‘And I like him. I really want to take him home with me right now. Don’t worry, I know I can’t,’ he added. ‘Where do we go from here?’
‘If you’re sure Biscuit is a good fit for you, you’ll need to fill in an application form. Once that’s done, we’ll arrange a home visit to see if your house and garden are suitable. I’m sure they will be, but that’s the procedure. Biscuit has already had a thorough health check, but we’ll give him another before you collect him. And that’s all there is to it.’
‘It sounds straightforward.’
‘It is, as a rule.’
Elijah, his arm around the dog, who’d scooted into his side and was now leaning on him, pressed his lips together. This was a big decision. Not something to be taken lightly. If he adopted Biscuit, he would hopefully be looking after him for the next decade, so he had to be sure he was doing the right thing.
‘Can I have a day or two to think about it?’
‘You can take as long as you need,’ Jakob said. ‘I can’t guarantee he’ll still be here if you leave it a couple of weeks, but there’ll be other dogs. There arealwaysother dogs.’
Elijah promised he’d be in touch shortly, and as he returned to his car, he knew he had some serious thinking to do and—
‘Oops!’ He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, and had barrelled around a corner and bumped straight into a woman heading in the opposite direction, almost sending her flying.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ he babbled. ‘I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you okay?’
The woman brushed at her top as Elijah steadied her, his hand on her arm.
‘I’m fine, honestly. I wasn’t concentrating on where I was going, either. Too eager to find my perfect dog.’ She stopped talking and peered at him. ‘Don’t I know you?’
‘You might; I own the bakery in the village.’
Her face cleared. ‘Ah, yes, so you do. I think I must be your best customer.’
He thought she looked familiar, but he didn’t spend much time in the shop, so he couldn’t be sure. He preferred to be out the back, baking. If she was local, he’d probably seen her around, though. He saw a lot of people, especially when he was out on his runs, although he didn’t converse with many.
Apologising again, he left her to her quest for her perfect dog and headed home.
It was only when he got there and wondered what he was going to do with himself for the rest of the day, did he realise he’d already foundhisperfect dog. He didn’t want any other: he wantedBiscuit. Even the pooch’s name was perfect.
Taking it as a sign, Elijah got back in his car. He had a dog to give a loving home to!
CHAPTER FIVE
Nora might feel like skipping into The Forever Home’s reception area, but her body had other ideas. She was still feeling like pooh, but apparently it was common to feel this way when you suddenly stopped eating the amount of carbs your body was used to. However, she was heartened by the knowledge that she wouldn’t feel like this forever.
‘I’m not too late to have a look around, am I?’ she asked the woman in reception.
‘Not at all. Are you looking to re-home a dog?’
‘I am! Would you be Maisie, by any chance?’
‘That’s me, and I’m guessing you’re Nora from the salon? Dulcie says she loves her hair, by the way.’
‘Customer feedback is always appreciated,’ Nora said. ‘Is it possible to see some today? Dogs, I mean – I’ve already seen several customers.’ She chuckled at her own joke, feeling unaccountably nervous. From what Dulcie had told her, therewas a vetting procedure, and she was keen to make a good impression.
‘Jakob will show you around,’ Maisie said, gesturing to a large man perched on a chair in the corner.
He looked up as his name was mentioned. ‘You’re a potential adopter?’
Nora nodded.
‘Word’s getting around,’ he said to Maisie, then back to her, ‘You’re the second drop in we’ve had today. Take a seat.’
Nora sat obediently.
