Roses For Katie (25 page)

When she arrived at Margie’s, everyone else expected was there. As soon as she came through the door, Dylan made a quick move towards his future mother-in-law, and greeted her with a hug, and a friendly kiss on the cheek

‘I’ve lots to tell you about Rose Cottage. If it hadn’t been for your kindness, I might have missed out on it, and our wedding would have had to be postponed.’ He had obviously had a couple of drinks by now, because he seemed to be totally at ease, and very talkative. ‘I’ve managed to get my solicitor to move fast. It’ll cost a few pounds more, but that’s no worry, and it looks as though I’ll have the keys within the week.’

The Champagne flowed as the evening went on, but even without the alcohol, everyone would have been pleased for the happy couple.

‘Meet my father and mother,’ Dylan said, introducing Miranda and Jeremy Maine to Katie. ‘And this is my baby sister, Josie May.’ For several minutes, they exchanged bits of news, and discussed the date of the wedding, which had now been set for three months hence. The whole room was abuzz with excited conversation, so Katie excused herself, and walked into the kitchen to take a breather. Margie was there, sorting out some more food for the guests, and asked Katie how she had like her future in-laws.

She reached out and to her oldest daughter, and gently touched Margie on the arm. ‘I can see you’re on proverbial Cloud 9 tonight. I love it that you are so happy. ‘Look, Margie, I need to go soon. I’m concerned about leaving Thunder for too long; he’s ever so good, but he is in a strange place. Perhaps he needs to pay another visit to the garden, so you’ll understand if I don’t stay late, Margie?’

‘Thunder? Who’s Thunder?’ Margie said, laughing and getting to her knees beside her mother.

Katie quickly told her the story of how Pat found Thunder to keep her company while he was away. ‘I love him to bits already,’ she said, ‘but Tom upset me by saying Thunder would definitely not be welcome in his home.’

‘No problem,’ Margie said, rising to her feet and picking up the tray of food. ‘All you have to say, is… no dog, no Katie.’

‘That’s exactly what I did say,’ she replied.

Margie made a face. ‘It would serve that man right if you cut him out of your life altogether, Mumsy, The last thing you need is to have marching orders from the colonel.’ She laughed and patted her mother on the shoulder. ‘You do exactly what you want to do, Mumsy, not what some autocratic soldier man tells you to.’

‘That I will,’ Katie said, still smarting inside as she remembered how Tom had behaved. She turned to speak to Dylan. ‘I’m going home now, because I have a lonely dog waiting for me. It was good to see you again, and I wish you every happiness in your new house.’ Margie and Dylan saw her to the door, and when Margie kissed her goodnight, Dylan did so too. Katie hurried to her car and drove home, anxious about Thunder, but also excited at the thought of her new companion.

Gone was the nervous feeling about going home to an empty house. With Thunder there, she would never have that uncomfortable feeling again. He greeted her excitedly when she opened the door. She hugged him as though she had not seen him for days, then she fed him some more, and took him outside on the lead for a final walk around the lawns before going to bed. The moon was high, the stars twinkled brilliantly as though they were suspended in the sky, and the hot air of the day had cooled to a comfortable, balmy temperature. Although it was late, instead of hurrying back, she sat on the garden seat where she had spent so many hours with Greg.

Thinking of Greg, and how happy he would have been to know their daughter was finally getting married, made her miss him. A few stray tears rolled down her cheek. ‘Oh, Greg, why did you leave me? Without you life will never be the same again,’ she murmured.

The next morning, Katie woke to Thunder’s hot breath on her face. It was barely daylight. ‘I think you want to go out in a hurry.’ She scrambled out of bed and he bounded downstairs ahead of her. He waited eagerly by the back door, with his tail thumping loudly on the cupboard at the side. She let him out, and then looked around for a warm jacket to throw over her shoulders against the chill of the early morning air so that she could supervise him. Seconds later, she followed him outside, but Thunder was gone. She called for him, but there was no response.

‘Oh, God, where’s he gone?’ She tried not to panic. Surely he was here somewhere. ‘Thunder!’ She called, repeatedly.

Despite the fact she was not adequately dressed against the cool morning, she hurried around the gardens, calling, until she realized her slippers were soaked wet with dew. She ran back to the house, dressed quickly, and ran back out again hoping he had come back while she was upstairs.

How will I tell Pat, and poor Mrs. Maloney, she thought, wiping away hot tears. ‘Come back, Thunder, please,’ she moaned, ‘Come back to me.’

Thinking he must have cleared the fence and gone in search of his previous home, Katie set off in her car. She drove slowly, scanning the quiet roads, not yet busy with traffic, and praying that if he was out there, he had not been run over. She went as far as Mrs. Maloney’s cottage to look around her garden, but she saw no sign of him there. She turned around and drove home, acutely aware of her nervously thumping heart. Exhausted and stressed, she sat on the garden seat as the weak morning sun gently bathed the roses, and wished for Thunder to suddenly appear.

She sat, gazing into the middle distance for some time, sniffling and dabbing her eyes and nose. ‘I won’t find him sitting here like this.’

She decided to take one more look in the gardens before notifying the police and the various animal centres and vets in the area. She called his name continuously and then thought she heard a faint bark in reply. She could not tell from which direction it came, but her heart pounded as her hopes rose. She continued to call his name, making every effort to try and determine from which direction the faint bark was coming. Finally she ran towards the large greenhouse right at the bottom end of the vegetable garden, and the barking became louder.

Suddenly, she spotted a movement behind the greenhouse door and realized that Thunder must have knocked aside the prop that was holding open the door, and had become trapped inside.

‘Oh, thank God I’ve found you.’ She dropped to her knees and hugged him as the tears of joy ran down her face. Thunder licked them away. ‘Don’t you ever frighten me like that again.’ She hung on to his collar and walked him back to the house. Once inside she fussed over him, hugging and patting him and feeding him tasty bits.

Time had flown by and before she knew it, it was almost time for Pat to be home. Although she had no idea exactly when, she popped a small leg of lamb into the oven and prepared the vegetables. If he were late, she would keep it all warm, and wait to eat with him, whatever the time.

She relaxed on the comfortable sofa in the sitting room, thinking about what dessert she would make, when the phone rang.

It was Pat. ‘Hi, Katie, we’re safely landed, and I’ll be leaving here as soon as I’ve located my car; I should be home in about two hours.’

When Pat’s car pulled up, Thunder raced to the door obviously recognizing the Volvo and whimpering. Katie gave the table a quick glance to check that everything needed was on it, and turned down the heat under the vegetables before going out to greet him. She was so full of relief, not only to have found Thunder, but to see Pat’s happy face again, that she rushed towards him with arms outstretched.

In response, he picked her up off the ground and swung her around, just as though it were a grand reunion after years apart.

‘Oh, Pat, I’m so glad to see you. I missed you so,’ she said, breathlessly.

‘Missed you too,’ he said, suddenly leaning back and looking a bit embarrassed at his reaction to her effusive welcome. He put her down and held her at arms’ length to look into her face. ‘Hey. What’s the matter? Your eyes look a bit puffy. Either you didn’t sleep last night, or you’ve been crying. Which?’

Katie linked her arm through Pat’s and led him to the house as she told him of how she thought she had lost Thunder. ‘I don’t know who was more excited that he was in the greenhouse, me or him.’ She laughed, pulling on Pt’s arm. ‘Come into my place. There’s a nice roast dinner waiting for you.’

‘I can smell it from here, and I’m hungry,’ he said.

It took Katie only minutes to bring it to the table, and they were soon quietly enjoying the meal. With Thunder sleeping peacefully at their feet.

‘My uncle’s a very sick man, Katie,’ Pat said, quietly. ‘He’s a little better now, but they told me at the hospital that they were afraid he would suffer a relapse. There’s nothing I can do about it by staying.’

‘It’s serious then?’

‘Yes. Liver trouble. Probably too much of the rye.’

‘So sorry to hear that,’ Katie said. Then trying to help him avoid the sad topic she asked him to describe the area where his uncle lived.

‘Oh, and ‘tis the most beautiful place in the world, that Emerald Isle of mine.’ He leaned across the table to touch the back of her hand. ‘Katie, you should go there. You wouldn’t be sorry.’

She gave a quick glance at Thunder, and smiled, but Pat guessed immediately what she was thinking.

‘He’s no problem. If leaving Thunder behind bothers you, then stop worrying. He can travel to Ireland without restriction.’

‘But I’d never be able to do that journey… ‘

Again he guessed what was in her mind, and spoke before she had finished her sentence. ‘As for getting yourself and Thunder there, I’ll take you both.’ His words tumbled out and his voice lifted with excitement as he spoke. ‘No doubt I’ll have to go to see my uncle again in a couple of weeks. I promised him I would, you see. And next time I’ll take the Volvo and use the ferry. We’ll all go together… Thunder as well.’ His face was animated as he spoke. ‘Will you think about it, Katie? My uncle’s farmhouse is almost as big as this one of yours. There’s an ocean of room there, and you can take your pick about which bedroom you’d like to stay in. I’d take you around, show you all the sights. It would be wonderful.’

Katie was surprised at his sudden suggestion, but she knew that with Pat, it would be different than if she went somewhere with Rex or Tom. They were potential suitors, and she would always feel a bit worried they’d come on strong to her. Pat was different. He understood her. He was her friend; her best friend now. And he posed no threat like the others.

Pat continued to talk about his uncle’s large farm, with all the cattle he kept. ‘He has a good manager looking after the place, and plenty of hired help, but he likes to keep his finger on the button. He’s too sick to take an active part now.’ He shook his head. ‘And to be sure, ‘tis sad to see such a strong man come to this.’

They finished eating and took their coffee into the sitting room.

‘So tell me more about the place,’ Katie said. ‘I’m interested.’

Pat smiled and eased himself back in the comfortable chair. ‘Well, the roads are quiet, the people are very friendly and unhurried. So many of the quaint old inns still retain their original character. The food is superb. The grass is greener than anywhere else I know.’ He sighed, and a far-away look came into his eyes.

‘You long to go back there, don’t you, Pat?’

‘Well, ‘tis my home, you see, and I suppose that’s why. But it’s hard to describe the place adequately to do it justice. You’d have to see it to appreciate it, and then you’d know why I love it so much.’

‘It does sound wonderful. I’d like to see if it lives up to your praises.’

Pat leaned forward in his seat. ‘Would you really? If you come, I’ll take you everywhere. I’ll take you to Dingle Bay to see our resident bottle-nosed dolphin, cavorting in the bay; you can swim with him if you wish. We’ve named him Fungi. We could drive along the coastal road towards Slea Head, where they filmed ‘Ryan’s Daughter’, and look out over the Atlantic from the cliff top, and then cut back through the Connor Pass and head for Brandon Bay.’

His eyes were shining as he recalled the various places. ‘Then we could visit Tipperary, and go on to Tralee… you’ve surely heard of Tralee, because of the song?’ He had become quite excited by now, and waved his arms around like he was showing her the place already. ‘Then we’d go back around to Killarney and the National Park in Kerry. We’d travel The Ring Of Kerry. And that’s only one little corner of The Emerald Isle. There’s so much more, and all every bit as lovely.’

Katie could see that he was living it all as he described it to her. Impressed, the more she heard, the more she wanted to see it for herself. ‘Greg and I always intended to go, but we never did. Maybe I will come with you, Pat. I’ll give it some serious thought, I promise.’

Katie stretched and glanced at the clock. ‘Heavens, it’s almost the witching hour. I’ve had an exhausting day, and it’s time for bed.’

Pat insisted on helping to clear away the dishes, and then headed for the connecting passageway to the annex. Thunder watched him go, hanging his head and gently wagged his tail as he looked from one to the other. He padded after Pat for a few yards, then stopped, and bounded back to sit at Katie’s side. He looked up at her as though to say: It’s all right. I’m staying with you. You’re the one I want to be with.

‘Come on,’ she said, laughing as he bounded up the stairs in front of her and made straight for her bedroom.

Early next morning, Richard phoned to say that the furniture from Avondale was being delivered around the family later that day. He asked her to let Tom know that his pieces would be arriving as well. Katie knew that this meant a busy time for her if she was to help Tom sort out all his furniture as she had promised, but she determined to keep her word.

Thunder, she suddenly thought. What about Thunder? Tom’s surly attitude towards the dog had been uncalled for, and she still felt resentful because of what he had said. Pat will surely help me out by looking after Thunder for a few hours. Tom won’t have him there, and I feel obliged to keep my word.

She phoned and made arrangements to be at Tom’s place shortly after lunch, but declined his invitation to join him for a meal at the local inn. She still felt uncomfortable about their relationship. When she finally arrived at his farm, one furniture van was already being unloaded, and another was pulling in.