Page 66 of Falling for Nicole
“Bailey,” I cry as I drop to my knees and gently pull him to me, which isn’t all that easy with the giant cone around his neck. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.” I’ve no idea if he’s suffered any lasting damage or even if he has all his legs, but in that moment, I don’t care. I can deal with anything as long as he’s still with me. He’s been my lifeline, my saviour. I’m not ready to lose him yet, not when he’s got his whole life to live.
The vet and Dec wait patiently while I have my moment. When I’m feeling a little more stable, I stand up and look at the vet to hear what’s wrong.
“He was very, very lucky. We were concerned about internal bleeding but everything inside seems to be okay, just a little swelling and bruising, which is to be expected. So really, it’s just the broken leg.”
I look down and see Bailey is sporting a blue cast on one of his back legs that I totally missed.
“A few weeks in cast and he’ll be as good as new.” The vet continues explaining everything I need to know about Bailey’s recovery and gives me a couple of packs of tablets for him to take.
Before we leave, I fill out all the paperwork to register him as a patient. I almost have a heart attack when I see the bill for his treatment, and I’m so glad I had the hindsight to take out a good insurance policy when I first got him, so I get away with just paying the excess. After booking his follow up appointment for a few days, we head back to the car. It’s a little slower than I’m used to because for the first time ever, he’s not pulling at the lead trying to get away to explore. Instead, he hobbles on three legs, looking like a bit of a sad case. Dec notices me watching him struggle and he takes pity on him as well and sweeps him up into his arms. The sight of Dec embracing my broken puppy brings a massive lump to my throat. I nearly threw this away over my stupid insecurities and trust issues.
“Can you stop at the supermarket, please?” I ask when Dec pulls to a stop at the traffic lights before the turning.
“What do you want? I’ll run in.”
“It’s okay. I want to cook you dinner and get some treats for limpy. I won’t be long,” I lean over and give Dec a kiss before rubbing Bailey’s head and jumping down from his van.
I’m aware I’ve got a lot of making up to do with Dec for how I treated him, so making him dinner is the least I can do.
I quickly grab everything I need before getting back to my guys as quickly as possible.
There’s a giant lorry outside my house when we pull up. “Fuck, I totally forgot all my furniture was being delivered this morning.” I leave Dec with Bailey and run towards a very pissed off looking driver.
“I’m so sorry, my dog was in the vets.”
He grunts at me before instructing his partner to get out of the cab, and together they manoeuvre all the furniture I ordered into place.
Standing in my living room, it suddenly feels so much smaller with actual furniture in. I smile to myself with how homely it now looks. I knew I loved this place the second I saw it online, but it really feels like home now, something I never thought I’d feel again after losing Mum. I thought I’d always feel alone and lost, but I know without a doubt that coming here was the right decision.
“Wow, that looks different.” Dec appears in the doorway with Bailey in his arms, making the space seem even smaller with his wide frame.
“I love it,” I announce.
I lay one of Bailey’s doggy blankets over the end of the sofa before Dec puts him down. He may be okay, but that doesn’t mean he’s anything like his usual self. The anaesthetic plus the painkillers he’s on have made him seriously dopey. The second he’s down, he fidgets slightly, but he soon gives up and just lays his head on the soft cushion.
Sitting down next to him, I give him some love before his eyes start closing while I’m talking to him.
We end up having a very quiet day. Dec moves the TV down from my bedroom and I unpack some of the bits I brought with me to make the house feel more like a home. I dust off photographs I kept from Mum’s house, and a wave of nostalgia hits with every one I look at.
“You okay?” Dec asks, wrapping his arms around my waist as I stare down at a photograph of Mum and me from before she got sick. It was my last summer at school, and we’d gone out for the day to our local park. She sat and read while I revised. The day cost her nothing—well, maybe the price of an ice cream—but looking back now, it’s one of many of my fondest memories. We were so comfortable together. There didn’t need to be any talking, we could just be. It was perfect, and I pray to whomever might be listening that some day I have that kind of relationship with my own child.
“Yeah.” My voice is full of emotion. It’s obvious I’m lying.
“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, you know that?” he asks, spinning me around so I’m facing him.
“Shut up, I haven’t done anything.”
“Are you serious? You’ve been through so much. You’ve taken everything in your stride, done everything possible to help your mum and forgetting about yourself in the process. Then, when the time came, you upped and restarted your life. There are so many people who spend their whole lives wishing they could start over but never do, and here you are. Look what you’ve achieved.”
“You and Lilly sorted this.”
“The house, yeah, we got involved, but this life is all yours, Nic.”
He moves us over to the sofa and pulls me down onto his lap.
“What do you want to do now?”
“Nap,” I answer honestly.
