She rolled her eyes as if that should be obvious to him. ‘I noticed last week that there was a pup in an incubator. It seemed a bit lonely.’
The pup had been very sick, although it was improving now. It had had blankets and a favourite toy but hadn’t taken much notice of either. Drew found the on switch for the robot, hidden behind its ear, and pressed it. The robot’s small frame began to expand and contract in a regular rhythm.
‘It’s breathing!’
Caro gave him a reproving look, but obviously decided that she didn’t need to tell him that it wasn’t actually breathing, just that its chest was moving up and down.
‘I’ve heard about breathing pet comforters, and it seemed like a good idea. If the pup’s mother were with it, she’d be breathing.’ Caro frowned. ‘She’d be furry, too.’
‘Well...yes.’ There was that to it, but breathing was a good start. ‘I guess we could make it a coat.’ He wondered how Caro might feel about the clinic making alterations to her designs.
Finally, she smiled. ‘Yes, that’s what I was hoping you might do. You know best the kind of thing that would be most comforting and what’s hypo-allergenic and so on. I’d like you to complete the design.’
Drew was conscious of the honour that was being accorded them. Caro never hesitated in asking for the information she needed.
But she didn’t just turn her half-finished designs over to someone else for the finishing touches.
‘Thank you. This is really amazing. Perhaps we can get Tegan to sew it a furry coat while she’s sitting at the reception desk.’ Perhaps not. On second thoughts, Tegan probably didn’t do a lot of sewing but Drew didn’t rule out the possibility that she might have hidden talents in that direction. He decided that the question of who would actually do the sewing could be shelved for the moment.
‘So you like it?’
‘It’s a brilliant idea Caro, thank you. You did this at the weekend?’ Drew wondered whether she’d had any sleep at all.
‘It didn’t take long. I’ve got templates for all kinds of dogs that do all kinds of things. The thing that took longest was printing out the body, and I just set the printer going and went to bed.’
That was a relief. ‘I’m going to show Ellie and Lucas.’ He picked up the dog, switched it off again, and made for the door. ‘Are you coming?’
It seemed that the appeal of the dog had ended now that he’d confirmed that it was fit for purpose, and the problem at hand had been solved. ‘You go. I’ll go and calibrate the equipment in your surgery, if that’s okay.’
‘Sure. Go ahead. And thanks again, Caro, this is an innovative solution.’
That made her smile. Caro was all about solutions. Drew tucked the dog under his arm, surreptitiously switching it back on again as he walked along the corridor. Caro had got the movement just right, and it really did feel as if it were breathing. Unless he was very much mistaken, Ellie would love this.
* * *
Back to normal. It was a relief, even if it was a disappointment as well. Drew hadn’t mentioned the kiss once. Caro had thought that was an excellent idea and neither had she.
Ellie had made a great fuss over the breathing dog, although its movements and reactions were so simple as to be verging on the mundane. Drew seemed to want everyone to like the robot, and Caro was secretly pleased at the pride with which he showed it around.
Caro had agreed to make another two of the dogs, and Ellie had insisted that the clinic should pay for them. When Caro had refused any payment, Drew had stepped in and settled the matter by ordering a box of printer filaments in return for the dogs.
He’d promised to help put the dogs together, and Caro had left the larger plastic pieces to print overnight. But almost as soon as he arrived at Smugglers’ Top the following morning, his phone rang. He listened carefully to the voice at the other end of the line, his face darkening.
‘I’m sorry. I have to go.’
‘You’ve only just got here.’ It wasn’t like Drew to allow anything to interrupt what he was doing, and this must be important. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘That was Ellie. There’s been an oil spill out at sea...’ He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.
‘Is it bad?’
‘We don’t know the scope of it. Just that an oil tanker’s run into trouble, and the crew have been airlifted off. Apparently it’s still afloat, and it’s being towed, but there is an oil slick forming.’
He looked worried. Ashen.
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Ellie says that there’s help on the way from the environmental agencies, but they won’t arrive until later in the day. We’re here now.’ He’d already pulled his jacket on and was halfway to the door. Phoenix seemed to sense the urgency in his movements and was trotting quietly behind him.