Eve walked out of the school building and crossed the car park. The early summer morning was warm and she breathed deeply of the sweet scent of flowers. She’d had a good morning with the pupils and had been delighted, as she always was, by their interest and enthusiasm.
She stopped in front of the car. ‘You’re such a good boy, Gabe! They all loved you today, didn’t they?’
Her large black dog wagged his tail then dipped into a greyhound bow. ‘Yes, I know, you were the star of the show!’ She opened the boot of the Range Rover and Gabe jumped up onto his quilt, then she made her way round to the passenger door. It opened before she touched the handle.
‘Hello there, beautiful! How was your morning?’ Jack leaned over and kissed her softly.
‘Really good, thank you! Lots of questions and excitement and the head teacher asked if I’ll come back in a few weeks’ time to talk to the parents too. They’re very keen to get involved in fund-raising as a school. I think it’s partly because the head teacher has two greyhounds herself.’
‘That’s fantastic!’
‘And how did your morning go?’ She ran her eyes over his handsome face and her heart flipped, just as it did every single day when she looked at him.
‘Well, I finished the illustrations for the fourth instalment of Gabe’s Greyhound Adventures, then I put the changing table together for the nursery.’
‘You didn’t!’ Eve grinned. ‘I can’t wait to see the table, and the illustrations. Oh Jack, the children loved the first book. I read them the whole thing and the teacher asked for an order form.’
Jack nodded. ‘Couldn’t have done it without your wonderful stories, Eve. I just drew some pictures to go with your cleverly crafted tales.’
She smiled at her husband. Together they’d had a successful year, creating a series about a greyhound named Gabe and his adventures in Conwenna Cove, as well as expanding the sanctuary up at the farm so that it now had a new and impressive website and Eve as its schools liaison. She went out into the local community and spoke to the children about greyhounds and the possibilities for adopting them, and spent time teaching them about animal welfare. The books were a way to continue that education whilst encouraging them to read and improve their literacy, which of course was one of her passions.
‘Anyway, Jack, your son is telling me he’s hungry, so how about you take us for some lunch?’
Jack leaned over and placed his strong hand on Eve’s growing bump. She was twenty weeks along now and had filled out with her pregnancy. Most of the time she felt wonderful, though every so often she’d hit a wobbly moment when the pregnancy reminded her of the first one with her twins. But Jack was always there, holding her up, supporting her and helping her to accept that she couldn’t change the past. He’d even persuaded her to return to the garden of remembrance at the cemetery in Bristol, where the twins’ ashes were buried together in a small plot. She hadn’t been before, terrified that she would completely crumple if she did. It had been incredibly painful and she had cried for days, but she had promised to return there every year on what would have been the twins’ birthday. Acknowledging the fact that they had existed and would always be a part of her life had helped with her grief, and helped her to find that peace of mind that had eluded her for so long.
‘So, little one, I need to take you and your mum for some food, do I?’
The baby wriggled in response and Jack kissed Eve’s belly.
From the rear of the car came a high-pitched whine, and Jack turned in his seat. ‘Don’t worry, Gabe, we won’t forget about you! Sausages, is it?’
He was rewarded with a bark and Eve’s laughter.
As her husband started the engine and pulled out onto the road to Conwenna, Eve leaned back in her seat and smiled. It had been an eventful year since she’d first arrived in the pretty Cornish village and her life had changed beyond recognition.
She didn’t know if it was magic, as Aunt Mary had suggested when she’d first arrived, but she had to agree that something very special had happened during her summer at Conwenna Cove.