The Vet's Secret Son

by Annie O'Neil

  Returning for forgiveness...

  Staying as a father

  When Lucas Williams was forced to walk away from Ellie Stone, he knew he was giving up on their dreams of opening a veterinary practice together. Now he’s back and hoping to make amends. But he’s not surprised by how successful Ellie’s become or that their powerful connection has endured. The surprise is discovering that when he’d left six years ago, Ellie was pregnant—with his son!

  Dolphin Cove Vets

  Helping pets and healing hearts...

  Best friends and cutting-edge vets Ellie Stone and Drew Trevelyan have realized their dream of owning the best veterinary practice in Cornwall. The clinic lies at the heart of their tight-knit community, and they couldn’t be happier.

  Except...

  No strangers to heartbreak, they’ve vowed to put their work before anything else, until two new arrivals test their resolve to remain single...

  The Vet’s Secret Son

  by Annie O’Neil

  Ellie is shocked when her past collides with her present and she’s forced to work with her ex—and to reveal the secret she’s hidden from Lucas for six years...

  Healing the Vet’s Heart

  by Annie Claydon

  Recovering from a devastating car accident, romance is the last thing on Drew’s mind, until Caro finds a way through to his guarded heart...

  Both available now!

  Dear Reader,

  If you’ve read any of my books you will know that I am crazy mad for animals. I live on a farm and most days it feels a lot like being at Dr. Dolittle’s! We have tortoises and chickens, bees, cows, and dogs (who, as I write, are wrestling under my desk), and I love them all. Thanks to them I have also had the pleasure of befriending our local vets—who are AMAZING. They get up in the middle of the night to help with a difficult calving, spend hours giving a C-section to a young heifer in the middle of a field, stand in the pouring rain to pregnancy test our cows. All without having the benefit of having a “patient” who can describe what hurts and what doesn’t.

  Writing this duet with Annie Claydon was simply the magical icing on the cake. I just adore her and her fabulous creativity. She’s also incredibly kind, lovely and every bit as marvelous as my veterinarian friends.

  I hope you enjoy the journey to Dolphin Cove. I know I’d move there in a second if it weren’t for my beloved menagerie...

  xoxo Annie O’

  The Vet’s Secret Son

  Annie O’Neil

  Annie O’Neil spent most of her childhood with her leg draped over the family rocking chair and a book in her hand. Novels, baking and writing too much teenage angst poetry ate up most of her youth. Now Annie splits her time between corralling her husband into helping her with their cows, baking, reading, barrel racing (not really!) and spending some very happy hours at her computer writing.

  Books by Annie O’Neil

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  Miracles in the Making

  Risking Her Heart on the Single Dad

  Pups that Make Miracles

  Making Christmas Special Again

  Single Dad Docs

  Tempted by Her Single Dad Boss

  Hope Children’s Hospital

  The Army Doc’s Christmas Angel

  Hot Greek Doc

  One Night with Dr. Nikolaides

  Her Knight Under the Mistletoe

  Reunited with Her Parisian Surgeon

  The Doctor’s Marriage for a Month

  A Return, a Reunion, a Wedding

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  This one goes out to every veterinarian I have called out of hours and who has come running. I thank you. My beasties thank you. x Annie O’

  Praise for Annie O’Neil

  “This story is driven by powerful emotions, grief, guilt and love.... An intensely emotional medical romance with a lovely hopeful ending.

  —Harlequin Junkie on A Return, a Reunion, a Wedding

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  EXCERPT FROM HEALING THE VET’S HEART BY ANNIE CLAYDON

  CHAPTER ONE

  ELLIE LIFTED THE small ball of fluff up in front of her face and gave it a nuzzle. Puppy time after a difficult surgery was always curative. ‘Who’s the best little-bitty puppy?’

  The pitch-black Labrador put its paw on her nose then gave her a tiny pink-tongued lick on the cheek. Even though she’d had a million puppy moments like it, Ellie’s heart strained at the seams.

  ‘You’re definitely the cutest.’

  As if in protest, the other puppies—a mad mix of golden, red, black and a solitary chocolate one—began tumbling up and over her legs, vying for cuddles.

  Four weeks old and full of life. A perfect litter of ten, spanning every colour of the Labrador spectrum. It was the last litter Esmerelda, Ellie’s beloved Lab, would have, and even though she knew she wasn’t entirely objective, she was certain it was the best.

  She picked up another one and breathed in the sweet, scrummy puppy scent. Mmm... Perfect. She couldn’t wait for Mav to get back from surf school. Her son’s giggles of delight combined with puppy cuddles...sheer heaven.

  ‘Having a bit of puppy therapy, are we?’

  Ellie looked up and saw her long-term mentor smiling down at her. ‘Ha! You caught me, Henry.’

  ‘Tough surgery?’

  ‘Very.’ She told him about the golden retriever who’d been injured when he’d tripped whilst carrying a big stick.

  ‘And the oropharynx?’

  ‘There was a truckload of splinters in his tongue and his mouth. A huge one was lodged in his throat, the poor lad. He’s in Recovery now. I don’t know who’s feeling worse. Him or his owner.’

  Henry gave a sympathetic shrug. ‘It’s a tough call sometimes. I just had a woman sob the entire time I clipped her cat’s nails!’

  Ellie made an empathetic noise. ‘Mrs Coutts?’

  Henry grinned. ‘You clearly know your patients’ owners well.’

  ‘One of the keys to our success here in Dolphin Cove.’ She patted the newspaper-covered play area where she was stretched out, puppies using her like a climbing frame. ‘Join me?’

  Henry, who’d valiantly stepped in to be her emergency locum vet over the last few months, grinned and sat down opposite her. ‘How could I resist?’

  The puppies climbed and tumbled over him, vying for cuddles. For someone with a puppy tucked in the crook of each arm, her mentor didn’t look all that chirpy.

  ‘You’re looking serious. Got a new surgery you need to brainstorm?’

  Henry shook his head, his white hair flopping across his forehead as he did so. He looked every bit the mad professor. Semi-retired and as smart as a whip, he was also her hero. Who else in the whole of the UK would’ve given up their summer holidays to come down to Cornwall and take over the roster of complicated surgeries her business partner had lined up?

  She shoved aside the niggle of discomfort the question elicited and smiled at him. Just about no one, that’s who. No one she cared to lay eyes on, anyway.

  ‘It’s not that,’ he said, easing yet another puppy into his arms.

  Ah. So there was something.

&n
bsp; Ellie gently extracted her insanely curly ponytail from one of the puppy’s mouths. One day she’d get her hair under control. She snorted. And one day pigs would fly. ‘Not a pull toy, little one,’ she cooed, easing a final golden coil out of its gummy mouth.

  She inspected Henry as the pup he was holding scampered away and he pulled one of her favourite pups, the only chocolate Lab in the litter, into his lap. He was looking awfully serious.

  The chocolate pup put both of its paws on Henry’s beard then slid back down into the nook of his arm and instantly fell asleep.

  Ellie laughed. ‘I guess that was enough playtime for him.’

  ‘Guess so.’ Henry cupped the little pup’s head in one of his big old hands. His tone was much more reflective than a vet with over forty years of experience might be. He must have seen thousands of puppies curl up into sleepy little balls of fur and puppy snorts over the years.

  ‘C’mon, Henry. Out with it. There’s something playing on your mind. You rescued me in my hour of need. If I can do anything to help you in yours, just say the word.’

  She wasn’t kidding. When Drew, her business partner and her bestie, was in a horrific car accident, Henry came right down. Drew’s long stint in hospital was coming to an end, but there was still ample rehab and healing to keep him away from the surgery for at least the next eight to ten weeks. More if there were any setbacks.

  Uh-oh. Drew hadn’t had a setback had he?

  Henry readjusted the puppy and something about the look in his eyes made her scoop one up into her own arms. She gave it a nuzzle as Henry began to speak. When he’d finished, she could hardly hear for the buzzing in her ears.

  It wasn’t Drew. It was a favour. And not just any old favour. He was asking her to do the one thing she’d promised she would never do. Let Lucas Williams work at Dolphin Cove.

  But she owed Henry. She owed him big time.

  Four months ago she’d barely held it together when Drew’s life hung in the balance. Henry had come to her rescue. Not only did he tackle Drew’s incredibly complicated surgeries, he also brought along students from the Royal Veterinary College down for internships to help ease the load. Much to her embarrassment, he used Ellie as an example of what you could achieve if you stuck to your guns: build one of Britain’s most innovative veterinary surgeries in one of its most old-fashioned villages even when your heart had just been smashed to absolute smithereens.

  Okay.

  He didn’t say that end bit.

  He focussed on the good. Which was how she’d survived her heartache and the epic life change that came in its wake. The Dolphin Cove Veterinary Clinic was literally her dream come true. And now it could all disappear in the blink of an eye. If she let herself be prone to dramatics. Which she was, because...oh, damn!

  This felt almost as bad as— No. Nothing felt worse than having the love of her life take back his proposal and throw all of their hopes and dreams to the wayside to become television’s favourite celebrity veterinarian.

  The Uber-Vet.

  Bleurgh.

  Uber-Louse more like.

  The man on television—which, obviously, she’d only ever watched season after season by total accident—was so far removed from the geeky, funny, hilariously wonderful man she’d fallen in love with she could barely stand to look at him.

  So much for I’ve got to save my dad’s clinic, Ells. I just want to keep everything low-key to keep the stress down. I’m all they’ve got now. I don’t want to ruin your dream.

  It scared her to realise how raw the old wounds still were. Wounds she had done everything in her power to heal as she’d embarked on the new life she’d built for her and her son.

  ‘He really said you have to go now?’ Ellie knew she was repeating exactly what Henry had just said, but she didn’t seem able to get the facts to sink in.

  Lucas Williams, ex-love of her life, wanted Henry to take over his stupid television show. Immediately. And to make that happen? He was going to come to Dolphin Cove and replace Henry.

  The skin prickled at the back of her neck.

  This was the moment she had hoped against hope would never happen.

  Henry scrubbed a hand through his hair. He of all people knew what a bit ask it was, but there was a lot at stake for him as well. ‘The students depend on these scholarships, and with money so hard to come by these days—’

  She waved her hand to get him to stop talking. She, more than anyone, knew how important the scholarships were. There was no chance she could’ve attended the Royal Veterinary College without a bursary. Denying other students the chance because of pride? It would be an unspeakably selfish thing to do.

  She forced herself to repeat the facts to Henry to make absolutely sure she’d got them right. ‘So, what you’re saying is, Lucas Williams is giving up his job as the Uber-Vet and he wants you to be the new one?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Henry nodded. ‘We’d film at the veterinary college, raising its profile, and all of the proceeds would go towards scholarships for less well-off students.’

  Just like she’d been.

  ‘And you have to go tomorrow?’

  ‘Day after. Lucas is going to drive down tomorrow. The television producers seem to be mad about the idea and they want to start filming...’

  ‘ASAP,’ they said in tandem.

  She looked out beyond the low wall of the puppy pen to the big old floor-to-ceiling glass windows that faced the private cove beyond the clinic. Still sunny. Still gorgeous. At least something was the same. Another perfect summer’s day in Cornwall.

  She squinted at the sun. It’d be hours yet before it dipped into the sea, but those hours were quickly evaporating and before she knew it, it would be tomorrow morning, Henry would leave and the man who had changed her life for ever would be arriving. And all of this exactly when she had one of the most important surgeries in Dolphin Cove Veterinary Clinic’s entire history on the books.

  Prosthetics for a beautiful Bernese mountain dog. A gorgeous beast of a dog called Moose who’d struggled to recover from a car accident a few weeks back. Ellie, a specialist in emergency surgery and internal medicine, had done her best, but had ultimately held up her hands and said, ‘It’s not enough. This dog needs more.’ The type of ‘more’ only an orthopaedic surgeon could envision. An orthopaedic surgeon exactly like Lucas Williams.

  The father of her child. The son he didn’t know he had.

  She swallowed back an uncomfortable lump of guilt. ‘And there’s no one else in the entire world who can come down apart from him?’

  ‘You want and deserve the best, Ellie. Lucas is the best there is.’ She scuffed her foot against the floor exactly the way Maverick would’ve if she’d told him it was time for bed.

  ‘Of course, I could always turn down the offer and stay here.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Of course Henry must go. It was a once in a lifetime offer. Putting the finest veterinary college in the UK in the limelight as well as giving its poorer students a critical financial lifeline? There was no way she could insist Henry stay. Even so. ‘Just...give me a minute to process this, all right?’

  Henry opened his mouth, presumably to say she’d be fine, but...urgh! She didn’t want fine. She wanted everything to stay exactly as it was. Well. Not exactly. She’d rather Drew wasn’t in recovery from his accident and that he’d never been through the emotional and physical wringers the past couple of years had thrown at him, but what was the point in working your fingers to the bone and aiming for the moon and the stars beyond it only for life to throw her biggest fear into her path?

  A clammy skittering of goosebumps ran across her skin.

  She could’ve done what her parents and Drew had suggested when she’d found out she was pregnant. Told Lucas she was having his son. But to do so precisely when the papers had started crowing about a rumoured engagement b
etween the Uber-Vet and his producer? No chance. Instead, she’d poured all her hurt and anger into building the clinic even Lucas would admire.

  She gave her arms a rub as a chill swept through her.

  What good was venom or comeuppance when the secret she held would change his life?

  Lucas would be angry. He had every right to be. Over five years of not knowing he had a son... She’d be raging if she were in his shoes. But she’d done what she’d done for a reason. Lots of reasons. One of which was ensuring she had full custody of Maverick.

  All that might change now.

  Who was she kidding? Everything would change once Lucas found out Maverick was his son. Anyone who cared for animals the way he did couldn’t be all evil.

  Henry slipped the sleeping puppy in his arm onto a bed. ‘I’d better get up to the flat and start packing.’

  ‘Don’t leave.’ Ellie gestured for him to stay then twisted her coils of strawberry blonde curls into a messy topknot. ‘Not just yet.’

  ‘How many more weeks until Drew’s out of hospital?’ Henry asked as he sat back down, even though he knew the answer as well as she did.

  ‘He’s home in the next couple of weeks, but he’s got a good two months of rehab before he can come back here to the clinic and even then...’ She glowered, the frown quickly softening as a pair of puppies began to climb a small set of steps onto a short slide and...whoosh. So adorable! Maybe she’d give Drew a puppy as part of his rehab. He hadn’t seemed so keen on doing all the exercises they’d given him last time she’d visited him in hospital, but once he was home and had a puppy to entice him out on a walk...

  ‘And his recovery is going well?’ Henry asked.

  What was going on here? Henry had visited Drew practically as much as Ellie had. Saying that... Ellie knew Drew better than just about anyone in the village. Not only was he her best friend from Dolphin Cove, he had been a student alongside Lucas and Ellie at the Royal Veterinary College. He’d watched her fall in love. He’d been part of the plotting and planning for each and every component of their dream clinic. He’d been there to mop up the tears when Lucas had ripped her heart out of her chest and walked away from each and every one of their plans. He’d also been sitting beside her as she’d watched the smiley face appear on that fateful pregnancy test nine weeks after they’d returned to Dolphin Cove to set up the clinic without Lucas. She’d clocked one missed period up to stress and heartache. Two?