No. Flying goats were the last thing he wanted. ‘If we get a call...’ If they got a call, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do. People before animals always, but Rafe was not sure that he could bring himself to dump Tommy and Tallulah.
‘We won’t.’ Mimi hugged Tallulah close on her lap. ‘It won’t take us long.’
* * *
He drove slowly into a large paved area, surrounded by low buildings. A woman appeared from one of them, jogging out towards the car. When she saw Tallulah in Mimi’s lap she smiled broadly.
‘Thank you so much...you’ve brought her back.’ She opened the car door and Tommy jumped out, nuzzling at her legs. ‘And Tommy, too.’
Rafe couldn’t help grinning at the little creatures’ obvious joy at being back home. He’d meant to just drive away and leave them, but instead he got out of the car, opening the passenger door so that Mimi could carry Tallulah.
‘Do you have to go yet?’ The woman looked at the ambulance markings on Mimi’s jacket, and Mimi looked up at him imploringly.
‘Not for a minute. We’re on a meal break.’
‘Well, come inside and eat. I’ll make some tea.’ The woman smiled up at him. ‘I’m so grateful you brought them back. The rain washed away some of the fences last night, and some of the animals escaped. We’ve tracked down all the others, but we couldn’t find Tommy and Tallulah.’
‘They didn’t get too far.’ Mimi followed the woman inside the building. ‘But Tallulah has a wound on her leg, where she got caught in an old plastic bag.’
The woman gave a tut of disapproval. ‘I wish that people would think before they leave those things lying around in the countryside. You wouldn’t believe the number of animals that are injured by them one way or another.’
She led the way through to a room that was kitted out with examination benches, not so different from a hospital surgery, only generally speaking the hospital didn’t have cages for its patients. A young man appeared, white coat and all, and set about examining the wound on Tallulah’s leg.
Mimi showed no signs of wanting to leave just yet and Rafe picked up her jacket, brushing the inside down. There were a few wet patches but they would dry in the car. Something nuzzled at his legs and a plaintive bleat reached his ears.
Tommy had been towelled dry and looked even more appealing now. Big eyes and a fluffy brown and white coat. Rafe bent down to pet him.
‘Oh, look. He likes you.’ The woman set two cups of tea down on the counter and Mimi took one, thanking her.
‘I think he likes my sweater, actually.’ Tommy was busy trying to nibble at his sleeve.
‘Yeah. Goats. They’ll eat anything.’ The woman bent down, nudging Tommy away from Rafe’s arm, and he started to lick his hand.
‘It’s not much of a hole. You could darn that.’ Mimi was sipping her tea, looking at him speculatively.
‘Darn it?’ He raised an eyebrow. The Mimi he knew couldn’t sew on a button and, unless she’d fundamentally changed in the last five years, darning was way out of her skill set.
‘I said you could darn it.’ For a moment the old warmth flashed between them and Rafe found himself snagged in a tingling sensation, which reached all the way to his heart.
‘It’s an old sweater.’ He stood up to collect his tea and Tommy followed him over to the counter.
‘Be careful. He’ll be wanting to go home with you.’ Mimi chuckled and he saw the smile that up till now she’d kept for her patients and for Tallulah. This time it was unmistakably his, and Rafe found himself luxuriating in it.
‘He’s a great little guy.’ Rafe took a swig of his tea and bent down to stroke Tommy’s head.
The vet looked up from his patient, smiling. ‘Well, she’s okay. Just a bit of a scrape and the skin’s broken where she tried to untangle herself. All she did was manage to pull the plastic even tighter. It was acting as a tourniquet, so it’s a good thing you got it off when you did.’
Mimi nodded. ‘I’m glad she’s all right. I bet you’ve had a lot of animals brought in here after the flooding.’
‘Quite a few. Not so much domestic pets—people are keeping them inside mostly—but a lot of wild animals have been washed out of their homes by the floods. We’ve had birds, foxes, voles, you name it. Even a couple of grass snakes.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah.’ The vet pointed to a large, leaf-lined aquarium in a quiet corner of the room. At first glance there was nothing in it, but then Rafe saw something green coiled around one of the tree branches, which was propped against the glass. ‘Take a look if you like. But don’t get too close; they’re very shy and you’ll spook them.’
Rafe smiled as she approached the container warily, stopping a couple of feet away from it. ‘I can see them...’ Her voice was hushed with wonder. He wanted to walk over and fold her in his arms so they could watch the shy creatures together.
His phone rang. Mimi turned and the moment was gone.