you for organising it.’ Beth mentally kicked herself—she sounded too prim and too polite, as if she’d never known him or loved him. But she couldn’t help it; keeping her distance from him emotionally as well as physically was pure self-preservation.
He shrugged. ‘Don’t thank me, thank Joe. He did the chauffeuring. I hope she wasn’t too upset about you missing it.’
‘She knows my work commitments sometimes mean I don’t get to keep family commitments.’
‘So, is this job here permanent?’
Weird question. Although, maybe he was just passing the time of day. She didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary talking to Alex, and definitely not about her personal life, but one conversation with anyone in the village would give him answers, so she decided she might as well tell him. ‘I’m helping Mum sell the house. She’s moving into Bay View rest home in a couple of weeks. The whole process has taken longer than we initially thought and I had to extend my stay here, which is fine by me, but I have to keep paying my mortgage somehow.’
‘You’ve bought a place? Here?’ Was she mistaken or was that a flare of interest in his eyes?
And by way of a very misguided reaction her skin heated in response. No. She was angry with him. He’d already dumped her once. She wasn’t going there again. Pets were definitely preferable to men who broke hearts, a zillion times over. ‘Not in Oakdale, no. I have a house in Glasgow and I’m heading back there on Christmas Day after I’ve spent the morning with Mum. She should be well settled by then and I’m keen to restart my life. Besides, my old boss is heading off to Australia for a sabbatical and he needs me to take charge. I had to let my job there go when I came to look after Mum, so I’m thrilled I can go back.’
Alex nodded. ‘So, you like Glasgow?’
‘I love it. Give me a busy city over boring old hills and The Queen’s Arms Friday band night any day.’
A little frown settled over his forehead. ‘You used to love it here.’
‘People change, right? Let’s just say I’ve grown out of Oakdale.’ She hoped that by saying these things out loud it would put a halt to any further feelings she might have for him or the place she grew up in. It would definitely give him the impression that she wasn’t interested in staying. She needed to get away, from here and from him, as soon as she could. When the front door bell jingled relief skittered through her. ‘Ah, here’s Dennis. Let’s have that joint chat. I’ll pop Button in the little pen over there so he can’t get into any mischief. Molly’s due in any second. She can keep an eye on him while we take Dennis through to see Meg.’
Dennis looked as if he’d aged ten years overnight; he’d clearly had as little sleep as she and Alex had had. ‘How’s my girl?’
‘About the same as when we spoke earlier. She’s not out of the woods yet, not by a long way. The poor love is old and tired and she needs all her energy to fight.’ Beth’s heart squeezed at the love Dennis had for his dog and she glanced quickly over to Alex. She didn’t know why she did it, maybe she just wanted...what? Camaraderie, a sense of something shared. He held her gaze for a little longer than she’d expected and she saw something flit across his eyes. A softening, for sure. Sadness perhaps? And she knew—she just knew by the way he was looking at her—it wasn’t all because of Dennis.
But then what? So Alex had feelings? She’d never doubted that. He’d just somehow cut them off for her and given her no explanation whatsoever.
She opened the cage and watched as Meg lifted her head slightly and sniffed Dennis’s hand, then she rested her muzzle in the old man’s palm and the two of them just looked at each other. There was an understanding between them, man and dog, that she’d witnessed often between pets and their people. She believed that dogs sensed emotion and they were hard-wired to try to ease the burden, by their nestling, nuzzling, or just by sitting stoically at your side through whatever life threw at you.
Meg and Dennis definitely had that connection and it broke her heart to think it could end sooner than any of them had expected. Her throat seemed to close over but she managed to squeeze her words out. ‘She missed you. Look how she’s perked up now you’re here.’
‘Come on, old lass, get better quick. I need you home.’ The old man’s voice sounded as rough as Beth’s. ‘Did you get to the bottom of what’s wrong with her?’
‘I’m fairly sure she was poisoned.’
The old man stroked the dog’s ears, but his shoulders tensed. He said nothing but gave the slightest nod.
Beth carried on explaining in case he was just waiting for more details. ‘Ibuprofen. It’s a painkiller. I can’t be one hundred per cent sure, but I think she ingested ibuprofen somehow.’
Dennis went very still. Poor guy, it was a lot to take in.
‘I-bu-pro-fen,’ Alex repeated the name slowly as he spoke to Dennis’s hunched back. ‘It’s a very common medication that humans take, but can be toxic, even fatal, to dogs.’
Dennis still didn’t reply.
Beth tried. ‘Do you know if you have any of it at home, Dennis? Anything that Meg could get hold of?’
He rubbed his palm across Meg’s back and made little grunts to her. But then he replied gruffly, ‘Don’t know.’
Alex frowned. ‘I checked the surgery records and Nancy had some prescribed for her when she was sick.’
Dennis shook his head again. ‘I don’t know.’
‘I imagine you threw out all her old meds?’ Beth tried, gently. ‘Or did the community pharmacist collect them? Sometimes they do that.’
Dennis shrugged and kept his eyes on the dog. The poor man was grief-stricken.
She caught Alex’s eye and shook her head, trying telepathically to tell him to leave it. They weren’t achieving anything here. She tried to infuse her voice with positivity. ‘It’s a good job you brought her in when you did. Any longer and she might not have made it. I reckon your quick action gave her a good chance of recovery.’
‘Did it?’ For the first time since Dennis had rushed in with Meg his eyes brightened, but not before a tear ran down his ruddy cheek. ‘Did I save her life?’
‘Well, she’s not out of the woods yet, but you certainly gave her the best chance.’ She put a hand to his shoulder and gently coaxed him away from Meg. ‘I think we need to let her rest now. I have to do some more checks on her, so why don’t you go home? I know you were up in the night, so you’re probably shattered.’
‘I’d like to stay if I can.’ He looked so stricken she almost relaxed the rules about visiting.
Almost. ‘I have a few things I need to do for her and the clinic’s about to start so we’re going to get busy in here. How about you pop back at lunch time?’
‘Aye, I suppose. A farm doesn’t run without a farmer. Although sheep don’t move so well without a sheepdog.’ His gaze lingered over his old friend.
Beth sighed. Living miles away from her home town, she knew how hard it was to be on your own, but she did have a large circle of friends she knew she could call on, any time. ‘You have no one to help you with the farm? Family?’
‘No. No one.’
So, he had no one to share this worrying time with either. ‘Very well. You do what you need to do and I’ll call with an update in an hour or so.’
They watched him go and Beth closed her eyes. ‘Sometimes this job is so damned hard.’
‘He certainly loves that dog.’ She was aware of a change in the air and then sensed Alex getting closer. In times gone by she would have reached for him and had a hug but now she just clenched her fists and tried to put that single tear out of her head.
She opened her eyes