Page 23 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

Alex sighed and looked down at the dog in his arms who was beginning to fall asleep. This was a disaster, he thought. He couldn’t keep a dog. His life had always been orderly and planned.

And yet the truth was that for the first time in his life, he didn’t have a plan. He had always been sensible with his choices, taking time to decide on important matters. But Tiny wasn’t a sensible decision. It was a crazy choice to make. But still Alex’s heart reminded him how lonely he was most evenings by himself in the flat. He saw his friends and dated occasionally but it would perhaps be nice to have another living, breathing thing at home with him.

Anyway, he didn’t particularly like the flat so he could always rent somewhere bigger when he and Tiny left for London.

As he looked down at the puppy now asleep on his arm, Alex’s head reminded him that this was a ridiculous decision and that he should find a far more suitable owner as soon as he could.

But even with that thought, he couldn’t stop himself smiling as he reached down to gently stroke the dog’s silky head. Perhaps, he thought, just once, he might think with his heart instead.

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 2a.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.’