and for some reason he couldn’t quite fathom he felt almost like he was letting her down. Christ, he had enough problems with all the other people he felt he’d let down – and now he was doing it with a complete stranger. ‘I’m sure you’ll come up with something. I’m not here for long anyway, as soon as Eric is back on his feet I’ll be off.’ He couldn’t do it, better to make that quite clear. ‘I’m sorry, I really am.’
‘No problem.’ Her tone was light, but he still felt bad.
‘It’s just…’ He hesitated, not quite wanting to leave it like that. But any discussions about how he should be involved in the village school were off the agenda. Some things he could do – being surrounded by young children he couldn’t. Not yet. The health of the village pets was his responsibility, the kids weren’t.
She was looking at him quizzically, as though she was expecting him to say more. Offer an explanation, at least finish his bloody sentence, which was perfectly reasonable. But this was why he shouldn’t have come back here. Why he should have buggered off to Australia. He wouldn’t have these bloody problems then, he didn’t need to feel irrational guilt on top of everything else. And he couldn’t explain.
The silence lengthened between them and he felt awkward.
This was getting ridiculous. He was looking ridiculous.
He was just trying to come up with something to say when she smiled, stood up. ‘I better get back to moving boxes. Thanks for the coffee and chat, lovely to meet you properly.’
‘You too.’ And he was surprised just how much he meant it.
As she left the surgery, his positive mood seemed to go with her. Talking about his return to Langtry Meadows reminded him just why he’d had to move on. Rolling his shoulders, he tried to ease the tension that had instantly grabbed hold of his body.
He wandered into the recovery room, determined to shake his mood. Being busy always helped. Stroking the little black cat that was stretched out on its side in one of the cages, he instantly felt his blood pressure drop as the faintest of purrs rumbled through its chest. Charlie smiled as it raised its head slightly, asking for more.
He loved these quiet times, with a patient that had turned the corner. This was the good bit; this was what the job was all about. It didn’t matter where in the world he was, animals were animals and moments like this made all the long hours and difficult decisions worthwhile.
‘Ready to face the wrath of the Langtry Meadows women are you, Charlie?’
Charlie gave the cat one last rub behind the ear then glanced up at Sally, his receptionist, animal nurse and general answer to all his prayers.
Two months earlier he’d arrived at the Langtry Meadows Veterinary Centre expecting to be faced with the same officious, bossy receptionist he vaguely remembered from his childhood when he’d sneaked into the surgery to see the animals, borrow his dad’s bag of tricks and pretend to be a vet – although that was pretty silly as she’d been considerably older than his father. He’d still been pleasantly surprised to meet the ever-friendly, and amazingly helpful Sally.
Her mid-length brown hair hung in straight, glossy sheets either side of her solemn face which lit up when she smiled, her large brown eyes as steady as a Labrador’s and the frown lines on her forehead evident whenever she was concentrating. Within a few days Charlie had fallen in love with her, in a totally un-romantic way. She was efficient, kind and knew everybody in the village – which smoothed the path and allowed him to concentrate on the animals. Which was just how he liked it. Perfect.
Eric had played a masterstroke the day he had persuaded Sally to join the small veterinary practice, and Charlie hoped he realised it.
He rolled his eyes, and secured the catch of the cage. ‘How many?’
‘Only three so far.’ Sally giggled. ‘Don’t worry, once you’ve been here a few months they’ll lose interest, but we don’t often get a hunky new man in the village.’ She tipped her head on one side, ‘and the fact that you’ve come back means the nosey old bags want to come and interrogate you as well.’
‘I’d have thought they’d got more interesting things to think about.’
Sally laughed. ‘You’re the talk of the village shop, and the pub, and in the doctor’s waiting room …’
‘Shush.’ He held a hand up to stop her. ‘I don’t think I want to know.’ At least Lucy, the other newcomer in town, had the advantage that she had no history here, so there was no gossip to be had.
‘Though if it’s any consolation the magazines in the surgery are so old, and Dr Jones is so bloody slow, it’s no wonder they’ve had to resort to talking about you. Last time I was in there the other hot topic of conversation was whether Jim Stafford was cheating at the last gooseberry show, apparently his were massive. Swollen out of all proportion.’
‘Thanks, Sal, I feel much better now you’ve lowered my level of importance to an over-inflated soft fruit.’ Jim had actually seemed quite protective of the cover teacher. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was affected by her light floral perfume and softly curved body. He shook his head to dismiss the thought. She wasn’t even his type. She was more what you’d call athletic than womanly, and she was blonde, and a bit well, well he couldn’t put his finger on it, but not his type. Definitely not his type.
He’d never been a player, but maybe that was the antidote he needed. Except not with her. A teacher. The prickle of sweat that sprang up on his brow left him feeling clammy. He really had to get a grip.
‘Talking of soft fruit, Holly rang to say she wants that colt of hers castrated.’
He switched his brain back to concentrating on work, his saviour. ‘Why doesn’t she go to the large animal practice in the next village? Most of the farm clients go there, and they’ve got a great horse vet.’
‘It’s you they love.’ Sally winked. ‘And you’re getting quite a reputation as the man to go to for,’ she made a snipping gesture and he winced, ‘snipping off testicles.’
Balls were what he felt like he’d been lacking himself lately. Agreeing to come back here, and admit he was a failure professionally as well as in his private life wasn’t doing him any good at all, not that any of them knew about the private bit. Yet. She’d looked at him like she knew though, Lucy. And he’d nearly said more than he’d intended.
‘I remembered this place as a quiet backwater, full of farmers with tight wallets who never visited a vet unless they had to.’ If he was honest, he’d expected to be bored witless, and in need of a hobby.
‘Ahh, you thought you could put your feet up, didn’t you Charlie boy?’ He hadn’t actually wanted to put his feet up, keeping busy was what he needed now, but he’d never expected it to be this hectic. ‘Thinking of taking up golf were you?’ He shifted guiltily. ‘Well in case you’ve missed it, most of your clients are females, and they don’t tell their hubbies until the bill needs paying.’
‘Well I wish they’d at least book appointments and not turn up at all times of day and night.’ He’d got used to the way his town centre practice had run like clockwork, efficiency itself. Here, the waiting room was constantly busy, often between surgery hours when he was struggling to catch up on operations and paperwork. ‘They seem to think I haven’t got a life.’
Sally arched
