A Special Kind of Family by Marion Lennox

need a walk.’ He carried his phone into the kitchen and closed the door.
    Walk. Right. Not so much a walk as a stagger, Erin thought. For both of them.
    She ignored Charles for the moment—she was taking Marilyn and there was nothing she could do to help him come to terms with the inevitable. Dom’s wellingtons were at the door—used, she guessed, for carting wood in the rain or something equally bucolic and messy. This was where she was now, she thought ruefully. Country and messy. She hauled on the boots over her dressings, and then—as Charles still didn’t move—she limped to the stairs. Marilyn followed.
    They struggled, but both of them made it down the couple of shallow steps and onto the grass. Marilyn sniffed the grass in appreciation, cast Erin a look of what seemed to be gratitude and did what was expected.
    Last night in the dark and confusion and fear Erin had thought the dog was fat. Now she saw the too-prominent ribs, the sunken face. The legs that trembled. But the terror of the night was over. Marilyn turned her big, ugly face up to the morning sun as if soaking in its warmth. Erin gazed down and felt her heart wobble.
    Last night it had seemed as if the world was ending—for her as well as for Marilyn. Last night, as the car had rolled, for a long terrifying moment she’d thought she might die. Marilyn had been close to death. This morning the sun was glinting on the sea, on both of their faces, on their lives, and here they were, ready to start again.
    For this dog, life was about to change. It must, no matter what.Even if her own life changed in the process. For that was how she felt right now. It was as if she’d never felt the sun on her face before. Like she’d woken from a dream and found a new reality.
    Maybe she was being dumb. Fanciful. But she looked down at Marilyn and her resolution was absolute. Knocking Charles’s proposal back was only the start of it.
    ‘Hey,’ she said softly, and squatted on her heels in the soft grass. It hurt a bit but her foot was nothing compared with what Marilyn had been through. ‘You’re a dog in a million.’
    ‘She’s not,’ Charles said from the veranda. He’d made no move to help. He seemed too…stunned. ‘Erin, get serious. If this guy…’
    ‘You mean Dominic.’
    ‘If this guy can’t take her…’
    ‘He can’t. He’s the only doctor for the town and he’s a single dad.’
    ‘Then she has to be put down,’ Charles went on, inexorably. ‘You know that. She’s a stray. No one wants her.’
    ‘Do you mind?’ She put her hands over Marilyn’s ears. ‘Do you know what she’s been through? Someone threw her out of their car.’
    ‘All the more reason to do what’s sensible,’ he said, and then softened his tone. ‘Sweetheart, I know you’ve had a rotten shock. If this guy can’t take the dog…’
    ‘I’m not your sweetheart.’
    ‘And I can’t take the dog.’ Dominic was abruptly with them again, pushing the screen door wide with a bang and striding down the steps with speed. ‘Sorry, but I need to go. I’ve called a neighbour to come over and care for the boys but I can’t wait. I’ve had a call—a kid with nut allergy. Jamie’s gone into anaphylactic shock. They’re driving him to meet me. Can you stay with the boys until Dulcie gets here?’ He was heading for the garage at a run. ‘Great to meet you both. See you again some time.’
    Anaphylactic shock…
    Erin’s mind switched into medical mode, just like that. If a child’s reaction was severe…
    This was what she did.
    Without making a conscious decision, she found herself running, not noticing her feet, reaching Dom’s car almost as he did.
    ‘I’m going, too,’ she yelled over her shoulder to Charles. ‘Can you look after Marilyn? And the two kids inside.’ She slid into the passenger seat.
    Dom paused, hand on the ignition. ‘What the hell…?’
    ‘You might need help. Go.’
    ‘Charles—’
    ‘He’s a doctor, too. He understands