‘I’ve got you.’ And as he wrapped his arm round her waist to keep her upright he wished that were true. He wished he had her. He wished he could promise her all the things he knew she wanted.
But she laughed and shook him away. ‘I’m fine. Honestly. I’ve got a grip now. I’m okay. We need to go.’
He tilted her chin so he could see her eyes. ‘Are we good?’
‘We’re good. No more barbed comments.’ She put her finger to her mouth and he noted her hand was shaking almost as much as he was. Then she tugged his coat round both their shoulders, wrapped her arm round his waist and started walking with him as if kissing as if your life depended on it and sliding ankle-deep in snow with an ex was perfectly routine in her life. She called out, ‘Come on, Meg. Let’s go get your girl.’
And he let it go. Because he had trouble keeping up with how they’d gone from her shooting metaphorical arrows at him to kissing, but trying to analyse something so impulsive and intense would break it.
Eventually, they made it down the track and back to the farm and she slid her hand out from his back, the cosy atmosphere broken by barking dogs and a sense of having to jerk right back into professional mode again. But he knew, and she knew, that out there on the hill they’d shared something precious.
She hurried towards the front door. ‘Hey, I’ll do you a coat swap if you can grab my jacket from the boot. I’ll just get June and we can take her down to Angus along with Meg. Someone’s going to have to look after them while Dennis is in hospital.’
‘Sure thing.’ It had been a hell of a day, and it was only three o’clock. His head was all over the place with the thought of Dennis’s life-threatening injuries and then that scorching kiss. He couldn’t keep the hell up. He took out his phone to call Maxine and explain why he was missing his clinic. He looked at the screen. No reception. Maybe it was worth a try anyway. Miracles did happen—Beth’s kiss proved that.
As he tried to scroll through his contacts with fingers so cold they could barely move he opened Beth’s car door with his other hand and something darted past him and out across the courtyard.
‘What? Hey! Spike?’ He stuffed his phone into his trouser pocket, bent to grab the pup but he’d already bounded well beyond his reach. ‘Come here. Come back. Wait—’
As he ran to the door, Beth came running out of the house, saw Spike and screamed, tugging their puppy away from a bowl of food. ‘No! Button, stop. Oh, Alex—’
The food. Damn. His gut contorted as a wave of nausea rippled through him. The only reason they’d come here was because they were concerned about the dog food and now Spike had eaten some.
‘Oh, God, Beth. I didn’t know he was in the car. I just opened the door and he jumped out.’
‘I should have said. I was just distracted by everything.’ She shook her head as tears glittered in her eyes. ‘June’s sick, Alex. I think maybe the food is contaminated. And now...did he...? Did Button eat any?’
Alex could barely swallow past the nausea but he wasn’t going to sugar-coat the truth because she’d hate him if he did that. ‘Some, I think. Before we managed to stop him.’
‘He’s a baby.’ She pressed her lips together and for a moment he thought the entente between them was broken but she tugged on his hand, squeezing the way he imagined Dennis had squeezed before. As if her life depended on him. ‘We need to get all three dogs to Angus.’
CHAPTER TEN
‘I SHOULD BE in there.’ Beth had spent every minute of the last two hours pacing the vet clinic reception floor while Angus assessed Button in the treatment room. Meg was fine and in a safe pen. June was very sick and Beth had been allowed to take her bloods and X-rays but she’d been ushered out when Angus had started the charcoal stomach washout on Button.
‘I’m the vet; you’re the owner,’ he’d said. ‘Trust me to do my job.’ And she was trying to, but she didn’t know what to do with her hands and she found herself literally wringing them together. ‘What if he needs me?’
‘You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet.’ Alex stood up from the plastic chair and came over to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and she stopped moving, even though her thoughts still whirred a mile a minute. ‘Angus said it was better that you weren’t in there to see Button in distress. He’s got a good team with him. Come sit down.’
‘But what if—’
‘I’m not playing the what if game, Beth. Don’t go there.’ Having called his surgery and asked Fraser to cover the rest of his clinic, Alex hadn’t left her side, as worried about the pup as she was.
For the millionth time today she fought the onslaught of tears. ‘Hopefully, we got to him in time.’
‘We did.’ He looked into her eyes and smiled softly. ‘Breathe, Beth. You’re not going to be any use to him if you wear yourself out.’
He was right. She was going to need all her strength if their precious pup was sick...or worse. Following Alex’s lead, she inhaled and breathed out slowly. Then she shook her hands out to try to relax them. ‘It feels like a very long time since I set off this morning to take my mum to Bay View.’
He huffed out. ‘Damn. I never even asked. How did it go?’
‘She’s happy as anything. She loves the room and the view and made fast friends with the lady in the room next to her. I ended up feeling like a spare part.’ Which should probably have been a good thing, but Beth felt a little displaced. ‘I mean, I’m glad she doesn’t feel like a burden any more but is it bad to feel just a little bit...adrift? Like my roots have been dug up and exposed. That everyone’s got a life and I’m catching up.’
He walked her over to a chair, pushed her gently into it and sat next to her. ‘I felt the same way when my folks upped and left. But you’re strong, you’ll deal with it.’
‘After the day we’ve had I feel a lot more wobbly than strong, to be honest.’
‘I’m never going to forget seeing the way you helped Dennis and willed him to hold on. Everything you did today was for someone else. You’re amazing, Beth.’ He tucked her hair behind her ear and whispered, ‘But I already knew that. You’ve always been amazing.’
‘So have you.’ She’d watched in amazement as he’d lifted the quad bike from Dennis’s leg. The calm, measured way he’d manipulated the drill and inserted a line that would surely have kept Dennis from slipping away. And she would never forget the look in his eyes of apprehension and relief when he’d run down the hill to her and the steadfast way he’d put his arms around her then. The way her heart had jittered and panicked and then calmed just at being in his arms.
Today had been a roller coaster of emotions but none so heightened as the desire she felt for this man right now. Things were getting back on track between them and they were developing a new way of being. And she liked it. She liked that they’d found each other again, but for eight years she’d wondered what had happened to him and why he’d so brutally cut her adrift. She’d discovered he’d been quietly facing the darkest part of his life, getting treatment and then growing into a good man, just as her mum had said. And she’d missed it.
That was what hurt the most. She’d missed those parts of his life and she would never get them back. She would never get the chance to show she could stick by him in times of duress. He’d taken that away from her.
So she could have railed against him the way she had on the hill, she could have made some snarky comment about the way he’d treated her. She could have said a million different things, but right now just being here with him was all that mattered. Holding each other up, taking comfort where it was offered.
He put his arm round her shoulders and she leaned against him, letting the tension ebb slightly. She snuggled closer into his arms, relishing the warmth of his body against hers, and wasn’t surprised when she felt the press of his lips on her forehead. She turned her head and looked up at him. Saw the confusion in his eyes, but also
the heat and the affection. They hadn’t mentioned the kiss and she didn’t know what to say about it now anyway. She’d gone with her gut, but ever since then her gut had been all messed up with her worrying about poor Button.
‘Right, Beth, you have a choice.’ It was Angus, bursting through the door in his usual brisk and efficient manner.
She jumped up, heart hammering against her rib cage as she looked at his empty hands. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘He’s groggy and not at all pleased with me for the gastric lavage, but I think we’ve got everything out and his blood work was okay. I’ve repeated it and there’s nothing to worry about...so far. But I don’t have to tell you how quickly things can change, especially in babies. Right?’
She gripped Alex’s hand. Tight. ‘Right.’
‘So...’ Angus held the door open for them to walk through to the treatment area. ‘I have my hands full with the overnighters we already have and now June too, and she’s very sick so she’s going to need a lot of my attention. Your choice—you can leave Button here with me to monitor him, or I’d be fine if you wanted to take him home to watch him yourself. Not something I usually allow, but because you’re a vet it seems like a good plan.’
‘Yes. Yes. Great plan. Let’s take him.’ Relief flowed thick through her veins and she couldn’t move quickly enough. They found their boy fast asleep in one of the cages. She looked at his observation chart—everything was fine, as Angus said, so far. But if he’d absorbed any poison it could still be in his system. He wasn’t out of danger yet.
Angus opened one of the cages and checked on June. Her observation chart told a very different story from Button’s. ‘I’m going to keep the other two here. June’s still critical. Once she’s better...’ he gave a look that said if rather than when ‘... I’ll foster them together until we know the outcome with Dennis.’
‘Excellent.’ Alex nodded and cautiously lifted a groggy Button out of the cage. ‘Come on, then, boy. Time to go home.’
Angus laughed. ‘Careful. He’s tired and grumpy.’
‘I know how he feels.’ Alex smiled, relief in his features.
‘And remember, even though his blood work’s fine now, things could change. It’s not as if we know what he might have ingested.’
‘It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Beth shuddered. Things could have been very different. ‘Thanks for everything, Angus.’
‘Not a problem. You’ve done enough for me these last few months.’ The senior vet raised his stethoscope by way of a wave. ‘Excuse me while I do another check on my charges.’
Beth walked with Alex and Button out into Reception. ‘Okay, as there’s no room at this inn for the night I’ll take him to mine.’
‘Your furniture-less house?’ Alex frowned. ‘Absolutely not. If we’re staying up all night we need some home comforts.’
‘It’s fine, I’ll just keep him in my bedroom. Thankfully, my bed’s still in there. That’s about all, to be honest, but it means I have more space for him to run around.’
‘No, Beth.’ The pup was in the crook of one of his arms. Alex tilted her chin with his free hand, so she could see his eyes. That meant trouble. For her tummy if nothing else. Looking into his eyes made her hot and bothered and all kinds of jittery. ‘We can’t all squeeze into your childhood bed.’
‘We?’ The thought of them all in her bedroom gave her hives. Not that spending the night with Alex hadn’t crossed her mind...it had. Many times. But not under these circumstances. ‘It’ll be just me and Button.’
Alex shook his head vehemently. ‘No, no. I have custody of him at night, that’s the arrangement. He’s used to falling asleep on my chest—er...bed. Besides, my house is closer to the clinic in case we need to dash back over with him. He has to come to mine.’
Infuriating man. She shook her chin free from his fingers. ‘But I’m the vet, Alex. He’s been released into my care, not yours. I need to monitor him.’
He was cradling the dog against his chest as if it was the most precious gift he’d ever been given. ‘Then maybe you can come too. What do you think, Spike?’
The pup sleepily nuzzled against her hand. She decided it was an overwhelming yes. ‘Well, thank you.’ She laughed. ‘That will work.’
‘Just don’t distract us. We have a routine.’
‘Okay, I’ll try to keep low-key.’ She rolled her eyes. Infuriating, sexy man. Funny too.
They walked out into the dark evening. Alex bundled the puppy into his car then turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, relief morphing into serious. ‘Listen, I’m sorry, Beth.’
‘For being a royal pain in the backside?’
‘For letting him out of the car.’ He looked, as he’d looked on and off since they’d found Button nose down in the food bowl, bereft. Without second-guessing herself she reached up to him and put her hand to his cheek. ‘It’s not your fault. None of it.’
He shook his head. ‘I should have thought he’d be in the car.’
‘I should have said. We were both distracted by Dennis’s accident. Let’s not play the blame game, eh?’ She needed him right now—he was the only person in the world who cared for Button as much as she did, no matter how much they’d both decided not to get attached. Alex was the only person she could share this worry with.
‘Thank you.’ He cupped her face and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. ‘We should get that boy home.’
‘Wait.’ She looked at his kind eyes and that sexy mouth that she knew so intimately and the swell of emotion in her chest was almost too much to bear. The bond wasn’t just with Button, it was with Alex. A bond that had been broken but not irrevocably. There was hope. There was desire.
Then, she was kissing him, pressing her body against the length of his. Being in his arms was safe and comfortable and yet felt as if she were stepping into somewhere exotic at the same time. Familiar but exciting. She felt his arms snake around her waist and he pushed her back against the car. And thank God he did, because her legs were like jelly and her head dizzy with the sensation of his mouth on hers. It felt as if she’d been eight years in the wilderness and she’d finally come home. This was her homecoming gift: this kiss. This man. It didn’t matter what difficulties they’d overcome or those they were going to face, this moment mattered more.
When he pulled back he was breathless. He ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. ‘Hey, you’re shivering—you still haven’t thawed out properly?’
‘Just call me Ice. Ice baby.’ She was only half joking, because her clothes were still damp from kneeling in the snow, although not as damp as his. She put her hand under his jumper and pressed it against the heat of his belly.
‘What the hell, Freckles?’ He squirmed away from her. ‘What is it with you and the hot and cold treatment?’
And she couldn’t help smiling because he hadn’t called her Freckles for such a long time and it was right and perfect and she didn’t want to stop the way she was feeling: comfortable with him, proud of what they’d done to save Dennis, worried about Button and not just a little turned on to have touched Alex’s bare torso.
It took five minutes to reach Alex’s house, five minutes of fighting the urge to make him stop the car and kiss him again, but they had precious cargo and they needed to get him home and safe.
Memories flooded in as she carried Button into the cottage. How many hours, days, weeks had she spent in here over her lifetime? How many dinners had she shared with his family, laughing with his sister, talking about her studies with his parents? She could draw the timber framing with her eyes closed, describe the layout of the kitchen.
And yet it was the same but different. ‘You’ve painted it. It looks great. Fresh.’
‘Thanks.’ He smiled and something kicked in her chest. ‘It needed a lot of work. My dad was a great doctor but he’s not the DIY type.’
&nb
sp; She hadn’t thought Alex would have been either, and yet there was a new window seat exactly where she would have put one, although it woefully lacked cushions. And the wall colours were muted greys where she would have chosen something a little bolder. It was a man’s house. Smart and clean and...it smelt of him. Her tummy clenched. Spending the night here was going to be hell. And would test every part of her resolve.
Although, given the fact she’d already kissed him twice today she had a feeling she’d badly failed the resolve test already.
‘Put him down here. I’ll light the fire.’ Alex stroked Button’s head and pointed to a rug on the hearth. Just seeing that rug brought memories tumbling back.
‘Is that your nana’s old rug?’
The one they’d made out on many times when his family had been away, in front of a roaring fire; heat and heat and heat. There had never been anything wrong with the passion and attraction. Just the trust, it would appear. But she could feel that changing.
He bundled kindling and newspaper into the fireplace and threw a lit match onto it. The kindling sparked and little blue-orange flames erupted. He dragged a fireguard out and put it in front of the fire to protect Button from errant sparks. ‘It’s part of her rug, yes. The part Spike has allowed me to keep. I’m going to have to ask Joe’s new wife Rose if she can do her crochet magic and fix it so it doesn’t look so ragged.’ Rose was infamous in Oakdale for her bright-coloured yarn bombs around the village. Beth decided that if she lived in this house she’d definitely be asking Rose for something to brighten it up. A stripy blanket and multicoloured cushions. And there she was, making plans she was never going to keep. Alex smiled. ‘Or maybe I’ll have to bin it like the rest of the stuff we used to have in here.’
‘It’s very minimal. Have you been watching that tidying programme on TV too?’
He laughed. ‘I don’t need to. When my parents moved overseas we had a big sort out. Although, I have to admit to being ruthless. What they needed for a flat in Malaga and what they wanted me to have didn’t compute. It was like they wanted to keep all their old stuff here as a sort of shrine to them. I wasn’t having any of that.’
A Puppy and a Christmas Proposal Page 13