watching too much TV.’
‘Actually, I never get to watch TV because I’m always working,’ Evanna said with a pointed look. ‘But there’s so much myth and you hardly get copious amounts of experience in this country.’
She was so generous with Kirsty, Logan thought as he watched her. So patient. ‘Well, these days more and more people keep dangerous snakes as pets and there’s still some argument over best management and it does actually depend on the type of snake. But there is a body of medical evidence now and sucking and slashing isn’t generally recommended.’ Logan lifted the bottle and drank again. ‘If you want to know about snake bites, Ethan is your man. He dealt with a few when he was working in Africa.’
Still holding Kirsty, Evanna glanced towards him. ‘Really? I don’t know how I feel about snakes. Sort of repelled and fascinated at the same time. I think if I’d met an adder on the path, I might have frozen with fright. I’m not surprised Alison felt a bit freaked out. Ugh.’ She gave a shudder and Logan smiled, trying to imagine steady, practical Evanna freaking out about anything.
‘It probably would have run away long before you saw it. To be honest, adders aren’t generally a problem. They’re shy.’
‘But not this time.’
‘She must have surprised it.’
‘Well, she was lucky you were there.’ Evanna wiped the worse of the paint from Kirsty’s hands with kitchen roll and dropped it into the bin.
‘I suppose so. I doubt the air ambulance would have made it quickly enough to deliver the adrenaline. That’s why I decided that it was safer to take her to the surgery.’ Logan threw the empty water bottle into the recycling bin. ‘I’ll talk to the warden about looking at the path. If they have a nest there, we should try and move it. We don’t want a repeat of that, even though it was probably a one in a million chance. Is there anything to eat? I’m starving.’
‘I made a chicken salad for your tea, but you could eat it now if you like.’ Still with Kirsty on her hip, she walked to the fridge and pulled out a large white dish. ‘I probably made too much but I thought you might be starving, having missed breakfast and lunch.’
‘I am starving.’ He looked at the dish and his mouth started to water. ‘Is that your amazing chicken with the honey and lemon marinade?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘My favourite. Have I ever told you that you’re a genius in the kitchen, Evanna Duncan?’
A strange expression flickered across her face. ‘Thank you.’
‘Have you eaten?’
Evanna put Kirsty down on the floor. ‘I should be going home. I still need to clear out my bathroom for Craig.’
Why was it, Logan mused, that he always had the feeling she was trying to escape from him? ‘Share the salad with me.’
She hesitated and then gave a gasp of horror as she saw Kirsty crawling towards the white cupboards. ‘No, angel. Not until I’ve washed your hands.’ Smiling, she scooped the toddler into her arms and held her hands under running water, which turned blue and yellow as the splodges of paint faded and then disappeared. ‘There. That’s better. Now you’re safe to have around. Just sit there a moment while I finish clearing up all the mess.’
She popped Kirsty on her bottom on the floor, carefully placed the paintings on the kitchen table to dry and swiftly gathered up the newspaper and disposed of it. Then she turned. ‘Oh!’
Something in her voice made Logan look and he saw that Kirsty was up on her feet. While they both watched, she took a faltering step and then sank back onto her bottom with a satisfied grin.
‘She walked!’ Evanna clapped her hands with delight. ‘Logan, she walked! You are a clever girl, Kirsty MacNeil. Let’s see if she’ll do it again.’ She sank onto her knees and held out her hands. ‘Walk to Evanna. Come on, Kirsty. Up you get!’
Kirsty scrambled to her feet again, swayed perilously and then took two steps before plopping back onto her bottom with a beaming smile.
‘She’s so pleased with herself!’ Evanna grinned and scooped the child into her arms. ‘Clever girl.’
‘There’ll be no peace for any of us now,’ Logan predicted, captivated by the look of delight on Evanna’s face. She was such a generous friend, he thought to himself as he picked up the salad and two plates. It was her day off and yet she’d willingly sacrificed it to look after his child.
And now she was eyeing the salad and the plates. ‘I really ought to get home.’
‘Not until you’ve eaten. Having given up your entire day for me, the least I can do is feed you, especially as you prepared the food.’
‘You’re the one who gave up your day, Logan,’ she said quietly, opening a drawer and pulling out cutlery. ‘I’ve been playing here with Kirsty. Hardly arduous. You’ve been working.’
‘You have to join us, that’s an order.’ He winked at her and then watched, intrigued, as colour seeped into her cheeks. Why was she blushing?
‘All right. You take the food out, I’ll bring the drinks.’
They sat in the garden at the wooden table and Evanna held Kirsty on her lap and gave her breadsticks and chicken to eat. ‘She’s such a good eater. She loves my chicken.’
‘We all love your chicken. That was the other thing about Amy.’ Logan forked more salad onto his plate. ‘She had a very limited repertoire in the kitchen. All she could cook was fish fingers.’
They ate in silence for a while and then Kirsty started to become fractious.
‘She needs an early night,’ Evanna murmured. ‘I tried to put her down for a nap earlier but she was too wound up to sleep. She’s tired.’
‘You look tired, too.’ Logan studied her face, noticing that her cheeks were paler than usual. ‘Is something wrong? Did you have a bad night or something?’
‘I’m fine.’ She fussed around Kirsty and Logan suddenly had a strong suspicion that she was avoiding eye contact.
‘Are you feeling ill? Because if you are then I can—’
‘I’m not feeling ill, Logan. I’m fine. Really.’ She stood up quickly, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes and giving him a quick smile. ‘If you’re all right with Kirsty, I really ought to be going.’
He’d never known her so jumpy. ‘Evanna.’ He kept his voice gentle. ‘We’re friends, aren’t we? If there’s something that you need to talk about, I hope you know that I’ll always listen. You listen to my problems often enough. I hope you know that I’m here for you, too. This isn’t a one-sided relationship.’
‘I don’t have a problem. There’s nothing I want to talk about.’ She handed him Kirsty and picked up her little rucksack. ‘I’m going to make a move because I need to clear out the bathroom before Craig comes tomorrow.’
Why was she in such a hurry to leave? ‘I’ll give you a lift home.’
