fiancée, Clare. I haven’t seen her since we split up three years ago.’
‘There’s no need to explain,’ she said – she didn’t want to hear it.
‘Hear me out, please? When you say you saw me, I’m assuming you saw Clare kissing me?’
Gretta looked away and twitched her eyebrows in acknowledgement.
‘It wasn’t what it seemed,’ he said.
Oh yeah? she thought. ‘Look, it’s none of my business who you kiss—’
‘I want to kiss you .’
‘You’re joking. ’ Gretta’s mouth dropped open.
‘I’m not, I—’
‘You’re in love with another woman and you want to kiss me ?’ She was flabbergasted at the cheek of it and extremely disappointed in him. She’d thought he was a better man than that.
‘I’m not in love with Clare.’ His gaze was open and direct, and incredibly intense.
‘But you were kissing her!’ she pointed out, furiously.
‘What you saw was her kissing me . I wasn’t actually taking part.’
‘She was all over you!’
‘She was, but not for long. Not when she realised I wasn’t interested.’
Gretta was conflicted. Should she mention the conversation she’d overheard? No, she didn’t think she would. She didn’t want to get involved.
He soldiered on. ‘I loved her once – heart and soul – but she betrayed me with my best friend. She’d been unfaithful before and I’d forgiven her; but I could never forgive her for that, especially since she left me for him. I don’t know what went wrong between them and I don’t care. She might be back in Thornbury, but she’s not back in my life. For three years I’ve been too scared to let anyone get close – until you.’
‘ Me? ’ Gretta blinked.
‘You don’t have to say anything, and I don’t expect you to feel the same way. I just wanted to explain.’
‘The same way? What way is that?’ Her heart was beating so fast she feared it would explode, and a nervous excitement was building in her stomach.
‘I’m falling for you, Gretta.’ His voice was matter of fact, but his eyes were haunted.
When she said nothing, his shoulders sagged and he nodded. ‘It’s okay. I’m glad you’ve got Bertie back. See you around.’
Bertie, hearing his name, whined. He was looking from her to Jakob and back again, and Gretta could have sworn he had a disbelieving look on his face. When he let out a loud bark, she jumped.
It cut through her inertia and she suddenly realised she had a decision to make, one which would affect the rest of her life.
Could she trust again? Could she bring herself to give her heart to this man, because if she couldn’t there was no point in even contemplating a relationship with him.
The problem was, she suspected she already had. Jakob had sneaked into her heart as effectively as Bertie.
It didn’t alter the fact that she was scared: love made people vulnerable and she hated feeling vulnerable. If you loved someone there was a chance they could hurt you – as she’d found out to her cost. If she let Jakob in, she’d be taking a leap of faith.
Was she ready for that?
Gretta took a deep breath and leapt .
‘Wait. Don’t go.’
He halted in the doorway and slowly turned around. Hope lit up his face, yet he made no move towards her, as he said, ‘I won’t hurt you, Gretta. When I love someone, I love them wholeheartedly and with everything I’ve got.’
He was telling the truth. Her certainty was absolute; just as she was certain that Bertie had entered her life to show her how to love again.
Actually, she suspected that the dog might have had something to do with Jakob being here now… He certainly looked very pleased with himself.
Gretta recognised that she would have to make the next move. Jakob was as wary and as vulnerable as she, and he’d already revealed more of himself than she guessed he was comfortable with.
Slowly, uncertainly, she took a step towards him.
His eyes never left her face.
She took another. And another.
Then his mouth was on hers, and she was swept into his embrace.
As he kissed her, her fear dissipated, replaced by passion and the conviction that she, like Bertie, had found her forever home.