Poppy’s stomach turned over and over as she ran to Hugo.
‘Oh God, no! Fen’s away. I’m looking after him.’
Hugo parted the hedge. A bundle of ginger fur lay beneath the leaves, as lifeless as an old sack. ‘I’m very sorry, but he looks a goner to me.’
‘Oh, Leo. Leo. Leo …’ Light-headed with horror, Poppy touched his fur. Her fingers were wet with the dew … He’d probably been lying in pain for who knew how long. ‘He must have been here all night,’ she said, fighting back tears.
‘Looks like he might have had an argument with a vehicle,’ said Hugo, touching Leo’s paw. His claws looked rough and his pads were torn. ‘Poor puss. It must have been a car or a van – or trailer or quad bike. Something big enough that the driver didn’t notice. Damn bad luck though, considering there can’t be more than a dozen vehicles on the whole island. I’m very sorry.’
Her throat was thick with despair. She stroked Leo’s side in a way she’d never have been able to if he were alive. ‘I’m so sorry, puss.’ He couldn’t have been gone long because he was still warm. If only she’d found him sooner, she might have been able to save him … Tears spilled out of her eyes. She’d have to tell Fen. Oh God … She held her breath. She was sure there had been a tiny ripple of movement under her fingers.
‘Leo?’
She was answered with the tiniest twitch of a tail. Then Leo opened his eyes.
‘You’re alive …’
He gave a faint purr.
‘He’s not dead!’ She swung round to Hugo. ‘We have to try and help him.’
If there was the tiniest chance for Leo, she’d move heaven and earth to save him.
Hugo knelt by her side. ‘Come on, old chap. Don’t give up.’ He tickled Leo’s ears and gently touched his paw and was answered by a small snarl, which Poppy took to be a good sign.
She heard someone running up the path and, a few seconds later, Jake was by her side. He could hardly speak. ‘J-Jesus. What’s happened?’
Poppy had to stay calm for Leo’s sake. ‘Leo’s been run over.’
‘He probably crawled under the hedge after a glance with a van or trailer,’ said Hugo, stepping back to let Jake take a look at the cat.
Jake snatched in a breath and knelt down by Poppy’s side. ‘You’ve been in the wars, haven’t you, boy?’ He gently stroked Leo’s head. Leo purred and Poppy’s heart broke a little more.
‘We need to get him to the vet’s,’ she said.
‘I think there’s a part-time surgery in St Mary’s,’ said Jake. ‘I hope there is.’
‘I know Asha, the vet,’ said Hugo. ‘If I phone ahead, she’ll help.’
‘Thanks, Hugo. We need to get Leo there as quickly as possible if he’s to have any chance,’ said Poppy.
‘I can give you a lift in the Kraken,’ said Hugo. ‘If we go now, we can catch the tide and be in the harbour in under ten minutes.’
Jake turned to Hugo. ‘Thanks, Hugo.’
Hugo called his dog to him and clipped him on his lead. ‘You bring the little chap down to the harbour and I’ll have the Kraken ready for the off.’
Hugo left, followed by Basil, happily wagging his tail, oblivious to the drama happening under the hedge.
Leo was just a cat, thought Poppy, but she would do anything she could to save him.
‘Help me lift him out of the hedge,’ said Jake.
Poppy’s hands shook as she stroked Leo to keep him calm. ‘I’m so worried about hurting him.’
Jake glanced at her. ‘Me too, but we’ve no choice.’
‘I think we need an old towel or something to wrap him in and keep him warm. I’ll go to the studio for one.’
‘No, let’s not waste time.’ Jake got up and looked around him. ‘Wait a sec.’ He climbed over the wall of the B&B opposite. Towels and sheets were flapping in the breeze. Jake tugged a white towel from the washing line, clambered back over the wall and handed it to Poppy. ‘I’m sure they won’t mind,’ he said.
Leo gave a few pathetic meows as Poppy tucked the towel over him as carefully as she could and Jake moved him from beneath the hedge. It was clear that Leo had cut his paw as there was blood on Poppy’s hands and on the towel when they moved him. He let out a few yowls, every one of which made Poppy flinch in horror. Never having owned a cat, she was so worried she might be causing more pain and damage to him, but they really had no choice.
With Leo in his arms, Jake hurried down to the harbour, Poppy leading the way. Hugo had the engine of his smart motor yacht already running. Poppy got on board and took Leo carefully from Jake, who untied the Kraken before jumping aboard.
‘Do you want to sit inside the cockpit with him to keep warm?’ Hugo called as he guided the boat away from the harbour.
Poppy sat on the bench seat with Leo in her lap. Jake shut the cockpit door to keep the wind off them all and the boat picked up speed. Basil sat by Hugo’s feet, turning his head this way and that.
‘He’s probably wondering why a cat has been allowed into his boat,’ said Jake, obviously trying for a bit of gentle humour to comfort Poppy.
Basil’s ears twitched as if he knew they were talking about him.
‘You’ll miss your flight,’ she said.
‘I already have,’ said Jake. ‘But I don’t care. I can get another one tomorrow. Or the next day.’
‘You’ll miss a day with your family. I’m so sorry,’ said Poppy. ‘And Fen …’ She glanced down at Leo, lying almost motionless in her lap, his ginger fur a stark contrast against the white towel. He had made a few sounds during the journey, some purrs and a little chirrup, despite his ordeal and the pain he must be in. ‘We need to tell Fen, but I can’t face it. I was looking after Leo and it’s my fault he’s like this. I should have kept him shut in the studio or her house.’
Jake shook his head. ‘No. Leo would hate to be kept inside and Fen wouldn’t want that. This is his life, wandering around as he pleases. It’s just shitty bad luck. You know yourself that there’s hardly any traffic. If that’s what happened.’
‘It must be. Hugo’s right.’
‘Five minutes to go,’ Hugo called. ‘I’ve arranged for transport from the harbour to the vet’s.’
‘Thank you, Hugo,’ said Poppy, then turned to Jake again. ‘We will have to let Fen know.’ The very thought made her feel sick.
‘I’ll call her later, but let’s see what the vet says first. If the worst happens, well …’ Jake lowered his voice as if he didn’t want Leo to hear. ‘I’ll break the news myself.’
Five minutes seemed an agonisingly long time, but eventually the Kraken arrived at Hugo’s pontoon in St Mary’s harbour. Poppy carried Leo up the steps to a minibus with the Petroc Resort livery.
‘Our driver, Kieran, will take you to the vet’s,’ said Hugo. ‘Please try not to worry too much. If anyone can save Leo, it’s Asha. She did wonders with Basil’s cruciate ligament. She’s a marvel.’ Hugo smiled.
‘Hugo has faith in Asha. That’s high praise.’ Jake touched Leo’s ear. ‘You’re in the best hands, mate,’ he said, but Poppy thought the reassurance was all for her sake.
‘Call me and let me know how Leo gets on and whenever you need transport back to St Piran’s,’ said Hugo and waved them off in the minibus, which would take them the short distance to the vet’s. En route, Hugo had told them that Asha held a part-time surgery on the island, as well as attending to the Petroc Resort’s small dairy herd and a few farms on the other islands.
Jake whispered in Poppy’s ear. ‘I always thought he was a bit of a prat. In fact, everyone thinks he’s a bit of a prat, but he obviously loves animals.’
‘He thinks a lot of the vet too,’ said Poppy. ‘I hope he’s right.’
Asha was a few years older than Poppy, and almost as tall as Jake with Afro curls tied back with a satin scrunchy. She was already wearing scrubs when she met them at the door and Poppy and Jake carried Leo into a room tacked onto to her cottage, which served as her waiting room and surgery. Poppy hadn’t been to a vet’s since she was a teenager and she’d taken her rabbit to have its teeth filed under anaesthetic. She’d been anxious enough about going for that procedure, but this was far worse. What if the vet said she would have to put Leo out of his misery? She’d have to phone Fen and ask for permission … She felt light-headed with horror.
Asha helped them lay Leo on her examination table. Seeing him lying there made Poppy want to throw up, but Asha spoke to the cat calmly and Leo allowed her to examine him. It was clear she’d met him several times before for routine vaccinations and check-ups. Asha checked his claws and limbs and listened to his heart with a stethoscope.
She nodded. ‘Definitely an RTA. Don’t see too many from St Piran’s. Any clue what vehicle?’ she asked.
‘No idea,’ said Poppy. ‘Could be anything from a quad bike to a tractor.’
‘He would have crawled under the hedge, so he must have been able to move initially, but you say he could have been out there for a night?’ Asha asked.
‘I’m afraid so.’ Poppy was almost dumb with misery. ‘I must have walked past the spot a couple of times too.’
‘It was almost impossible to see him. Hugo only spotted Leo because Basil sniffed him out.’
Asha stroked Leo, her voice softening as she spoke to the cat. ‘Good for Basil. You are an adventurer, aren’t you, Leo, honey? I know you love to roam about. Well, I’ll do some X-rays, but I think he may have fractured a femur. There could be internal injuries of course, but there’s no blood around his mouth, so that’s a positive sign.’
Leaving Asha to it, they walked outside and Poppy lost it. She burst into tears. Jake put his arm around her.
‘I’m sorry. This isn’t helping Leo,’ she managed to say.
‘Just let it all out. It’s the best thing to do.’
‘Yes, but Leo’s a cat.’
‘A cat who loathes me.’ Jake smiled at Poppy. ‘But if anything happens to him, I’ll be crying too. Let’s hope that Asha’s as good as her number one fan, Hugo, makes out.’
After the X-ray, Asha called to say that Leo had a smashed femur that needed a simple pin and some stitching around his toes where his foot had been grazed.
It was still early in the day and Asha had decided to operate immediately. Jake and Poppy decided it was easier to stay on St Mary’s than go home, so Jake took her into one of the cafés and made her have some tea and biscuits even though she wasn’t hungry. While they waited, he talked about some of his previous photography trips, presumably to take her mind off Leo. He’d run holidays and been on commissions to photograph the Northern Lights in Iceland, giant tortoises and whales in the Galapagos Islands, gorillas in Rwanda and his most recent trip to an island off the southern coast of New Zealand to photograph penguins and sea lions.
‘It all sounds more exciting than writing about drains,’ said Poppy, then her phone rang. Her heart was in her mouth when Asha’s number flashed up. ‘It’s the vet.’
She pressed answer and her pulse rate rocketed as she listened.
Jake paled visibly.
She ended the call. ‘It’s OK. Leo’s out of surgery. Asha pinned his leg. He’s in a collar, which he’ll hate, but Asha thinks he’s got a decent chance of a good recovery.’
‘Really?’
‘We can collect him later when he’s recovered more and she’ll tell us how to care for him then. I’m so relieved.’
‘Me too.’ Jake hugged her without warning. It felt natural to have his arms around her, and after so much anxiety, the warmth and solidity of another human so close was hugely welcome. She made no effort to move away, but eventually – it couldn’t have been that long – she did drop her hands and there was fresh air between them again. She didn’t want to seem needy; that was the very last thing she’d ever have wanted Jake or anyone to think.
She pulled a tissue from her bag and blew her nose. ‘Thanks for coming back and being here.’
He smiled and shook his head. ‘Don’t thank me. I feel as responsible for Leo as you do. More, in fact, as I’ve known him much longer.’
‘I hope he really will be OK.’ A twinge of anxiety tugged at Poppy. Leo was by no means out of the woods yet and would need to be looked after carefully over the next few days and weeks. ‘And now, I think, we really do have to phone Fen.’