No! He was going to deal with this himself. He just needed to decide what to do first…
Will blinked, his mind drawing a complete blank.
‘Seriously, man, pull it together,’ he groaned, rubbing his face hard.
He was sure he never used to be this useless. It was like he’d become nothing more than a musical automaton. He didwhathe was told to do,whenhe was told to do it… and he seemed to have forgotten how to make even the most basic of decisions.
‘Okay… you can do this,’ he muttered. ‘Just break it down into easy chunks.’
Right. Decision one – get dressed!
‘That’s simple enough,’ he said with a little nod. ‘Stay!’ he added, pointing at Stanley, who already had his chin resting on his massive paws.
Stanley didn’t even bother to raise his head. Instead, he lifted one eyebrow and gave Will a look that clearly said “pull it together, man.”
Will chuckled and headed for the bedroom. Grabbing his bag from where he’d dumped it the previous evening, Will unzipped it and rummaged through the clothes Leah had packed for him.
He pulled out a soft pair of battered jeans and yanked them on, followed by a simple navy tee-shirt and lightweight cashmere jumper that Ewan had knitted for him for his birthday.
Will stroked the soft sleeves, suddenly feeling like he was wrapped in a hug from his talented brother. Swallowing hard, he stripped the jumper straight back off and swapped it for a logoed hoodie. He loved the cashmere, but he hadn’t managed to wear it for more than a few seconds yet. The wave of brotherly love that hit him every time he pulled it over his head was overwhelming.
Grabbing a pair of comfy trainers, Will pulled them on and then ran his fingers through his hair. Right. A walk. It would be good for him! He’d deliver the ridiculous fluff ball to Kate at The Sardine and then… well… he’d figure out the next bit.
How did peopledoholidays? He had hours and hours stretching ahead of him, days of blank space to fill… and he had no idea what to do with it all.
Will glanced at the discarded jumper again. Well, he’d definitely have to catch up with his brothers while he was in town. He seemed to remember something about them wanting to take him out for food at some point. Maybe Leah had made a note about it somewhere.
Not that he was going to ask her about it!
The problem was, until Will had figured out what was bothering him, he didn’t really fancy Ewan’s particular brand of huggy, brotherly comfort, or Matt’s thoughtful probing either, come to that. He loved his brothers, but they could be… a lot!
Will’s attention was caught by the appearance of a large, furry face in the doorway.
‘Sorry, boy,’ he laughed. ‘I’m coming!’
Stanley wagged his tail a couple of times but didn’t budge an inch. Clearly, the dog didn’t believe a word of it.
‘Walk? Walkies?’
The dog let out a low woof of delight.
‘Alright, let’s go then.’ He paused, earning himself a withering look from the big brown eyes. ‘I’m coming, I promise! But I don’t have a lead…’
Will glanced around the bedroom, then grabbed the fluffy belt from the dressing gown. He was pretty sure Stanley didn’t need a lead, but there was no way he was going to risk the town’s most cherished fur-baby getting hurt on his watch!
The minute Will closed the door of the fancy holiday home and took a deep lungful of fresh sea air, something in his chest seemed to loosen slightly. The mental cobwebs he’d managed to spin during the restless night on an unfamiliar sofa blew away in the salty breeze.
Will’s stomach rumbled loudly.
Oops – he’d forgotten to eat breakfast. Again. He really was going to have to remember to look after himself a bit better while Leah was officially off duty and not around to nag him into being a grown-up.
A cold, wet nose against the back of his hand made Will look down, and he smiled.
‘Come on then, boy,’ he said, looping the fluffy dressing gown belt through his collar. ‘Let’s go return you to your mum. Maybe I can scrounge some breakfast while we’re there.’
Stanley set off, towing him eagerly across the neat gravel driveway and out onto the countryside lane.
Will needn’t have worried about Stanley behaving himself. The daft dog seemed to be content to trot along beside him. The only time he attempted a brief detour was when he lolloped after a butterfly and then paused under an oak tree to have a good sniff around in the undergrowth.
