by Annie O'Neil
After clearing the table, Ellie ran a comb through her son’s unruly mop and then gave him a kiss on the forehead.
He looked up at her, his eyes wide and hopeful. ‘Is Lucas going to stay here now?’
Lucas, not Daddy.
Ellie’s face froze in a cheery Mummy face as she tried to figure out the best way to answer that.
Maybe?
Probably not?
Not until they had a proper talk about things anyway. And ensured she’d got over the fact he’d proposed, taken it back then at least seemed to have swanned off to live a highly glamorous life without her. He’d explained that part pretty well, but...it didn’t mean what had happened still didn’t sting. And there was also her guilt about not telling Lucas about Maverick and the fact she’d have to explain that to her son one day.
Not really the simplest of answers for a five-year-old.
‘Come here, bub.’ She pulled her son into a little half-hug and touched her finger to the tip of his nose. ‘Mummy and Daddy are figuring out how things are going to work around here. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other and I’m pretty used to how things worked with Uncle Drew.’
‘Uncle Drew never spends the night with you.’
‘Very true.’ She gave a serious nod instead of giggling. As if! She’d made sandcastles with Uncle Drew. And mud pies. He was like a brother to her. And an awesome business partner. Not to mention a pretty great vet. But kissing him? Bleurgh. ‘But Uncle Drew and I never dated.’
‘You and Daddy did?’
‘We did. During vet school. And then he had to go and be the Uber-Vet for a few years.’
It was sort of a white lie. More a lie of omission than an actual lie, so...
‘Like superheroes have to go and save the world?’
She smiled, wishing Lucas was here to hear this. ‘Yeah. A bit like that. So...now that he’s not fixing all the animals on telly, he’s thinking about what he’d like to do next.’
‘Why doesn’t he work here?’
‘Well...’
‘There are all sorts of animals he could fix here,’ Maverick said, the idea clearly growing on him. ‘All the puppies and Mrs Cartwright’s cat and the animals in the petting zoo and...um... Moose! He could fix Moose.’
‘Moose could definitely do with some Uber-Vet magic.’ Moose was also one of the reasons Ellie hadn’t sent Lucas packing. The Bernese mountain dog had suffered some fairly awful injuries in a car accident and Ellie had been hoping Henry might be able to work his magic. Since he’d left, Lucas had had a couple of appointments with him, certain he could help. He’d said prosthetics were possible for the large canine, but that he had something even more groundbreaking in mind.
‘If he wants to fix the animals in Dolphin Cove,’ Maverick began slowly, avoiding eye contact, ‘would he live here like other daddies?’
‘Well...’ It was a valid question. Particularly from a five-year-old who had been pretty awesome about accepting a previously entirely absent father into his life.
‘Not all mummies and daddies sleep in the same bed every night.’
‘You mean like I change my cuddly toys around sometimes?’
‘Sort of.’ Ellie crossed to the sink and pretended to be really busy washing dishes for a minute.
She was on the brink of asking Mav how he would feel if Lucas were to stay around longer term when her son pulled on his snorkel and mask then patted his round tummy. ‘I’m ready to hit the waves.’
Ah! The magical mindset of a five-year-old.
‘I hope they’re good ones today.’
Maverick made a sad face. ‘Only one more week before school starts.’
‘I know, bub.’ She gave his curly head another scrub. ‘But you love it there. Learning all sorts of cool things is one of the perks of growing up.’ Ellie knelt in front of him and gave each of his pudgy cheeks a kiss then waved him off as he ran down the steps just as Lucas reappeared from the clinic.
Maverick launched himself off the stairs towards Lucas before he’d reached the bottom of the steps. Ellie was about to scream when, as if he’d been doing it all his life, Lucas swept his son up in his arms and whirled him round and round to Maverick’s complete and utter delight.
The pair of them looked up at her and grinned. In that moment Ellie knew she wanted Lucas to stay. She was ready to love him again. Really love him the way she once had. Maverick deserved it. She deserved it. And, from the sound of what Lucas had gone through with his family, he deserved some happiness, too.
* * *
An hour later the pair of them had barely laid eyes on one another the clinic was so busy. When she ran into him in the surgical unit her heart softened rather than raced. A sign, she realised, that her fear about him leaving was dissipating.
‘Ooh.’ She gave the supine feline in his arms a stroke. ‘This isn’t Mrs Cartwright’s, is it?’
‘No.’ Lucas held up the chart. ‘This is Shadow.’
‘Oh, right.’ She scanned the chart. ‘The Thomases’ cat. Everything okay?’
‘She’ll be fine. A bit of periodontal disease. I’m thinking too much tinned tuna might be the culprit.’
‘SCC?’
He tapped the side of his nose.
‘Ouch. How many teeth did you have to extract?’
‘Just one. The family noticed her eating habits had changed and of course...’
‘Halitosis,’ they said together.
‘Luckily, they caught it before things got too bad. And they’ve promised to change her feeding so, fingers crossed, all will be well.’
‘Speaking of too much seafood.’ Ellie pointed at Lord Fluffingstein, who was giving the pair of them lots of doleful brown-eyed looks. ‘Any chance you could help me escort the crab-lover here into the waiting room?’
‘Ah! Are his family here?’
‘Yup. From the second the clinic opened, bless ’em.’
‘Excellent.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘I love a good reunion, me.’
Ellie smiled. ‘Course you do, you big ol’ soppy thing.’
‘Who’re you calling soppy?’ Lucas play-protested, already clearing his throat at the thought of the family being reunited with their cherished dog. It was one of the reasons she’d fallen for him so fast. His genuine affection for the animals they treated was infectious.
After ensuring his post-surgical shirt was snapped into place, Lucas and Ellie slowly escorted Lord Fluffingstein down the corridor for the inevitable tearful reunion. Ellie gave instructions to the family for the dog’s post-operative care. ‘He’ll be a little dopey for the next day or two as the anaesthetic wears off.’ She handed over a small bag. ‘These are his medicines. Some for pain and some to ensure any infection is kept at bay. Keeping the wound area clean is critical for the next few days so no beach time, I’m afraid.’
They all shook their heads soberly. ‘We’ve got a garden in our holiday let so we’ll just use that.’
‘Excellent. In a few days he should be all right to travel home, and we will make sure to send along all the information to your local vets.’
The mum threw herself at Ellie and pulled her into a huge hug. ‘Thank you so much for saving our boy. He’s like another son to me and if we’d lost him...’ A sob escaped her lips.
‘It’s all right,’ Ellie soothed, returning the hug. ‘He’s alive and well and will continue to have a happy healthy life as long as he avoids lead weights and the wound stays clean.’
‘It’ll be the cleanest wound in Britain,’ the family’s little girl solemnly vowed, holding up her fingers in a Girl Guide salute.
‘Well, then,’ Lucas said, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with her. ‘I shall look forward to receiving pictures of his stitches when they’re all healed up. Here...’ He pulled out his phone. ‘Who wants my email address
so they can send me updates?’
The entire family raised their hands and Lord Fluffingstein gave a soft woof.
Ellie laughed, happy and relieved to finally be able to enjoy her time with Lucas. Being on her guard for the past few weeks had been exhausting. It had added a level of fatigue she hadn’t needed on top of all the extra work she’d been juggling at the clinic. Despite her best efforts, she yawned.
‘Long night?’ asked the father.
Lucas smiled. ‘I kept her up late.’
Ellie raised her eyebrows until Lucas smoothly finished, ‘We were doing some in-depth debriefing after the surgery, you see. We’re all about a hands-on approach here. Seeing things through to a happy ending.’
He slipped his arm around her shoulder in what, to the Lab’s family, would have looked like an ordinary gesture of happy colleagues, but to Ellie? The gesture and his words meant the world. Maybe Mummy and Daddy could sleep in the same bed on a more regular basis. And not at all like Maverick’s cuddly toys.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘FANCY A REAL PINT?’ Lucas picked up his empty glass and reached across for Drew’s drained soft-drink glass.
‘No, mate. Thanks. Painkillers,’ he explained.
As if he had to. The poor guy had clearly been through the wringer. Drew lived in a cottage a short walk from the Hungry Pelican, but it had taken him a painstaking twenty minutes to hobble his way down. A walk he’d insisted on when Lucas had shown up in his big old four-by-four that wouldn’t even begin to fit in the narrow lanes of the medieval village.
Pins and braces and goodness knew what else were holding Drew together. Grit and determination, most likely.
‘Another plate of chips wouldn’t go amiss, though!’
‘They know how to do them right here at the Pelican, don’t they?’ Lucas said, swinging his legs out of the booth and heading towards the bar.
After a quick exchange with Ellie’s father, whose protective demeanour had become less frosty as the summer wore on, Lucas was back in the booth, enjoying his long-awaited catch-up with Drew.
‘And things with Ellie are cool?’ Drew asked.
Lucas gave a definitive nod. ‘Far better than I could’ve dreamt. Maverick’s...’ His voice grew rough and he gave the table a thump. ‘He’s one helluva kid.’
‘Damn straight he is. He has the best uncle in the whole of England for starters.’ Drew said proudly. His mood turned serious as he retained solid eye contact. ‘I’m glad things are cool with you and Ellie. I have to admit I was worried when she rang to say you’d offered Henry your job and were coming down to replace him. It felt like—’ He stopped himself.
‘What?’ Lucas had a feeling Drew had just stopped himself from delivering a home truth. Something along the lines of ‘It felt like you were taking matters into your own hands again’. He’d never looked at it that way. He’d decided on Ellie’s behalf what she would do. The grain of truth was a reminder that just because things were okay now, they might not always be. Life threw spanners into the works. It didn’t mean you had to deal with them alone. Ellie hadn’t. She had an amazing support system here. She’d been strong enough to admit she’d needed help.
Drew squinted at him then said, ‘I don’t want to see Ellie hurt again. Or Mav.’
‘They won’t be,’ Lucas said, the words weighted with intent.
Drew gave him a nod. ‘You made it extra-tough, staging your comeback when I was in traction.’
‘Tough how?’
‘It’s hard to give someone a black eye from a hospital bed.’ The familiar glimmer of fun flared in Drew’s eyes as he gave Lucas a shake of his fist.
Lucas snorted. ‘I’m on good behaviour alert.’
‘But it’s water under the bridge now?’ Drew couldn’t keep the protective note out of his voice. ‘If it isn’t, or if you hurt her again, you know I’m going to have to run you out of town. Slowly. But I’ll do it.’
‘I believe you,’ Lucas assured him. And he did. Half the village would most likely join him, pitchforks and all. Ellie was one of their own and, famous or not, Lucas was an outsider. An outsider who’d broken the heart of one of the village’s favourite daughters. ‘I swear to you, mate, my intentions are entirely honourable. And I know I messed up. Things with my family were... They were pretty rough there for a bit.’
‘I would ask you if you wanted to talk about it, but...’ Drew held his hands out. ‘I’m a bloke.’
Lucas laughed. ‘Yeah, right. You’re probably cuddling up to your cat every night, yapping on about feelings all night with a weepy film on in the background.’
‘Sorry, pal.’ Drew tugged a hand through his dark hair. ‘Books over telly and I don’t have any pets.’
‘What?’ Lucas was genuinely shocked. ‘A vet without a pet. That’s weird.’
Drew fixed Lucas with a Shall we look in the mirror? stare. ‘Do you have any?’
Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Esmerelda was meant to have been his and Ellie’s dog. The idea of getting another one...especially with his insane work schedule...even a goldfish would’ve been neglected. ‘Maybe I was choosing the wrong barometer to judge you by.’
Drew waved away the comment. ‘I couldn’t have a dog now. Not with the way I’m walking.’ He feigned some creaky walking frame noises.
‘You’ll get there. Like everything, it takes time.’
Drew looked away but not before Lucas saw a lance of pain cross his features. Emotional pain this time. Whether it was the car crash or losing his fiancée a couple of years back, Lucas didn’t know, neither did he press. He was going to be around for the foreseeable future, and he knew Drew would talk when he was good and ready. Which reminded him. ‘You really think you’re going to be ready to come back to work?’
A look of determination pushed Drew to an upright position. ‘I’ve let Ellie down enough these past few weeks. I’ll be coming back at the end of September, as promised.’
‘You’ve not let her down in the slightest. She knows you didn’t ask your brakes to fail.’
That same shadowed look darkened Drew’s blue eyes a second time. ‘Yeah, well. It’s not fair on her. All the extra work she’s taken on.’
‘About that...’ Lucas began.
‘What?’ Drew laughed. ‘Are you volunteering to stay on?’
Lucas would’ve preferred to talk to Ellie about it first, but...maybe it was wise to test the waters. ‘Yes. If it would help.’
‘Always the hero, aren’t you?’
The comment slashed through any chumminess they might’ve had. Drew didn’t trust him to stay.
Lucas’s gaze sharpened. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘Sorry, mate. These meds I’m on don’t give me much room for charm. I— Oh, hell.’ He dropped his head into his hands, gave his skull a brisk rub and then looked Drew straight in the eye. ‘Mate, it didn’t seem very you to dump me and Ellie—mostly Ellie. We’d planned to set the clinic up together. When we saw you swanning around on those red carpets with that woman on your arm—’
‘She was my producer!’ Lucas said forcefully, too late to dial his tone back to contrition. ‘There was never anything between us. Not on my part anyway. And after that, well...anyone else you saw would’ve been me trying to convince myself I’d moved on.’
‘So, you still love her, then? Ellie?’ he added, as if there was anyone else in the world they could be talking about.
Lucas nodded. Of course he did. Always had somewhere beneath that weighted cloak of family responsibility he’d put on six years back.
‘Any plans to...you know?’ Drew wiggled his ring finger in the air.
Lucas gave his jaw a scrub. ‘I don’t think we’re quite there yet, mate.’ Winning Ellie’s full trust was of paramount importance and until he had it he was going to play his cards close to his chest. Well...pretty close.
‘Fair enough.’ Drew gave his hands a decisive clap as if the matter had been discussed, settled and need never more be revisited. He put out his hand for a shake, any friction between them now laid to rest. Lucas took it with gratitude.
Drew and Ellie had been his best friends back in the day. They’d known his father had been unwell. That his brother liked one drink too many. Why hadn’t he reached out to them?
Pride.
Fear.
Powerful enemies at a time of crisis.
Drew took a studied sip of his soft drink then said, ‘About the clinic. I’m going mad over there in the cottage doing nothing so...talk me through what a man who’s hobbling about can do to ease the load.’
‘Get better,’ Lucas said solidly. And then, ‘Actually, do you remember Ellie telling you about a Bernese mountain dog Henry had scheduled for a prosthetics op? Moose?’
‘Moose!’ Drew’s expression visibly lightened. ‘I love that big old bear of a dog.’ His brow furrowed. ‘Has he not done well? Ellie hasn’t told me much about any of the cases.’
Lucas could see why when it came to Moose. The poor dog had been hit by a car careening out of control and had nearly died. She’d done her best with his internal injuries, but his ‘rear legs cart’ wasn’t really up to the job of helping him lead a normal healthy life.
‘Henry had planned to give him two prosthetic legs, but I have another idea.’
Drew’s face lit up. ‘Tell me everything.’
The two friends spent the next hour talking over the case, possible options and then moved on to the actual business of how the clinic was running.
‘I think you could do with another full-time vet. One who could come with a cash injection.’
Drew raised his eyebrows. ‘Only partners give cash injections.’
‘Yup. I know. I’ve been thinking about ways to show Ellie I’m here for the long run and I thought it might be a good show of faith. Would you be happy if I were to propose—’ He stopped himself and changed his choice of words. ‘Would you be happy if I were to ask to become a partner?’
‘I’m happy if Ellie’s happy.’
