Page 111 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘She kissed me,’ he told them. ‘But it was only a second before I stopped it. I have no feelings for my ex-wife. No feelings for anyone other than Lucy. I love her and nobody else. So could you both stop looking at me as if I’m the enemy and tell me where the love of my life is.’

‘The love of your life?’ Amber stared at him in wonder. ‘You’re telling the truth?’

‘Cross my heart,’ he told her. ‘I’m not a cheater. Come on. I thought you knew me better than that.’

The silence stretched out as Amber and Belle looked at each other for a moment before turning back to him. Only the gust of wind rustling the leaves in the trees made a sound.

Finally, Belle spoke. ‘I just had a text. She’s collected some rugs and things for the hub and then she was heading up to Henry’s farm.’

Tom was shocked. ‘What for?’

Belle shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Right. Thanks.’

Tom staggered away from them. He couldn’t believe it. In letting Andrea manipulate him, Lucy had dashed back into Henry’s arms. He was furious. He was jealous. Most of all, he was lost without her. His so-called love for Andrea was a drop in the ocean to how he was feeling for Lucy. But this time he wouldn’t drown himself in alcohol and self-pity. He would just have to be brave and tell her how he felt and fight to get her back. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

61

‘The wind’s already whipping up out there,’ said the DJ on the radio as Lucy drove down the narrow country lane. ‘There’s some big rain with potential thunderstorms coming later.’

Lucy looked at Keith before switching on the windscreen wipers. ‘I think it’s already here, don’t you?’ she said.

The dog panted at her in response before turning to look out of the window.

She found that she talked to him more and more these days. Especially when she was feeling upset.

But at least she was out of the village and away from Tom. She had switched her phone to silent mode before setting off. He had tried to call her a couple of times, but she didn’t want to hear from him yet. She couldn’t bear to listen to his happiness at being back with Andrea. It hurt way too much. Especially after such a magical day. The summer fete had gone so well and then they had danced, the chemistry sizzling between them. It had felt so right. Then his ex-wife had arrived and it had all gone horribly wrong.

She blew out a sigh as she turned the car into yet another narrow lane. At least she had the community hub to distract her. The back seats and boot of the car were chock-full with rugs, mats and plastic crates, all of which had been donated to the hub by a nursery in the next village.

Reluctant to head back to the office and face Tom, she had decided to head over to Henry’s farm. She wanted to adopt Keith for good and had hoped he would approve, so she could get going on the ownership papers.

She had just reached the end of one of the lanes which was handy to cut through when she found a policeman stopping the traffic.

‘Sorry,’ he said, as Lucy wound down the window. ‘You can’t go that way. There’s some cows in the road.’

Lucy peered down the road but could only see some dark shapes moving at the far end before she turned the car around and drove away to take the longer route to the farm. Hoping it had nothing to do with Henry’s farm, she drove slowly down the driveway towards the farmhouse as the skies grew darker and darker. Keith whimpered as he recognised the place.

‘Don’t get upset,’ Lucy told him as she parked the car. ‘I’m not leaving you here. It’s just a brief visit. It’ll be OK.’

She sat in the car for a moment as the rain began to hammer down onto the roof.

‘Great,’ she said, glancing in the mirror. She winced at her still red eyes. ‘Oh well. I can’t look any worse, can I?’ She pulled on her raincoat before turning to look at Keith. ‘Listen, you’re going to have to stay here,’ she told him. ‘It’s not safe with all these animals wandering around.’ She had a sudden light bulb go off in her brain. ‘Hey! Is that why you kept running away? Because of all the loose animals? You’re so clever!’

Keith wagged his tail at the compliment.

‘But you really should have told us before now,’ she said, stroking his head. ‘Now, don’t panic. I won’t be long. I just need to see if Henry’s at home, OK?’

She wound down her window halfway so that there was some fresh air in the car for Keith. Then she got out before quickly closing the door behind her. As she stood outside, the wind gusted around her once more, throwing heavy rain into her face. A loud crack of thunder suddenly rang out from the heavens above.

At which point, she watched as Keith panicked and squeezed himself out of the gap in the window and bounded up to her, as if to protect her.

As the lightning lit up the skies around them, Lucy suddenly spotted the bull which was standing a short distance away from them. She suppressed the shriek of panic which was bubbling up inside her.

But to her horror, Keith saw the bull, which was now pawing the ground, and automatically ran the other way.

‘Keith! Come back!’ shouted Lucy.