AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Pretty much.’ He chuckled.
‘Mack, good to see you.’ A man behind the counter waved at them. ‘I have those books you ordered in. They arrived this morning.’
‘Hi, great. Thanks so much for that.’ Mack shook the man’s hand before turning to Poppy. ‘Poppy, this is Evan. Evan, Poppy.’
‘Lovely to meet you.’ Evan held out his hand.
Swapping her bag to her left hand, Poppy returned the handshake, which was stronger than she’d thought it would be. ‘Great to meet you.’
Evan nodded before bending down and rummaging through a cupboard beneath the counter. ‘Ah, yes, here we are.’ He pulled out a paper bag marked ‘Mack’.
‘Fantastic. Thank you.’ Mack took the bag and headed towards the door, his hand held up. ‘See you.’
‘Bye and Merry Christmas if I don’t see you both again before then.’
‘Merry Christmas.’ Mack grinned as he turned back towards the door, patting the bag. ‘He’s the best. He always manages to track titles down for me.’
‘Something special?’
‘Just some books for Gus and Spencer. It’s a bit of a tradition of ours. I always get them a couple each for Christmas. Not that Gus has read any of the ones I bought him last year, too busy skateboarding or playing online with his mates, but I’m forever hopeful that I’ll somehow stumble across the one book which will reignite his love of reading.’
‘Oh, I love the idea of that tradition. I always used to get a book for Christmas too.’ Poppy smiled as she closed the door behind them.
‘It was what my nanna used to do, as well. Send me books each year. It’s how I found my love for animals. There was this one series about a vet that really planted the seed. She used to send me one from that series for my birthday and another one for Christmas.’
‘Aw, that’s really lovely.’ Poppy smiled.
‘Yes, it was. Right, shall we find those courgettes now?’
Poppy nodded as he led the way down a small side street.
‘Have you decided what to do about the cards your dad sent?’ she asked.
‘I have. I’ve decided I’ll speak to the boys about it when I get home today. Which is probably one of the reasons I’m postponing going to pick them up from my neighbour.’
‘What do you think they’ll say?’
‘I think Gus, in true teenage fashion, will shake it off and say he’s not bothered, and then will probably get into trouble at school tomorrow or something. Spencer, I’m not sure. Because he was only two, I don’t think he remembers much about his dad anyway, so he’ll either refuse to see him or be curious enough to want to. Either way, I know I’m going to have a few rocky days ahead as everyone adjusts to the idea of Dad walking back into our lives.’ Looking ahead, he swallowed.
‘Do you think he’ll want custody?’
‘No, I don’t, and if he does, then he’s in for a darn good fight, I can tell you.’ Mack shook his head. ‘But, no, even if he suggests it, when I get the solicitors involved, he’ll back down pretty quickly.’
Poppy paused and looked over at him. ‘Do you need a hug?’
Smiling, Mack looked back. ‘I could do with a proper hug, not a quick one like yesterday on the beach.’
‘Ha ha, yes, okay. That was pretty awkward, wasn’t it? But in my defence, I didn’t know if I was overstepping the mark by giving you a hug or not.’ She grimaced.
Mack chuckled as he held his arms open. ‘I don’t think there’s a written rule about vets hugging former patient’s owners.’
‘You know what I mean.’ Stepping towards him, Poppy could smell his scent – oaky, with a touch of something softer, something sweet, cinnamon maybe. She wrapped her arms around him, her arm gently leaning against his back, and closed her eyes as she felt his embrace. She smiled. ‘Now, that’s what I call a real hug.’
‘Same here.’ His breath tickled against her ear.
She could stay here in his arms forever. She couldn’t remember a better hug.
The loud tinkle of a bicycle bell interrupted them, and they both jumped apart as a small boy rode between them, a length of tinsel unwinding from a trailer attached to the back of the bicycle and dragging along behind him.
