Healing the Vet's Heart
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Annie Claydon
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CHAPTER ONE
DREW TREVELYAN EASED himself out of his car, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath of sea air. He’d always loved the clarity of early mornings here, the way the sea seemed to stretch out beyond the sheltered curve of the bay in an endless swell of ever-changing colours. When the construction of the new buildings of the Dolphin Cove Veterinary Clinic had been underway, he’d often come here just to sit for half an hour before going on to work in the cramped quarters of the veterinary practice he shared with Ellie Stone...
Drew smiled. A lot had changed in the last few weeks. He’d returned home to Dolphin Cove, after months in hospital and then rehab, to find that his stand-in at the clinic had left. His old friend and Ellie’s estranged partner, Lucas Williams, had been Ellie’s only option as a replacement and all Drew could do was look on helplessly at the time at the resulting turmoil. Now, another far more joyful turn of events meant that Drew had to remember to refer to Ellie as Ellie Stone-Williams, not Ellie Stone.
The clinic hadn’t changed though, and the early mornings here were still as peaceful as they’d been when he and Ellie had first moved in, two years ago. The buildings were starting the long process of becoming one with their surroundings, and moss was beginning to grow on the stone-built technology centre and operating suite on the other side of the ten-acre plot. Here, the wooden frame of the general practice building had begun to mellow, taking on the early autumn colours of the woodlands that lay beyond the drive. The low sun glinted on the high sheets of glass, making them sparkle like the sea.
He was back. Not officially—this visit was a matter of reacquainting himself with a place that he loved, and his diary was as blank as it had been for the last four months. But coming here was one more step that carried him away from the past.
Drew turned, catching up his walking stick and leaning on it heavily as he made his way around to the back of the car, clipping Phoenix’s lead onto her collar and lifting the ten-week-old chocolate Labrador down to the ground. She sniffed the air, and then started to tug on the lead, seeming to know that she’d come home too.
Phoenix had been Ellie’s idea. A puppy to love and care for, when everyone else around him seemed to think that he should stay down and accept their care. Drew appreciated their concern, but he longed to have a conversation that didn’t, at some point, include a solicitous enquiry about his physical and emotional health.
People were kind, there was no doubt about that. They’d been kind when his fiancée had been killed in a diving accident in Puerto Rico two years ago. And when fate had decided that it wasn’t done with him yet and the brakes on his car had failed, the village had rallied round again, writing notes and cards and visiting him in hospital. His smashed leg had taken a long time to fully heal, and even now his exercise regime was challenging. But being here gave him a sense of how far he’d come.
‘You know where you are, Phoenix?’ As he unlocked the main doors to the reception area of the clinic, the puppy started to yelp excitedly, pawing at the glass. ‘Not too loud, eh, girl? Ellie and Lucas will hear us.’
There wasn’t much chance of Phoenix’s barking travelling to the apartment that Ellie and Lucas shared upstairs at the other end of the building. But Drew wanted to be alone here for a moment. He walked into the reception area, past the oak tree that stood in a large tub at its centre. Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed to have grown a few inches. Nothing else seemed to have changed all that much.
‘Everything’s fine, Drew. We’re managing without you, all you need to do is concentrate on being well again...’
He’d known that was a lie, even if Ellie had told it with the best of intentions. She’d found it hard to keep the practice running without him, and the last few weeks in particular had taken their toll on her. She’d been in turns deliriously happy and deeply despondent, and it had been touch and go as to which would win out.
‘Forget it, Drew. Ellie and I will work it out. Stay down for a while...’
Lucas had taken a more direct approach, although the message had been pretty much the same. Lucas and Ellie had worked it out, and Drew had been staying down for far too long now. He was more than ready to get back up again.
The deserted reception area smelled of wax polish and hope. The consulting rooms were still the same, one of them filled with a mass of photographs of Ellie’s canine patients, and another with a more restrained set of framed photographs that belonged to Lucas. Drew’s was...empty. Neat and tidy, without a speck of dust. Drew smiled. It was ready and waiting for him.
‘Drew! What the blazes are you doing here?’
Ellie’s tone generally became firmer, in proportion to the size and momentum of the animal she was dealing with. This must be the one she reserved for charging rhinos.
Drew did the only thing possible and let go of Phoenix’s lead. When he turned, he saw the puppy barrelling along the corridor, the lead trailing behind her, and Ellie fell to her knees, scooping Phoenix up into her arms. Worked every time.
Or... Every time apart from this one.
‘Come on. What are you doing here?’ Ellie stood to face him, trying not to smile as the puppy licked her neck.
‘I could ask you the same question. Shouldn’t you and Lucas be staring into each other’s eyes over your cornflakes? You are technically still on your honeymoon, even if you are at work.’
Ellie flushed slightly, presumably at the mention of Lucas’s eyes. ‘You do know what you’re doing, don’t you? Deflecting one question with another. It so happens that I didn’t have cornflakes for breakfast, and Lucas isn’t here. He’s doing the school run this morning.’
‘So you’re letting him in gently to the joys of parenthood.’ Drew grinned. He imagined that the other parents at the school gate were more of a challenge to Lucas than the whole six years he’d spent as TV’s favourite vet.
‘He said that yesterday was a bit like running a gauntlet of meerkats.’ Ellie shrugged. ‘He doesn’t mind, really.’
‘He loves it. You know that.’
Ellie nodded, smiling. She’d been in love with Lucas ever since the three of them had studied together at veterinary school. Lucas had left to become a celebrity vet, and Ellie had returned to Cornwall, where she and Drew had set up in practice together in Dolphin Cove. When Ellie and Lucas’s son, Mav, had been born, he had been so like his father, and a constant reminder that something was missing in all their lives.
But now Lucas was back. Ellie had never loved anyone else, and Drew was happy for them both.
‘You still haven’t answered my question.’
He hadn’t counted on springing this on Ellie today, but since she’d asked, he may as well grasp the nettle. ‘Why don’t we go and sit down in my office.’
‘I’m really getting worried now. You’re trying to butter me up by sitting down, aren’t you?’
Drew chuckled. ‘Yep. And I don’t want Phoenix running around here until she’s had her second set of vaccinations.’
He let Ellie tuck his hand into the crook of her elbow, but Drew was careful not to lean on her as they walked. He’d leaned on Ellie far too much already and he appreciated her support, but it had to stop. Leaning on the people around him was beginning to weaken him.
Ellie plumped herself down into a chair, keeping Phoenix on her lap for more cuddles, and Lucas lowered himself into the seat behind his desk. The surface looked as if it had been polished every day while he’d been away.
‘I’m coming back to work, Ellie.’
Ellie’s eyebrows shot up, but she took a moment to moderate her reaction. ‘We weren’t expecting you till the end of the month. Are you sure you’re well enough? What does your physiotherapist say?’
‘She says that if I think I can manage it I should give it a try, just for a couple of days a week for starters. She told me to take things slowly and stop if anything gets too much.’
Relief showed in Ellie’s eyes. ‘That...doesn’t sound so bad.’
‘You know I’ve been going crazy at home, Ells. I really need this and I’m going to need your support. I know you and Lucas can do with a helping hand here.’
‘Yes, we could.’ Ellie’s gaze softened suddenly. ‘Lucas isn’t replacing you, Drew. You know that’s never going to happen.’
It might. The complex animal surgery Drew excelled at took stamina and strength, and no amount of concentrating on the positive could tell him for sure that he’d ever be able to do that again. But he still had a lot to give, and if anyone was going to replace him, he wanted it to be Lucas. And if anyone was going to replace cool Uncle Drew in Mav’s affections, he wanted that to be Lucas too.
But the late-night fears about being of no more use to anyone were just paranoia. They weren’t what Ellie needed to hear from him at the moment.
‘You’re not the only one who’s pleased to see Lucas back, you know. We were all friends, and I’ve missed him too.’
‘You never said...’
Drew rolled his eyes. ‘Of course I didn’t, not while you were missing him on a completely different level. And being remarkably tight-lipped about it.’
Ellie heaved a sigh. ‘Okay. You have my support, just as long as you don’t overdo things. If you do, I won’t hesitate to escort you off the premises.’
‘It’s a deal.’
‘I suppose...the accounts need signing off.’ Ellie shot him a mischievous look. No doubt it had crossed her mind that checking them through involved sitting down.
‘I can do that.’ Drew called her bluff. ‘Although I haven’t forgotten that it’s your turn this year. Or maybe we should give them to Lucas, since he’s our newest partner in the practice.’
Ellie didn’t take the bait. ‘We’ll both owe you one, then. Mrs Cartwright’s coming in this morning, with Tabatha...’
‘Okay. You take Tabatha, and I’ll take Mrs Cartwright.’ It was well known that whenever Mrs Cartwright made an appointment for someone to look at her cat, she really wanted to sit in the waiting room and chat for an hour. The vets at the Dolphin Cove Clinic always made sure that she got a cup of tea and that someone was available to listen to her.
‘You’re a darling.’ Ellie frowned. ‘I suppose you’re not allowed to drink welcome-back champagne...?’
‘At eight in the morning, and with painkillers, probably not. We’ll do that another time.’
‘Welcome-back coffee, then? Your mug’s in your top drawer...’ Ellie gave Phoenix one last hug and got to her feet.
‘You go and get on. I’ll make the coffee.’ Drew opened the drawer of his desk, finding pens and his coffee mug stacked neatly inside. He was going to have to do something about all this tidiness.
‘All right.’ Ellie planted her hands on his desk, leaning over to kiss his cheek. ‘I’m so glad you’re back, Drew.’
‘Don’t get sloppy on me Ells...’ Drew could feel a lump forming in his throat.
‘Tough guy, eh?’ Ellie shot him a speculative look.
‘Not really. I just don’t want you to get me started.’
‘That might not be such a bad idea, Drew. You’ve always been there for me, and now Lucas and I both want to be there for you.’
‘You are. And I appreciate it.’ He just didn’t want to talk about it. ‘White no sugar?’
Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘That’s right. Glad to see you haven’t forgotten.’
When Ellie left, he took a moment to soak in the feeling. He was here, sitting behind his desk, and already had a few things to do with his day. Looking at the accounts, making the coffee and chatting to Mrs Cartwright might not be quite at the cutting edge of veterinary practice, but it was a start.
Mrs Cartwright had been delighted to find that one of the vets was prepared to give her his undivided attention for a whole hour. At any moment now Ellie was going to appear and tell him he’d done enough for the day, and Drew had opened the accountant’s yearly report in front of him on his desk. If the enticement of having someone else focus their attention on the figures didn’t chase her away, then he’d use the bulky folder as a weapon to defend his position.
‘Hey. Ellie sent me...’ Lucas popped his head around the door, grinning.
‘Tell her no. I’m perfectly all right here.’
Lucas chuckled. ‘You’ll have to tell her that yourself, and she’s busy charming a snake at the moment.’
Lucas was carrying a bound booklet, which he set down on the desk. Drew peered at the cover page.
‘What’s this?’
‘Remember I told you about the dog prostheses we fitted while you were away? This is the write-up on the operation. The robotics engineer we were working with has some new ideas for an enhanced prosthetic and she’d like to work with us to develop them.’ As soon as Lucas sat down, Phoenix bounded towards him, and he bent down to scratch the puppy’s ears.
‘Thanks. I’d be interested in having a look.’ Drew was grateful for his friend’s thoughtfulness in asking for his opinion.
‘I was rather hoping you’d take charge of it all. I don’t have the time.’
‘You’re sure about this? I can take some of the weight elsewhere, you must want to see it through yourself.’ Drew’s hand moved towards the booklet and then he pulled it back. The project sounded fascinating, and he was pretty sure that Lucas wanted to steer it himself.
Lucas grinned at him. ‘I’d rather not be working during my evenings and weekends at the moment. You’d be doing me a favour.’
‘In that case...thanks. I appreciate it.’ Drew picked up the booklet and opened it. The introductory page bore the names of everyone who’d worked with Lucas in fitting the prosthetics, including one that he didn’t recognise.
‘This Caro Barnes... She’s the robotics engineer?’
Lucas nodded. ‘Yes, I consulted with her on some of my Uber-Vet projects. She’s incredibly talented, and one of the few people I wanted to keep in contact with from my time as a TV vet. We struck up a correspondence, and when everything went south on the robotics programme she was involved with in California, she picked up on an off-the-cuff suggestion I’d made, and decided to investigate animal prosthetics. She came back home to the UK, and was in Oxford for a while, fending off various offers for research fellowships.’
‘She must be good.’ Research fellowships from Oxford University were usually hotly contested.
‘Caro’s at the top of her field. She can be a little odd at times...’
Drew could handle odd. In fact, the more challenge involved, the better. ‘You said she abandoned the robotics programme. What happened there?’
‘I’m not sure. Some kind of spat over patents—apparently she lost the rights to something she’d developed. She clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and when Caro’s not in the mood to talk about something there isn’t much point in asking. But she’s not one to abandon anything lightly, if that’s what you’re thinking. She’s committed to this project and she’ll see it through.’
‘You’re frowning...’ Drew picked up on a note of uncertainty in Lucas’s manner.
‘When I say she’ll see it through, she’ll do it in her own way. I find it easier not to ask about her process.’
‘Fair enough.’ Drew nodded. ‘So what does she need from us?’
‘I’m not entirely sure. She says she only wants to discuss it on a need-to-know basis, and apparently I don’t need to know just yet. I get the impression that this patent business has made her a little paranoid.’ Lucas grinned. ‘She’s living at Smugglers’ Top.’
‘What?’ If anyone wanted isolation then Smugglers’ Top was perfect. ‘The house up there is in a terrible state, surely she’s not living there?’
Lucas chuckled. ‘You’re behind the times, mate, it’s been renovated as a holiday let. Caro managed to get a reduced rate for the whole of the winter.’
‘She’s serious about her privacy, then.’
‘Yeah, Smugglers’ Top really suits her. But she’s a good sort when you get past the whole mad scientist thing she has going on, and the not speaking to you for days because she’s thinking. I went to see her at the weekend and took Mav with me. She gave him a miniature drone with a grab mechanism at the bottom. It’s a cool thing, we’ve been flying it around the apartment, picking things up and putting them down again.’
‘I’ll bet Ellie loves that.’
‘There were a few abject apologies after we crashed it into her favourite vase...’ Lucas grinned, clearly relishing the apology side of the process. ‘You’ll have to come over for dinner very soon, Mav can’t wait to show it to you.’
Drew wondered if the last bit was a pity gesture, and decided it wasn’t. If Lucas had thought that Drew was in need of pity, he would have taken him down to the Hungry Pelican and they could have drowned their sorrows there.
‘So... I’m taking on a mad scientist who’ll only tell me what I need to know, when she’s speaking to me at all, that is, and who lives in an isolated spot that’s difficult to get to... Anything else?’
Lucas grinned broadly. ‘Nope, that’s about it. Are you in?’
Drew chuckled. ‘I’m in.’
