As a child she’d always been a little devil-may-care but being her mum’s carer and then having her heart stamped on had curbed that a little. And now she was a very responsible professional, who could hear canine yelping and human huffing.
She sighed, because sometimes she was her own worst enemy, but she couldn’t let another animal suffer if she didn’t have to. She just hoped it wasn’t another serious emergency. ‘Okay. Give me a minute.’
Focusing back on the situation in hand, she double-checked Meg was stable then walked Dennis to the door. ‘I’ll call you if things change.’
‘Good lass. I just hope I got to her in time.’
‘Fingers crossed.’ But she had a sinking feeling that it was going to need a lot more than luck to get Meg well again. She unlocked the door and opened it to let Dennis out.
‘Hey, Dennis. How are you?’ A very familiar voice had her heart jumping. And not in a good way.
Alex Norton. Great. She breathed out slowly, trying not to let her body overreact, or her brain for that matter. She had more important things to concentrate on than Alex Norton.
Dennis sighed long and deep and shook his head. His movements were slow and infused with grief. ‘Not good, Dr Alex. Not good at all.’
‘Oh? Anything I can help you with?’ Alex smiled. There he was with the smooth, kind and concerned doctor tone. If only they knew.
He was holding a puppy, which was licking his neck. And he was smiling.
Alex Norton and a puppy and a smile. How could the universe be so cruel?
‘I doubt you can help this time, Doc. Not unless you know about four-legged patients.’ There was a crack in the old man’s voice. ‘Meg’s taken a turn. She’s not doing well. But Beth here’s a good ’un. If anyone can make her well again, she can.’
‘Yes, I’m sure Beth will do her best. I’m hoping she can help me out too.’
No. Please, no. The last thing she needed right now was a conversation with the man who’d stomped on her heart all those years ago and—unfortunately, for Beth—the only man to date who could affect her with a simple look.
Not that she didn’t want to see him per se; in fact, he was lovely to look at. From being a good-looking adolescent he’d grown into a damned fine-looking man in his expensive wool coat and jeans. His dark hair was shorter than he’d used to like it and the odd grey strand was creeping in. His blue eyes were darker than she remembered and had developed one or two lines around them. He was broader too, his shoulders more powerful-looking and he was, possibly, taller than back then. But with him being six feet two his mouth had always been a tiptoe to reach.
She was not going to think about his mouth. Or his kisses. Or him.
So, while she didn’t mind looking at the gorgeousness that was Alex Norton she just didn’t want to lay her eyes on him. Because whenever she did she was filled with such a heady mix of emotions she couldn’t sort through them. Although she knew sadness and anger were definitely the dominant ones.
‘Hey, Beth.’ His smile was still there...and something else. He wanted something and, because she knew him so well, she knew that whatever he wanted was going to cost her.
‘Alex.’ She aimed for the same amount of ice that coated the path outside the vet surgery.
He didn’t seem to notice. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I thought you might be going to the carol concert or Friday band night at The Queen’s Arms.’
‘Interesting. You thought I wouldn’t be here? Or hoped?’ He’d actually thought about where she might be? That was unusual; thinking of someone other than himself. Despite her better judgment she let him in but only because he was holding a pet, and pets were her business, not his.
But she didn’t have the time to play nicey-nicey with him, even if just looking at him sent her heart into apoplexy. Stupid heart to keep hammering a tattoo for someone who dumped her and disappeared into the ether with not a single look back.
‘I did wonder whether you might be here.’ He lugged the puppy up under his arm. ‘Or whether you’d even be open this late.’
‘We are officially closed. And I did promise to take Mum to the concert, but I can’t leave Meg now—she’s really not well.’ Beth hurried back through to the hospital area so she could keep an eye on the old dog. The poor thing lay with her head on her paws, breathing steady. No more vomiting, so that was something. But she didn’t look right. ‘I need to run some tests. Like...now.’ She hoped he’d take the hint.
‘Would you like me to arrange for someone to take your mum to the concert? Joe’s going. I’m sure he’ll be able to take her down.’
Not good at hint-taking, then. For a second she thought about saying no to him just because that was how she was feeling. But saying no to her mum having a nice night out when she rarely left the house was plain mean-spirited. So, it looked as if she was going to be beholden to Alex Norton tonight. The first and last time.
She managed a brief smile. ‘Okay, yes, if you could give Joe a call that would be lovely.’
As he called his business partner she took the chance to check on Meg again. She was holding on, but very weak as Beth did her vital signs. She didn’t move an inch when she was put in the X-ray sling. Didn’t so much as whine as Beth drew more blood.
Alex came back as Beth was finishing up another round of observations. ‘Okay, done. Joe will take her to the concert and drive her home afterwards. He was more than happy to do it. He said he’d make sure she got back into the house safely.’
‘Thank you.’ That was something to feel less guilty about, at least. One good thing about being in Oakdale was that everyone looked out for each other, even though it could feel claustrophobic at times. Like, when everyone knew when you’d been dumped at Christmas and you had to endure those pitiful stares and sad smiles and you couldn’t wait to get the hell out and never come back. Except, of course, when your mum needed you. ‘I’ll give her a call and explain why I’m still here.’
‘I’ll wait. Er...we’ll wait.’ Alex cradled the puppy against his chest and stroked its back until it fell asleep. Beth refused to let the sight of gorgeous man and dog do anything at all to her emotions.
When she’d finished calling her mum he asked, ‘Was she okay about it?’
‘Not really. We were both looking forward to going together like we used to do years ago, but she knows my work here is demanding and that I often have to stay late, or even overnight. She’s used to me making promises I can’t keep. But then...we all know how that goes, right?’ Ouch. That was probably unnecessarily harsh. But when you broke off a relationship—an engagement—by phone call with no explanation, you had to expect the odd barb, right?
Geez. Beth closed her eyes for a second as she found some calm. It had been eight years. Eight damned years. She needed to let it go. In fact, she’d thought she had, until she’d come back to Oakdale to help her mum and found herself bumping into Alex at every turn. Ironic really, given that eight years ago, when she’d so desperately wanted to talk to him, she hadn’t been able to find him, and now she didn’t want to see him he was front and centre of Oakdale life. The sooner she went back to Glasgow, the better.
When she was able to breathe slowly again she turned to him. ‘So, Alex, why are you here, exactly?’
His jaw clenched and she wasn’t sure whether it was a reaction to her short manner or whether it was something else. ‘I seem to have a new friend.’
And why do I care? Oh. Why did she care? Because she knew deep down she still did. Cared enough about him that he made her heart hurt. Just a few more weeks and then she’d be gone and Alex wouldn’t be part of her life again.
Then she realised he meant the adorable puppy in his