by Sarah Barrie
Mia gathered up the photos. ‘Are you talking about that pup of Martin’s? Was there another one?’
‘We think there are five. We know where two are.’
Mia scowled. ‘There are no words for what I think of that man.’
‘Actually,’ Ebony said, getting back on her feet with a sigh, ‘I have to change a dressing and I should do it while I have a moment to myself. Come in here and play with the puppy – he’ll appreciate it.’
Mia abandoned her coffee and followed Ebony into the recovery room. She spotted the pup before Ebony could even gesture towards him, and moved over to the pen to open the door.
‘He’s gorgeous.’
‘Want him? Nobody else does.’
‘Oh, how could no one want you?’
The puppy squirmed, pushed up under her neck and sighed blissfully.
‘He’s become very friendly, that’s for sure. Lee thinks his markings are strange, but I actually think they’re cute.’
‘He’s certainly an original. Will his eyes stay blue?’ She laughed as he wriggled again and bathed her face in puppy kisses.
‘Probably.’
‘You. Are. Just. Adorable! How long will his leg take to heal?’
‘Another three or four weeks. He has to stay confined so he doesn’t over exercise, but he’s bored. Like this guy – aren’t you, Joxer?’
Joxer’s tail thumped against the pen. ‘His owner Melanie is coming to get him tomorrow.’
Mia carefully turned the pup around to look at him. ‘What’s he going to turn into when he grows up? Something like Joxer?’
‘I doubt it. Joxer’s a kelpie. The one you’re holding is a Catahoula cross Bull Arab. He’s going to be a really big, high-energy dog. Very affectionate and intelligent though.’
‘Big enough to scare off intruders?’
‘Maybe one day but not for a while.’
‘Okay.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Okay. I’d love to have him.’
‘You’re kidding? Just like that? He’s not really an apartment-in-the-city kind of dog, you know.’
‘I’m going to be spending as much time out here as in the city if everything goes to plan. Possibly more. I’m hoping I can stay at the cottage ten days out of every fortnight, just run into the city a few days a month. I’ve given Adam six months’ notice and I’m advertising for a roommate so someone’s looking after the place while I’m not there.’
‘You – wow. I thought you were just thinking weekender. Are you sure? I thought you loved the city. Does Ally know?’
‘Not yet. I only made up my mind this week. I want to be around to help out when she has the baby. This seals it,’ she said as the pup licked her fingers.
‘Right, well – that’s fantastic. Call him something.’
Mia thought about that. ‘What’s that motley-coloured stone that looks like him? I have a necklace at home with one in it. I think it’s jasper. And actually, that’s cute. Suit him?’
‘Very suitable. I hope we can find the other pups and get good homes for them too.’
‘That man is as psychotic as Rob. We should sneak out there while he’s working, see if we can find them.’
Ebony stared. Was she serious? ‘Mia, the RSPCA already went out to his place. They weren’t there. If they’re back, they’ll find them. And we don’t know what nights he’s working. There’s no way I’m risking it.’
‘I was only thinking a drive past – if he’s not home, take a quick look. We wouldn’t even need to get out of the car.’
‘You just finished telling me how psychotic he is. Don’t you dare.’
‘I will,’ Louise said, entering the room. ‘I’d love to find the poor little things and get him back at the same time.’
‘You’re both mad,’ Ebony told them. ‘Louise has got the right people on the job.’
Mia put Jasper back in his pen and gave him a final pat. ‘Is Lee around? I want to show him the end result of those pictures I took of him riding his bike.’
‘He’s up in the new flat.’ Ebony led her back out to reception. ‘When Nick gets back, I’m swapping surgery for a house call of my own. I want to make sure that blimp of Gertie’s is losing weight. So if you’re heading up, I’ll see you later.’
Lee rubbed a fine layer of dust off the new kitchen cabinets and stepped back to assess the finished product. Ebony was right – the white with the timber accents looked great. But it made him shudder to think of having to keep everything clean, and he was pretty sure those shiny cupboards were going to show every fingerprint.
‘Looks good.’
Hearing Mia’s voice, he turned around. ‘Hi, thanks. You here to help?’
‘I can spare some time.’ Mia took the cloth from Lee, handed him a folder. ‘I thought you’d like to see the ads you modelled for me.’
‘You’ve finished them?’
‘I wanted some opinions before I send them off.’
He sat the folder on the kitchen counter and wiped his hands. ‘Wow,’ he said, flicking through them, ‘they look fantastic. All those blurred images with the sharpness of the main image leaping through is very clever.’
‘Good. Perfect answer.’
‘Really? Great. They’re awesome. Mia Morgan originals. Thanks.’
‘Thanks for modelling. What are you doing next?’
‘Starting on the floor.’
‘Which would be all these boxes of … snap-together floorboards?’
‘Yeah. It’s pretty easy but two pairs of hands are always better.’ He dragged his arm along his forehead. ‘I want to grab a water.’
‘I’ll put these in the car so they don’t get dusty.’
In the surgery, Lee had a quick chat with Carla, grabbed a water and sculled most of it in one hit. Ebony would have to consider putting in some air conditioning in that apartment; it was already hot working up there and the worst of the heat was weeks away. He dropped the bottle in the recycling and headed out. Nick’s voice caught his attention.
‘Hi, can I help you?’ From his vantage point just inside the lunchroom, Nick’s back was to him, but he saw Mia had entered the reception room, so Lee assumed he was talking to her. Had they not been introduced?
Mia smiled politely. ‘So you’d be Nick. The new vet?’
‘Sure am.’ He leant casually against the desk. ‘And you are?’
‘Mia.’
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Mia. If you’re looking for Ebony, she’s out on a house call, she’ll probably be a while.’
‘That’s okay. I’m – is something wrong?’
‘I’m sorry if I’m staring. You’re … stunning. So I apologise in advance, but I’ll probably look at you quite a bit. Until I get used to it.’
‘You’re planning on getting used to it?’ she said. ‘I guess I should thank you for the compliment – and the warning.’
‘Can I make you a coffee? I have some time free.’
‘Thanks, but I’m good for coffee.’
‘What about tomorrow?’
Mia’s eyebrow rose beautifully. Her eyes stirred with something – fun? Challenge? Surely she wasn’t going to hit on the guy Ebony – for some reason – seemed so interested in. ‘You want me to come back tomorrow so you can make me a coffee?’
Nick dropped his head. Lee still couldn’t see his face but he imagined he was smirking.
‘I was thinking more along the lines of meeting up somewhere.’ When he closed the distance between them, Lee’s fingers curled at his sides.
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Mia replied, looking up into his eyes. ‘Ebony mentioned you. Said you were very … friendly.’
Lee scowled. What the hell was she doing? She was not going to have coffee with him. Was she?
‘She’s mentioned me? That’s nice. I’m very fond of Ebony –’
‘That’s good,’ Mia continued in that same sweet tone, ‘because if anyone was to fuck around with her – you know, lead her on in order to ge
t a job or in any way take advantage of her, why, there’s just a whole town full of people who’d line up for days to fuck them over so hard that, at the end of it, they’d lack the mental capacity to even realise they’d been screwed.’ She patted him twice on the cheek. ‘Ebs already made me a coffee, thanks anyway.’
‘You just about ready, Mia?’ Lee asked. He did nothing to hide the amused appreciation on his face as he wandered out and threw an arm across her shoulders. ‘How’s it going, Nick?’ he said casually.
Nick’s eyes narrowed in on them. ‘Not bad. You two know each other?’
‘Practically family,’ Mia told him. ‘Nice to meet you, Nick.’
Lee followed her out the front and into the new building before speaking again. ‘For a minute I thought you were really going to go out with him.’
‘I just wanted to know if he’d ask me.’
‘Is that some challenge you set yourself whenever you meet a new guy?’
‘No – sometimes.’ When he laughed she continued more seriously, ‘I wanted to get a gauge on him. He’s been cracking on to Ebs.’
‘I know. She interested?’
‘Not sure.’ She ran a hand through her hair. ‘But either way, that might give him something to think about.’
‘Fair enough,’ he said, appreciating her. ‘Are you ready to start some unpacking for me?’
‘As I’ll ever be.’
They worked side by side, lining the floor with underlay, unpacking floorboards, measuring, cutting and locking the floating floor in place.
‘This is actually pretty easy,’ Mia said as they stood back to admire their work. ‘I could put it in the cottage.’
‘One project at a time?’ Lee suggested and glanced at his watch. ‘That’ll do us today. I need to grab Ebs and show her this tile brochure. I want to get them ordered so they’re here when we get the bathroom walls up.’
‘But we’ve only got these few boards to go in this section. You show her the tiles, I’ll finish.’
‘Seriously?’
‘You’ve cut it to size already. I’ll just clip it in.’
‘All right – thanks.’
‘This lab report is good news,’ Ebony told Nick as she read through a client’s results. ‘I’ll contact the owner and let them know.’
‘Hey, Ebs … Nick.’
Ebony glanced up as Lee walked into the lunchroom, and smiled. ‘Hi – what’s that?’ she asked as he handed her a brochure.
‘Still can’t get those bathroom tiles, but there’s some similar ones here. Thought you might want to take a look.’
‘Thanks.’ She dropped her paperwork and opened the brochure while Lee helped himself to a bottle of water. Nick came up behind her to look over the top of her head, putting his hands on her shoulders, and squeezing lightly. Still flirting, she thought, and I’m still not interested. She was about to shrug him off when Lee spoke.
‘I think we should look at ordering them soon because I –’ He broke off and Ebony looked up, saw him staring at Nick’s hands on her shoulders before recovering quickly. ‘I want to get it done next week if possible. I was thinking probably the ones in the top right corner?’
‘I like those dark ones, Ebs.’ Nick removed a hand from her shoulder to point. ‘They’d look good with the light walls.’
Ebony considered them both. ‘Actually, I think Nick might be right. The darker ones will contrast better.’ She sensed an undercurrent in the room and noticed Lee was staring at Nick. She looked up, caught the edge of what could easily have been a victorious smirk on Nick’s face. ‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ Lee said. ‘That’s fine. I’ll order them.’
When he walked out, Nick released her shoulders and turned to lean against the table beside her. ‘You feel like getting some dinner tonight?’
‘I don’t think so, but thanks.’
‘Let me guess … Mia told you I offered to make her a coffee and now you think I’m a serial flirt?’
‘What? No. You did? She didn’t say.’
He groaned. ‘And now I’ve really put my foot in my mouth.’
Ebony couldn’t help but smile. The poor guy looked completely perplexed. ‘Nick, I like you, a lot, but I’m not interested in a relationship with you. If you want to hit on Mia, go ahead. And speaking of Mia … she must still be up at the flat. I’d better go find her.’
Mia was sitting on the kitchen bench with notes, measurements, and assorted tools scattered around her. She was wearing jeans and what looked like one of Lee’s many flannelette work shirts, which she’d rolled up at the cuffs. Her hair was wisping out of her braid, and her cheek was smudged with a decent amount of the white dust that still managed to creep in and cover everything. It was one of the few times Ebony had seen her looking anything other than perfect. And yet.
‘Yes, I know.’ Mia must have read her face because she lifted her hands and looked down at her clothes. ‘If you have a camera anywhere near you, I will be forced to destroy it.’
Ebony just pulled a face and shook her head. ‘Mia, if that was me, someone would call the cops thinking I was breaking and entering. You, on the other hand, look like some sort of supermodel for Renovators Monthly.’
Mia smiled, amused. ‘That’s all the thanks I need for an afternoon of manual labour. You like your floor?’
‘I do.’ Ebony took in the completed bedroom. ‘It’s perfect. Where’s Lee?’
‘Gone home I guess. I was just finishing up.’
‘Thanks. Did you meet Nick today?’
There was a small silence, then, ‘Yes. Briefly.’
‘And?’
Mia got to her feet and put some rubbish in a large black garbage bag. ‘And are you thinking of sleeping with the guy or just being friendly work colleagues?’
Ebony blew out a breath then lifted and dropped her hands. ‘He’s cute and smart and easy to talk to and he flirts with me. It’s fun. But there’s nothing there. So, option B.’
‘Then I think he’s perfect.’ Mia dumped the bag with the others and straightened, stretching.
‘Anything else?’
‘No, I think that just about covers it.’
Ebony dropped her head to the side and narrowed her gaze. ‘You’re not going to tell me, are you?’
‘Tell you what?’
‘That he cracked on to you.’
Mia’s brows shot straight up. ‘Apparently I didn’t need to.’
‘She didn’t tell you she threatened to turn him inside out and string him up by the balls if he fucked around with you either, but that was the general gist of the conversation,’ Lee said from the doorway.
‘You haven’t left.’ Mia’s tone was lethal.
He just grinned. ‘Need to grab my tools and lock up after you.’
‘Right, well, thanks for that.’ Mia looked from Lee back to Ebony. ‘I like playing guard dog. Let me have my fun.’
‘Can you do it diplomatically? I need to work with him.’
She yawned, nodded. ‘Probably. I should get going. I should have gone home yesterday – this morning, at the very least.’ She looked exhausted.
‘You shouldn’t drive home tired.’
‘It’s a long way in the dark,’ Lee agreed.
‘I’m used to the drive.’
Ebony folded her arms, her expression set.
Mia smiled slowly. ‘Or … we could … have a girl’s night?’
‘Much better idea,’ Lee said. ‘Now that that’s settled, I’ll be off. Goodnight, ladies. Oh and Mia? That shirt’s never looked so good. Keep it.’
‘He flirts with you …’ Ebony grumbled when Lee had left them alone.
‘That’s because he doesn’t really mean it. Let’s rent a movie and eat some junk food.’
‘I don’t have any junk food in the apartment.’
Mia thought about that. ‘What time does the shop close?’
‘Six thirty.’
‘Seriously? The hours around here are terrible. I’ll have a
really quick shower. We’ll make it.’
CHAPTER
17
‘Ebs, if you don’t put some chocolate in that basket I’m going home.’
Ebony grinned over her shoulder at Mia before doing an inventory. ‘We already have hokey pokey ice cream, pretzels, salted cashews, strawberries, cream, double brie, sundried tomatoes and water crackers.’
‘Maltesers.’ Mia drew the word out as smooth as the chocolate she claimed to be craving as they moved past them.
‘I feel sick just looking at all this – but fine, get the Maltesers.’
The packet hit the basket with a thud. It was getting heavy. Next time she went junk-food shopping with Mia, she was getting a trolley.
‘This place is empty,’ Mia said, walking up beside her. ‘No wonder they close so early. Does everyone go to bed at seven thirty around here? I’ve seen places in the city more packed than this at three am.’
‘I do miss that about the city. Shit. Head’s up – it’s not empty. Of all the people who could be here.’
Martin was at the counter unloading a trolley. He spotted them as he dropped some bread on the conveyor and sent them a scowl.
‘Just ignore him,’ Mia told her. ‘We’ll head down the next aisle. Give him a chance to go.’
‘Okay that sounds good except – I’m just looking at what’s in his trolley.’
‘Dog food.’
‘The cheapest, crappiest biscuits available, but yeah.’
‘He has dogs other than that litter of pups right?’
‘According to the report there were no dogs on the premises. He claimed they’d been stolen or run away.’
Mia got her phone out. ‘Quick – stand in front of me and hold up that magazine.’ With no clue as to why, Ebony did as she was told while Mia took a photo. ‘Got it.’
‘Got what?’
‘I didn’t want Martin to know I was getting a pic of him with the dog food. From the look on his face, he thinks I’m being crazy and taking one of you.’
‘Good idea. It might come in handy. There, he’s leaving.’
‘Awesome. I’m starving. Let’s pay.’
They got as far as the door to the flat when Ebony’s phone rang. ‘Oh no.’ She unlocked the door, pushed it open.
‘Oh no – what?’ Mia dumped the food on the bench.