A Place Called Home

“I think you might get a shock when our little guy recovers consciousness. He may seem cute, but I think we’ll find he can be pretty vicious when he gets all his faculties back. He’ll be scared, too, and that can make animals lash out.”

“Have you always done work with wild creatures?” Ellie asked, intrigued by Andy’s obvious expertise.

He shook his head. “Not really, although at Low Fell we do get the occasional case brought in. It wasn’t until I came across this place that I really started working with them. To be honest, it’s become a bit of a passion of mine. Paula, the woman who runs Cravendale, has such high hopes for it. She works so hard to get funding.”

Ellie nodded. “So it’s a charity?”

“Paula started it up by herself, using her own money, but she managed to get charity status a couple of years ago, which means she can run fund-raisers and all other activities to get enough money to keep it going. People even pay to adopt pets.”

“What, you mean take a wild animal home?”

“No, they just pay a small fee to board and feed an animal, and she sends pictures and letters about how it’s doing. Some people come to visit, too. It can be anything from a hedgehog to a badger or even a snake. When, or if, it recovers and gets released, the money stops, but Paula usually has another animal available for them to take an interest in.”

“She sounds like quite a businesswoman, this Paula of yours,” Ellie said, wondering about the woman’s relationship with Andy.

Andy smiled, carefully picking up the cage. “Not really, she just does what she has to do for the animals. She should be here soon, so you’ll probably get to meet her. We’ll just get this guy settled.”

“Will he stay here for long?” Ellie asked, uncomfortably aware how close she was to her ex as she followed him along a narrow corridor.

“Probably not,” he said. “We’ll let him recuperate for a while, and when he’s better, someone will take him back to where you found him and set him free.”

When they reached a long, narrow indoor enclosure obviously converted from an old farm building, Ellie peered into the cage, surprised to see the little fox already groggily trying to stand, its sharp white fangs bared back from pale pink gums.

“He’s on his feet,” she cried, holding back a sudden rush of tears as relief flooded in. “He really is going to be okay, isn’t he?”

Andy nodded, putting the cage down in the center of a large pen and opening the door. “Hopefully he’ll be good as new in no time.”

They watched the terrified fox cub take its first cautious steps out into the open. It turned to stare at them, yellow eyes gleaming with fright and ferocity.

“It’s hard to tell if he’s angry or scared stiff,” whispered Ellie.

“There’s not much difference between fear and ferocity in the animal kingdom,” Andy said. “Ferocity is often born through fear. We’d better leave him alone to settle down.”

Carried away as she’d been by the fox cub’s plight, it wasn’t until they were back outside in the afternoon sunshine that Ellie took full stock of her situation. She was in the middle of nowhere with the ex-boyfriend she professed to hate, with no means of getting home.

“Well,” she said, her tone curt and distant. “I suppose I need to thank you for your help. Do I owe you anything?”

Andy raised his hands. “Of course not. It’s a wild creature, and it was my duty to help. It’s what we do here.”

Warmth flowed through Ellie’s veins. “My fiancé told me it was vermin and that I should leave it to die.”

Andy sighed. “There are farmers around here who would have said exactly the same thing.”

“Especially chicken farmers,” Ellie said, smiling.

“So did he leave you behind?”

She found herself jumping straight to Matt’s defense. “He had to get back to work.”

“But he is coming back for you, right?”

“I’ll probably just get a taxi, at least to the train station. He’ll be tied up until late.”

“I can drop you off somewhere, if you like,” Andy offered. “Where do you live now, anyway?”

Every fiber of Ellie’s being recoiled from spending time with Andy. They were over a long time ago, totally finished, and being near him brought out too many painful memories.

“The outskirts of Manchester,” she told him. “But you don’t need to drive me. If you could just give me the number for a cab...”

He looked down at her, a familiar twinkle in his soft brown eyes.

“You’re a city girl now? Well, I would never have imagined that. And with a fiancé who works in an office.”

“I went to art school in Manchester.” She bristled. “And now I’m an artist... Well, a wannabe artist, really. I have a part-time job, as well. My first exhibition is coming up soon, though. At least, I hope so.”

“You always did used to be painting or drawing something—usually animals, I remember. I’m glad you’ve made a success of it. What do you paint now?”

“Still mainly animals and the countryside, but lately I’ve been trying out a more contemporary style.”

“That settles it,” Andy said, walking toward the door. “You are still a country girl at heart. Come on, you may as well get a ride with me.” He paused. “You can’t bear grudges forever, Ell...and it was a long time ago.”

Ellie ignored his familiar shortening of her name. “I don’t bear a grudge,” she insisted. “What happened between us was only a teenage fling, anyway wasn’t it?”

Andy nodded. “I guess it was,” he said. For the briefest moment, her eyes met his and glanced away. How could he believe that? He may have met someone else and revealed himself as the liar and cheat he really was, but how could either of them be so dismissive of what they once had? Her anger came back full force. Andy Montgomery owed her big-time.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I will take you up on your offer of a ride. Sure your wife won’t be jealous, though?”

“Young, free and single, that’s me,” he told her, fumbling in his pocket for his keys.

“So she dumped you, then. After all that?” She couldn’t help the barbed retort.

He laughed lightly. “Actually, no, I dumped her. To be honest, that relationship didn’t mean much...”

The breath froze in Ellie’s throat and was replaced almost instantly by a hot rush of anger. She had almost come to terms with the fact that Andy had fallen in love with someone else, but to find out that the whole thing had meant so little to him seemed somehow worse.

Oblivious to her reaction, he shot her a broad smile. “I was married, though...for a while.”

She raised her eyebrows, smothering her turbulent emotions. What did she care? Andy Montgomery was just a piece of her past. “And I take it that didn’t work out, either?”

“I guess I’m not the marrying kind. When is your wedding, anyway? Have you set a date?”

Ellie hesitated, her heart racing. Had they set a date? Had they ever even discussed a wedding? Her mind slid back to the night Matt had proposed. They had been seeing each other for just a few weeks; he was exciting and fun and so sure of himself. “Let’s get engaged,” he had cried in front of all his friends, and Ellie had felt a new door opening in her life. A door, she suddenly realized, that hadn’t actually opened after all. Come to think of it, neither of them had discussed marriage again after that, apart from the ring. She felt for the diamond on the third finger of her left hand, rubbing it gently. Was that what it had all been about then? The engagement? Did Matt really want to take their relationship to the next level? Did she? Slotting her confusing thoughts into the back of her mind, she looked up at Andy. What right had he to make her question her intentions?

“No,” she said. “Not yet.”

He stopped beside his battered green truck, holding her gaze for an endless moment.

“Make sure he’s the right one, Ell,” he said quietly.