yeah, sure, he’s bombproof.’
The bombproof animal whizzed around her and Holly hung on to his bridle as Charlie very slowly unwound the hosepipe.
The audience were to be disappointed. After a good clean up it was obvious that no stitching was required, and the amount of blood was due to the size of animal and location of wound rather than any serious problem.
‘That looks fine, Holly. I’ll just grab a twitch then we can tidy up that flap of skin.’
‘Oh he’ll be fine, I’ll hold his nose. He’s a gem, aren’t you?’ Holly kissed the ‘gem’ on the end of his nose and Charlie could see the whites of his eyes, as he shot him a warning look, followed up by a stamp on the ground in case the vet was in any doubt.
Charlie narrowed his eyes and studied the target, wondering just how quickly he could snip the skin off and dive to the side. At veterinary school he’d been told that commando style rolls could be seen as unprofessional, but he’d always thought that they had a place. Especially when the alternative was a horse’s hoof up your backside. He sneaked a glance up at Lucy, who was watching intently, and wondered if he really wanted to strike another self-inflicted blow at his manhood.
‘He hates a twitch, it makes him nervous.’
Snipping flaps of skin off un-anaesthetised equines made Charlie nervous.
Not giving himself time to think, he dived in and snipped decisively and was back on his feet before owner or animal had time to realise. There was a round of applause from his clients.
‘Excellent.’ Whatever you’re doing, it pays to do it bloody quick, one of his tutors had told him, apart from surgery of course. ‘I’ll give him a shot of antibiotic, and if you can keep it clean…’
‘Oh cheers, that’s super. I would have done it myself, but I was passing and thought I might as well pop in rather than ride him all the way home and then find out it was worse than I thought.’ She patted the horse. ‘Fab, give my love to Eric if you see him, and put it on Dad’s account will you Sal?’
Charlie would have liked to insist on payment now, as the small sign on the counter requested. The business had a serious cash-flow problem, which was largely due to well-heeled customers who didn’t feel the need to pay until absolutely necessary, and thrifty farmers who argued over every penny and asked for a discount. Charlie had been shocked at Eric’s relaxed attitude towards money, with the price of drugs he was surprised they hadn’t gone bankrupt. It was yet another thing he really had to look into if he had time.
Smiling at Holly, he glanced towards the surgery and was disappointed to see Lucy had gone. Along with her van.
He sighed, feeling strangely deflated, and rolled his sleeves up. It was time to tackle a sex-starved Chihuahua and a cat that he just knew was out to get him.
‘You look like you’re ready for battle.’ Sally grinned. ‘Oh, and Charlie there’s a message from Mr Gibson about the cricket, and the vicar’s wife has rung again to ask about judging the village fete.’ She peered at him over the top of her notepad. ‘You do realise there’s no escape, she will hunt you down?’
Charlie knew that the ‘Eric would do it’ argument was on the way, so he held up a hand to stop it. ‘I know Eric probably—’
‘Well actually he refuses.’
‘Really?’ That stumped him.
‘You will never guess the amazing excuses he’s come up with every year, he manages to come up with something so brilliantly believable that she lets him off the hook.’
‘Brilliant? Like what?’
‘Oh no, Charlie, you’ve got to come up with your own.’ The light in her eyes danced as she waved a finger at him. ‘A man like you shouldn’t have any problem at all.’
‘You’re laughing at me.’
‘Probably.’ She grinned, unabashed. ‘Claws or clitoris first?’
Charlie cringed and shook his head. ‘Very witty. I think a geriatric hamster is the safest bet, don’t you?’
‘Probably, it’ll give you time to work out how to fight Serena off, she thinks you’re so manly now.’ She leaned forward confidentially. ‘I heard her telling little Twinkle that you really are everything a man should be. I’m sensing church bells ringing and the need for a posh hat.’
‘You’ll be sensing something if you don’t get back behind your desk and stop causing trouble, woman.’
After a very busy surgery, followed by an eye-crossingly intricate operation inserting pins into a tiny Yorkshire terrier’s leg, all Charlie wanted was to head for a pint at the Taverner’s Arms.
‘You’ve not forgotten you said you’d pop in and see Miss Harrington, have you Charlie?’
He glanced up as he peeled off the green scrubs he’d been operating in. ‘The thought of Miss Harrington is what’s kept me going all day.’
Eric had a very chaotic style of management, and the clients could be challenging to say the least, but in amongst the villagers were some real gems – like the slightly eccentric character of Miss Harrington. She didn’t seem to have a first name, and she insisted on calling him Charles rather than Charlie, but despite the old-fashioned formality he always left her house feeling better than when he’d arrived. To her he was probably still the little boy in short trousers that she’d chastised if he rode his bike on the pavement.
‘I’m looking forward to a quiet cup of tea and a slice of cake as I check over Molly’s new litter of puppies.’
‘You only go for the homemade cake.’ Sally was hugging her ever present clipboard to her chest.
‘I do. That parkin last week was unbelievable, and I heard a rumour she’s got fresh cherry cake on offer.’
‘You men are such simple creatures when it comes down to it, aren’t you?’
He grinned and grabbed the few medical supplies he might need. ‘See you in the morning?’
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