Nikki And The Lone Wolf / Mardie And The City Surgeon

‘Am I?’ she asked Gabe. ‘I think I am,’ she said diffidently. ‘But Gabe’s my landlord. I’ll need his permission.’

‘You’re asking me to keep him?’ Gabe’s demand was incredulous.

‘No,’ she said flatly. Some time during this afternoon her world had shifted. She wasn’t exactly sure where it had shifted; she only knew that things were changing and Horse was an important part of that change. ‘I want to keep him myself. Just me.’ Her life was her own, she thought, suddenly resolute. No men need apply.

No man—not even her landlord—was needed to share her dog.

‘I need to do a bit of reorganisation,’ she said, speaking now to Henrietta. ‘At the moment I’m working away …’

‘I can’t look after him,’ Gabe said bluntly. ‘Not when I’m at sea.’

‘I’m not asking you to,’ she flashed back at him. There were things going on with Gabe she didn’t understand. He had her disconcerted, but for now she needed to focus only on Horse. And her future. Gabe had to be put third.

‘I’m reorganising my career,’ she told Henrietta. ‘At the end of this month and maybe next, I’ll need to go away for a few days. After that I won’t need to.’ That was simple enough. She’d hand her international clients over to her colleagues.

Her colleagues would think she was nuts.

Her colleagues as in Jonathan?

Don’t go there.

Could she keep working for him?

‘I might even be rethinking my career altogether,’ she said, a bit more brusquely than she intended. She glanced down at the stones and then glanced away again, astounded where her thoughts were taking her. How absurd to think she could ever do something so … so wonderful.

Was she crazy? This surely could only ever be a hobby.

Concentrate on Horse. The rest was nonsense. Fanciful thinking after an upset night. ‘Whatever I do, I’ve decided I can keep Horse,’ she managed. ‘If I can get some help for the first two months.’

But Gabe was looking at her as if she was something that had just crawled out of the cheese.

‘You’ve decided this all since last night?’ he demanded. ‘Do you know how much of a commitment a dog is? He’s not a handbag, picked up and discarded on a whim. Sixteen years …’

‘We’re not talking Jem here,’ Henrietta said sharply.

‘Jem?’

‘Gabe’s dog,’ Henrietta told her. ‘Gabe found Jem on the beach sixteen years ago. She died three months back.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Nikki said, disconcerted, but her apologies weren’t required or wanted. Gabe’s face was rigid with anger.

‘We’re not talking Jem. We’re talking you. What do you know about dogs?’

‘I’ll learn.’

‘You mean you know nothing.’

‘You’re trying to talk me out of keeping him?’

‘I’m talking sense.’

‘I can keep him for the days you’re away,’ Henrietta interjected, but she was watching Gabe. ‘I run a boarding kennel alongside the shelter, so if you really are going to reorganise …’

‘You’d let her keep him?’ Gabe’s voice was incredulous.

‘It’s that or put him down,’ Henrietta snapped. ‘Nikki’s offering.’

‘And if I say no?’

There was a general intake of breath. If he said no …

What would she do?

Take Horse and live elsewhere? Somewhere that wasn’t here? There were so few rental options.

Go back to Sydney.

No! Here was scary, but Sydney was scarier.

Move on. Who knew where? With dog?

This was dumb. To move towns because of a dog …

But this afternoon she’d felt his heartbeat as he slept. The thought of ending that heartbeat …

Horse was as lost as she was, she thought, and she glanced at Gabe and thought there were three of them. She could see pain behind Gabe’s anger; behind his blank refusal to help.

She couldn’t think of Gabe’s pain now. She’d do this alone.

No. She’d do it with Horse.

‘He’s my dog,’ she said, making her voice firm.

Henrietta turned to Gabe. ‘So. Let’s get this straight. Are you planning on evicting Nikki because she has a dog?’

‘She doesn’t know what she’s letting herself in for.’

‘You work at home, right?’ Henrietta asked her, obviously deciding to abandon Gabe’s arguments as superfluous.

‘Yes.’

‘Fantastic. When do you need to go away again?’

She did a frantic mental reshuffle. ‘I can put it off for a while. Three weeks …’

‘Then you have three weeks to learn all about dogs,’ Henrietta decreed. ‘If at the end of that time you decide you can’t keep him then we’ll rethink things. So Gabe … I have a happy ending in view. What about you? You’ll seriously evict her if she keeps him?’

They were all looking at him. Nikki and Henrietta … Even Horse seemed to understand his future hung on what Gabe said right now.

‘Fine,’ he said explosively.

‘That’s not what I want to hear,’ Henrietta said. ‘How about a bit of enthusiasm?’

‘You expect me to be enthusiastic that there’s a dog about to live here? With a totally untrained owner?’

‘You’re trained,’ Henrietta said. ‘I’d feel happier if you were offering, but I have a feeling this guy will settle for what he can get. If the heart’s in the right place, the rest can follow, eh, Nikki?’

‘I … yes,’ she said weakly, wondering where exactly her heart was.

‘That’s great,’ Henrietta said and patted Horse. who was still looking nervous. ‘What will you call him?’

‘Horse,’ Nikki said. ‘I’ll need stuff. I don’t know what. Can you tell me?’

‘Gabe might give you a …’ Henrietta started and then glanced again at Gabe. Winced. ‘Okay, maybe not. Let’s take your new dog inside and I’ll make you a list myself. Unless you want to evict her first, Gabe?’

‘I’m going to the boat,’ he snapped. ‘Be it on your head.’

He headed for the boat, away from women, away from dog. Away from stuff he didn’t want to deal with.

He needed to sort cray-pots, mend some. He started but it didn’t keep his head from wandering. He kept seeing Nikki, sorting through her pile of rocks. His mother’s pile of rocks.

He kept seeing Nikki curled in front of the fire, sleeping beside Horse.

Horse. It was a stupid name for a dog.

What was also stupid was his reaction, he told himself. What was the big deal? His tenant had found herself a dog. It was nothing to do with him. As for the stone walling …

She wouldn’t touch it again.

Why not let her finish it?

Stupid or not, he felt as if he was right on the edge of a whirlpool, and he was being pulled inexorably inside.

He’d been there before.

There was nothing inside but pain.

The cray-pots weren’t hard enough.

He’d check the Lady Nell’s propeller, he decided. It had fouled last time out. They’d got it clear but maybe it’d be wise to give it a thorough check.

Ten minutes later he had a scuba tank on, lowering himself over the side.

He should do this with someone on board keeping watch. If there was an accident …

If there was an accident no one gave a toss; it was his business what he did with his life.

He had scores of employees, dependent on him for their livelihood.

He also had one tenant. Dependent?

If Horse decided to head for the beach again, he was bigger than she could possibly hold.

It was none of his business. She didn’t need him. The dog didn’t need him. No one did. Even if something happened to him, the legal stuff was set up so this town’s fishing fleet would survive.

How morbid was that? He was about to check a propeller. He’d done it a hundred times.

He needed to see things in perspective.

He dived underwater. Right now underwater seemed safer than the surface—and a whole lot clearer.

* * *

Henrietta left and came back with supplies, and Nikki was set. Dog food, dog bed, dog bowls. Collar, lead, treats, ball times six … Practically a car full.

‘You’ll need a kennel, but they don’t come prefabricated in Horse’s size,’ Henrietta told her. ‘I’ve brought you a trampoline bed instead. You’ll need to get a kennel built by winter. Oh, and there’s no need to spread it round town that I’ve brought this. Normally my new owners need to show me their preparations before I’ll agree to let them have the dog.’

‘So why the special treatment?’ Nikki had made tea. Henrietta was sipping Earl Grey from one of Nikki’s dainty cups, looking a bit uncomfortable. Maybe she ought to buy some mugs.

Maybe her life was going to change in a few other ways, she thought. Her apartment was furnished with the elegant possessions she’d acquired for the Sydney apartment. Some her parents had given her. Some she and Jon had chosen together. This teaset was antique, given to her by Jon for her last birthday.

The owner of a dog like Horse wouldn’t serve tea in cups like this. She hadn’t thought it through until now, but maybe she should shop …

‘I hate putting dogs down,’ Henrietta was saying. ‘Sometimes, though, I don’t have a choice. I can’t keep them all. And if potential owners don’t care enough to commit to buying or scrounging dog gear, then they don’t care enough to be entrusted to a dog. These dogs have been through enough. I’d rather put them down than sentence them to more misery.’

‘But me …’

‘You live with Gabe,’ Henrietta said simply. ‘You mistreat Horse, you’ll have him to answer to. Even if he says it’s nothing to do with him, he’ll be watching. And that’s the second thing. This place without a dog is wrong. Gabe needs a dog. If he gets it via you, that’s fine by me.’

‘He’s not getting him via me. This is my call. My dog.’

‘Yes, but you live with Gabe,’ Henrietta repeated, and finished her tea in one noisy gulp. ‘Living so close, you’re almost family, and now you have a dog. Welcome to Banksia Bay, and welcome to your new role as dog owner. Any more questions, ask Gabe. He’s grumpy and dour and always a loner but he has reason to be. Underneath he’s a good man, and he’ll never let a dog suffer. He treated Jem like gold.’ Then she hesitated. Made to say something. Hesitated again.

Nikki watched her face. Wondered what she’d been about to say. Then asked what she’d like to know. ‘Could you tell me about him?’ she ventured. ‘What happened to his mother?’

Henrietta considered for a long moment and then shrugged.

‘I shouldn’t say, but why not? If you don’t hear it from me you’ll hear it from a hundred other people in this town. Okay, potted history. Gabe’s mother died of cancer when he was eight. His dad was an oaf and a bully. He was also a miser. He forced Gabe to leave school at fourteen, used him as an unpaid deck hand. Maybe Gabe would have left but luckily—and I will say luckily—he died when Gabe was eighteen. He left a fortune. He left no will, so Gabe inherited. Gabe was a kid, floundering, desperately unhappy—and suddenly rich. So along came Lisbette, a selfish cow, all surface glitter, taking advantage of little more than a boy. She married him and she fleeced him, just like that.’

‘Oh, no …’

‘I’d have horsewhipped her if I’d had my way,’ Henrietta said grimly. ‘But she was gone. And Gabe took it hard. He still had his dad’s boat and this house, but little else. So he took Jem and headed off to the West, to the oil rigs. A good seaman can make a lot if he’s prepared to take risks and, from what I can gather, Gabe took more than a few. Then the fishing here started to falter and suddenly Gabe returned. He’s good with figures, good with fishing, good with people. He almost single-handedly pulled the fleet back together. But he’s shut himself off for years and so far the only one to touch that is Jem.’ She touched the big dog’s soft ears. ‘So maybe … maybe this guy can do the same. Or maybe even his owner can.’

‘Sorry?’ Nikki said, startled.

‘Just thinking,’ Henrietta said hastily, and rose to leave. ‘Dreaming families for my dogs is what I do. Good luck to the three of you.’

She looked at the teacup. Grinned. ‘Amazing,’ she said. ‘They say owners end up looking like their dogs. These cups fit poodles, not wolfhounds.’ She grinned down at Horse, asleep draped over Nikki’s feet, and then looked back to Nikki. ‘Poodle,’ she said. ‘Maybe now, but not for much longer. I’m looking forward to big changes around here. For everyone.’

Gabe slipped underwater, checked the propeller and inspected the hull. Minutely. It was the best checked hull in the fleet. Then he went back to mending cray-pots. By nine he was the only person in the harbour.

The rest of his boats were out, and he was stuck on dry land. Because of Nikki.

What was she about, removing his alarm? Telling Hattie to go without him?

He’d needed to sleep, he conceded. His head still ached.

Because she’d hit him.

It was an accident. She meant no harm.

She meant to keep the dog. Horse.

It was a stupid name for a dog. A dog needed a bit of dignity.

Dignity.

She’d have to get that fur unmatted, he thought, and getting the tangles out of that neglected coat was a huge job. Did she know what she was letting herself in for?

It was nothing to do with him. Nothing! He wasn’t going near.

She was living right next door to him. With her dog who needed detangling.

He’d yelled at her. Because she’d picked up a few rocks.

He’d behaved appallingly.

Why?

He knew why. And it wasn’t the memory of his mother. It wasn’t the dog. It was more.

It couldn’t be more. He didn’t want more, and more wasn’t going to happen.

It was dark. Time to head home.

Maybe he could take Jem’s old brushes across to her. A peace offering.

That wasn’t more. It was sensible. It felt … okay.

But when he got home there wasn’t a light on, apart from the security light he kept on in the shared porch.

Were she and the dog asleep?

She’d slept this afternoon. He’d seen her, curled on the hearth with the dog.

With Horse.

They were nothing to do with him.

He glanced at the gap in the stone wall. Sensed the faint echo of Nikki. And Horse.

By his side … Shades of Jem.

He was going nuts. The hit on his head had obviously been harder than he thought. Ghosts were everywhere, even to the feel of Jem beside him. Jem had always been with him, on the boat, under his bed, by the fire, a heartbeat by his side.

Whoa, he was maudlin. Get over it.

Disoriented, he found himself heading for the beach. A man could stare at the sea in the moonlight. Find some answers?

But the only answers he found on the beach were Nikki and Horse.

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