he said, his grin so broad she was surprised he could form words. ‘Thursday perhaps?’
‘No, sorry I’m busy.’ She crossed her fingers behind her back. She didn’t like lying but Jason wasn’t her type, in fact, nobody was right now – she didn’t need the complications that came with dating.
‘How about tomorrow? I need to drop the railway memorabilia back to you.’
‘Okay, great. Thanks,’ she said. She couldn’t wriggle out if he was helping her.
Daisy saw her chance to escape. She kept to the roadside edge of the pavement as she skirted around Jason, keen to avoid the missing lump of poo. ‘Bye,’ she said, giving a tug on Bugsy’s lead and he begrudgingly followed her. She heard Jason let out a yelp and turning back she could see him standing on one leg trying to inspect his other shoe. It appeared Jason may have found Bugsy’s lost deposit. Daisy put her head down and hurried back to Aunt Coral.
They reached the porch and Daisy decided she needed to have a word with the dog about calling a truce. Daisy crouched down and Bugsy stood his ground.
‘Now listen, Bug.’ She felt the shortened name suited him better. ‘You and me need to get along for Aunt Coral’s sake.’ Bug tilted his head to one side so he at least looked like he was listening. ‘It’s what Reg would have wanted.’ At the mention of Reg’s name Bug barked. It was a short sharp yap that in this close proximity made Daisy jump and she promptly toppled backwards and landed on her bum. She was not happy. Bug on the other hand looked very pleased with himself. He sniffed the air, turned around and scuffed up the ground just as he had done to cover up his own poo. It felt to Daisy like a clear statement of how he felt.
Daisy got up and brushed the bits off her backside. ‘Right, fine. Have it your way. But I’m warning you …’ she said as she took him inside. Bug marched through the door without a backward glance and the battle lines were drawn.
‘Hi, love, everything okay?’ called Aunt Coral.
‘Yeah, we’re good,’ said Daisy unclipping the lead and wagging a finger at Bug, which he studiously ignored.
‘You weren’t gone long.’
Daisy openly sighed. ‘No, Bug … Bugsy wanted to head back.’ At the mention of his name Bug turned and glowered at Daisy like he knew what she was doing. She mimed that she was watching him. He turned away and trotted in to see Aunt Coral who greeted him warmly. Daisy went to put the kettle on and a few minutes later came in carrying two cups of tea. Bug yapped his disapproval at Daisy and she nearly spilled the drinks.
‘Oh, now Bugsy,’ said Aunt Coral with a chuckle. ‘He’s asking where his tea is.’
‘What, now?’ said Daisy, as pleasantly as she could manage.
‘Bugsy sometimes likes a cup of tea. Well, a bowl of tea. Would you mind?’
Yes, she minded very much. She didn’t want to be Bug’s slave. This dog was playing mind games and he was super effective at it. ‘I don’t think tea’s good for dogs,’ said Daisy, giving Bug a smug stare.
‘It’s decaff and he only has a little bit with milk.’ Aunt Coral’s eyes were almost pleading.
‘Okay,’ said Daisy, her lips pinched. It was absurd.
Daisy returned and put the tea on the floor near Bug. He sniffed it, sneezed in it and trotted out of the room. Another point pinged up against his name on the imaginary scoreboard.
‘Daisy, I’ve been having a look at Reg’s accounts.’
‘Hmm,’ said Daisy distractedly – she was contemplating how to restore the balance of power between her and the dog.
‘He had rather more money than I realised,’ said Aunt Coral, passing Daisy a bank statement.
Daisy scanned it and came to the high five-figure balance. ‘Bloody hell.’ Aunt Coral looked amused. ‘Sorry,’ added Daisy automatically.
‘I know. The solicitor has been in touch about distribution. They are transferring mine in the next couple of days. Yours will be held by them for the year but if you needed me to lend you some money in the meantime I’d be happy to.’
‘Thank you, that’s really kind.’ Daisy handed back the statement. She did desperately need some cash.
‘The Lifeboat will be thrilled when they get their share.’
‘Yeah, I bet they will,’ agreed Daisy. Her mind whirred with possibilities. She could do a lot with her share of the money. Flights to South America would no longer be out of the question. It would be a chance to properly explore far-flung countries without working all hours. The world was once again her oyster but to get that money she had to stay in Ottercombe Bay for a whole year and she wasn’t sure if she could. Being in one place went against all she was used to, moving on was her norm. Ottercombe Bay filled her with sadness as there was no escaping her mother’s death. Everywhere she went, all the people she saw were a constant reminder.
The next morning Daisy was woken by piercing yaps outside her door and she had to quell the desire to shout at the dog to shut up. She checked the clock, it was six thirty. Bug’s demands to be let out in the garden were getting earlier and earlier. He definitely had the upper hand, or paw, because the thought of clearing up his wee was worse than dragging herself out of bed. She eased herself from under the covers and stepped over yesterday’s clothes.
She quickly gathered herself up, flung open her bedroom door and marched into the hallway where she met Aunt Coral.
‘Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?’ Aunt Coral’s kindly question caught Daisy unawares.
‘No, Bug keeps barking.’ She was tired and grumpy – not a good combination.
‘Oh, he doesn’t usually. I hope he’s all right,’ said Aunt Coral, inching her way towards the kitchen.
Why can nobody else see his villainous plan? thought Daisy. He is an evil dictator. Perhaps he’s the reincarnation of Mussolini, she thought, or an even better fit might be Vlad the Impaler. Perhaps Min could get a message from him she wondered.
‘You go back to bed. I’ll put the kettle on,’ said Aunt Coral, her expression jolly. Daisy’s shoulders sloped forward, she’d never get back to sleep now. Thanks to Bug her brain was well and truly awake.
‘No, it’s okay. You rest your ankle I’ll get us some breakfast.’
‘Perhaps before that you could give Bugsy a walk? I think he didn’t go far enough last night. That’s probably the problem.’
Daisy gritted her teeth and headed for the kitchen muttering about Vlad the Impaler.
A couple of hours later Daisy was chewing her toast in silence while she and Bug had a staring competition, which annoyingly he won paws down. A rap of knuckles on the front door had both Daisy and Bug heading in that direction.
When she entered the porch she could see it was Jason and Max. What did they want?
‘Is this a bad time?’ asked Jason. He held the old railway box aloft. ‘I have some good news about the memorabilia.’ He gave a toothy smile.
