Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Six

Saturday was usually a quiet day for Finn, the most recent edition of the paper having gone to press the previous day. There was really no need for him to go into the office, but he liked to check on those of his staff who were searching for news for Tuesday’s paper.

Today, Adele was taking Sandy for his first appointment with the counsellor, and Finn had decided to search the internet for spaniel pups. Sandy hadn’t stopped talking about “his dog”, and Finn didn’t have the heart to disappoint him. It might be a good idea to have a dog, anyway. He’d had one when he was Sandy’s age, a mutt with a touch of cattle dog and terrier called Rebel. He’d taken that dog everywhere, even snuck it into his bed when his mum wasn’t looking. He remembered snuggling up to the animal when he was in trouble, which happened a lot. He must have been a worry to his parents.

As soon as Adele and Sandy left, he made a mug of coffee and took it through to the room he used as a study. The house really belonged to Adele, but she’d begged him to live here with her and Sandy, unable to bear what she claimed was the emptiness in the house with Tim gone. So far, it had worked, but sometimes Finn longed for his own place, where he had no need to ensure he left the kitchen tidy, could spread his papers over the dining table without them being in the way, and where he could wander around naked if he wished.

He fired up his laptop, put on his glasses and typed in spaniel pups for sale, to be presented with a range of advertisements.

Half an hour and another mug of coffee later, he had managed to find two breeders who listed pups which would be available in four weeks’ time, just before Easter. Sandy’s birthday fell around that time too, so all being well, he could have his Bluey as a birthday gift. He picked up his phone.

By the time Adele returned with an excited Sandy, Finn had made arrangements to visit one of the kennels which was situated in the hinterland, an hour’s drive away.

‘Guess what?’ Sandy said. ‘Livia gave me chocolate.’

‘Chocolate? Mmm, that sounds good.’ Finn raised an eyebrow in Adele’s direction.

‘Later,’ she mouthed. ‘Why don’t you go and wash your hands while Grandy and I get lunch,’ she said to Sandy.

Once he had gone, she said, ‘She was so good with him, got him to talk about his nightmare, to draw what he saw, made it into a game.’

‘Must have been a relief.’

Adele nodded. ‘She says he’ll need a few sessions but believes she can help him get over the trauma of seeing his dad disappear under the waves.’

‘Let’s hope so. Lunch?’

‘There’s some leftover chicken, and I can put together a salad.’

‘Let me do it. You’ve had a stressful morning.’

‘Thanks. It was harder than I thought, sitting there watching through a two-way mirror, but it seemed to go well. And he did get chocolate.’ She laughed.

It was good to see Adele laugh. There had been times over the past year when he thought she’d never laugh again. But since she’d decided to apply for the job at the school, she seemed to have turned over a new leaf. Finn could still hear her sobbing in her room some evenings, but she was managing to get out more and to put on a brave face when he and Sandy were around. It was going to take her time to get back to normal, if one ever did after the death of a loved one.

‘I’ve been busy too,’ he said as he unpacked the makings of lunch from the fridge. ‘How do you fancy going to check out spaniel pups this afternoon?’

‘Puppies? We’re going to get Bluey?’ Sandy appeared and caught the end of Finn’s conversation.

‘Not today, champ,’ Finn laughed. ‘The puppies are too small to leave their mummy. But we can visit them, and you can choose which one you want.’

Sandy’s eyes grew bigger. ‘Really? I can choose my Bluey? Can we go now?’

‘Lunch first,’ Adele said, ‘and say thanks to Grandy for spending his morning searching for puppies for sale, when I’m sure he had a lot of other demands on his time.’

‘Thanks, Grandy,’ a subdued Sandy said, then his excitement rose again, ‘but we are going to see them.’

‘Yes, mate. After lunch and maybe after your mum has a rest.’ He glanced at Adele. ‘I said we’d be there at three-thirty, so there’s no rush.’

‘Thanks,’ Adele said.

But Finn could see Sandy wouldn’t be satisfied till they were actually on their way.

*

By quarter past two, Finn, Adele and Sandy were in his car, Sandy unable to control his excitement any longer. As they drove up into the hinterland, Finn could sense Sandy bouncing around in the back seat. He hoped he wasn’t in for a disappointment. The person he’d spoken to on the phone, Rhana Black, had said they had six pups, four of which were already spoken for. ‘Your grandson can choose from the remaining two,’ she’d said. ‘Both are male, one golden, one a blue roan.’ She’d continued, ‘Spaniel pups are very energetic and fun-loving. They remain like that all their lives. They are also loving and affectionate. I’m sure you’ll be very happy if you do decide on one.’

It was the first time Finn had driven up this way, and he was enjoying the change of scenery as they moved away from the coast into what appeared to be farmland, some of which was planted with sugarcane, the tall green plants bordering the roadway.

‘It’s lovely up here,’ Adele said, ‘but I prefer the coast, even though…’ Her voice broke.

Finn frowned. She’d been doing so well, but it would take time for her to heal .

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Do you know what these tall plants are, Sandy?’ she asked.

‘Sugar cane,’ he said proudly. ‘I saw a programme about it on television. There was a boy who lived on a sugar farm, and he drove the harvester when he was only a bit older than me.’

‘Where?’ Finn asked Adele quietly.

Adele shrugged. ‘At school, or when I was asleep. There are a lot of educational programmes on the ABC.’

‘He must have enjoyed that,’ Finn said in a louder voice.

‘I think he did, but it looked hard. I don’t think I’d like to live on a farm.’

Just as well, Finn thought. Getting a dog was a big enough challenge.

‘Are we there?’ Sandy bounced even harder when Finn stopped the car at a gate on which there was a metal sign with a picture of a spaniel and the words Spaniels Live Here . ‘Oh, look!’ he yelled as he caught sight of the sign.

‘I guess this is it,’ Finn said with a grin. It was so easy to become excited when you were only five.

They drove up the dirt driveway to a house nestling among a mixture of palms and pandanus to where a tall, heavily built woman wearing jeans and a tee-shirt bearing a picture of a spaniel was waiting to greet them.

‘You must be Finn Hunter,’ she said, ‘and this is…’

‘My daughter, Adele, and…’

‘I’m Sandy and I’m here to get my dog,’ Sandy announced before Finn could introduce him.

Rhana laughed. ‘Well, you’d best come with me.’

She led them around the house. ‘We keep all the puppies in the house with us,’ she explained on the way. ‘It gets them used to being with people and it’s easier to train them. But this is their playtime and they and their mum are in what we call the playpen.’

Now they were about to see the pups, Sandy held back, clutching Finn’s hand.

‘All six puppies are here,’ Rhana said, ‘but only two of them are available.’

As they approached a large, fenced, grassed area, Finn could see the pups cavorting around. They were still pretty tiny .

Sandy let go of Finn’s hand to press his face against the fence, his eyes wide with delight. ‘There’s Bluey!’ he said, pointing to a whitish dog with black markings. The spaniel looked nothing like the blue heeler the cartoon dog was based on, but it didn’t seem to matter to Sandy pointing at the blue roan spaniel.

‘Is he…?’ Adele asked, clearly worried the dog might already have been purchased.

‘He’s available,’ Rhana said. ‘He’s a good choice, Sandy,’ she said to the little boy, but he wasn’t listening, completely engrossed in watching the puppies. Rhana turned to Finn and Adele. ‘The blue roan is one of the most common types of spaniel. As he grows, his coat will change in colour. Blue roan is the name given to cocker spaniels which have a blend of black and white hairs throughout their coat, and each blue roan coat is individual with varying combinations of mixed black and white hairs. Most of the time the mix is fifty-fifty, and the coat will often appear greyish in parts.’

‘Can we take him home today?’ Sandy asked, apparently having forgotten what Finn had told him.

‘Not today, Sandy,’ Rhana said gently. ‘He’s still too little to leave his mummy. He won’t be ready to leave her until towards the end of March.’

‘My birthday’s on the twenty-fifth of March,’ Sandy said. ‘I’m going to be six.’

‘Well, I think Bluey might be ready to go home with you by then.’

‘Can he?’ Sandy looked at Finn, his eyes about to pop out of his head.

‘Oh, I think we can arrange that, don’t you, Mum?’ Finn asked Adele.

‘Would you like Bluey to be your birthday present? It might mean you wouldn’t get anything else,’ Adele said. She’d clearly seen the cost of the pups on the internet.

‘Yes, please!’

The three adults laughed. There was something about the child’s delight that made them all feel good.

Leaving Sandy watching the dogs, Finn and Adele followed Rhana inside where they paid for the pup and arranged to pick him up in a few weeks’ time .

‘Home now?’ Finn said when they rejoined Sandy, carrying the folder Rhana had given them listing all the items they’d need before taking their pup home.

‘Do we have to?’ Sandy turned reluctantly from the fence.

‘The puppies will want to have a sleep soon,’ Rhana said. ‘Your puppy will be waiting for you on your next visit.’

‘Okay.’ With one last look at the pups, Sandy allowed himself to be led away to the car.

‘I love my Bluey already,’ Sandy said when he had been strapped into his car seat. ‘I’m going to take him for walks and feed him. Can he sleep with me, Mum?’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Adele said with a frown.

‘I think Bluey might prefer to have his own bed,’ Finn said. ‘Rhana gave us a list of all the things we need to buy for him. We can visit the pet shop and you can choose his bed for him.’

Seemingly satisfied, Sandy became silent, so silent that Finn glanced in the rearview mirror to see the little boy had fallen asleep.

‘Thanks, Dad,’ Adele said, after glancing back too. ‘I haven’t seen Sandy so excited and happy since… I just hope…’

‘Don’t worry. I know about dogs. I can teach Sandy how to take care of him. You heard what Rhana said. Spaniels are loving and affectionate animals. It may be exactly what Sandy needs. With a dog and the counsellor…’

‘Thanks, you’re right. I probably worry about him too much. He’s all I have left of Tim…’

‘I understand,’ Finn took one hand off the steering wheel to pat her knee, ‘but he’s a good lad. He’ll be fine. The dog can’t replace Tim in Sandy’s life, but it’s something else for him to love… and to love him too.’