Page 31

After a beat, Thea grinned. “Oh, my goodness, yes! He has! He told me about the military operation you’ve introduced to Julia’s,” she said, flicking the kettle onto boil.

“Oh lord, that makes me sound weird,” murmured Kitty.

“It’s surprising what my brother finds exciting.” She raised an eyebrow in jest.

“He wanted your opinion on this place.”

Had Josh wanted her opinion? What on earth would she know about running an animal sanctuary? Thea beckoned Kitty to sit down, which she did, being careful to avoid a decapitated Buzz Lightyear toy.

“Sorry. I’d say Buzz is a casualty of Wendy.”

Thea busied herself making a pot of tea, and small talk progressed to the two of them putting the world to rights. Kitty liked Thea Fox. She was down-to-earth, practical, and hilarious. Devoted to her daughter, the sanctuary, and her brother, the natural optimism she exuded was refreshing after the cold cynicism of her work colleagues.

Thea gave Kitty a run-down on the workings of the sanctuary and offered to show her around.

“Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour,” Thea said as she made another cup of tea.

Taking their drinks, she showed Kitty around the farm. Most of the animal accommodations were old, including the stone stables and outhouses. There was a large duck pond at the end of the yard and three large paddocks containing horses, a few sheep and, much to Kitty’s annoyance, a small herd of goats. An old barn housed a couple of pigs and a purpose-built rabbit and guinea pig enclosure. The rest of the buildings contained supplies and food. Chaos reigned, just as Josh had described.

“I know where everything belongs,” Thea said, “but trying to describe it to other people is the problem. I have a young girl, Belinda, who comes in a few mornings a week. She wants to be a vet, but I do most of the work myself.”

Kitty ran a hand through her hair, wondering if it would be rude for her to stamp the mud off her shoes yet. “How the hell do you get it all done?”

“Joshie helps where he can. He does most of my vet work for free.”

Kitty’s heart glowed at her words. Josh was Dr Doolittle mixed with Mother Theresa.

Thea’s tour ended on the other side of the farmhouse. This was where Josh’s practice had a small office, and an enormous vegetable garden grew rampant.

“Josh grows all our veggies. He stops us all from getting scurvy,” Thea laughed.

Kitty smiled. Was there nothing he couldn’t do? Turn pond water to gin? Bring about world peace one Chihuahua at a time?

She spotted a small building set at the back of the house. Its large windows were fringed in wisteria, and a riot of wildflowers grew in the courtyard at the front. A large dog bowl sat next to the doormat, painted with a big “W.” The little house had to be Josh’s place.

“That’s his cottage,” said Thea nodding towards the building. “I wish he still lived in the house with us, but I guess at thirty-two, he wants his space.”

Kitty snickered to herself. She couldn’t imagine living on the same patch of land as Ronnie and her kids. It would likely end up in a family divorce court. They could never spend more than a few days together without fighting.

“This operation is a massive undertaking,” said Kitty as they walked back to the farmhouse.

“Yeah, it’s pretty exhausting, but I love it.” Thea paused and took a gulp of the cold tea she was still carrying. “It was my husband Phil’s idea. His baby. I’ve always been around animals, and I got swept up in his passion. We opened the place together. He passed away, though. Cancer.”

Thea’s words trailed off, and she looked down at her mug. Kitty swallowed hard. The poor thing.

“So, I can’t let it go,” Thea continued. “I need to make it work. For his sake and for Amelia’s. She’s our daughter.”

Kitty thought of the angelic blonde girl sitting on Josh’s shoulders in the photo, and her heart lurched. Thea could really do with a break. “It sounds like you could do with some help,” she said.

“Is it that obvious?” said Thea with a wry smile.

“Look,” said Kitty, glancing around the yard. “I’m here for a couple of months. I’m happy to lend a hand and take some pressure off.”

Thea grimaced. “Aren’t you busy with Julia’s animals?”

“It’s fine. Her animals don’t take too much time now that everything is organized, and I get bored with nothing to do. Full disclosure, though—a potential job has come up. There’ll be a few interviews taking my time.”

“That’s exciting. Josh told me you were brilliant.”