A Pup to Rescue Their Hearts

by Alison Roberts

  Josh turned his attention to making the tea. ‘Let’s talk strategy for the auction,’ he suggested. ‘Are you going to be the first to bid, or hang back until it’s slowing down and scare the competition off by making your bid then, as if you’re just getting started?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Stevie said. ‘But I’m worried about the people I saw there today. Older guy with a young blonde who want a weekend “bolthole” from London. I’m really hoping they’ll find something they like better so they won’t even be there.’

  * * *

  They were there.

  Josh recognised the couple from Stevie’s description. They were standing near the front of the crowded room the real estate firm was using for their auctions that day. He thought Stevie had a good chance of being successful, with both the pre-approved mortgage she had sourced and the help her mother was providing but she was looking nervous, which made him very pleased that he was here to offer some moral support. He liked the way she was standing so close to him, too—as if she really appreciated that he was here. Or maybe she was taking advantage of the freedom not to have to resist that extraordinary magnetic attraction their bodies seemed to have for each other.

  When the bidding started, however, she moved away to stand alone, as if she needed to focus on fighting for her personal dream. For herself and for her son. Josh could see just how much it meant to her by her focus and a tension that he was finding contagious. This was beyond important. This was the dream of a future that simply meant everything to her.

  Stevie had been right in thinking that the couple up the front were her main competition. They came straight back with a new bid every time she raised her hand and it was getting closer and closer to the limit Josh knew could not be passed. The other couple were slowing down, taking that bit longer each time before outbidding Stevie so when she nodded to take the amount offered to her limit, Josh held his breath. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribs so heaven only knew how Stevie was feeling at this moment.

  And then it happened. Another bid from the bolthole couple took the price several thousand pounds over her limit and Stevie went as white as a sheet. The urge to put his arms around her to offer her his strength was overwhelming but Josh couldn’t move a muscle and his brain was racing past that first reaction.

  He was thinking of Mattie. Of when he’d started to win the trust of a boy who had been struggling to find his feet in a new life. Of how Mattie had been almost in tears because he’d thought Josh might give Lucky away and how desperately he was hoping that he’d be able to live with the little dog he loved so much when he and Stevie had their own house.

  It had to be this house.

  But the auctioneer had his gavel poised in the air. ‘Going...going...’

  In the split second before he could say ‘gone’, Josh could remember the look on Stevie’s face when she’d fallen in love with this cottage. And he could feel the way it had made him feel at the time to see her glowing—as if he would be quite prepared to gift wrap the whole world and present it to her if it would make her look that happy all over again.

  Because...because he loved her, dammit.

  And she deserved to have her dream.

  He didn’t put his hand up in that pregnant pause before the auctioneer declared the cottage sold. He didn’t even shout out the amount that was ten thousand pounds more than the last bid. He spoke loudly, to make sure he was heard, but calmly and confidently enough to advertise that he was just getting started here. And it worked. The bolthole couple was stunned into silence until the older man shook his head. Stevie looked just as stunned when the gavel came down with no further bids. There was no hint of joy on her face, though, as the crowd dispersed.

  ‘Why did you do that?’ Her voice was low. And fierce.

  ‘I didn’t want you to lose the cottage. You or Mattie.’

  ‘So you bought it? You bought the house I wanted?’

  ‘No... I made sure you could buy it.’ Somehow this gift of assistance was going all wrong and Josh had no idea how to fix it. Unless... Was it her pride that was hurt? Or had he threatened the independence she’d fought so hard for? ‘It can just be a loan,’ he added. ‘With no pressure to pay it back anytime soon. It’s only ten thousand pounds.’

  ‘Only?’

  ‘We’ll work it out. Trust me.’

  The agent was smiling as he walked towards Josh. ‘Congratulations, sir...’ He gestured to indicate a small side room where there was a table and some chairs. ‘If you’d like to come with me, we’ve got a bit of paperwork to sort out here.’

  It was only then that Josh realised there could be complications from his impulsive actions. Was he legally responsible for purchasing this property for himself now? It would have to be sorted before the paperwork got completed but there was something more important to sort out first.

  ‘Just give us a minute, please,’ he ordered the agent.

  Then he grabbed Stevie’s hand and took her with him into the privacy of that side room and pushed the door closed behind them.

  ‘Think about it for a minute,’ he urged her. ‘I know it was a bit crazy but I had to try and help, because...because...’ The words died on his tongue as he realised what he had been about to add.

  Because I think I might be falling in love with you...

  Whoa... Where had that come from?

  It’s okay, he told himself. Of course I care about Stevie. We’re friends, aren’t we?

  ‘Because of Mattie,’ he said aloud. ‘We both know how much he wants to live with Lucky. This way he can. And he’ll be well away from that gang of boys who’ve been bullying him and...’ Josh managed to find a smile because it felt like he’d reached a much safer space now. ‘And we’ll never be short of something to do on our Big Brother sessions. There’s so much I can teach him about renovation stuff and using tools...it’s enough to keep us busy for ever.’

  His smile seemed to be reaching inside himself as much as out towards Stevie. He could see himself teaching Mattie to use a hammer or how to plaster a hole in a wall. He could see Stevie helping as well, and Lucky probably getting underfoot and in the way and they’d all pitch in to throw a meal together at the end of a day’s work on the cottage. A barbecue, maybe? Or soup and toast in front of the fire.

  Kind of like a family but so much safer because it was only about being friends. Because that was something that could be trusted to last so much longer. For ever, even, perhaps?

  * * *

  The shock of what Josh had done by placing the winning bid on the cottage was starting to wear off as Stevie stood there listening to him explaining why he’d done it.

  And, creeping through the mist of what had felt like a direct attack on the independence she’d fought to maintain for so long, there was something else that Stevie could feel. A trickle of excitement. The promise of a kind of happiness that she’d always known was out there but had always seemed just out of reach for herself.

  It wasn’t just that she was about to sign the paperwork that would make her the owner of the house of her dreams.

  It was more that she could hear something in Josh’s words that he probably had no idea he was saying. She could actually see him spending time with Mattie and working on what would be endless projects for years to come in that little house and garden. They’d be fixing things and painting and digging in the garden and she’d be there. Lucky would be there.

  Just like a family.

  And maybe...just maybe...that was the real reason Josh had done what he’d just done. He might not know it, and Stevie wouldn’t dream of even hinting at it, but she couldn’t help feeling that, deep down, Josh actually did want a family.

  That tiny flash of fantasy had suggested something else as well. That maybe she had been wrong to be so convinced that she didn’t need a man in her life. That she might actually be able to see a future that
would be so much better if she had a soulmate to share it with. It couldn’t be just any man, of course. The thought had only occurred to her because it was Josh she’d seen as a part of her life in this cottage.

  It was only this man that she could trust enough to love. This man that—even if he never wanted more from her than friendship—felt like he was, indeed, her soulmate.

  She found herself smiling back at him. ‘Mattie’s going to love that,’ she said softly. ‘So will I.’

  Josh looked so relieved. ‘It’s what friends do,’ he said.

  Stevie took a deep breath and her smile widened, although the edges of it might have wobbled a little. ‘Let’s get this paperwork sorted,’ she said. ‘Friends get to celebrate stuff like this, too, don’t they?’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  GLOUCESTER GENERAL HOSPITAL’S rooftop vegetable garden had become ‘their’ spot.

  A relatively private space. Sometimes the only space they could find time to snatch a moment of being close enough to touch when it had been too long since they’d been together away from work. Not that they did touch, of course—with anything more than perhaps some eye contact that went on a little too long—because the knowledge of any extra dimension to the friendship was also something that belonged only to them. A secret that nobody else needed to know and one that added a rather delicious frisson to their professional relationship.

  If Ruby’s bunions didn’t make it preferable for her to put her feet up in the staffroom during her breaks, rather than climbing all those stairs and then trying to find somewhere at least a bit sheltered from a potentially chilly breeze, she might have guessed there was something more going on between Josh and Stevie but, then, it didn’t happen often enough to have even caught the attention of the volunteers who cared for the gardens or any other staff members who ventured up here.

  And if anyone had walked close enough to hear what they were saying, they would most likely have only heard a professional kind of discussion happening between the head of the paediatric department and that nurse with the amazing hair.

  Like the one they were having at the moment.

  ‘I feel so sorry for Toby’s mum, Julia.’ Stevie took a sip of the takeaway coffee she’d purchased, along with some sandwiches, in the staff cafeteria. ‘Mattie used to climb on everything when he was a toddler. He could have easily fallen off the couch and broken his collarbone like Toby did.’

  ‘Common injury,’ Josh agreed. ‘And, most of the time, it heals up without any complications.’

  ‘But Toby’s been left with an arm that barely functions, even after all that physiotherapy. He can’t bend his elbow or flex his fingers or even hang on to a toy.’

  ‘Brachial plexus injuries can be very damaging.’

  ‘It’s quite a common birth injury, isn’t it? The nerve roots that go from the spinal cord to the arm and hand are between C5 and T1 so they get stretched and damaged if the head and shoulder get too far apart?’

  Josh nodded. ‘Regeneration of axons can be amazing in babies, though, so it pays to wait and track progress before doing anything invasive like a nerve graft or transfer.’

  ‘What’s the difference?’ Stevie loved that she could ask any question of Josh and never feel like it was stupid. She was loving learning from him, as well. Partly because it meant they were never, ever going to run out of interesting things to talk about but also because it gave her glimpses of an exciting future where she might be able to specialise in a new area of paediatric nursing.

  ‘A nerve graft takes a section of nerve from somewhere else in the body, usually the leg, and it’s used to replace the damaged nerve. A nerve transfer, which is what Toby’s going to have, is a newer technique that can have a brilliant result. Instead of grafting in a section of another nerve, they redirect a nearby nerve so that it targets the muscles that can’t function. There’s a learning curve to getting the nerve to work properly but the end results can be outstanding.’ Josh was smiling. ‘Microsurgery is fascinating. I’m hoping I can go and watch the surgery.’

  He was holding her gaze as well and Stevie knew he understood exactly how fascinated she also was.

  ‘Maybe I could arrange for you to come and watch it too. It’ll have to be in a theatre with a gallery given that there’ll be a lot of people who want to be there.’

  ‘Oh...do you think I’d be allowed?’

  ‘Let me see what I can do.’

  He was still smiling. Still holding her gaze but, suddenly, this was anything but professional. That attraction could spark between them like a lightning bolt and...well...it simply wasn’t appropriate. Hospitals might be well known for passionate liaisons between staff members but very few would ever shut themselves into a linen cupboard—or even snatch a kiss in a rooftop garden.

  It was Stevie who sucked in a deep breath and broke that eye contact. ‘So who’s going to do the surgery? Julia sounded quite confused after that family meeting this morning. I think she was really intimidated by how many doctors were there.’

  ‘Mmm...’ Josh’s smile had been amused as Stevie had taken charge of ending that meaningful moment between them. Now it twisted into something more like a frown. ‘I’ll go and have another chat with her before Toby goes home today. There were a lot of people in the meeting room. We had a consultant radiologist to go through the results of the MRI. Then there was the orthopaedic surgeon who looked after Toby when he was admitted with his fractured clavicle and the neurosurgeon that Toby got referred to.’

  ‘But he’s not doing the operation? Julia said something about it apparently being really lucky that some visiting expert was going to be available.’

  Josh nodded again. ‘Yeah. Some hot-shot paediatric plastic surgeon who did his advanced training in the States and is getting recognised as a leader in the field.’

  ‘A plastic surgeon?’

  Josh laughed. ‘They do a lot more than superficial stuff. Rehabilitation plastic surgery is about function more than appearance. This guy—Lachlan McKendry, his name is—is getting well known for his success in microsurgery techniques.’

  ‘And he’s coming to work here?’

  ‘Not exactly. He got headhunted from the States to join a private clinic in London, from what I’ve been told. He’s got family here or something. Anyway, he also agreed to do a series of lectures and some advanced training in hospitals not too far from London and the Gloucester area got chosen first. So I guess Toby is really lucky. Our neurosurgeon, David, is excited about working with this guy.’

  ‘And Julia thought the surgery might be as early as next week?’

  ‘We’re having another meeting later this afternoon when Mr McKendry will be here to get briefed. He may well want more detailed tests to happen first, like a CT myelography scan that uses a contrast to give a very detailed picture of the spinal cord and nerve roots.’

  ‘He’ll need sedation for that, too, I guess. Like he had for the MRI today?’

  ‘Yes.’ Josh checked his watch. ‘I’d better go and see Julia. I’m sure Toby’s awake enough to be discharged now.’ He scrunched up the paper bag that had held his sandwiches and gestured towards Stevie’s bag. ‘You all done?’

  ‘Yep. It wasn’t the world’s best sandwich.’

  ‘Nothing’s as good as your mousetraps for lunch.’

  ‘I’ll make some more.’ Stevie got to her feet and brushed crumbs off her coat. ‘I could send some with Mattie on Thursday for when you do your Big Brother thing.’

  ‘Fabulous.’ Josh was leading the way through the raised garden beds towards the door that led to the stairwell. ‘Did he tell you where we’re going this week?’

  ‘No. I got the impression it was boy stuff that I didn’t need to know about.’

  Josh laughed. ‘He’s right. We’re going to a hardware store to check out tools we’re going to need. We might do a bit of internet surfing to f
ind some instructional videos as well.’

  ‘Boy stuff, huh?’ Stevie had to pass close to Josh as he held the door open for her and she deliberately paused for just a heartbeat at a point where she was close enough to feel his body heat because it was too delicious to resist. And maybe she was having another one of those glimpses into a future that could hold something even more exciting than advanced qualifications in a nursing specialty. Even better than owning her own home and achieving an independence she’d dreamed of. She could almost hear an echo of Josh’s voice in that glimpse as well, saying that teaching Mattie about renovation and tools would keep them busy for ever.

  Don’t go there...

  The warning was hardwired into the same part of her brain. She knew better than to buy into the kind of dream that could set you up for a broken heart. Yes, it was there but she wasn’t going to trust it.

  Not yet...

  And it was easy to diffuse. To turn it into something very different. Stevie flicked her gaze up to graze his. ‘I’ll have you know,’ she said softly, ‘that DIY is one of my many, many talents.’

  She loved the way she could trust that Josh would always respond to her like this. That the level of attraction was always so easily—and equally—ignited. She saw the way the muscles in his neck moved as he swallowed. The way his eyes darkened to almost black as they locked onto hers. From behind her, as she moved past, she could hear the way he needed to clear his throat.

  ‘He’s pretty excited, isn’t he? About the move?’

  ‘Counting sleeps,’ Stevie agreed.

  ‘So am I,’ Josh murmured as he caught up with her at the first landing, his hand brushing hers on the railing of the stairs. ‘We’re almost going to be neighbours.’

  ‘Colleagues, friends and neighbours...’ Stevie threw a smile over her shoulder as she sped up her descent to the next landing. She was laughing as her mouth ran away with the words that were coming from nowhere, perhaps fuelled by the heat that simply the brush of his hand had generated. ‘What more could you possibly want?’