Summer with the Country Village Vet

by Zara Stoneley

  ‘Brilliant. That’s really kind. Do you want to come and see round the back, see the animals?’

  ‘Not at all, not at all, I was just passing, not checking up on you.’ He winked. ‘Not that a girl like you needs keeping an eye on.’ He took a hasty step back when Gertie popped her head round the corner of the house and Lucy laughed.

  ‘She’s fine.’

  ‘She’s the devil disguised in white she is.’

  ‘Better than any guard dog.’

  ‘Aye well, that’s why our Annie keeps her I reckon. It’s men she chases off, and our Annie always thinks there’s something to be said for that.’ He tutted. ‘Silly fool.’

  Lucy wasn’t sure if he was talking about the goose or his sister.

  ‘Ah, talking of old fools, I’ve just remembered.’ He held up a finger. ‘Timothy’s sent out an email, emergency meeting first thing on Monday about the school’s future.’ He sucked air through his teeth. ‘News isn’t promising I’m afraid.’

  Lucy stared at him. Meetings on the first day of term never sounded good. Why, when she’d started to feel so positive, did things have to go wrong? ‘But I’ve just said I’ll stay! They’ve not said they’re closing it?’

  ‘Not yet my love.’ He sighed. ‘Not my place to discuss it, but you will be able to get in early, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course I will.’

  ‘Splendid.’

  He stepped smartly through the gate, one eye still fixed on Gertie.

  So what did they say about bad news coming in threes? Josie it seemed had killed any hope of her and Charlie ever progressing beyond a one night stand, and now just as she’d agreed to stay at Langtry Meadows longer, just as she was wondering whether maybe she should reconsider her life plan, it looked like she was going to be made redundant. Again. What on earth was going to go wrong next?

  ***

  ‘You’re looking serious. Think a hug will help?’

  Despite his size, Matt, it seemed, could move pretty stealthily. Even Gertie hadn’t had time to go into attack mode. He was standing a couple of yards from Lucy with a very welcome grin on his face.

  ‘Well normally I’d say yes, but…’ She waved her dirty hands in the air and then pointed down at her gardening clothes.

  ‘The dirtier the better.’ He winked and Lucy giggled. Then before she could stop him she was wrapped in a bear hug.

  ‘What on earth are you doing here?’ She was struggling to breath, but it was still nice.

  ‘I came to move your garden rubbish, the trailer’s parked just up the side, but I might just have to chuck you in it and take you home as well.’

  ‘You wouldn’t dare.’ She chuckled and reached up to kiss his cheek. And before she could object he’d hitched one arm round her knees and had thrown her over his shoulder.

  ‘Matt, stop it.’ She was trying to thump his back, but was laughing so much there was no force in it at all. ‘Matt, stop.’ She was out of breath. ‘You’re such an idiot, but I do love you.’

  There was a sharp intake of breath. And it wasn’t Matt, (who was doing a fake stagger from side to side), and it wasn’t Gertie who’d wandered off in disgust.

  Even hanging upside down, she couldn’t mistake who it was. Charlie. He had a face like thunder. Disaster number three. ‘Seems that Josie was right about one thing.’ He raised an eyebrow, his tone dry.

  She hadn’t heard that right had she? He couldn’t have actually said that.

  ‘Charlie, stop.’ He was going to do it again, march off. ‘Matt, put me down,’ she pounded on his back, ‘Charlie, stay right there.’

  Matt didn’t put her down, he wheeled round and gave Charlie the thumbs up, so that she had to screw her body round to try and keep him in sight. He didn’t stop, he was through the gate. He did pause though, and his voice was tighter than his rigid stance.

  ‘I came to tell you what Josie had to say, and that it isn’t up to her to lay down the rules, but I can see you’re busy. My mistake.’

  Shit. He was gone. Matt picked that moment to put her on her feet. ‘Did I cock up?’

  ‘No, Matt, it’s not you.’ She sighed. After that conversation with her mother she’d made a pact with herself, never to tell the smallest of white lies these days. ‘Well it is a bit.’

  ‘Ignore the daft bugger, he’ll come round. Tell you what I’ll take Archie in later and tell him the poor little thing has got a complex and wants a hair transplant. That’ll give him something to think about.’

  ‘You’re potty. He’ll tell you to piss off.’

  ‘He can’t.’ Matt looked hurt. ‘He has to be professional at all times once he’s got his little green tunic on. I also want him to come and look at my lesbian cows, spend far too much time humping each other they do.’

  Lucy smiled despite herself.

  ‘I’ll ask him for advice on how to seduce the most beautiful woman in Langtry Meadows.’

  Lucy felt herself going red. ‘Don’t you dare!’ She better cover herself here. ‘Whoever she is. He’s worried, he’s got a lot on his mind.’ She daren’t say any more, she suspected that Charlie very much liked to keep his private and personal life just that.

  ‘Oh Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, I really have lost you to that big oaf haven’t I? You’ve broken my heart, destroyed my life.’ He crossed his arms over his chest and swayed from side to side.

  She thumped him. ‘Stop right there, Matt.’

  ‘Well until the Taverner’s opens you have, then a couple of pints might put me right.’ He winked. ‘Right, well if you’re going to be boring, where’s this rubbish you want shifting?’

  ***

  Charlie opened his eyes and stared at the bright green toe nails. Dainty, pretty feet with nice slim ankles.

  He stood up and grabbed a cloth.

  ‘You can’t just ignore me you know.’

  ‘I’m not ignoring you, Lucy.’

  ‘Yes you are! You’re tidying up round me as though I’m not here.’

  ‘I have to tidy up.’ As she was standing between him and the consulting table he walked round her, then started to wipe it down. ‘Is there something wrong with one of your animals?’

  ‘No there isn’t. You know that isn’t why I’m here.’

  ‘I don’t know anything.’ He sprayed the table with more than enough disinfectant to kill any army of bugs. It had been a shock seeing Josie, and after fighting with her over his rights to see whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted, he’d felt like he’d been run over by a lorry. He’d called her a hypocrite, and every ounce of hurt flooded back through his body like a physical pain, and then they’d spent a tense hour talking about Maisie.

  His instinct when she’d gone had been to rush over to Lucy. Explain. Tell her it didn’t change anything between them. But ‘anything’ it seemed was ‘nothing’. It couldn’t be a bloody coincidence that every other time she saw him she was practically in the arms of the very footloose and fancy-free Matt Harwood. This time there had been no practically. They’d been in the type of clinch that normally came before (or after) a session like the one he’d just shared with her.

  He couldn’t take much more. He wasn’t prepared to. He was being kicked from pillar to post and it hurt.

  ‘Well you’ll be better off with Matt anyway.’

  Lucy blinked, shocked into silence for a millisecond. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Well he’s always hanging round for you, I’ve even caught him waiting at the school gate.’

  ‘He’s not waiting for me you idiot.’

  ‘Oh no? Well he’s not looking out for Mrs Potts, is he?’

  Lucy sighed. ‘He’s got a thing about Jill.’

  ‘Rubbish.’

  ‘That’s what I thought at first, but he has. He’s got a way of always being around when she is. It took me ages to notice, but once I did I couldn’t not. If she doesn’t catch on soon I’m going to turn into a Langtry Meadows interfering old bag and tell her.’

  ‘Oh. So telling hi
m you love him is part of a master plan?’ His tone was dry, and she shook her head and smiled.

  ‘Charlie, it wasn’t how it looked. Why do you always jump to conclusions?’

  She was spot on there, he did jump when it came to her. The tightening of his gut every time he saw her joking with Matt was physical, not logical. Which scared him. Which was another reason for steering clear. ‘I can’t do this Lucy.’ He dropped the cloth and leaned on the small sink, resting his head against the wall, then slowly straightened. She obviously didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about her. But it was probably a good thing, because sorting out his family – what had been his family – had to take priority. ‘Josie agrees that it’s a good thing for Maisie to see me, but…’

  ‘But she doesn’t want Maisie to see her dad shagging his way round the village? Seems reasonable.’

  ‘It’s not just that, if I thought…’ What was the point in saying what was in his head? That if he thought for one minute that he and Lucy could be an item, more than the odd ‘I can’t resist you’ clinch then it wouldn’t matter? ‘I need to keep this simple.’ For his own sake as well as Maisie’s.

  ‘I can help you.’ Her voice was soft and she was looking at him with a steady gaze. She swallowed and he watched her throat constrict. ‘If you’ll let me. We can work through this together. Honest, I understand. And what happened,’ she shrugged her shoulders, ‘it could happen to anybody after a couple of bottles of wine.’

  ‘That’s not fair.’ That hurt. It hadn’t been the wine, even though following through on his desires probably hadn’t been the smartest route to take. ‘Lucy, if things were different I…’

  ‘But they aren’t. It matters to you seeing Maisie again and trying to sort this.’

  ‘In court I probably wouldn’t stand a chance of getting any rights if she’s not mine. This way…’

  ‘This way’s the right way, Charlie. I get that. The important person is Maisie, not you and not me.’

  ‘I did tell Josie she couldn’t lay down the rules.’ He had done, but in his heart he’d known that getting involved with Lucy, getting involved with anybody right now, would be madness. Maisie already had enough changes on her plate, and so did he. He needed a clear head for this.

  He really didn’t know what had got into him the other night. When had he last felt like that? Probably as a student, when he’d been out on a pub crawl. For seven years they’d worked hard and played hard, and it was always the smart, pretty girls that he’d been drawn to. Lethal. Like Lucy. Like Josie. You’d have thought he’d have learned his lesson.

  ‘I’ll help you.’

  That probably wouldn’t help with his clear head.

  ‘Charlie, she’s going to be in my class, you can’t help but see me and nor can Josie. So let’s be adult about this,’ a sad smile played on her lips as she echoed Josie’s words. ‘Forget what happened and we can help your daughter together. Please?’

  Chapter 20

  Lucy stifled the yawn. The first day back at school, even after only a week off, was always hard. Getting in even earlier than normal for an emergency meeting made it even more difficult. And when you’d spent the night checking your watch, in between dreams about a dark haired vet shunning you like you thought your father had, then snogging you like you were the best thing he’d ever tasted, then even the thought of a day at work with a group of lively children was a killer.

  She looked round hastily, hoping nobody could read her mind. But they were all looking at Timothy Parry.

  ‘Right, good news first, we have a new child on the roll from this term.’ He looked at Lucy. ‘I’ve had confirmation that young Maisie will be joining us, which is always good news, keeping the numbers up.’ He shuffled his papers about. ‘Now as you can see, Jim,’ he nodded at Jim who was sitting next to Lucy, ‘has been kind enough to come along so that he can pass any comments on to the governors. As you all know, we had a respite until the end of the school year, but it very much looks like we’ve won the battle but not the war. We have a choice,’ he peered over his glasses at them all, one at a time, ‘to admit defeat and give up, or,’ he paused so that the words sank in, really the man should have been an actor thought Lucy. ‘We can up our fight and prepare to give this everything we have got.’

  Lucy couldn’t concentrate on Timothy’s words. All she’d heard was that Maisie was now officially on the school roll. So, that was that confirmed. Josie obviously knew that Lucy posed absolutely no threat at all to her happy family, and had brought Maisie in to school. Which meant she was confident that she had a future here. With Charlie. No doubt she’d be persuading Charlie to return to the fold (if she hadn’t already), which was good. Yes, good. Keeping a family together was excellent.

  She swallowed. Even if for one brief period of time she’d thought that… well she wasn’t going to think any more. Not about the way his lips on hers brought her out in goose bumps, or the way her heart had bumped down into the bottom of her stomach when he’d seen her with Matt and jumped to the wrong conclusion. She still wasn’t sure he believed there was nothing going on, but what did it matter now anyway?

  Except it did matter to her. Deep down. Maybe she should have said so louder. After all she had told herself that from now on she was going to be upfront and open about everything. No confusion, no misunderstandings. But then maybe it didn’t count when all you wanted to do was throw yourself at a man who had far more important things on his mind anyway. And hadn’t actually wanted to devour you, had just been a bit drunk and in need of a good shag.

  ‘Ahh takes me back to the last time the school was under attack.’ She jumped guiltily at the whisper in her ear, realising she’d missed most of Timothy’s speech. It was Jim. She turned to him wondering if an explanation would follow, and he winked. ‘You ask Miss Harrington! The wily old codger had a plan then, should have been a general. There’s no stopping this man when he’s got the bit between his teeth, he’ll use any kind of dirty tactic.’

  Timothy was looking at them, and Lucy felt herself go beetroot red, even though it wasn’t actually her that was whispering. ‘Well I think that wraps it up. It would have been nice to have known we were off the danger list, but I’m sure that we are more than capable of going into battle and winning this one.’ There was a small round of applause, which Lucy joined in with. ‘We have this half-term to prove ourselves, so let’s end this academic year on a high that is hard to ignore, and come up with an action plan for September. That is if I can count on your support?’ There was a general nodding of heads. ‘Splendid. I knew I could rely on my wonderful staff. Believe me I am so proud to be part of this school. Now, to battle!’ He cleared his throat as the staff started to stand up and push chairs back. ‘Could I have a quick word, Lucy, before you head off to the classroom? I’m sure Jill will make sure everything is shipshape.’

  More like a ship’s captain than general maybe. ‘Of course.’ Oh hell, what kind of dirty tactic had he got planned for her now?

  ***

  ‘I know what I’m about to say is a big ask for you.’ He steepled his fingers together and balanced his chin on them. The head at Starbaston had done much the same, but her instinctive response then had been very different.

  At Starbaston, David Lawson had seen her as expendable. A number. An expensive salary. He had been looking at her like he’d look at an exhibit in a cold, dusty museum. Or a statistic on a spreadsheet. But to Timothy Parry she knew (fingers crossed) that she wasn’t just a number; she was a member of his team. ‘I do realise that despite being such an outstanding teacher you’ve had a rough ride lately, and the job security you, well we all, crave has been elusive. I’m being unfair, selfish, but I really would appreciate it if you’d consider staying on at Langtry Meadows. I have the backing of all the governors here, and of course every member of staff. I can’t promise you’ll have a job in twelve months’ time, but I’ll do my damnedest to make sure we all have. I’m sorry,’ he smiled, a slightly sad smile,
‘I’m not being that clear, I’m offering you a job in my roundabout way. A permanent position. Well, if we’re honest, a terrible, insecure, job in a small village school with very terrible promotion prospects. All I can offer is our people, kind supportive people who love you and admire your work. I can’t raise your salary, promise a pay rise, or say you won’t be made redundant again in the not so distant future. Not a very good offer is it?’ He held up a hand to stop her, just as she was about to speak. ‘It looks better if we have committed staff, and I would, we all would, value your input and experience. I’m well aware that you’ve worked in a far more difficult environment and have no doubt learned valuable lessons in staff motivation and turning situations round. It’s a terrible offer, but I really would appreciate you giving it a little thought.’

  ‘I don’t need to.’ She swallowed hard, not sure if she was going to regret these words for the rest of her life. ‘I don’t need to give it thought.’

  Timothy Parry sat more upright, and straightened his bow tie. ‘Not even the rest of today?’ For the first time there was a note of defeat in his voice.

  ‘I’ll stay.’ He frowned. ‘I want to accept your job offer. Thank you.’

  ‘Really?’ The frown turned to a beam, lifting his features. A big smile that lit up his whole face, and seemed to lighten the invisible weight on his shoulders. ‘Goodness gracious me.’ Then he held out a hand. ‘Welcome to the team Lucy. I can’t say you won’t regret it, but…’

  ‘I won’t regret it.’ She took the large, warm hand in hers. Whatever happened she wouldn’t, couldn’t, regret helping Timothy Parry and his school out. ‘If I can help save the school then I want to. We’re not going to fail, Timothy.’ And it wasn’t just Timothy she was doing it for. She was doing it to save village life as they knew it, for everybody who lived in Langtry Meadows, life would alter for ever if the school closed.