Summer at Hope Meadows: the perfect feel-good summer read (Animal Ark Revisited Book 1) by Lucy Daniels

Author:Lucy Daniels [Daniels, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2017-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

‘We should look in the house,’ Mandy said, but as she spoke she heard a vehicle grinding up the overgrown lane. Looking at Seb, she asked, ‘Are you expecting anyone else?’

He shook his head. ‘Not that I know of.’

It was Adam and Emily in the Land Rover. As her mum climbed out, Mandy ran over to give her a hug, but Emily seemed unusually tense. ‘What were you thinking?’ she cried. ‘Putting yourself at risk like that when he had a gun! You could have been killed!’

Mandy blinked. ‘I don’t really know,’ she admitted. ‘Robbie Grimshaw just looked so frightened.’

Adam had stopped beside Emily. ‘It was very brave,’ he said, ‘but please, never do anything like that again.’

Mandy shook her head. ‘I won’t,’ she said. ‘Chief Inspector Benn made me promise.’

‘Well, thank goodness for Chief Inspector Benn.’ Emily’s anger seemed to disperse in a heartbeat and Mandy found herself engulfed in a proper hug.

Adam wrapped his arms around her too. ‘We are very proud of you,’ he whispered.

A wave of calm ran through Mandy. ‘Why are you here?’ she asked. ‘Did Seb call you?’

‘Actually, Jimmy Marsh came by and told us. What can we do to help?’ said Adam.

Jimmy Marsh? Mandy wondered what the Outward Bound instructor had to do with all this, but there were more important things to think about.

‘We were just going to take a look inside the house, but Seb and I can do that.’ She thought for a moment. ‘There are four sheep in the yard, two of which are in a bad way. On top of that, there are six cows and one very old Shire horse.’

Together they walked around the corner and Mandy showed them. ‘They’ve all got water,’ she said, ‘but they’re going to need food and shelter tonight. Some of them need treatment as well. The sheep are easy. We can hold them, but the cows … there’s nowhere safe to examine them. Dad, you’ve got a halter in the Land Rover, haven’t you? Maybe we can tie them up somewhere.’ Even with the halter, she couldn’t imagine how they were going to treat the wild black Galloway with the torn shoulder, but Adam looked at her and held up one hand.

‘Give it a few minutes,’ he said. ‘Jimmy was trying to round up more people to help. In the meantime, we can see to the sheep while you and Seb check the cottage.’

Jimmy again? For a moment, Mandy felt irritated, but she brushed it aside. They needed all the help they could get. Grabbing a cat basket in each hand, she and Seb pushed through the tangled garden to the front door. It opened with a loud creak and Mandy stepped inside. The stench in the house was almost as awful as the barn. The stifling air was thick with flies, and as they walked through the entrance hall and turned right into the kitchen, Mandy couldn’t help but feel a sense of horror.

On the filthy counter, alongside cereal

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