Brodie had come across the cat a couple of times before and gave a resigned sigh. ‘Give me a couple of minutes to finish writing up these notes then send them through please.’
‘Will do.’ She left the room humming something to herself and Brodie immediately realised he should have put a stop to it, or at least let Bethan know that he saw her as a friend, rather than in a romantic way. He regretted agreeing to go out with her. Surely the only thing worse than becoming involved with a client was to do so with your most vital member of staff. Damn.
Later as his door closed behind another patient, Brodie’s thoughts turned to Lettie. He was looking forward to walking their dogs together the following evening just like friends would do, he decided. He hoped the weather forecast that had shown squally showers would be passing the Channel Islands was wrong and wouldn’t be bad enough to cancel their walk. Although, he doubted Lettie would be fazed by a bit of wind and rain – with her being a farmer’s daughter.
His phone pinged and picking it up from his desk he turned it round to look at the screen. ‘Maddie.’ He read her message saying to let her know when he was free, about redecorating the cottage. Brodie decided he would do so as soon as he was finished for the day. He was amused to think of her reaction when she heard that he did want her help after all. Knowing his sister, she would be bracing herself for a row with him having come up with a list of reasons why it would be a sensible idea for him to let her get on with bringing the cottage up to date. He looked forward to seeing the surprise on her face when he spoke to her.
He replied with a message asking Maddie to call in at the cottage any time between five thirty and seven thirty that evening. It would give him time to see his sister, then go and meet Bethan. He went out to the reception to check on Thistle and picked up one of his toys that was somehow wedged behind the filing cabinet. His life was so different now after those dark months when everything had seemed so miserable after he and Tiffany split up.
Apart from a scrap between two dogs, the rest of the day passed with little incident. Even so, Brodie was happy to be back at the cottage and changed into his oldest jogging bottoms and T-shirt. He decided he had better tidy the place up and make sure the few dishes he had washed that morning were put neatly away in the cupboards. He fed Thistle who had just settled down in front of the fire when there was a loud knock on the door, causing the dog to leap to his feet and bark noisily.
‘It’s only my nosy sister,’ Brodie soothed, stroking the dog’s head and settling him back down. ‘No need to worry.’
He went to the door and opened it. ‘Tina?’
He stepped back, shocked to see her there and waved her inside. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘That depends,’ she said carrying Noah through to the livingroom when he waved for her to go inside. She bent to stroke Thistle’s head.
A sense of foreboding flooded through him. ‘You’ve heard from his owners, haven’t you?’
‘I’m afraid I have.’
The thought of returning Thistle to his home upset him. ‘Tell me everything,’ he said, then remembered his date with Bethan. ‘Sorry, I’ve just got to send a brief message to someone.’ He tapped out an apologetic text telling her that Thistle’s owners had been found and that they would need to reschedule their drink. Pressing send, he decided that when they discussed the matter he would have to let Bethan know that although he was happy to go for a drink as colleagues, he valued her too much as his practice nurse to want their professional and friendly relationship to change in any way.
30
LETTIE
Hearing her mobile ringing, Lettie opened her eyes realising as she raised her head from her arms that she must have fallen asleep at the kitchen table. She struggled to remember where she had left her phone. She yawned and reached out to grab her phone from the sideboard behind her just in time for the call to end.
Remembering that she had a date with Joe, Lettie was surprised to see the missed call had been from Brodie. ‘Bugger.’ She looked at the screen her heart racing slightly. What could he want? Not wishing to miss him completely, she quickly returned the call and hoped he was still available to chat to her.
‘Hi, Lettie. Thanks for calling me back so quickly.’
Hearing the flat tone of his usually chirpy voice, Lettie sensed something had upset him. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Tina popped round a short while ago to let me know that Thistle’s owners have been located. I’ve called the woman, a Mrs Broadbent, and said I’ll take him over to her now.’
There was something left unsaid and for a moment she wasn’t sure what it was he wanted to ask her. ‘Would you like me to comewith you?’ she asked before the thought had properly filtered through her brain.
He sighed, obviously relieved. ‘Would you mind? I know it’s getting late, but for some reason I was dreading going by myself. I know it’s ridiculous.’
‘No it isn’t,’ she argued. ‘It’s fine. I understand completely and can be at your place in ten minutes.’
‘Why don’t I come to you?’ he suggested. ‘Save you walking here and it’ll give you a couple of minutes to sort out Spud and lock up.’
‘Perfect. See you soon.’
She ended the call and remembering she was wearing her tattiest, holiest shorts and fleecy hood with a Jersey cow emblazoned across the front, ran upstairs to change into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
‘That’s better,’ she said giving Spud a cuddle. He sensed she was going out and was lying in his bed near to the Aga, staring up at her with an accusatory look. ‘I’m sorry. I promise I won’t be long and then we can watch more telly from the sofa again.’ She ruffled his fluffy head. ‘How about a treat?’
His ears perked up at the suggestion.
She heard Brodie’s vehicle arriving outside, and having given Spud his treat, left the house and locked the door behind her.
She hadn’t had enough time to think about what this all must mean to Brodie but aware that he was finding parting with Thistle far more difficult than he had imagined, she got into the passenger seat and reached back to stroke the sweet dog’s head. ‘Hello, boy.’
