‘Your uncle is very kind.’
Lettie smiled affectionately at her uncle. ‘Uncle Leonard is also honest and wouldn’t say anything he didn’t mean.’
‘That’s good to know.’ Brodie looked at Leonard. ‘I’ll leave thetwo of you. My secretary will get an invoice to you, and I’ll come back in a few days to check on the cow. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call the practice if you have any concerns at all.’
‘I won’t. Thanks again for coming.’
‘Bye, Lettie. Good to see you again.’ Brodie wasn’t sure if her cheeks had reddened slightly or if they were pink from the exertion of her cycle ride.
‘Thanks, likewise.’
Not wishing to outstay his welcome, Brodie left them to their discussion. As he drove, he wondered if Lettie knew what she was letting herself in for by taking over her parents’ farm. He had never worked on one himself, but he had visited enough and knew for certain that farmers worked extremely long and tiring hours. He hoped she wasn’t acting on impulse. He would hate for someone as lovely as Lettie to regret giving up her life in London and not being able to return to it if her plans for the farm didn’t work out. Then again, he mused, if they did work out it meant she would be staying on the island. That idea he loved.
He arrived back at the practice hoping to have a couple of hours to start unpacking the tiny cottage that came with the business. He thought it characterful and pretty when he had first seen it, and it was, from the outside. Inside though it was desperately needing an update. After manoeuvring past his bright blue surfboard propped up against the narrow hall wall, he reached the kitchen. It was an ugly space with little to endear it to anyone, Brodie had often thought, amused. It had two lower cupboards with open shelves above and a porcelain sink with a crack along the bottom that so far hadn’t leaked. The fridge barely worked and the lino was worn and a trip hazard. The small living room wasn’t much better, or much bigger, but the two-seater sofa and one armchair that just about fitted in there were fine for him. At least the fireplace worked wellenough. There was one bedroom upstairs and a bathroom tagged on at the back of the kitchen.
‘Nothing a lick of paint can’t brighten up,’ he had said, unsure whether it would be enough. It would have to do for now though. Brodie knew he was luckier than most to have been given a loan from his grandfather to use as a deposit, which enabled him to take on a large bank loan for his business. It was going to take him years before he managed to break even, let alone be able to treat himself to anything, but he didn’t care. This was what he had always dreamed of doing. Maybe not coming back to Jersey, but when he hadn’t found a practice near his adopted home in Devon, and a friend had pointed out the advert for this place, everything had somehow fallen into place.
It was meant to be. At least that’s what he told himself. Brodie went upstairs to unpack another box of books. It would have been nicer to know more people on the island, but a lot of his friends from school had moved away or were now settled down, or travelling. Having his own group of friends like he had built up while living in Devon, or back when he was at university was what he missed now. Someone to meet up with at the pub at the end of a long day. He thought of his surfboard, taking up too much space in the narrow hallway, and thought how good it would be to meet other surfers. That’s what he would do the next free evening when the tide was right. He would take his board down to the beach at St Ouen’s and spend a few happy hours ridding himself of all his worries and stresses in the surf.
He hadn’t surfed since his arrival. There hadn’t been time. But he would have to make time going forward. Anyway, Brodie decided, it would be good to meet other like-minded people. And there were several places along the five-mile stretch of bay where he could treat himself to a meal afterwards. He had driven that way a few times on his way to or from visiting clients and often saw thecar parks at least half filled with cars. He needed to settle in as soon as possible. He thought of Zac and Lettie and wondered if maybe meeting them earlier had reminded him how much he missed having familiar faces around him.
‘Brodie! Are you there?’
Bethan called to him from the front door.
‘Yes,’ he said leaving his room and going to the top of the stairs to see what was wrong. ‘Do you need me for something?’ It was a stupid question. Why else would she come to the cottage and call for him?
She stared at him without speaking for a moment. ‘Oh yes, sorry. There’s a lady on the phone with a dog she thinks might be in labour. She’s in a bit of a panic and asked that you go to her house immediately and check that everything is all right.’
Happy to have something to keep him busy, Brodie nodded. ‘Tell her I’ll be there in…’ He realised he didn’t know where he was going or how long it would take. ‘Where does she live?’
‘Not far,’ Bethan said waiting for him to join her. ‘Her place is only about ten minutes from here. I’ll give you the instructions before you go.’
9
BRODIE
May
It had been almost a month since Lettie’s departure and Brodie wondered how soon she would return. He had tried and failed to stop thinking about her, but for some reason she kept popping into his mind. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was beautiful, clever and good company, or simply that he was impressed by her determination to completely change her life to save her family farm. He admired her. Maybe that was it?
He reminded himself about his vow not to become involved with a client, which had been cemented more firmly in his mind after his vile break-up from his toxic ex. And anyway, Lettie was soon to be a client of his and he had no intention of mixing business with pleasure. As the farm’s vet, he would need to keep any contact between them as professional as possible. The thought lowered his mood until he reminded himself he had far too much going on to even consider hooking up with anyone and needed all his energy for building the practice and gaining his clients’ trustafter the decades most of them had spent dealing with his predecessor.
Hearing a commotion outside in the reception area, Brodie hurried to the door to see what was going on. ‘What’s happened?’ he asked, finding Bethan comforting a small child of about seven or eight clutching a plastic animal carrier to her chest as an anxious-looking elderly lady stood next to her looking as if she was trying not to cry.
‘It’s my rabbit. Granny rolled over his foot with her trolley.’ She looked up at her grandmother. ‘It wasn’t on purpose.’
‘No, it wasn’t,’ her grandmother said taking a tissue from her handbag and blowing her nose.
Hating to see the two people in obvious distress, Brodie bent slightly to address the child. ‘Do you mind if I take a look at him?’
‘Her,’ the little girl said lifting the carrier holding her rabbit with a little difficulty. ‘She’s called Daphne.’
Daphne the rabbit. He smiled. ‘That’s a beautiful name for a pretty bunny,’ he said taking the carrier from the child’s arms. ‘If you both follow me, we can go and have a proper look at her foot.’
‘Thank you.’ He noticed the little girl take her grandmother’s hand, clearly trying to comfort her. It reminded him of his close relationship with his own much missed late grandmother, who had looked after him from when he was a few weeks old until he started school, when his parents had been at work and couldn’t do so themselves. They had formed a very close bond and he had many happy memories of his first time riding upstairs on a double-decker bus when she took him to town, their many visits to the local park near her bungalow, and her teaching him to cook scrambled eggs before the two of them enjoyed a plateful each in front of the television watching one of his favourite programmes. Having her in his life had made his childhood all the more special, and he could seethat it was a similar relationship to the one the two people who had brought Daphne into the surgery also enjoyed.
He closed the door behind them and placed the carrier onto the table. Then after opening the mesh door he carefully lifted the rabbit out, cuddling her for a few minutes to calm her racing heart. He saw instantly that her foot had been cut slightly but although the small animal was trembling badly, she seemed to be reasonably all right.
