Page 73 of The Village of Lost and Found

Lucy breathed out a huge sigh as she turned to look at Tom, still feeling upset.

He held up his hands in defence. ‘Easy,’ he told her. ‘Don’t take it out on the wrong guy.’

‘Please find Keith something to eat and drink,’ she told him. ‘I’ll give you the money for it. Meanwhile, we’re going to have a wade in the river.’

‘It’ll be my treat for Keith,’ said Tom, before heading into the shop.

She turned to look down at the dog. ‘Come on then,’ she said to him. ‘You smell like you could do with a bit of a wash, don’t you think?’

She walked towards the riverbank and was pleased to find Keith trotting alongside her. For whatever reason, the dog trusted her. So she kicked off her flip-flops and waded into the ankle-deep water just as Keith followed her in and started bounding around joyfully.

In a way, she was rather relieved to have discovered the truth about Henry. She could never fall for someone like that. He was too weak and uncaring. She was glad that they hadn’t had many more dates. Perhaps she was learning to finally recognise the bad choices amongst the good.

After Keith had been fed quite a few treats and had slurped a large bowl of water, he followed Lucy and Tom into the office, where he curled up in a corner and watched them all with a suspicious look in his dark brown eyes.

‘So what now?’ asked Tom. ‘He can come home with me tonight, if you want.’

But Lucy shook her head. ‘No. That’s fine. I’ll check with Molly, but I’m sure she’ll be OK. Besides, I think Keith might want a familiar face tonight.’

‘OK,’ said Tom, a smile playing at the side of his mouth.

Lucy sat down at the desk she had been working at to check through some more files. Keith suddenly stood up and wandered over to sit next to her desk, where he settled down and immediately fell asleep.

She wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do with a dog from now on, but at least he would be safe with her for a while.

Lucy found herself relaxing at the warmth as he lay on her feet. In fact, she was even smiling to herself as the sound of the dog snoring filled the air.

40

Later in the afternoon, Lucy stood up to stretch her back and nearly tripped over the sleeping dog underneath her desk. Keith had spent the whole afternoon asleep and she was hoping it was because he felt safe for the first time in a long time.

She stared around the office. With the extra help from Uncle Frank, Stanley and Grandma Tilly that week, it was definitely looking a lot clearer. The filing cabinets were now sorted and beginning to fill with brand new files. Everything was starting to get organised. She looked up at the row of shelving units that took up one wall. She wasn’t quite sure what they could be filled with but perhaps an idea would present itself at a later date. For now, all she knew was that she was tired.

A short while later, Tom came over to stand next to her desk.

‘Shall we call it a day?’ he asked. ‘I could do with some fresh air.’

She nodded. ‘So could I, to be honest.’

Underneath her desk, Keith lifted his head up and wagged his tail.

‘Come on then,’ Tom said. ‘I’ll buy you both a drink. We’ve earned one.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, feeling pleased. ‘That would be nice.’

‘Let me grab my phone and wallet,’ he said, heading into his office.

He was followed closely by Keith, who seemed to want to check out where Tom worked.

Lucy was just grabbing her handbag when there was the sound of a scuffle coming out of the office.

‘Stop!’ shouted Tom. ‘Gimme that back!’

Keith suddenly hurtled out of the office holding an enormous length of blue cloth in his jaw.

Lucy managed to sidestep him and grab the cloth as Keith went to head out of the door with it.

‘Come on,’ she said, having a brief tug of war with Keith. ‘Let it go.’