Page 24 of Never Too Late to Date

‘On humans, yes.’

‘It’s the same principle. Here, try. It’ll be too late if I take on both.’

Alex handed her the larger, grey kitten, while he rubbed the chest of the tiniest one, giving it the gentlest of jabs to the heart.

The sight of the lifeless kitten in her hands made Vicky freeze for a moment. Surely her big fingers pressing down would be too much for a cat this size to cope with.

‘Just take it slowly. Pulse the chest with a regular beat.’

His voice was the softest she’d ever heard it.

She pressed down where she thought the cat’s heart was, keeping her movements at regular intervals.

‘Come on, little one, you can do it. Just for me, please. Keep going. Hang on in there.’

It was the voice she used on human patients. It helped her focus, and it didn’t matter if he thought she was mad.

After what seemed ages, but was probably only a few seconds, the kitten she was holding suddenly drew breath.

‘It’s alive!’

Alex glanced over and raised his little finger while still working on the tiniest kitten. Vicky didn’t need to be told to feed the grey kitten first, although they were all starving. Wrapped in its silver blanket, the cat sucked on the tiny teat for all it was worth.

A brief look at Alex told her he was struggling. The seconds ticked by as the life of the tiniest kitten ebbed away. The man looked like he was in pain too.

Alex redoubled his efforts and pushed down over and over again. It was patently now or never. The feeble cry that rose into the air made them both cheer. His smile was like the sun coming out. She’d not witnessed it before, but it definitely existed.

She passed him a prepared bottle, and the kitten in his hands latched onto the teat. There was still plenty of work ahead. They couldn’t relax just yet.

Vicky placed the grey kitten she’d fed, in its blanket, in the box and picked up the white and grey cat, which was still howling away. She left the biggest, the black sibling, for Alex to feed once he was satisfied its tiny brother or sister had drunk enough to survive.

They worked side by side, without having to discuss what to do next. Once all four had been fed and were patently still breathing. Alex looked up at last.

‘That was a close call. Well done.’

The phone rang in his pocket before she could say anything.

Alex said nai, the Greek for yes, several times before he ended the call.

‘OK, good news. Maeve’s located a friendly farmer with a quad bike who can take me back to the sanctuary with the box. These kittens need some intensive care. I’ll take them to my practice overnight to give them the best chance of survival.’

Vicky nodded and crossed her fingers on both hands. Her voice seemed to have deserted her.

‘The bad news is, there’s only room for one on the bike, plus my bag, and the kittens. Are you OK with taking the rucksack back on your own?’

At least he’d asked. Obviously, she didn’t have any option. It had been seriously impressive the way he’d saved those kittens. She was hardly going to complain.

The noise of an engine in the distance told her the farmer was almost with them. She’d be sad to see the kittens go, minutes after they’d helped to breathe life into their little bodies, but they needed veterinary care.

A sweating Alex stood up with the box of kittens in his arms, looking for a moment like the dream poster for an animal rescue organisation. The megawatt smile had vanished, but he was looking at her in a way that could only be described as friendly.

‘Tell you what, if you can do it before this guy gets here, you can name them. But you’d better be quick.’

She wasn’t going to turn that offer down.

‘OK, the big black one’s Barney McGrew, the white and grey one’s Cuthbert, the pure grey is Dibble and the little black one Grub.’

The look had changed again, from friendly to completely baffled.