do.’ She paused for a moment to concentrate on taping Luke’s wound and then glanced across at Peter’s rucksack. ‘Perhaps one of them has chosen you.’
Peter caught his breath and ran over to his rucksack, where the tiny kitten with the black patch over its eye had managed to work the zip open and was trying to crawl inside. Carefully he disentangled its claws, and let it attach itself to his chest instead. ‘It’s licking my hand!’
‘Can you let that one go?’ She turned to Luke, seeming to know that the weakest of the litter, the one that he had needed to nurse back to health, was the one that he most wanted to find a good home for. ‘Olenka will make sure he’s looked after properly.’
‘I know.’ He nodded over towards Peter and his new best friend. ‘All he needs now is someone to care for him, and it seems he’s found that.’
Luke’s gaze found Katya’s and she gave him a nod and a shy smile. Now that she was out of the loose-fitting top and apron that she wore at the coffee shop, he could see how slim she was. Almost painfully so. He wouldn’t have credited her with the strength to propel him downstairs the way she had just now.
‘All done.’ She regarded her work for a moment and then began to pack her things back into her bag, pulling her surgical gloves off and stuffing them into the pocket of her jeans. ‘You do need to see a doctor if—’
‘I know.’ Luke thought he saw an echo of his grin in her face. ‘I will. Thanks.’
She nodded, and instinct told Luke that now was not the time to press her any further. Or maybe it was, just a little. ‘I promised Olenka some things for the kitten if Peter chose one. They’re in my cabin. Will you help me carry them back?’ Luke made a slightly shamefaced gesture towards his injured hand. There was no point in wasting a good excuse.
‘Of course. Peter, you’ll be all right here for a minute?’
Peter didn’t even bother to answer, he was so absorbed with carefully stroking the small creature that had curled up in his arms.
‘He’ll be fine. We won’t be long.’ Luke made his way to the door, sure somehow that Katya would follow.
He could hear her footsteps on the gravel behind him. When he turned, she was hugging the red bag to her chest, and Luke unlocked the door to his temporary home and ducked inside, manners giving way to instinct. She’d make her own decision about whether she wanted to come in or not.
‘It looks cosy.’ She was craning her head through the doorway, keeping her feet on the rickety steps outside.
Luke shrugged. ‘It’s enough for me at the moment.’ A sofa bed that creaked whenever he turned over. His books, stacked neatly into a couple of packing cases in the corner and his clothes in a chest of drawers. A desk for his laptop, an old easy chair, and that was about it. He didn’t spend many of his waking hours here anyway.
‘It’s very tidy.’ She put the red bag down and stepped across the threshold.
‘I used to travel a lot, and I found that the best way to keep track of everything was to travel light and keep it orderly.’
She nodded. Most people would have asked where, or why he’d travelled, but he’d learned not to expect that from Katya. It would be too much like striking up a conversation, and you never knew what kind of information sharing that might lead to.
‘I was working with a unit of Rescue Dogs. We went wherever we were needed, often at pretty short notice.’ There was no reason why he shouldn’t volunteer the information.
‘Oh.’ She was still looking around intently, almost as if there was a prize on offer for shutting her eyes and remembering as many items from the room as she could.
‘The aid agency I used to work for is interested in using some of the land here as a training centre for their dogs. I’m hoping to get that up and running next spring.’
‘One of the other projects that you’re involved with.’ She turned to him, the ghost of a smile on her face. She’d remembered, and Luke’s heart crowed with triumph. Even if she didn’t seem to react much to what he said, she’d clearly been listening all this time.
‘Yeah.’ He picked up an envelope from the pile on his desk. ‘We’ve got another project that we’re trying to get off the ground as well, in partnership with the local hospital. Taking animals into the hospital so that long-stay patients can interact with them.’
A glimmer of interest showed in her eyes. Luke took his chance and handed her the envelope. ‘You might be interested in reading about it.’
‘Yes … yes, I would, thanks. Aren’t there a couple of charities that do that already?’
‘Yes, we’re working in association with one of them. And directly with the hospital authorities.’
Luke opened the door to the store cupboard and busied himself with sorting out an animal carrier, some kitten food and a few leaflets for Olenka, which he annotated quickly with extra information. When he glanced back in Katya’s direction, she was peering inside the envelope, flipping through the papers inside.
‘I’m looking to employ someone to help me for the next three months. This place is taking up a lot of time, and I need to concentrate on my veterinary practice in order to finance the building work.’
‘Must be quite a juggling act.’ She’d now tucked the envelope into her bag.
‘It is at the moment. When I’ve got the visitors’ centre and the dog school properly sorted, then the place will begin to pay for itself, but that won’t be until next spring. In the meantime, I’m looking for someone with some experience of hospital procedures, who likes animals and who can work well with kids. And the pay’s not great either.’
Luke reckoned that he could match whatever Katya was getting at the coffee shop, but that was about all.
‘Sounds like a great job, though. I’m sure you’ll get some takers.’
‘Not so far. I haven’t had many applications, and they’ve all been completely unsuitable. I need someone who actually thinks that this is a good idea, not someone who doesn’t care what they’re doing as long as the hours suit them.’
She didn’t take the bait. For all Luke knew, she might have been thinking about it, but she said nothing, just picked up her bag and tucked the animal carrier under one arm. ‘You can manage the rest?’
‘Yeah, no problem. Thanks.’
He could wait. Luke had seen something in Katya, something loving and compassionate. Something that would make her fight for whatever cause found a way into that closely guarded heart of hers. In the old days, the charming, happy-go-lucky version of Luke would have wanted that for himself, along with those enchanting eyes and the body that seemed to cry out for the safety of his arms.
Now he wanted it for the only thing that his heart knew how to desire. His work, the land here, and all the possibilities that they held.
KATYA
