Page 54 of Escape to the Country

Eleanor helped carry all the extra doggy paraphernalia out to the car. ‘Will you be okay with him?’ she asked.

Tom nodded. ‘It’ll be fine, I’m sure. How hard can it be, compared to, say, a donkey?’

Her shoulders slumped. ‘Yeah. Well, it’s good of you to take care of the dog. As you can see, the Ark is pretty full at the minute.’

She was shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot.

‘I think it’s great that your mum loves animals so much,’ he told her.

She rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not so great if you have to take care of them every day.’

He looked down at her. ‘Trust me, there’s not too many people that would make such an effort.’

She glanced at the dog on the back seat. ‘Right back at you.’

He smiled. ‘So, is this a temporary truce whilst we take care of Dylan?’

‘We?’ Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

‘If you think I’m bathing him all by myself, you’ve got another thing coming,’ he told her, as he sat behind the wheel.

Her laughter surprised them both and made her face seem far more alive and animated. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘It’s a deal. I’ll see you in the morning up at the hall.’

As he drove off, he glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw that Eleanor was still smiling as she turned away to head indoors.

It was the first time he had seen her smile properly and be natural, he realised. And he liked it.