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‘No,’ he said, even though it gave him a stomach ache to say it. ‘We’re just friends.’
‘Really?’ said Barnaby, his expression incredulous.
‘Really,’ said Rob firmly. ‘Neither of us is in the right place for a relationship right now.’
‘Fine, if you say so,’ said Barnaby, not looking entirely convinced. ‘Hannah said you wanted to get into my good books. Why?’
Hannah nodded at Rob, so he took a deep breath.
‘Because of Scrumpy,’ he said, lifting the dog into his arms. ‘I want to ship him home, but it’s going to take time. I need to find someone to look after him in the meantime. Hannah and I took him to a shelter but it wasn’t the right place for him.’
‘Wait. You want me to look after your dog?’
Rob nodded. ‘For at least a few weeks, it could be a bit longer.’ Scrumpy wagged his tail and panted happily, as if he was trying to put on a good show. ‘Or if you can’t, I thought you might have a friend who would be open to helping. I was going to ask you after dinner.’
‘I see,’ said Barnaby, folding his arms.
‘We thought you might be more inclined to do that for Hannah’s husband than some random she’d just met.’ Rob tried not to sound too desperate.
Barnaby rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Well, I don’t see why he can’t stay here. He seems to be a lovely dog. And if we time it right, perhaps he can travel home with me.’
Hannah looked up. ‘You’re coming back to the UK?’
‘Yes,’ said Barnaby with a firm nod. ‘I’ve completed my mission, and now it’s time for me to come home.’
Rob said nothing, wondering what the mission was. He briefly considered the possibility that Barnaby might be secret service, then dismissed it as too many James Bond films.
‘You’re moving back to Westwick?’ asked Hannah, glancing at Rob and adding, ‘I’ll explain everything later.’
Barnaby laughed. ‘Well, perhaps not quite that close to home. But close enough that I can get to know my children again, build some kind of retirement plan. I love Spain, but home will always be where you and Luke are.’
‘Wow,’ said Hannah, pressing her hand over her mouth. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
There was a prolonged moment of silence as everyone processed all this new information, but Rob decided to break it before things got too heavy. ‘Should we tell Joyce before we go there tomorrow?’ he asked. ‘About me not being Graham?’
Barnaby thought about it for a moment. ‘I’ll tell her when we get there,’ he said. ‘Her son is going to be there too, I forget his name.’
‘Dominic,’ said Hannah.
‘That’s the one. He’s rather full of himself, I’m afraid. But Joyce is a wonderful cook, so let’s just have a lovely final evening before you go.’
Hannah nodded and smiled, and Rob could see that she looked much happier for finally being honest with her dad. Whatever they’d talked about on their walk, it had clearly been important.
‘And talking of wonderful cooks,’ said Barnaby cheerfully. ‘Let’s see what Rob here has rustled up for dinner.’
Rob blushed, feeling like he had no choice but to come clean. ‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Well, actually, if we’re doing the honesty thing, I had some help.’
‘What kind of help?’ asked Hannah, immediately suspicious.
‘I’m not really much of a cook,’ he mumbled. ‘And I got in a bit of a mess. But one of your neighbours helped me out.’
‘Which one?’ asked Barnaby.
‘Clara,’ said Rob casually, thinking he could style this out.
‘Oh, lucky you,’ laughed Barnaby. ‘She used to be a Danish beauty queen; now she’s some kind of fitness celebrity. She’s got about half a million disciples on Instagram, or whatever they’re called.’
‘Followers,’ said Hannah, fixing Rob with a penetrating stare. ‘She sounds lovely.’
