Nikki And The Lone Wolf / Mardie And The City Surgeon. Marion Lennox

      Maybe her life was going to change in a few other ways, she thought. Her apartment was furnished with the elegant possessions she’d acquired for the Sydney apartment. Some her parents had given her. Some she and Jon had chosen together. This teaset was antique, given to her by Jon for her last birthday.

      The owner of a dog like Horse wouldn’t serve tea in cups like this. She hadn’t thought it through until now, but maybe she should shop …

      ‘I hate putting dogs down,’ Henrietta was saying. ‘Sometimes, though, I don’t have a choice. I can’t keep them all. And if potential owners don’t care enough to commit to buying or scrounging dog gear, then they don’t care enough to be entrusted to a dog. These dogs have been through enough. I’d rather put them down than sentence them to more misery.’

      ‘But me …’

      ‘You live with Gabe,’ Henrietta said simply. ‘You mistreat Horse, you’ll have him to answer to. Even if he says it’s nothing to do with him, he’ll be watching. And that’s the second thing. This place without a dog is wrong. Gabe needs a dog. If he gets it via you, that’s fine by me.’

      ‘He’s not getting him via me. This is my call. My dog.’

      ‘Yes, but you live with Gabe,’ Henrietta repeated, and finished her tea in one noisy gulp. ‘Living so close, you’re almost family, and now you have a dog. Welcome to Banksia Bay, and welcome to your new role as dog owner. Any more questions, ask Gabe. He’s grumpy and dour and always a loner but he has reason to be. Underneath he’s a good man, and he’ll never let a dog suffer. He treated Jem like gold.’ Then she hesitated. Made to say something. Hesitated again.

      Nikki watched her face. Wondered what she’d been about to say. Then asked what she’d like to know. ‘Could you tell me about him?’ she ventured. ‘What happened to his mother?’

      Henrietta considered for a long moment and then shrugged.

      ‘I shouldn’t say, but why not? If you don’t hear it from me you’ll hear it from a hundred other people in this town. Okay, potted history. Gabe’s mother died of cancer when he was eight. His dad was an oaf and a bully. He was also a miser. He forced Gabe to leave school at fourteen, used him as an unpaid deck hand. Maybe Gabe would have left but luckily—and I will say luckily—he died when Gabe was eighteen. He left a fortune. He left no will, so Gabe inherited. Gabe was a kid, floundering, desperately unhappy—and suddenly rich. So along came Lisbette, a selfish cow, all surface glitter, taking advantage of little more than a boy. She married him and she fleeced him, just like that.’

      ‘Oh, no …’

      ‘I’d have horsewhipped her if I’d had my way,’ Henrietta said grimly. ‘But she was gone. And Gabe took it hard. He still had his dad’s boat and this house, but little else. So he took Jem and headed off to the West, to the oil rigs. A good seaman can make a lot if he’s prepared to take risks and, from what I can gather, Gabe took more than a few. Then the fishing here started to falter and suddenly Gabe returned. He’s good with figures, good with fishing, good with people. He almost single-handedly pulled the fleet back together. But he’s shut himself off for years and so far the only one to touch that is Jem.’ She touched the big dog’s soft ears. ‘So maybe … maybe this guy can do the same. Or maybe even his owner can.’

      ‘Sorry?’ Nikki said, startled.

      ‘Just thinking,’ Henrietta said hastily, and rose to leave. ‘Dreaming families for my dogs is what I do. Good luck to the three of you.’

      She looked at the teacup. Grinned. ‘Amazing,’ she said. ‘They say owners end up looking like their dogs. These cups fit poodles, not wolfhounds.’ She grinned down at Horse, asleep draped over Nikki’s feet, and then looked back to Nikki. ‘Poodle,’ she said. ‘Maybe now, but not for much longer. I’m looking forward to big changes around here. For everyone.’

      Gabe slipped underwater, checked the propeller and inspected the hull. Minutely. It was the best checked hull in the fleet. Then he went back to mending cray-pots. By nine he was the only person in the harbour.

      The rest of his boats were out, and he was stuck on dry land. Because of Nikki.

      What was she about, removing his alarm? Telling Hattie to go without him?

      He’d needed to sleep, he conceded. His head still ached.

      Because she’d hit him.

      It was an accident. She meant no harm.

      She meant to keep the dog. Horse.

      It was a stupid name for a dog. A dog needed a bit of dignity.

      Dignity.

      She’d have to get that fur unmatted, he thought, and getting the tangles out of that neglected coat was a huge job. Did she know what she was letting herself in for?

      It was nothing to do with him. Nothing! He wasn’t going near.

      She was living right next door to him. With her dog who needed detangling.

      He’d yelled at her. Because she’d picked up a few rocks.

      He’d behaved appallingly.

      Why?

      He knew why. And it wasn’t the memory of his mother. It wasn’t the dog. It was more.

      It couldn’t be more. He didn’t want more, and more wasn’t going to happen.

      It was dark. Time to head home.

      Maybe he could take Jem’s old brushes across to her. A peace offering.

      That wasn’t more. It was sensible. It felt … okay.

      But when he got home there wasn’t a light on, apart from the security light he kept on in the shared porch.

      Were she and the dog asleep?

      She’d slept this afternoon. He’d seen her, curled on the hearth with the dog.

      With Horse.

      They were nothing to do with him.

      He glanced at the gap in the stone wall. Sensed the faint echo of Nikki. And Horse.

      By his side … Shades of Jem.

      He was going nuts. The hit on his head had obviously been harder than he thought. Ghosts were everywhere, even to the feel of Jem beside him. Jem had always been with him, on the boat, under his bed, by the fire, a heartbeat by his side.

      Whoa, he was maudlin. Get over it.

      Disoriented, he found himself heading for the beach. A man could stare at the sea in the moonlight. Find some answers?

      But the only answers he found on the beach were Nikki and Horse.