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‘Are you following me, hey?’ Poppy shoved the last of the dog bedding into the washing machine and looked down at Dougal, who was sitting by her feet.
‘You’ve got a real soft spot for little Dougal, haven’t you?’ Ginny said.
‘I have.’ Poppy picked him up and cuddled him. ‘He’s just such a gorgeous little soul.’
‘He is.’ Smiling, Ginny nodded to the kettle. ‘Do you want one? I’ve just come in from walking Ralph and it’s absolutely freezing out there.’
‘Oh yes, please. I need to go and walk Alfie and Oscar, and after that, go over and get Flora some lunch.’
‘I popped by earlier. She seemed okay. Frustrated at not being able to do much but happy to be home from the hospital.’
‘Yes, she is. She’s been talking about hobbling over here to help, but I keep telling her to give herself a bit of a break. I don’t want her to do too much and end up back in hospital needing her leg reset or something.’ She looked over at Ginny. ‘You didn’t mention anything, did you?’
‘About the debts? Of course not.’
‘Thanks. I will talk to her about it all, I just haven’t found the right moment yet.’
‘I understand. I won’t say anything.’ Ginny poured the water from the kettle, the coffee granules quickly dissolving and emitting their bitter aroma.
‘I have a plan to keep her occupied and to rest up at the same time though, and it involves this little one.’ Poppy fussed Dougal’s ears. ‘I’m going to pop him over at lunchtime. He hates being in his kennel and Flora hates being over there without the dogs, so I thought they could go to her. Or Dougal to begin with, anyway.’
‘That’s a good idea.’ Ginny grinned.
‘I figure it will help them both.’
‘Have you heard from Mack again?’ Ginny asked as she passed Poppy a mug.
‘It depends what you mean by “heard from”.’ Poppy sighed. ‘He’s been messaging and ringing but I’ve not read any texts he’s sent or listened to any voicemails.’
Sitting down, Ginny indicated the chair opposite for Poppy. ‘It’s difficult, isn’t it? I mean, I understand why you feel as though Flora’s fall was his fault, but he didn’t plan for any of this to happen.’
Poppy sat down, placing Dougal on her lap. ‘I know, but he knew that Wagging Tails is a charity. He could have offered us something, even a discount, anything. I just don’t understand how he can be so self-centred. Did I tell you that he’s planning on giving Kerry, the receptionist at the surgery, a prize he won in a raffle for Christmas? A one-pound prize.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Although before he won that, he’d been happy to spend hundreds on a little scrap of a make-up bag for her.’
‘I didn’t know that.’ Ginny shifted in her chair. ‘I guess he’s got his brothers to provide for, though.’
‘Yes, but all it would have cost him to help Wagging Tails was to give up his time. He could have carried on Gavin’s agreement and charged for medication and all that still.’
Ginny nodded. ‘Are you going to speak to him? He might have an explanation.’
Poppy shrugged. ‘I did. I spoke to him yesterday when he came over and I told him what I thought of him.’ She shifted in her chair. ‘And to be honest, all I feel is guilt now. Me. For telling him I blamed him.’
‘Oh. I guess…’
‘Hello?’ A voice wafted in through the open door from the reception area.
‘Paige, is that you? Coming.’ Ginny called out before standing up and leaving the kitchen.
Poppy followed her.
‘Hi, Ginny. Hi, Poppy. How’s Flora doing?’
Poppy smiled. ‘She’s okay, thanks. Frustrated with not being able to get out and about as normal, but glad to be out of hospital.’
‘I bet.’
‘Thank you so much again for everything you did the other day.’
