AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So you only moved there recently?”
“During the summer, yeah. Granny died last year. It took a long time for all the legal stuff to get settled before I could actually move in.”
“And you were walking down Burner Hill in the middle of the night… why?”
“Because,” Joel said, with a heavy sigh. “The taxi wouldn’t drive down. Said it was too dangerous, with the ice on the roads, and to loop around to get into the village from the other side would be another twenty minutes, at least. So I decided to jump out and just walk.”
“In the dark. And the snow. With dress shoes on.”
“I was very drunk,” Joel said. He sipped his tea again. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“I’m glad I was still awake,” Nicholas murmured.
“I’m glad you were, too.”
“You can stay for the night. If you want to.”
“Oh, I can’t do that.”
“Well, you can’t walk down the hill in this storm either, so unless you’ve got a tent in your pocket to camp in….”
Nick realised the hidden meaning in his words a moment too late, just as a flush was starting to rise on Joel’s cheeks.
“I don’t,” he croaked.
“I’ll grab you a blanket. It should be warm enough for you to sleep in here.”
“Thank you.”
Nick found the spare blanket and put a fresh pillowcase on one of his own pillows before taking them down to Joel, who had taken off his shoes and left them by the front door.
“Here,” Nick said.
“Are you sure about this?” Joel asked. “I really don’t mind walking home.”
Nick glanced out of the window, where the snow was falling thick and fast. “It would be irresponsible of me to let you go back out in this. Plus, I know who you are and where you live. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to rob me.”
Joel gave him a weak smile. “Okay. Well, thanks.”
Nick nodded and snapped his fingers for the cat, who ignored him. Oh, well. She’d come and find him in the night if she wanted to. He went upstairs without her and brushed his teeth, washed his face, and ran his fingers through his hair a few times. He’d left the bathroom window open that morning to let the steam from his shower escape, and it was freezing in here now. He pulled the window closed with a click and shut the bathroom door on the way to his bedroom.
Settling into bed with one less pillow than normal was more unsettling than he liked and he tossed and turned for long minutes, willing his body to fall asleep. It was weird, knowing there was another person downstairs. He didn’t like to think much about how many years it had been since he’d shared his living space with someone other than the cat. Nick liked this cottage very much—it had felt like home the moment he’d moved in, and if he was still happy here after a year, he’d made a promise to himself that he’d approach the landlord about buying it.
Being back in Edinburgh, or her suburbs, anyway, was a good feeling too. He liked the people here, their accents and the way of life. Everyone he’d met from the village had been very welcoming. Joel included.
He fell asleep desperately trying to get the persistentJingle Bellsearworm out of his head.
The next morning when Nick went downstairs, his blanket and pillow were neatly folded on the sofa with Bastet sleeping on top of both. Joel, and his silly dress shoes, had gone.
That was fine.
Nick hadn’t expected him to hang around for breakfast or anything. It wasn’t like they werefriends.
He made his usual bowl of porridge and ate it at the kitchen table while watching Bastet attack her bowl of turkey and duck meaty chunks. He spoiled her, he knew it, and he didn’t care. When they were both done, he transferred his coffee to a travel mug so he could take it with him on his morning rounds and layered up. The snow had stopped, thankfully, but heavy clouds hung ominously in the sky, threatening more snow later.
He decided to get a move on.
In the few weeks since he’d established his practice, Nick had been working hard to build relationships with the community around Dunmuir. Most of the pet owners around here were used to taking their animals into the bigger veterinary practice in the city, and the farmers had been forced to call a conglomerate who would send a locum vet if one was needed. That meant there wasn’t any continuity of care, and just as soon as he’d proved himself reliable, he was sure his services would be appreciated. Having a local vet would work out cheaper for the farmers in the long run.
