‘Gouda? As in the cheese?’
‘Yep. Naming pets after food isnotmy thing. I didn’t choose either name.’
We slowed our pace as we approached the shed and, like I’d done before, I shook the treats and called Clemmie’s name, my stomach sinking when she didn’t appear.
‘Doesn’t mean she’s not inside,’ Caleb said, his eyes catching mine.
We crept a little closer and he placed a finger to his lips and cocked his head. I listened and my heart leapt as I caught a plaintive mew.
‘Clemmie?’
‘Slowly,’ Caleb whispered.
I tentatively approached the shed, poking my head round the corner. It was dark inside and, although I could make out the shape of a cat curled up in the corner, I couldn’t be sure if it was Clemmie.
‘I’ve got the entrance blocked,’ Caleb whispered. ‘I’m going to give you some light.’
The beam of light moved towards the shape and I felt weak with relief.
‘It’s her! But she’s bleeding.’
I shrugged off my zipped hoodie and wrapped it round Clemmie as I gently picked her up, whispering reassuring words to her.
Out in the open, Caleb shone his torch across her, pausing over her leg where the blood was.
‘I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks but we’ll need to get her cleaned up before we can tell for sure.’
Caleb helped me swaddle Clemmie in my hoodie so that there was no danger of her escaping. He offered to carry her but, now that I’d found her, I couldn’t bear to let her go.
‘That shed needs taking down before it collapses,’ Caleb said as we left the field. ‘It’s a hazard but that’s typical of the neglectful approach of the Garstangs.’
There was an edge to his tone suggesting bad feeling between him and the former owners but I didn’t have the energy to ask about it. All I wanted was to get Clemmie back to the farmhouse and find the details for the emergency vet. I was livid with myself because I hadn’t yet registered our pets with a local vet, wanting to ask around for a recommendation rather than assume that the one the Garstangs had used for the farm animals was the best one.
As we approached Peartree Cottage from behind, I thanked Caleb for his help.
‘I’d never have found her without you,’ I said. ‘I’m so grateful.’
‘I’m glad I could help. Let’s get her inside and check out that wound.’
‘It’s okay. I’ll track down the emergency vet.’
‘No need. I’m a vet.’
I frowned, my eyes flicking to the forge. ‘I thought you were a farrier.’
‘I’m both. We’ll get Clemmie cleaned up then I can explain.’
25
I was so relieved to discover that Clemmie’s injury did indeed look worse than it actually was. Caleb suspected she’d caught her leg on some barbed wire and, although the cut was long, it wasn’t deep. He was so calm and gentle with her as he cleaned her up and gave her some antibiotics that I felt a stab of guilt for my earlier negative thoughts about him.
‘I don’t normally keep a supply of these at home,’ he said as he fastened a cone round her head to prevent her from licking the wound, ‘but this was Gouda’s.’
I wrapped Clemmie in a clean towel and cuddled her to me. ‘Thank you for everything.’
‘It was no bother. She’s a lovely cat.’ He went over to the sink and washed his hands. ‘I’m going to make a brew. Would you like one?’
‘I’d love one but I’d better get back and let my mam and Maddie know she’s safe.’
