Chapter 12
Hannah came down the stairs the following morning to find Alex surrounded by overnight hotel guests, all crowding around to fuss over Tiny the dog.
Alex looked up as she came down the stairs and gave her a weary smile. He still looked tired, she thought. Still not quite his usual assured self after such a difficult week.
Thankfully all the attention from the guests had been taken away from the injured athlete and transferred to the black dog who was wagging his tail at the adoring crowd.
The puppy had already been a huge hit with the guests. There had been a couple of small accidents on the oak floorboards in the reception which everyone the previous evening had put down to excitement, despite Ben’s muted grumbles.
Once Alex had finally dragged the puppy away, telling the crowd that it was time for Tiny’s breakfast, he went into the kitchen with Hannah.
‘Thanks for saving me,’ he said. ‘I’m not quite ready to be the centre of attention yet.’
‘I know,’ she murmured. ‘But if you want to hide, having Tiny next to you isn’t going to work.’
He gave a small laugh. ‘I’m quickly finding that out. I’m also discovering that if I want to sleep, having Tiny next to me isn’t a good idea either. We had to go outside twice last night. It took me ages to keep going up and down the stairs with my crutches.’
‘I’ll fix us both a coffee,’ Hannah told him, going into the kitchen area whilst Alex went to sit down at the table.
Tiny immediately put his paws up on Alex’s knees, desperate to climb on top of him for a cuddle.
‘Just this one time,’ he told the dog, lifting him up.
Hannah smiled. Perhaps the dog would bring a bit of comfort to him where nobody else’s words seemed to help.
‘Have you ever owned a dog before?’ she asked.
Alex shook his head. ‘Not growing up. Dad’s too impatient for us to have any pets. And I was always too busy with the competitions.’ He smiled down at the dog. ‘Did always have a dream of owning one at some point though.’
She made them both a coffee and some toast before joining them at the table. Tiny was very interested in the toast so she moved her plate out of reach. Unfortunately, Alex was too slow and lost his marmalade on toast to the dog.
‘I’ll make you some more,’ Hannah told him, getting up.
‘Please don’t worry,’ said Alex. ‘Besides, I’ve got an early vet’s appointment. Your mum knows a great one in the next village apparently.’
‘That’s great but you must keep your strength up for your recovery,’ Hannah told him, heading over to the toaster.
Ben came into the kitchen. ‘Didn’t get a wink of sleep until after 2 a.m.,’ he said, yawning. ‘Del’s outdone himself this time with the dog.’
‘You mean the howling?’ asked Alex, with a grimace.
‘I didn’t hear anything,’ lied Hannah, anxious to protect Alex from Ben’s nagging.
But Alex was too honest to lie to his friend. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘In the end, I had to bring him up from the kitchen and hustle him into my bedroom.’
‘The rooms have only just been renovated,’ said Ben with a frown.
‘He didn’t make a mess,’ said Alex quickly. ‘And I put one of my old sweatshirts on the bed so he didn’t lie on the duvet.’
‘Listen, are you seriously planning on keeping Tiny?’ asked Ben. ‘Because if not, I can be straight onto Del to get him to pick the dog up.’
Hannah placed the second round of toast on the table next to Alex and sat down.
‘In all honesty, I’m not sure,’ replied Alex.
‘My lifestyle was just too hectic before to even dream about having a dog. But now?’ He did a palms up.
‘I guess I have the time but my living circumstances aren’t great and like you said, living here in the hotel isn’t the best place for him either.
So maybe it’s not fair.’ He looked downhearted for a minute.
‘I’ll ask the vet to find out if there’s a better owner out there for him. ’
Hannah immediately felt upset. She felt that Alex really wanted the dog.
‘I’m sure the puppy will settle down soon,’ she said, shooting a glare at her brother for being so grumpy. ‘And besides, like Alex said, Tiny didn’t make a mess.’
Ben raised his eyebrows at her unexpectedly harsh tone.
Hannah shrugged her shoulders in response. ‘I’ve always wanted a dog as well, remember,’ she told him.
Ben smiled. ‘Yeah, I remember all the begging to Mum and Dad every Christmas.’
‘I must have always been naughty because Father Christmas left me off his good list,’ she told Alex, with a wicked grin.
He seemed to choke a little on the coffee mug that had been lifted to his lips, perhaps at her small joke, she thought.
‘Just let Tiny stay for a little while longer,’ she begged her brother. ‘I’m sure he’ll be quieter tonight now he’s got used to Alex.’
‘It’s all my fault,’ said Alex. ‘I should never have let Del talk me into keeping him.’
Ben shook his head. ‘Not your fault, mate. Del has selective deafness so would never have listened to you anyway!’
Hannah reached out to stroke Tiny and sent up a prayer of hope that Alex might keep the dog.
She thought it would be good for him. She also hoped that both Alex and Tiny would stay at Maple Tree Lodge for a while longer too.
She found that she had got used to having both of them around for the past couple of days and didn’t want to see either of them leave just yet.