Chapter Three
Cullen
Isla calls Max to her, and the three of us begin walking toward the veterinary clinic.
My heart is thundering. Her husband hit her, and he hit the boy. How can a man do such a thing to the people he loves?
The Ark does a fair bit of work with the Women’s Refuge and the Ministry for Children, and we’re all very aware of how animal abuse often leads to violence in the home.
Even so, I’m shocked. Isla is a modern, confident, beautiful, spirited woman.
Why did she stay when her husband hit her?
I would’ve thought she’d have been straight out the door.
She’s still wearing her wedding ring. But that’s obviously why she feels so guilty.
She stayed, and he turned his anger onto his son.
No wonder she blames herself, even though it’s nobody’s fault but his.
She must be having very mixed feelings about the thought of being up here for Christmas. I wonder where her parents are, and if she has any siblings? It sounds as if she left in a hurry. What did she bring with her? Does she have any presents for the boy?
So many questions that will have to remain unanswered for now. I touch my key card to the pad and open the back door to the clinic, and lead them along the corridor, toward reception.
“That’s what we call the Hotel,” I tell them, stopping by the glass windows so they can look in at the large room full of cages.
“It’s where the animals who’ve had operations go to recuperate.
These are our two operating theaters. And this is our meeting room, where the vet staff meets most mornings to catch up. ”
The door is open, and I’m pleased to see that Noah is still there, standing talking to two of the vets, Stefan and Hal.
“Come in,” I tell Isla, “and I’ll introduce you.”
She takes a deep breath, and even though she flashes me a smile, I can see she’s suddenly nervous. She grabs Max’s hand, and together they follow me into the room.
“Morning,” I say as Noah and Hal look around. “I found someone I thought you might like to meet.”
“Isla!” Noah beams at her, obviously guessing who she is. “How great to meet you at last.”
Noah is in his forties, tall and relatively trim, clean shaven, with salt-and-pepper hair.
His is a strange, rollercoaster tale of contrasting sunlight and shadows.
His father took his own life when Noah was young, and the angry boy was close to taking the path of rebellion and misfortune when his mother met Matt, an author of children’s stories who also happened to be one of the extremely wealthy King brothers.
Matt helped Noah turn his life around, and he became a successful illustrator and painter, and looked on the road to having a happy life.
He met and married the girl of his dreams, and when she got pregnant, everything in the garden was more than rosy.
And then she died in childbirth, and his life fell apart.
Noah developed severe agoraphobia, to the point where eventually he was unable to leave his house.
For five years he fought to regain some control, and it was during this time that he came up with the idea of the Ark.
By that point, his cousin, Hal, and Hal’s friends Stefan and Izzy had graduated from veterinary college, his half-brother, Leon, had a business degree, and his other cousin, Albie, had become an IT genius.
Noah brought them all together and put forward the notion of running an animal sanctuary, and they all thought it was a brilliant idea. And so the Ark was born.
The process of buying the land and building the Ark encouraged Noah to get out into the world, but once it was up and running, he retreated again to his house on the cliffs, overlooking the sea.
It was only when he met Abby, who was eight months pregnant when she started working as his housekeeper, that his life began to improve once again.
Now they’re happily married, and Noah has adopted the baby, Ethan, and Noah is seen around the Ark much more, taking an active hand in its everyday running.
“It’s so nice to meet you, too,” Isla says. “Cullen has been giving me a tour of the Ark. It’s a fantastic place you’ve created here.”
“It was all his idea,” Stefan states, also shaking her hand.
“This is Stefan,” I tell her, “he’s the head of the whole clinic.
And this is Hal—he runs the Animal Welfare Team.
” I look at Max, who has moved closer to his mother, a little intimidated by all these new faces.
“They go out and rescue animals who have been mistreated,” I tell him. “Guys, this is Max.”
“You’re the Dog Whisperer,” Max says to Hal.
Hal grins. “Yeah, sometimes they call me that.”
“You have a rival now,” I tell Hal, putting my hands on Max’s shoulders. “Ghost actually let this young man pet him.”
Hal’s eyebrows rise. “Oh… really? That’s fantastic. You must have a real knack for talking to animals.” He gestures at the collie dog sitting by his side. “This is Miss Daisy, if you want to say hello.”
Max bends and holds out his hand, and the shy, gentle dog nuzzles his palm, then licks him. “Is she a rescue dog?” he asks.
“Yep. Got her from a farmer who’d locked her up outside in the sun.”
“Aw.” Max fusses her. “She’s lovely.”
“Therizinosaurus, eh?” Stefan looks at the toy in his other hand. “One of the most interesting dinosaurs, I’ve always thought.”
Max looks delighted to have found someone else who recognizes his beloved toy. I can see he’s already half in love with the Ark and the people in it.
Noah chuckles, then turns to Isla. “Well, you’ve picked an interesting day to arrive. Two of our veterinary nurses have called in sick. I know you weren’t supposed to start until Monday, but we were wondering whether you’d be available today? We’ll pay you, obviously.”
Isla hesitates, then rests her hand on her son’s back. “I’d love to help, but we only arrived yesterday, and I haven’t had a chance to settle Max in at the holiday club in Sunrise Bay yet.”
“I know it was a bit forward of me,” I say quickly, “but I mentioned the Fox’s Den and said sometimes members of staff bring their kids to work.”
“Of course,” Noah says, as I knew he would.
“We don’t mind having children here if they’re supervised.
Alicia runs the creche for preschoolers, and in the holidays, Ruby, who’s a primary school teacher at Sunrise Bay, looks after older kids.
She coordinates with the staff to get the kids involved.
We’re always happy to let them help feed and walk the dogs in the Forever Home and the other animals in the Petting Zoo. ”
Max’s face is an absolute picture. “Can I stay, Mum, please?”
“As long as you’re sure,” she says to Noah.
“Later on, you can help us in the Hotel, if you like,” Hal tells Max. “If you’re good with dogs, you might be able to keep them calm while we feed them and clean out their cages.”
Max beams.
“Okay,” I say, pleased, “well, for now, shall I take Max with me? I’ll introduce him to Ruby, and then he can come and do my rounds with me, if he likes.”
Isla meets my eyes for a moment. Hers are brimming with emotion. “Thank you,” she says softly. “You’ve been very kind to me.”
“No worries. He’s a good lad, and Ghost likes him.” It has nothing to do with the frisson that passes through me when she looks at me. Nothing at all.
Hal nods and says to Isla, “Right, well sorry to throw you in the deep end, but we’ve already got some clients waiting. Shall we get you fixed up with a tunic? My nurse is one of those who’s off sick, so it’d be great if you’d work with me this morning.”
Isla looks thrilled, but glances nervously at her son.
I gesture with my head at the door and say to Max, “Shall we?”
“Be a good boy,” Isla says.
I lift a brow. “Are you talking to me?”
She gives me a mischievous smile, and there it is again, the flutter inside that tells me I haven’t imagined it.
Careful, Cullen.
Max is already heading to the door, and I follow him out.
“That was kind of you,” Noah says, walking into the reception area with us.
“Honestly, he was amazing with Ghost. I’ll be interested to see if he’s the same with all animals, like Hal.”
“We can always do with more Dog Whisperers.” His eyes sparkle as we go outside, and he stops walking. “I’m glad you like her.”
It’s then that I get the first tingle of suspicion. Noah is a matchmaker. He’s always trying to pair off people at the Ark. He’s a great guy, but if he has a fault, it’s that he thinks he can fix everyone.
No, it’s egotistical to think he’d invite Isla here for me, especially when she’s having such trouble with her marriage. Still, best to nip it in the bud, before he gets any ideas.
I clear my throat. “I should let you know that I’m going to be moving on soon.” I study my Converses. Then, when he doesn’t reply, I lift my gaze to his.
He tips his head to the side. “When?”
“Not sure yet. Probably soon. Before Christmas.” I look down at Ghost, then realize Max is listening. He doesn’t say anything though. He just looks at his dinosaur and picks at a piece of plastic on its back.
“I see,” Noah says. “We’ll be sorry to lose you, of course.”
“It’s nothing to do with you,” I add, then think, well why would he think it was? “I mean with the Ark. It’s a great place to work.”
“So… where are you moving on to?”
“I don’t know.” I sound morose and miserable, because I am. The thought of leaving the Ark depresses me. “I can’t stay,” I tell him abruptly. “I don’t deserve to stay.” The words are out before I can vet them.
His eyebrows rise. “You don’t deserve to stay?”
“I didn’t mean that. I meant…” I can’t think what I meant.
“Rescue, recover, rehome,” Noah says. “The Ark isn’t just for animals. It’s always easier to leave. It’s hard to stay. And you have to be open to healing.”
I don’t know what he means by that. Is he saying I’m not? That I refuse to recover?
“What about Ghost?” he asks. “Does he not deserve to stay, either?”
“It wasn’t his fault.”