into any trouble. You’ll be quite safe.’
‘I don’t doubt it.’ He didn’t need to reassure her. Maisie had vouched for him, and in any case there was something about Joe. If you were in the habit of trusting people on the basis of ten minutes’ conversation then he’d be the one to pick.
‘Maisie said you were covering the north side of the practice’s catchment area.’ He reached over and slid a map out of his jacket pocket, spreading it on the table. ‘Here…’ His finger described a loop.
‘Yes, that’s right. We’ve split the practice up into three, and each one of us is covering one section. We’re holding temporary surgeries in church halls and so on for people who find it difficult to get to the main surgery, and taking on all the visits for our own area. Cuts down on the travelling.’
‘I imagine you’re still pretty busy, though.’
‘Yeah. With only two weeks to go before Christmas…’ She shrugged. ‘Everyone seems to rush for the shops and the doctor’s surgery around now.’
He nodded, surveying the map thoughtfully. ‘You’ve drawn the short straw, this is some of the most difficult terrain in the area. Couldn’t you have asked to swap with a doctor with more local experience?’
Neve felt her spine stiffen. One of the reasons she’d come here was to escape being told what she could, and couldn’t, do.
‘We each took the area closest to where we live. I can handle it.’
‘I dare say you can.’ He flashed her a disarming smile. ‘What time do you want me tomorrow?’
Six o’clock, with a cup of fresh brewed coffee and a gently warmed croissant. The fantasy was inappropriate on almost every level she could think of, and Neve let it slide.
‘If nothing else urgent comes up, I’ll be starting in Leminster at nine tomorrow. I can drive over and meet you there…’
He shook his head. ‘I’ll pick you up at eight-thirty.’ He re-folded the map and stood up. ‘I’d better get going now. I’m on my way to the supermarket in town…’
‘At this time of night?’
‘I promised to pick some things up for someone. Can I get you anything?’ He gestured towards the large, well-scraped jar sitting on the kitchen worktop. ‘Some more peanut butter?’
He didn’t give up, did he? But she was going to have to stop off at the shops tomorrow if she didn’t ask for more supplies now. ‘Um… perhaps one or two things. If it’s no trouble.’
‘No trouble. Give me a list…’
A BOWL OF steaming porridge, a banana that had seen better days, coffee, toast and the last of the peanut butter would be enough to keep her going for the morning. By twenty past eight, Neve had tidied up and folded the sofa bed, and her deliberations about whether it was entirely wise to tidy her duvet away upstairs in the freezing bedroom were interrupted by the sound of a car outside in the lane. She dumped the duvet back onto the sofa and ventured into the hall, peering outside.
The trees were laden with snow after a fresh fall during the night. Clear blue skies, and sparkling white fields. The landscape had a kind of rugged beauty about it, an implicit challenge to either respect its rules or fall foul of them.
And talking about rugged beauty…
Joe had just got out of the driver’s seat of a black SUV. The high chassis and large wheels looked more than capable of tackling the rough terrain they were going to face today. He looked pretty capable, too. Tall and broad, standing for a moment to assess the sky and the road that twisted away into the distance, then shouldering a large canvas bag and turning towards her house. The gate was packed round with ice and snow and refused to budge, and he swung effortlessly over the low front wall.
It looked a bit eager, but she opened the front door anyway, not waiting for him to knock. ‘Hi. You made it…’
He shrugged, as if making it here hadn’t been in question. Kicked off his boots and strode into the kitchen, dumping the bag at her feet.
‘Hope this is what you wanted…’
Neve bent to look inside the bag. Every thing on her list and more. A hand of bananas, a bag of apples and a punnet of strawberries. She looked up at him silently.
‘I saw that your bowl was nearly empty.’ He gestured towards the one wizened apple in the fruit bowl.
The idea that Joe had been silently noting and assessing everything wasn’t particularly comfortable. ‘Thanks. That was thoughtful of you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He fished in his pocket and brought out a note and some change, putting it down on the table.
‘Is that right? Surely you spent more than that?’
He shrugged. ‘I shopped around. And someone gave me the strawberries yesterday.’
Neve gave him a long, questioning look and then gave up. If Joe wanted to operate on a need-to-know basis, then so be it. She hurried to stow the non-perishables in the larder and then opened the back door, pulling a heavy-duty plastic box inside and putting it on the table.
He was quietly watching her every move, and Neve felt her brow crease with anxiety. That old feeling of having something to prove to someone. She thought she’d left that behind her when she’d turned onto the M1 motorway from London, and headed north.
‘Let me…’ She was struggling with the clips on the box, and before she could protest he’d spun the box towards him and knocked a lump of ice out from under the lid, wresting it open.
Inside, there was half a pint of milk and a carton of juice, both frozen into solid lumps. One of his eyebrows arched, and Neve felt her hackles rise in response to the unspoken question.
‘What…?’ She should probably just leave it. Neve tipped the remainder of the shopping into the box and clapped the lid back on, fastening it securely.
‘Nothing… If I’d realised you were so short of supplies, I could have brought a few more things in for you.’
‘I’m fine. I told you that last night.’ She heard herself snap at him and reminded herself that Joe was a volunteer, doing this out of the goodness of his heart, and that she ought to make an effort to get along with him. ‘Are we going to get going, then?’
‘As soon as you tell me where.’ A hint of emotion tugged at the corner of his perfect mouth.
Neve sat down at the kitchen table. Maybe she was overreacting. It wasn’t Joe’s fault that the quiver in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw him reminded her of all the promises she’d made to herself about never letting a man walk all over her again.
‘This is my list. We’re due in Leminster first and then whichever order is easiest in terms of the driving.’
‘Right.’ He pulled the map from his pocket, spreading it on
