Page 11 of Sweet Dreams at the Forever Home on Muddypuddle Lane (The Forever Home on Muddypuddle Lane #2)

Nora was getting sick and tired of omelettes for breakfast. She knew eggs were supposed to help regulate her blood glucose, but they didn’t hit the spot in the same way that a sticky, flaky Danish pastry did. And not having a caramel latte in the morning was killing her.

Whoever had come up with the theory that eating protein for breakfast would keep you full for the rest of the day, needed to have their head examined because they were wrong, Nora grumbled to herself as she stomped around the village before work.

She was trying to establish a routine prior to bringing Biscuit home, so with that in mind, she’d set her alarm for an hour earlier than usual, had made herself a cheesy omelette, prepared a packed lunch, and was now out for a brisk thirty-minute walk.

It was a glorious morning, but Nora didn’t feel glorious.

She felt angry: angry at the doctor who’d diagnosed her, angry at the unfairness of it (why her?

), angry that there was so much yummy, delicious food that she could no longer eat, angry at everything and everyone.

Especially Elijah Grant, because it was his bakery she was marching past and smelling the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked bread and croissants.

This was what she meant by life not being fair. He was a sodding baker, yet he was as thin as a twig! Didn’t he eat any of the stuff he made? He wasn’t a good advertisement for his business, was he? What was the old saying about never trusting a skinny cook?

The fact that he was a baker and so slim was bad enough, but why did it have to be him who was making a play for Biscuit? Talk about adding insult to injury!

Holding her breath until she was well beyond the enticing smells, she let it out in a whoosh, earning herself a wary look from a delivery driver unloading a van.

Hastily, she arranged her scowling features into a smile, but that made him blanch, so she guessed it wasn’t an improvement. He probably thought she was deranged.

Scuttling past, she carried on with her walk, grimacing when she caught sight of herself in the window of the cafe. With her unbrushed hair, red cheeks and wild expression, she looked positively manic.

Which was why she needed a dog. No one looked twice at someone taking a dog for a walk at seven-thirty in the morning, but a lone, middle-aged, overweight female trying to power-walk down the high street made people look twice. She suspected it was because they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Of course, she’d probably have to make the walk a bit longer when she had Biscuit in tow, but at least this was a start.

On her return home, Nora peeled off her leggings and tee shirt and stood in her bathroom clad only in her underwear, and eyed the scales. Should she weigh herself again or was she becoming obsessed?

She got on the scales.

Ah, that was more like it, she thought, and let out an exuberant cry. She’d lost three pounds! The restrictive, boring, tasteless diet she was on was finally bearing fruit. Not that she could actually eat much fruit. For one thing, she wasn’t keen on it, and for another, it was high in sugar.

But the thought of something sweet made her tastebuds tingle.

Stop it , she told herself, stripping off her bra and knickers and getting in the shower. She couldn’t risk giving in to her craving because she was doing so well. The difficulty was keeping it up: but now that she could see she was making progress, she had renewed resolve.

She could do this. And having Biscuit was going to be an enormous help.

Elijah took a batch of miniature banana bread loaves out of the oven and slid them onto a wire rack to cool.

On autopilot, he reached for the industrial sized food mixer and pulled it closer, ready to receive the ingredients he’d pre-weighed for the next thing he was about to bake.

But as he worked, he wasn’t thinking about what he was doing – he was thinking about his love rival.

Nora had popped into his mind because he’d stuck his head into the shop earlier and had spotted her striding along the high street with a face like thunder. He’d ducked back into the kitchen and thankfully she hadn’t seen him, but she’d been on his mind ever since.

Ah, who was he kidding? She’d been on his mind since Monday when he’d discovered that they were both interested in the same dog, and even more so since yesterday. For all Nora’s confident bluster, there was a certain vulnerability about her, and he wondered what her story was.

‘I saw Nora Bunting earlier,’ he said to Andrea when he went into the shop again.

‘What do you know about her?’ He wasn’t entirely sure what he was fishing for.

Aside from knowing she owned the hairdressing salon and she lived in the village, he didn’t know a great deal.

He’d never been one for gossip and he tended to keep himself to himself.

If running wasn’t involved, Elijah generally wasn’t interested.

‘What do you mean?’ Andrea asked, then a slow smile spread across her face.

‘Don’t read anything into it,’ he warned. ‘I’m asking because she wants to adopt the same dog I want to adopt.’ Andrea continued to stare at him, so he gave her a brief explanation, finishing with, ‘I just wondered what kind of person she is.’

‘Trying to find some mud to sling? Like, is she a secret cat lover and wants to adopt a dog to give her kitties something to sharpen their claws on?’ she teased.

‘Now you’re being daft.’ Elijah pulled a face.

As she served the next customer, she replied, ‘She’s been doing my hair for years. I like her. She’s down to earth, fun, the life and soul of the party. She’s nice .’

Elijah suspected Nora might be. However, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He’d hoped she was horrid, so he could feel better about depriving her of the dog she’d set her heart on.

Andrea continued, ‘I’ve heard she’s on a bit of a health kick, which is why she hasn’t been in for a while, but I didn’t realise she was thinking of getting a dog.’

Elijah reminded her, ‘She’s not just thinking, she’s applied for the same dog I’ve applied for.’ He tapped his chest indignantly.

‘Surely there are other dogs that need loving homes? Can’t you pick one of those?’

‘Can’t she ?’ he retorted. ‘Biscuit is a big dog with lots of energy. She’d be better suited to something smaller, especially since she’s going to take it to work with her.’ He gritted his teeth.

That factor could be a deal breaker, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

‘Agility,’ Elijah announced as soon as he saw Jakob later that afternoon.

To his annoyance, Nora had arrived at the kennels before him.

She’d clearly walked from the village too, as she appeared to be as hot and bothered as when he’d seen her on the high street this morning.

More so, since she was clutching a water bottle and breathing hard.

Ironically, he was the one who’d driven to Muddypuddle Lane today as he hadn’t wanted to be late, because there’d been a last-minute issue with an overflowing sink (his fault, he hadn’t been paying attention) that he’d had to deal with.

‘Agility,’ Jakob echoed blankly.

‘Do you think Biscuit will be any good at it? Because I thought I’d enrol him in a class.

You know, give him some mental as well as physical stimulation.

I noticed that there’s one of those tunnels that’s used in agility competitions in the field.

’ Elijah was hoping he could make up for having to leave the dog for a few hours every morning by making the rest of his life super fun.

How much fun was the poor animal going to get in a hairdressing salon? Okay, Biscuit wouldn’t be on his own, but neither would he be doing anything doggy . Elijah knew which he would prefer if he were a dog, and it wouldn’t be lying in a stuffy salon surrounded by hairdryers and gossipy women.

Jakob said, ‘I think you ought to hold fire for a while before you sign up for anything.’ Which Elijah translated as “you need to wait and see whether you’re chosen to re-home him”.

It pained him to acknowledge that the man was right.

Elijah was getting ahead of himself. However, his comment kind of served its purpose when he noticed the flash of concern on Nora’s face, and he hoped she was having second thoughts about taking the dog on.

Elijah had been honest when he’d told Andrea that he thought a smaller dog would be better for Nora.

And once again, he told himself that if he honestly didn’t believe he was the most suitable owner for Biscuit, he would bow out.

Although Elijah wasn’t entirely sure how true that was, because when he looked into Biscuit’s intelligent brown eyes once more, he felt his heart constrict.

Once again, Jakob took them to the field and let them play with Biscuit for an hour or so. This time Nora had also brought some treats, and Elijah was ready with the ball. So when Biscuit had been given a few, Elijah began to toss the ball in the air, catching the dog’s attention.

For a while Biscuit was torn. Ball or treat? Treat or ball?

The ball won, but not completely, because after every third or fourth throw, he’d trot over to Nora and stare at her with a pleading look to beg for another morsel.

To Elijah, it seemed as though the dog’s favourite human was whoever happened to have what he wanted at the time.

Biscuit was showing no particular preference for one or the other of them, although Elijah was still convinced there was a connection between him and the dog that Nora didn’t have.

He just needed her to see it, but at the moment, he had no idea how he could make that happen.

The next day saw Nora in a foul mood, although she was trying not to show it.

It wasn’t Kendra’s fault that today was her day off and that Paige was covering for her, meaning Nora couldn’t possibly leave the salon this afternoon.

She was needed here , which left Elijah free to see Biscuit all on his own.