didn’t blame him. Or maybe he was just looking for meanings where there were none.
She set the coffee to brew and poured the milk, twisting the controller for the steam nozzle. The significance of the slight popping sound that came from the coffee machine registered too late, and by the time it did, her startled yelp had already jolted Luke out of his reverie and into action.
‘Hey.’ He rounded the end of the counter and she stumbled another couple of steps backwards, obviously panicking. ‘Are you hurt?’
She was nursing one hand against her chest, still backing away from the steam that was issuing from the coffee machine. Luke turned, twisting the knob and shutting it off. ‘Did you burn yourself?’
She jumped as her back hit the far end of the counter, but it seemed to bring her to her senses. ‘I’m okay. I’m fine. Thanks.’
‘No, you’re not. Let me see.’ He took a step forward, holding out his hand, and she seemed to flinch even further back, like a frightened animal caught in a trap.
The look in her eyes wasn’t shock or pain. It was him that she was backing away from. Luke froze, instinctively spreading his hands, palms forward, in a sign that he would do her no harm. ‘Why don’t you put your hand into some cold water?’ He reached slowly for the small sink behind the counter and turned the tap on.
She hesitated. ‘Yes. Yes, I will. Thanks.’ It was obvious that she wasn’t going to come out of her corner yet and he had two choices. March over there, take hold of her and pull her over to the sink, if necessary, was the quickest, but something told him that if he tried that she’d only start to panic even more. Luke went for the second option and gave her some space.
By the time he’d made it back to the other side of the counter, she had her hand in the sink. And she was blushing. ‘I’m sorry. I overreacted.’
Luke could let that go. Right now, with the flush spreading from her cheeks to the nape of her neck, he could let just about anything go. ‘Are you all right? I didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘You didn’t.’ The answer was too defensive to be anything other than an excuse. ‘I … I just got a bit of a shock. Someone must have forgotten to clean the steam nozzle properly last night and when I switched it on …’ She tailed off. The tips of her ears were bright pink now and she was clutching at straws, trying to pretend that she hadn’t panicked and tried to run when he’d only tried to help her.
‘Made me jump, too.’ Not entirely true, but he got a nervous smile in return. ‘How’s your hand now?’
He expected her to evade the enquiry, but instead she withdrew her hand from the water, squinted at it and then plunged it back into the sink. ‘It looks fine. A little red, but it doesn’t feel too bad.’
She couldn’t have piqued his curiosity more if she’d tried. That sudden, perplexing reaction, followed by what seemed like a decision of sorts to trust him. ‘Best to keep it in the water a little while longer.’ She seemed far more comfortable now that the counter was separating them, and Luke planted his hands down on it, in a sign that he didn’t intend to again invade what she so obviously considered was her territory.
She nodded, abstractedly. She clearly had something on her mind, but it was impossible to tell what. Perhaps doing something practical would reassure her. ‘Have you got a first-aid kit behind there?’
‘Yes. It’s here.’ She reached under the sink with her free hand and pulled out a large plastic box, stretching across to slide it onto the counter.
Luke reached for the box and snapped it open. ‘I may not be qualified to treat humans, but I can do some basic first aid.’
‘Who are you qualified to treat?’ She was looking at him gravely.
‘Animals. I’m a vet.’
She nodded. ‘Well, I’ve seen enough burns to know that this one’s superficial. It’ll be sore for twenty-four hours and then it’ll be fine.’
‘Good. Now we’ve got that out of the way, perhaps you’ll let me dress it for you. It won’t take a moment to put a bandage on it.’ Luke couldn’t usually reason with his patients and it was refreshing to do so now. More complicated as well. Animals didn’t smell so good.
There was a moment of awkward silence and then the tension between them snapped. The quiet sound of her laugh was like fresh water poured over his burnt-out nerve-endings and sparking them back into life. ‘I suppose I’d be better off if I had four legs and not two.’
‘Much better. Or no legs. I’m good with snakes as well.’ He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
‘So how do you bandage a snake, then?’ She lifted her hand out of the water, dabbing it dry with a napkin as she walked slowly over to the counter.
‘Carefully. But that’s a very old joke.’
She laughed again, her eyes dancing, and then held her hand out towards him. Gently he touched the tips of her fingers and felt them tremble. Turning her hand to ascertain the extent of the damage, he applied his knowledge of first aid for humans and decided that he concurred with her assessment. It was a very minor burn.
Luke withdrew a small bandage from the first-aid kit. ‘You’ll not be wanting an Elizabethan collar?’
‘Think I can resist the temptation to gnaw at it.’ Even though she seemed more at ease with him now, she was still watching him carefully and Luke concentrated hard on winding the bandage with absolute precision around her hand. Tried to forget her eyes and the pallor of her skin against her auburn hair. The fragility of her almost-too-slender wrist.
‘That should do it.’ He fastened the bandage carefully, and she held her hand in front of her face, inspecting his handiwork.
‘Very neat.’ She was teasing him now, and Luke’s stomach tightened. Everything she did and said just seemed to stoke the growing fascination he felt. ‘So where do you usually do your bandaging?’
It was an innocent enough question, but Luke was under no illusions. This was a breakthrough of mammoth proportions. Up till now she’d shied away from anything that was even remotely personal, and he’d done so, too. But her mesmerising eyes broke his resolve.
‘I have my own practice. I’m also involved with the new nature reserve a couple of miles out of the village on the road towards Knighton. Along with a few other projects.’
‘So you’re a busy man, then.’
Luke nodded. He’d kept himself busy since Tanya had left. Found the contentment in his work that the sudden end of his marriage had stripped him of, filling his time so that there was no temptation to look elsewhere. ‘I stay occupied.’
‘Better get you your coffee, then. I don’t want to stop the wheels of industry from turning.’ She turned away from him, concentrating hard on the coffee machine, and Luke saw the side of her face flush slightly. ‘You won’t … tell anyone, will you? This is the first time I’ve opened up on my own.’
Women and their secrets. But this one seemed innocuous enough. ‘What’s to tell? Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make the coffee?’ He supposed that would have to be their secret, too, and the idea made him smile. ‘You … er … might
