Willow the lonely kitten (3 page)

Chapter Four

“We’ve got another new admission,” Jen announced to Eva and Karl at the end of the Sunday morning session. “A stray dog without collar or identity chip. He’s a mixture of all sorts, probably mostly Westie, picked up on Swallow Court after a phone call from Miss Eliot.”

“Cool. Did Cath ring us?” Eva asked. She’d just come back from Annie’s field where she’d been helping her friend pick out a stone wedged in Guinevere’s shoe.

“Not yet,” Jen told her, “unless she used Heidi’s mobile number.”

Eva dashed to the kennels where Heidi was settling in the new dog. “Mum, did you hear from Cath?” she asked.

“No,” Heidi answered quietly. “Be patient, Eva.”

How
?
Eva wondered, running back into Reception just in time to hear the phone ring. She darted to pick it up before Jen or Karl could get there. “Hello, this is Animal Magic Rescue Centre,” she gabbled.

“Hi, Eva, this is Cath.”

“Cool! I mean, hi, Cath. Have you got any news for us?”

“I finally got hold of Brian Verney,” Cath said. “He’s not happy. He told me the couple, who by the way are called Hines, did a moonlight flit from Willow Cottage.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Eva frowned.

“They left without paying him the rent they owed, and without a forwarding address, so Brian has no way of getting the money out of them.”

Eva nodded and gave Karl a quick thumbs up. “And does Mr Verney know if they had a kitten?”

“He said yes, they did, even though he has a no-pets rule for his tenants. They got one about a week before they did their flit. When he challenged them, they said they were only looking after the kitten for a friend, but Brian didn’t altogether believe them. He said he was glad to get rid of them in the end.”

Eva had put the phone on speaker for Jen and Karl to hear. They all grinned as Cath finished the story.

“Thanks, Cath, I’ll tell Mum,” Eva promised. She put down the phone and beamed at Karl. “Now we can get moving!” she cried. “Let’s put Willow on the website and see how many calls we get in one afternoon!”

“We had seven calls about Willow, out of which there are three possible owners.” Karl was almost as excited as Eva about their hopes for the abandoned kitten. He was chatting to their mum and dad over Sunday tea.

Mark turned to Eva. “What was wrong with the other four?”

“Two already own cats and Mum thinks Willow needs a home where she’s the only one. One lives on a main road – too much traffic. The other woman said she’d call
back in ten minutes, but she never did.”

“So what about the three who did make the list?” her dad asked, giving Eva a warning look as she let Holly sneak up to the table and beg for scraps.

“Bed, Holly!” Eva said sternly.

The puppy crept back to her basket by the stove.

Karl gave his dad the details. “Number one – Tom Ingleby at High Trees Farm. He wants a new farm cat to chase mice.”

“And we like the Inglebys,” Mark said.

“But it’d be a tough life for Willow,” Eva pointed out. “She’d have to live in the barn, not in the house. She wouldn’t really be a pet, would she?”

“So what about number two?” Mark asked Eva.

“Mrs Wilman,” Karl cut in. “She lives on the far side of Clifford, which is a long way away, so Eva wasn’t too keen on her.”

Heidi smiled at her daughter. “I know you want to find a home for Willow close enough for you to go and visit, but that’s not always possible.”

Eva blushed. “Mrs Wilman did sound quite old,” she pointed out. “She might not be able to cope with a new kitten.”

“And number three?” her dad prompted.

“Jake and Julie Shannon,” she answered quickly. “They’re a young couple and they’re new to Okeham.”

“And where do they live?” Mark asked with a grin.

“In a lovely new house on Swallow Court, which is really quiet with hardly any traffic!” Eva said with a slow, satisfied sigh. “And it’s just down the road from here!”

“The Shannons have arranged to come and see Willow at four o’clock today,” Eva told Annie as they sat on the school bus on Monday afternoon. They sat side by side, looking out at the bleak grey fields on the way home to Okeham.

“They sound keen,” Annie commented.

Eva nodded. All day at school she’d found it hard to concentrate, staring out of the window and dreaming about how much Willow would love living with the Shannons. They would give her a soft bed near a warm radiator and buy her lots of kitten toys. She would get the best food and probably wear a collar with a small bell, which would tinkle wherever she went. When Miss Jennings had read out the afternoon register, Eva hadn’t even heard her name.

“Willow must be a special kitten,” Annie sighed.

“What makes you say that?” Eva hadn’t realized that she’d mentioned Willow’s name to Annie at least twenty times that day. “Willow likes chicken flavour kitten food … Willow has black patches over
both her eyes … Willow’s miaow is really cute…!”

Annie grinned. “I suppose it’s because you rescued her from Willow Cottage yourself – that’s what makes her special. Anyway, can I come and see this mega kitten before she leaves?”

Eva nodded. “Better be quick. Come round before four o’clock.”

“Eva, you haven’t even met the Shannons yet,” Annie reminded her.

“I know, but…”

“But you’ve already made up your mind. You want them to have Willow.” Annie laughed, getting up from her seat and walking down the aisle as the bus pulled up at their stop.

Annie was cuddling Willow in Reception when Julie and Jake Shannon walked in.

“I love her!” Annie told Eva, giving Willow a tickle under the chin.

Miaow!
The kitten lapped up the attention. She’d been at Animal Rescue for less than forty-eight hours, but she’d already settled in beautifully.

“She’s so friendly,” Annie murmured as Willow purred.

“Is this her?” Julie Shannon asked Heidi, who’d greeted them from behind the desk. Julie was in her late twenties, with
short fair hair and dressed in smart trousers and a grey jacket. Her husband, Jake, stayed in the background, as if to let people know that having the kitten was mainly his wife’s idea.

Reluctantly, Annie handed Willow to Julie Shannon.

For Julie, it was love at first sight. “Oh, she’s so pretty! I’ve never seen anything so cute and adorable!”

Once more, Willow accepted the cuddles. She peeped out from Julie’s arms, her blue eyes gleaming, ears pricked.

“Isn’t she lovely, Jake? Just like she was in the photo.” Julie showed the kitten to her husband, who nodded and seemed happy if she was happy.

“Good, I’m glad you like her,” Heidi said. “She’s about two months old and she’s had a hard time lately. She was abandoned, so she needs lots of TLC to make up for it.”

“I find that so hard to believe,” Julie gasped, taking a tissue from her pocket to blow her nose. “How could anyone be so cruel?”

“At Animal Magic we identity-chip and vaccinate all our animals.” Heidi went through the formal routine while Eva and Annie stood by. “Willow is perfectly healthy despite her ordeal and I’m sure she’ll make a lovely pet.”

“Are there a lot of people who want to adopt her?” Jake asked.