Christie Barlow - The Cosy Canal Boat Dream - A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

They both stood rooted to the spot, waiting for him to bark again.

‘Sam,’ he boomed again.

The next bark came from somewhere behind them. They both spun round. ‘Over there, I think,’ said Nell, hurrying towards the water’s edge.

She strained to look between the moored canal boats. ‘There, over there,’ she pointed.

In the distance, standing to attention on the bow of a boat, was Sam. As soon as he spotted them, his tail swished madly and he began to woof excitedly.

‘How the hell has he managed to get himself all the way out there? I didn’t even know he could swim.’

‘It’s instinct. All dogs can usually swim.’

‘Come on and mind your head,’ Nell said, squeezing between the rails at the end of the jetty, then jumping down on to a small rowing boat that was tied up.

‘Grab an oar.’

Guy dithered, ‘Who does this boat belong to?’

‘Fred Bramley. He’s my neighbour, lived on the marina for years. That’s his boat there. The one next to mine, ‘The Old Geezer.’

‘Will he mind us pinching his boat?’

‘Needs must! We’re only borrowing it. I’m sure it’ll be fine.’

Rubbing her hands vigorously in an attempt to warm them up Nell untied the rope and grabbed an oar.

‘Jump in, what are you waiting for?’

Guy hesitated for a second, ‘I have to admit, I’m not too keen on water.’

She glanced back up in his direction and tried to read his expression. With the anxious look on his face she realised that he wasn’t joking and looked absolutely terrified.

Nell wondered how to put it tactfully. ‘Guy, you need to get in. I can’t rescue your dog by myself, I need help lowering him into the boat.’

‘Is the only way to get there by boat?’

‘There’s the long walk round to the far jetty but it’ll take about ten minutes.’

‘I’m being silly, aren’t I?’ he said, but still didn’t move.

‘See that box on the bow of the ‘Nollie’,’ she nodded towards her narrowboat, ‘There’s a life jacket in there. Go and grab it quickly.’

There was a look of slight relief on Guy’s face as he turned and hurried towards the box. Watching Guy slide the life jacket over his head, her heart hammered against her chest. She felt a little saddened. That was Ollie’s life jacket and she hadn’t set eyes on it for a while, but it was the perfect fit for Guy.

He made his way back to the boat. The colour actually drained from his face as he grabbed the sides of the rickety old thing and began to lower himself in.

‘Whoa,’ he exclaimed as the boat began to rock.

‘Try and steady yourself and sit still, it can be a little daunting when you first climb in.’

Once Guy was safely perched on the edge of the seat she noticed his knuckles turning white as he clung on for dear life.

‘You really don’t like water, do you?’

He shook his head and stared out towards Sam.

Nell immersed the spoon of the blades into the water and began to row gently.

‘No holidaying on a cruise ship for you, then,’ she joked, trying to lighten the mood and put Guy at ease.

He shuddered, ‘I can’t think of anything worse. I think it’s safe to say I’m petrified of water.’

‘I hadn’t noticed,’ she said, cocking an eyebrow and offering him a warm smile.

‘I know it’s pathetic, a man of my age …’

‘About thirty?’

‘Twenty-nine actually.’

‘Good guess.’

‘But …’

He squeezed his eyes shut as they glided smoothly towards the barge.

‘But?’

‘It happened a long time ago, I was only seven years old.’

‘A very long time ago then,’ she said, playfully.

He peered through one eye, ‘Cheeky. Near to where I live in Ireland there was a lake. Every school holiday, I used to hang out there with my mate Dan and build dens in the forest near by, but this one day we came across a small rowing boat that had been abandoned near the water’s edge. It was Dan’s idea to see if we could row it to the other side of the lake. Unfortunately, halfway across, the boat began to leak and it capsized and I couldn’t swim. In no time at all we were both clinging to a sinking boat and the water was getting higher and higher around us. I clamped my mouth shut while Dan screamed for dear life. Dan could swim but didn’t want to leave me. Luckily for us, a dog-walker heard him, jumped into the water and rescued us both. That was the last time I ever went near open water, until now.’

‘Sounds very traumatic,’ exclaimed Nell.

‘If I close my eyes I can still remember the stench of the water,’ Guy shuddered.

She manoeuvred the rowing boat as calmly as possible through the icy cold water. As they approached Sam, he rocked excitedly from one paw to another. His tail was wagging and he began to woof.

‘Look at him, he’s soaking wet,’ Guy exclaimed. ‘Without a doubt he’s been in the water.’

‘Okay, here’s what I’m going to do. I need to steer closer to the boat and tie it onto that wrought-iron ring over there. I need to make sure you don’t float away when I climb out.’

Guy looked awful, his face was ghastly white, he clenched his cheeks and the fear in his eyes said it all.

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.’

He nodded, soothed by Nell’s words, then looked wistfully towards Sam and gave an exasperated sigh.

‘Don’t move!’ Nell joked, smiling.

‘I’ve no intention of going anywhere,’ Guy said, folding his arms.

Nell took the oars out of the rowlocks, dug the blades in the water and stopped the boat. She reached and grabbed the rope then slowly tilted herself towards the wrought-iron ring and tied the little rowing boat securely to the side of the canal boat.

‘It doesn’t look like anyone’s home,’ she murmured, hurling herself on to the deck.

‘Who owns this boat?’ Guy questioned.

‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ she read the bright lettering on the side of the boat, ‘I’ve no idea. It’s only been moored here a couple of days, it’s probably someone just passing through.’

As soon as Nell was standing on the boat, Sam sprang at her, leaving her covered in wet, stinky paw prints. She grabbed his collar and patted the top of his head. ‘Good boy.’

‘He’s definitely been in the water,’ she claimed, wrinkling her nose at the stench. ‘Throw me his lead.’

Guy reached inside his coat pocket then gently threw the lead towards Nell, who caught it and clipped it on to Sam’s collar. Nell peered through the glass window, ‘No sign of anyone,’ she said, carefully lowering herself back into the boat, then encouraging Sam to jump, however he was sitting firmly on the deck of the canal boat and refusing to move. Nell glanced earnestly at Guy.

‘Any ideas how I can get him to move?’

Once more Guy rummaged inside his pocket and produced a treat and passed it to Nell. ‘Try this.’

She swallowed hard then exhaled, ‘Okay boy, come on, let’s get you on board so we can all get home.’ She held the treat towards Sam, who immediately leapt into action and propelled himself on to the boat, Nell’s smile drooped slightly as the boat began to rock.

Guy squirmed, closed his eyes and clasped tightly onto the wooden slacks he was sitting on.

Nell coaxed Sam to lie between her legs and patted Guy’s knee, ‘Here take this.’ He opened his eyes and she passed him the lead. ‘Keep him still. We will be back on dry land in no time at all.’

Nell placed the oars back into the rowlocks, grasped one in each hand then placed the blades in the water and began to row gently back towards the quayside. They both sat in silence until finally the little rowing boat bumped lightly against the jetty.