‘We’ll see.’ Taylor raises one eyebrow, but I won’t let her reservations dent my optimism.
I move to the edge of the pool and dive in with the slightest splash. I re-emerge from the water with Taylor bobbing up alongside me. She dips her goggles and stretches the elastic over her head while I unwrap mine from my wrist.
‘Do you want to borrow one of my dresses for your date tomorrow?’ she asks. ‘The flapper one would suit you – and it should fit. It’s a bit long on me.’
‘Do you mean the pale green one with the beads?’ I tread water. ‘That would be great, if you don’t mind.’
‘Come round and try it on after.’
When I get home with Taylor’s dress in a bag, I find Ross has left a note and a present – a box wrapped in pink and black paper with a ribbon round it – for me on the kitchen worktop.
I’ve fed the kittens and gone to bed I know, I’m a lightweight. Hope you had a good chat with Taylor. See you in the morning xx Ross
I unwrap and open the box – it’s a selection of luxury chocolates from Lupins, the gift shop. I eat three before closing it again. They’re sweet and a mixture of soft and hard centres, just like him.
Chapter Seventeen
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Can you date when you are living and working together? This evening, I think, as I make a round of the inpatients before I go home, feeding the cat with the collar injury who is staying with us for an extra couple of nights, I’m going to find out.
Izzy turns up in Kennels.
‘A little bird told me you’re going out with someone special tonight.’ She glances down at the chicken under arm. ‘Not this one. This is Molly.’ She is a fancy hen with a delicate grey and white lace pattern in her feathers which turn to fluff on her legs. ‘She’s egg-bound, poor little thing. Maz admitted her.’
‘I didn’t think she saw chickens any more.’
‘You know what she’s like. Besides, the client said they wanted to see a proper vet, not one of the farm boys. She might have called them cowboys, actually.’ Izzy smiles and makes to hand over the chicken to me. ‘I don’t suppose . . .’
I check my watch. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘What am I thinking? You need to get away and get your glad rags on. Go on, off you go.’
I hesitate. ‘It is all right, isn’t it?’
‘That you’re fraternising with a colleague?’
‘I’m hoping that it’ll be a bit more than fraternising.’
‘It doesn’t make any difference what I think because you’re going to go ahead anyway. It isn’t exactly a surprise to anyone. It’s fine with me, as long as it doesn’t affect your work.’
Celine appears at the door. ‘Maz needs a hand with a gerbil – she’s struggling to catch it. I offered, but there’s a queue at reception.’
‘You go, Izzy.’ I take the chicken. Ross will understand if I’m late.
She thanks me and disappears off with Celine, leaving me to find the patient a suitable cage where she can wait in peace and quiet for help to lay her egg.
‘It’s four-star accommodation for you,’ I say, shutting her in one of the cages in isolation, with some newspaper and a nest of hay from the bag we keep for the rabbits and small furries, and making a mental note to remind Izzy to bring some more from the farm. As I leave her to it, I hear a cluck. I turn back to find her in the nest, her tail pumping up and down. She looks so distressed that I can’t possibly abandon her and go home.
I check into the consulting room with Maz and Izzy, who are examining a gerbil – or at least the parts that are accessible between Izzy’s gloved fingers.
‘Can I go ahead and give the hen a warm bath?’ I ask.
‘If you wouldn’t mind.’ Maz looks up briefly. ‘That would be a great help. I’m going to have to admit this little chap for a touch of anaesthetic so I can get a proper look at this lump on his tummy.’
Izzy gives me a rueful smile.
I return to isolation, where I immerse the lower half of the hen’s body in warm water for a while. She is too depressed to protest with more than a peck and a flap of her wings. I take her out, dry her gently and return her to her quarters.
‘You look more chirpy now,’ I tell her. ‘Did I mention that I’m supposed to be going out tonight, so if you don’t mind, an egg would be nice?’ I leave her alone for ten minutes; when I get back, she’s sitting with her head to one side and her eyes closed. I take a sneaky peek into the nest of hay, and there it is, the offending egg. ‘Brilliant,’ I murmur. ‘Well done, you.’
I give Izzy the good news before I drive home with Tilly and Kit mewing in the back of the car, through the country lanes where the summer sun burnishes the wheat in the cornfields. The hedgerows are overgrown with brambles, the ford is a mere streak of damp mud and the brook alongside the houses in Talyford is nothing but a trickle. The heat is oppressive, and there are clouds bubbling up on the horizon, but I don’t care because I’m going on a date with Ross – the first of many, I hope. I’m feeling sick with anticipation as I turn in to park outside the house, but there’s a problem: a big black monster four-by-four in my spot, alongside his bike.
My fingers tighten on the wheel. Heidi and Bart? Not tonight? I reverse out of the courtyard, tyres slipping in the gravel, and park on the road outside. I check my mobile to see if there’s a message. Nothing. He’s been off all day because he swapped a shift with Emma last week as one of the twins was off nursery with a bout of tonsillitis, so I don’t see why he couldn’t have given me some advance warning. It isn’t much to ask.
I pick up the kittens, slam the car door and let myself into the house, pausing in the hallway to take off my shoes.
‘I’m home,’ I call, at which there’s a gruff bark and Bart comes trotting in from the direction of the kitchen, diving straight at the kittens’ carrier. I snatch it away and put them in the living room with the door closed. Bart turns back to his master who’s following him. Ross is holding two bottles of beer. He hands one to me.
‘What’s going on?’ I say quietly.
‘I’m sorry.’ He makes to kiss me. I turn my cheek. ‘I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone the date tonight.’ He rests one hand on my shoulder. ‘I haven’t changed my mind – I feel terrible having to let you down, but I don’t have a choice.’
‘It’s Heidi.’ My heart is cold, like a slab of frozen fish. ‘Where is she?’
‘In the garden.’
‘There’d better be a good explanation for this. Why tonight of all nights?’
‘It’s her mum. She’s been admitted to hospital for a few days. Heidi needs me to have Bart so she can be with her as much as possible. I would have put her off, but it sounds pretty bad.’
‘So she’s going home this evening?’
‘She wants to, but she’s in too much of a state. I can’t let her drive.’
‘Oh, Ross,’ I sigh.
‘It isn’t my fault.’
‘I know.’ I try not to sound bitter, but I hate the way he’s dropped everything for her.
‘I’m not doing it for her. I’m doing it for the dog. If I make it difficult, she’ll find someone else to look after him and I’ll lose touch. I can’t let him go to kennels.’
How much longer are you going to let Heidi use the dog as a tool for emotional blackmail, I want to ask, but I bite my tongue. She must be feeling terrible.
‘I can ring around and find her a room for the night,’ Ross suggests.
‘It’s all right. She can stay here.’
‘Thank you.’
For a moment, I wonder about offering to share my bed with him, but I couldn’t, not with his ex-girlfriend in the house.
‘How long do you think Bart will be staying?’ I ask, realising the implications of having a dog to stay who can’t be left for more than a couple of hours without tearing the house apart, who can’t be kept in a kennel because he gets depressed, and who’s somewhat temperamental at the best of times. ‘Oh, it doesn�
��t matter.’ If Ross and I are going to have a future together, I’m going to have to embrace his troublesome dog. ‘I’ll keep the kittens in my room while he’s here – he’s welcome.’
Ross smiles wryly. ‘Love me, love my dog.’
‘You’ve washed the floor,’ I say, stepping past him into the kitchen.
‘Yes, does it meet your high standards?’ he says with his hands on his hips and looking rather ridiculously proud of himself.
‘You’ve done nothing around the house for weeks and you expect me to say how amazing you are for cleaning the kitchen?’
‘I’ve done the rest of the house too,’ he says, sounding hurt, and it’s my turn to apologise. I put the bottle of beer on the breakfast bar and step onto the patio, where Heidi is sitting, staring red-eyed towards the hills, with a half-empty bottle of wine on the table in front of her.
‘Hello,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry to hear about your mother.’
She turns to me with a small smile. ‘Thank you – and I’m very grateful to you for letting me stay and for looking after Bart. It’s such a relief to know that he’s with people he can trust while I focus on helping Mummy get better.’
‘I hope she gets home soon.’
‘She isn’t in hospital yet. She’s going in on Monday.’
I glance towards Ross. He said she was in hospital already. Definitely. I didn’t mishear. And, now I think of it, unless Heidi overheard us talking in the hall, he must have said she could stay before asking me if I was cool with it. He looks down at his feet. His big toe is poking out of a hole in his sock.
I wish Heidi all the best.
On my way through the kitchen, Ross catches up with me.
‘Aren’t you going to stay and have that beer?’
‘I don’t think so. It’s been a long day and I don’t want to sit here while you manage a case of distraught-ex syndrome.’
‘Is that what it is?’ He chuckles before quickly sobering up. ‘I thought you’d got past the issues you had with me and Heidi. I’d help anyone out in an emergency, and Bart is partly my responsibility. I can’t just duck out when it’s inconvenient.’
I take a deep breath, fighting the strangling hands of disappointment at my throat. ‘I’m fine about her turning up with the dog – her mother is ill and she can’t look after Bart at the same time, that’s understandable. And yes, we can go out on a date any time – we’ve waited so long, another day won’t hurt, but what has upset me is that you’ve lied to me.’
‘About what exactly?’
‘Heidi’s mother isn’t in hospital yet, and you’d already said she could stay here.’ I glare at him. I’m not letting him off the hook.
‘Okay, I’ll admit I was economical with the truth. I was trying to protect you . . . from yourself.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, I didn’t want you jumping to the wrong conclusion.’ He pauses. ‘Oh god, I’ve said the wrong thing again, haven’t I? I can see it in your face. Shannon, please . . . anyone would think you were jealous—’
‘As I have every reason to be,’ I interrupt.
‘I’m sorry. What else can I say? We’ve been living together for how long? Long enough for you to see that I’m not interested in Heidi, or anyone else, apart from you. Why can’t you see that?’ He holds out his hands and takes mine very gently in his fingers, turning them over and examining the lines in my palm. ‘I was hoping that you’d let me prove myself. I can see that moving in together was a mistake, but that’s with hindsight. It would be easier doing the dating stuff if we were living apart, but we’re here now and I want us to be more than mates.’
I squeeze his hands in acknowledgement.
‘Is everything all right?’ Stepping away from him I turn to find Heidi has joined us. ‘I thought I’d grab some water,’ she adds. ‘It’s okay. I know where you keep the glasses.’
‘Everything is fine,’ I say.
‘Are you going to eat with us? Only I picked up some fresh pasta on the way – as a way of saying thank you for looking after Bart.’
Us?I think. She’s still under the illusion that she has a chance with Ross. A thought strikes me. He hasn’t told her about us, has he? She doesn’t know. I realise that she’s sad and worried about her mother, and Ross is probably trying to protect her from further pain, but it isn’t fair on anyone to hide the truth.
‘It’s very kind of you, but I’ll leave you two to catch up. I’m going to take the kittens upstairs, feed them and go for a swim.’ I reach towards Ross, putting my arms around his neck. He frowns and his eyes darken, but I am undeterred by his sensitivity to Heidi’s feelings. Smiling, I lean up and kiss him on the lips. ‘I’ll see you later, darling. I won’t be late.’
Heidi utters a sharp cry. ‘Are you two—?’
‘It had to be done. Look after her,’ I say quietly to Ross and, to my relief, because I was afraid of how he’d take it, he touches my back and says, ‘Will do, but are you sure you don’t want to stay?’
I gaze at him. Why did I ever imagine he was still interested in Heidi? He’s living with me. He’s asked me out on a date. If we are to have any kind of future together, I have to trust him.
‘Quite sure,’ I say, and I take the milk I made up in advance from the fridge in the morning, a bowl of hot water to warm the bottles, and some kitten food, and head off to feed them, closing the door on Heidi’s sobbing and Ross’s voice, low with consolation and entreaties. When the kittens are curled up in their bed in my room, dozing off to sleep, I grab my swimming kit and drive down to the leisure centre.
When I return, Bart barks from the living room. I push the door open, a little anxious about what my reception will be like – both from the dog, because I’m still wary of him, and from Ross’s ex. I’m relieved to find Ross lying on the sofa with a blanket and the dog on top of him.
‘Hi,’ I say. ‘Where’s Heidi?’
‘I let her have my bed for the night.’
‘How did it go?’
‘Okay, I guess. I made it clear that I’m with you now and that she can’t meddle in our relationship. I think she got it, although it was all rather traumatic. I’m shattered – I’d forgotten how wearing she can be. Poor thing, I do feel sorry for her though, even though she’s obviously been deluding herself for ages. How was your evening?’
‘It was good, thanks, although I was rather preoccupied thinking of you . . .’ I’d like to kiss and cuddle up with him, and run my fingers through his hair, but Bart’s presence puts me off. ‘I’m off to bed then. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.’
‘Sleep well, Shannon,’ he says. ‘I know I will.’
The next morning when I wake up, Heidi’s car has gone.
‘She left at six to miss the worst of the weekend traffic,’ Ross says when I join him downstairs in the kitchen, where he’s tinkering with his motorbike. ‘She’s really upset about her mother and completely cut up about us.’
‘I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I’m not going to apologise.’
‘You don’t have to.’
‘I had to do it,’I go on. ‘I don’t know why you didn’t tell her, but it wasn’t fair to keep stringing her along.’
‘I know that now. You were right – she admitted she’d been hoping that one day I’d realise that I’d made a terrible mistake in breaking off our relationship—’
‘It was more than that though, wasn’t it?’ I cut in. ‘You were engaged.’
‘I suppose that made it easier for her to jump to the wrong conclusion, that I was just having cold feet about the wedding, even though I explained, over and over again, that it went deeper than that. I feel bad about what’s happened. I should have worked out that Heidi’s offers to stay and look after Bart at the show and to cook dinner were her way of keeping me close. She’s always been manipulative and I should have known that’s what she was up to. As it is, I assumed she was being very grown up about the split.’
‘And you like to do the right thing, e
ven if you don’t always go the right way about it.’
‘I was proud of the fact that we could share the dog and stay friends.’
‘What will happen now? With Bart, I mean?’
‘I don’t know. He’s here for now and we’ll have to find a way of keeping him separate from the kittens until they go to new homes in a month or so. We’ll manage,’ he adds optimistically. ‘I just hope that Heidi doesn’t start to make life difficult in future.’
So do I, I think, turning my attention to the motorbike.
‘What’s that doing in here anyway? I don’t like you having the bike indoors. It makes such a mess.’
‘I’m fettling with the engine. I want it to go faster.’
‘Perhaps you’d better buy a bigger one.’
‘I just might do that.’ He drops an oily rag onto the breakfast bar and picks up a mug of tea.
‘Do you have to?’ I groan.
‘I made this for you.’ He moves across to me, kisses me lightly on the mouth and hands me the mug, complete with the black imprints of his fingers. ‘I was wondering if we could start again, on the basis that we didn’t really get started in the first place? I thought we could go and grab Seven on the way through town and take him and Bart for a walk by the river before going to the pub for lunch. What do you think?’
‘Can you tear yourself away from the bike?’
‘Oh, I think so . . .’ He grins. ‘Let me wash my hands and change my shirt.’
I feed the kittens while I’m waiting for him and, within half an hour, we’re walking down by the river where the meadows are filled with summer flowers. Maybe it’s the pressure of being on a date at last that makes me unable to think of anything to say. Ross seems similarly tongue-tied.
‘It feels like there’s rain on the way,’ I say as we stroll along the bank, and then I feel like a bit of an idiot because it’s the sort of remark my mum or Godfrey would make.
‘I don’t care. It always feels like summer when I’m with you.’ Ross stops, leans towards me and touches his lips to my cheek. ‘The forecast is for thunderstorms – we’ll have to make sure we’re back before they arrive because Bart hates loud noises.’ He grimaces. I’m sorry. Now it sounds like I’m putting the dog before you.’
Vets of the Heart Page 25
