Page 86 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

Pulling his door open, she bent down, trying to clasp the lead to his collar. Her fingers were fumbling as she tried to listen to the sounds from outside. Would the firefighters realise she and Ralph were in here? Would they be able to put the fire out before any more damage was done to the kennels?

‘That’s it.’ She couldn’t hear her words above the noise of the fire, above the sirens. She wasn’t even sure if any noise was coming out. She could hardly breathe, let alone talk.

That was it. She had Ralph on the lead now. She stumbled backwards, forcing herself to keep moving forward. She had to get him to safety. She had to get him out.

Just as she pushed the door into the reception area open, it gave way and she fell forward. She felt someone catch her, hold her up. She glanced in her saviour’s direction.

‘Jay?’

With her fingers gripping Ralph’s lead, she let herself be guided outside and away from the fire, out of the smoke. The pulsing blue light of the fire engine blurred her vision, and she looked away from the firefighters as they began drenching the roof with water.

‘Let’s get you over here, away from the smoke.’ Jay held her around the waist, gently cupping her elbows as he walked and she stumbled across the courtyard towards his car. He pulled the door open and lowered her into the passenger seat before kneeling on the floor in front of her.

She took deep breaths, filling her lungs with the fresh air and pushing out the smoke. Ralph put his front paws on her knees and nuzzled her chin.

‘We need to get you to the hospital.’ Jay took her hand in his. ‘You need to be checked over.’

Megan shook her head. ‘No. The dogs…’

‘Where are they?’

‘In the paddocks.’ The words rasped from her throat. She couldn’t leave them. They’d be scared and they’d need to be checked over. ‘Is he okay?’ She nodded towards Ralph. ‘He was in there the longest.’

‘He’s fine, aren’t you, boy?’ Jay ruffled Ralph’s ears. ‘And Mack will check on him, on all of them, as soon as he’s back. I’ve rang and Flora, Percy, Poppy and Mack are only a few minutes away. They’ll be here in no time and be able to care for them.’

‘But Ralph was in there for so long.’ She began fussing him behind the ears before bending over and coughing.

‘Ralph might have been in there the longest, but his kennel was the furthest away from the fire in the roof whereas you were closer to the fire and inhaling the smoke.’ He cupped her cheek. ‘We really do need to get you checked over. Please.’

The last thing she wanted was to spend hours at the hospital. She just wanted to know if the dogs were okay. She needed to see them. She shook her head and stood up before sinking back into the chair. ‘No, I need to check on the other dogs.’

‘Megan! Megan!’

Looking up, Megan watched as Flora came running across the courtyard, Percy, Poppy and Mack close behind her.

‘Oh, Megan, lovely. Are you okay?’ Flora sank to her knees in front of her and looked her up and down.

‘The dogs are in the paddocks. I had to tie Petal and Willow to the fence too.’ Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, her throat stinging as she spoke.

‘Don’t worry about the dogs, lovely. You rescued them.’ Standing up, Flora cupped Megan’s head with her hands and kissed her on top of her head before turning to Jay. ‘I’ll take Ralph. You get her to the hospital.’

Leaning her head back against the chair, Megan closed her eyes. She knew there wasn’t any point in refusing.

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‘Almost there.’ Jay grinned and looked across at Megan as he turned down the lane leading to Wagging Tails.

Megan nodded and pulled the sun visor down, the early morning’s sun catching her eye. She’d feel better once she could see for herself the dogs were okay. Although she was dreading seeing how much damage the fire had caused. What would happen to the dogs if the kennels were ruined? Where would they all go? ‘Good. I can’t wait to check on the dogs. They really are all okay, aren’t they?’

‘Yes, they’re fine. Mack has checked them all over and concluded that they’re all in perfect health.’

Megan nodded. She still couldn’t quite get her head around what had happened last night. Everything had been such a blur, from waking up to Cindy and Dougal barking to realising there was a fire, to getting the dogs to safety. She’d just been on autopilot. She hadn’t been thinking, and now she was still trying to process everything. ‘Thank you.’

‘What for?’ Jay glanced at her and frowned.

‘For taking me to get checked over, for staying at the hospital with me.’ He hadn’t left her side all night, talking about silly little things, just trying to keep her mind off what had happened. She coughed. Although she’d now been discharged, the doctor had warned her to take it easy for a few days whilst her body recovered from the smoke inhalation. ‘How did you know I was in there?’

‘I came over to Flora’s to talk to you about the text you sent. When I saw the fire and you weren’t answering the door, I knew you’d be over there.’

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