Healing the Vet's Heart

by Annie Claydon

  Caro shifted on the sofa, curling up under the throw. She was warm and comfortable, and felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. She could accept that one small favour from Drew, even if she could take nothing else.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  DREW HADN’T BEEN able to stop thinking about Caro. She was obstinate, entrancing, and he’d never met anyone like her before. Maybe that was it. He’d just never met anyone like her, and she fascinated him.

  Fascination wasn’t the way to go. Interest would be sufficient. An evening spent thinking about Caro had only confirmed his first impressions. She was talented and beautiful, any man’s dream. But she was also a workaholic, and that meant that she couldn’t be his dream.

  But his eagerness to see Caro again had peeled him out of bed early and taken him to the veterinary clinic almost before he’d had a chance to think about how his leg was feeling today. He sat in his office, drafting the email that invited the clinic’s dog owners to participate in Caro’s study.

  His phone rang, and Tegan’s voice sounded on the other end of the line. ‘Drew...!’

  ‘Yep...’ He wasn’t sure who else Tegan might think it was, but since he’d been back, their receptionist had been enunciating his name with an excited emphasis every time he completed the simple task of answering his phone.

  ‘You have a visitor. Ms Barnes is here to see you.’

  Tegan made that sound fabulous and exciting too, and Drew resisted the temptation to agree with her.

  ‘Great, thanks, Tegan. I’ll be right out.’ He hung up before Tegan could volunteer to bring Caro through to his office.

  He was halfway along the corridor that led to the reception area when he saw Caro burst through the swing doors at the far end, wheeling an equipment case. Drew was so surprised that he forgot to keep walking...

  Her hair shone in the overhead lights, caught back in a complicated plait that seemed to owe something to nature and something else to design. She wore a pair of slim, dark trousers with a red jacket, and the material of her cream blouse looked as if it might be silky to the touch. Caro was immaculate. And...it was so blatantly obvious that he couldn’t ignore it...beautiful.

  ‘Good morning.’ She stopped in front of him, and he realised that her honey-brown eyes were yet another thing he should have noticed. All part of her softness.

  ‘You made it...’ Drew felt suddenly tongue-tied.

  ‘Looks like it.’ She gave him a bewitching smile, leaning confidingly towards him, and Drew felt the back of his neck tingle in response to her scent. ‘It was the evil stepfather.’

  ‘What...?’ Maybe this was one of those confusing non sequiturs that dreams threw up from time to time.

  ‘Sherlock Holmes deduced the answer, though.’

  ‘Oh! That. I was wondering if you’d go straight back to work after I left.’

  ‘No, I stayed on the sofa all afternoon. Did Phoenix make it home all right?’

  The mischief in her eyes told him that she was really asking about him. Her concern didn’t feel diminishing, though, as if he couldn’t manage on his own.

  ‘Yeah. We both rested up yesterday evening.’

  He turned, the sound of Caro’s dry laughter echoing in his ears. He could get used to that. Making her laugh a little more and work a little less...

  Although today was all about work. Obviously. Why else would they be spending time together?

  He led the way to his office, and she parked her case in the corner and sat down. Drew printed out his email and handed it to her, and she read it through, nodding her approval.

  ‘Here’s mine.’ She pulled a memory stick from her handbag, and Drew plugged it into his laptop.

  ‘It’s too long.’

  ‘You haven’t even read it yet!’ Caro frowned at him, folding her arms in a clear signal that he’d better do so, and that she’d wait while he did. Under her delicious scrutiny, Drew focussed his eyes on the screen.

  ‘This is all interesting.’ And his original comment still stood. ‘But it’s too long. People don’t need to wade through all of the reasons that the project’s interesting, they just need to know what we’re asking of them and the positive good that their participation will do.’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘You’re not one of these people that likes to oversimplify everything, are you?’

  Drew pursed his lips. Caro’s idea of simple wasn’t the same as most other people’s. ‘I don’t fully understand the second paragraph, and I’ve read your initial specification.’

  She frowned, walking around his desk to peer over his shoulder at the screen. As she leaned across, seemingly unaware that her arm was touching his shoulder, he felt the hairs on his forearm raise in response.

  ‘Okay, delete para two. And the third para rather relies on the concepts explained in the second, so you’d better get rid of that as well...’

  It didn’t take long to distil the description down, but by the time she returned to her seat, Drew’s head was spinning. So much for keeping things professional. Maybe if he concentrated on looking and sounding professional, then his instincts would get the idea and follow suit.

  ‘I’ll send this through to Tegan, then? She has the mailing list and she’ll send the emails out.’

  ‘That’s great, thank you.’ There was a hint of excitement in Caro’s tone. It was the beginning of a new challenge, and suddenly it all seemed new and exciting to Drew, too.

  He led her through to his consulting room, showing her where she could set up her camera and the force plates that would measure the animal’s gait and the force generated by each foot strike. Caro looked around the room thoughtfully.

  ‘I want to quantify climbing movements as well...’

  ‘We have a set of steps that will help with that. Lucas is going to bring them from the storeroom when he’s finished his morning surgery.’ Drew’s phone rang and he answered it.

  He knew that Caspian Smythe-Bingham always kept his phone handy to respond to emails and social media, but he hadn’t expected him to be this quick. Or this positive. Drew smiled, asking him to hold on for a moment.

  ‘We have our first participant. Caspian can bring his Pekingese in any time this week. When are you free?’

  ‘Tomorrow!’ Caro’s enthusiasm sent a tingle racing down Drew’s spine. ‘Or any time this week. Whenever suits you.’

  Drew smiled, speaking into the phone. ‘How would tomorrow at ten suit you, Caspian?’

  The date was set, and Caro was finding it difficult to conceal her excitement.

  ‘So we’re ready to start. I’ll have to calibrate my equipment, I don’t suppose you have a dog with nothing to do right now, do you?’ She made it sound like a wonderful adventure that was just waiting for them to plunge in.

  ‘I’ll ask Ellie if we can borrow her Labrador for a few hours.’ He laughed at Caro’s sudden expression of dismay. ‘Esmerelda is Phoenix’s mother. And she’s very placid, she won’t eat you.’

  ‘I’ll take your word for it.’ Caro was obviously willing to negotiate any danger to push her project forward. She unbuttoned the sleeves of her blouse, rolling them up. The perfect, pristine version of Caro was beginning to give way to the mussed-up work version, and Drew wondered which he liked the most.

  Both. He liked them both.

  * * *

  Caro had always been of the opinion that you didn’t actually have to like anyone or anything in order to invent something. Sure, you had to know a bit, so that the work was appropriate and solved a problem. But treating every dog that came into the surgery as if it were a long-lost uncle or auntie wasn’t necessary.

  She supposed it was necessary for Drew. He must like animals, otherwise he wouldn’t have become a vet. They had ten people on the list to be seen today, and Drew’s manner with each of the dogs calmed them so that it was easier to put them through the vario
us exercises that Caro had devised. There was a different side of Drew to see each time. Man and dog. Handsome man and puppy. Smiling, disastrously attractive man, taming a troublesome Pekingese. And so it went...

  ‘Peter...’ He smiled broadly at the young lad who entered the consulting room with his mother and a brown and white puppy. ‘Thank you for bringing Rolf along...’

  ‘How are you, Drew?’ Peter’s mother asked the inevitable question. Everyone seemed to know Drew, and they were all concerned about him.

  ‘I’m good, thanks, Laura.’ Drew’s smile didn’t betray the fact that this had already been asked and answered more times than Caro cared to count this morning. ‘Very happy to be back at work. How’s Brian? I haven’t seen him in a while.’

  ‘Oh, fine. Pretty busy at work. Everyone’s car seems to have something wrong with it at the moment...’ Laura’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Sorry...’

  Drew grinned, shrugging off the gaffe, and bent down towards Rolf. The pup nuzzled at his outstretched hand, seeing only a new friend.

  ‘This is Caro. You’ve seen the information about her research? Do you have any questions?’ Drew introduced her in much the same way he’d done before, and Caro smiled at Laura.

  ‘We’ll leave the details to you, Drew. We’re happy just to participate.’ Laura smiled back, eying the camera and the force plates. It had already occurred to Caro that most of the people they’d seen this morning were here because they liked and trusted Drew.

  ‘Do you want to film us?’ Peter looked up enquiringly at Caro, and she was about to show him how the treadmill worked when Drew broke in.

  ‘Yes, that would be great. Perhaps we could just walk Rolf up and down over there for starters.’ Drew pointed to a space to one side of the area that had been set aside for filming.

  Caro flashed him a questioning look and Drew gave a small nod. If that was the way he wanted things...

  They’d said that they would be filming, and Caro supposed she’d better do so, even if this wasn’t one of the exercises that all of the other dogs had done. She disengaged the camera from the treadmill, switching it on as Peter walked Rolf up and down. Drew was concentrating hard on the puppy, and Caro thought she saw concern on his face.

  There was something he wasn’t saying. Peter had obviously already given his heart to his puppy, and the thought that there might be something wrong with him tore at Caro. Drew seemed intent on watching the way that the puppy moved, and she asked Peter to walk him up and down a few times more.

  ‘Okay, that’s good.’ Drew shot her a smile. Please...please...let that be a good sign. Maybe he’d decided he was mistaken in whatever he thought he’d seen. But when he gently lifted the puppy up onto the examination table, Caro saw an extra tenderness in the way Drew gently stroked him and knew that everything wasn’t all right.

  ‘I think we should take an X-ray, Laura.’ Drew spoke quietly, and Laura nodded. She’d seen the way that Drew had carefully examined the puppy’s back, legs and hips.

  But Peter hadn’t and Caro could practically see the questions forming in the boy’s eyes. If she couldn’t help with the puppy, this was something she could help with.

  ‘Hey, Peter, I’d like to give you a little thank-you for helping with my research.’ She reached into her bag and the boy’s head turned, his attention drawn away from what Drew was doing.

  She’d used the 3D printer to make a few small carapaces, equipped them with sensors and circuitry, and put them into her bag. As she drew the model of the tiny tortoise out of her bag, Peter’s eyes widened, in just the way she’d hoped.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘There’s a little switch underneath, just push that...’ When Peter pressed his fingers on the spot she’d indicated, the tortoise’s legs started to work. ‘Now put him down onto the floor.’

  Peter started to cackle with glee as the tiny tortoise began to scurry across the floor. When Caro put her foot in its path, he caught his breath as the tortoise swerved out of the way, avoiding the obstacle and making its way towards Drew.

  He reached for his stick, planting the end in front of the tortoise until it had turned full circle to make its way back towards Peter. The boy caught it up, turning it over in his hands.

  ‘Can it see me?’ Peter was staring intently at the tiny head.

  Caro was about to explain that the tortoise couldn’t actually see anything, and that the sensors simply registered any obstacle that was placed in its path. But Drew had a different answer.

  ‘I think he’s taking a look at you right now.’

  That satisfied Peter. He put the tortoise back down onto the floor, running to place his foot in its path, and beaming when it swerved out of the way.

  There was something in Drew’s eyes. He knew that she was trying to divert Peter’s attention. ‘Why don’t you and Caro go and show it to Tegan, while your mum and I finish off the research with Rolf?’

  ‘That’s a wonderful idea.’ Laura beamed suddenly. ‘Thank you so much, Caro.’

  ‘We’ll bring one along for Tegan, shall we?’ Caro reached into her bag, taking out two more of the tortoises. Putting them on a tabletop, and watching them avoid the edges of the table and each other would keep Peter occupied while Drew did whatever it was he needed to do for Rolf.

  The plan worked. Peter followed Caro out into the reception area, and Tegan let out a little scream of excitement when he showed her the tortoise. When Caro handed her one, she planted a red lipstick kiss on its carapace, and walked over to the coffee table, clearing it of magazines.

  ‘Tortoise wars, eh, Peter?’ Tegan knelt down on the floor at one end of the table and motioned for Peter to sit at the other end. The phone rang, and Tegan ignored it completely in favour of watching the two tortoises swerve to avoid each other, so Caro leaned over the reception desk to answer it.

  ‘Oh... Um... Hang on a moment, please...’ She saw Lucas, looking around for his next patient, and beckoned him over. ‘Someone would like an appointment...’

  ‘Okay, thanks.’ Lucas took the phone, tapping on Tegan’s computer to make the appointment, and then bidding the caller a cheery goodbye. Then he turned to Caro, frowning, as Tegan shrieked with laughter.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Don’t disturb them. Drew’s taken Peter’s puppy to be X-rayed and... I think there’s something wrong with it.’ Caro shrugged miserably. ‘I don’t know what, but he seemed pretty keen on keeping Peter occupied with something else.’

  Understanding dawned in Lucas’s eyes. ‘I see. I’ll stay and answer the phone, then. My next patient isn’t here yet.’

  ‘That’s okay, I can do that. I’ll take messages and Tegan can phone everyone back.’ Caro slipped behind the reception desk, sitting down and taking the last tortoise from her pocket. Wordlessly she handed it to Lucas.

  He found the switch and grinned when the little legs began to move. ‘That’s very cool.’

  It seemed that tortoises had the ability to take everyone’s mind off the one thing that was consuming her thoughts. What if Drew found something seriously wrong with the puppy? How would Peter react then?

  ‘I hope...’ She was desperate for the reassurance that she knew Lucas wasn’t in a position to give. Lucas looked up at her suddenly.

  ‘Drew’s the best at what he does.’ His quiet words slowed the thump of Caro’s heart.

  ‘Not you?’ She managed a smile.

  ‘I’m the best when he’s not around. You’re sure you’ll be okay here for a minute?’

  ‘I’ll be fine. Go...’ Lucas would be able to reassure Peter better than she could if he decided to question what was going on with his puppy.

  ‘All right. Call me if you need me. And thank you, Caro.’

  ‘My pleasure.’

  Caro watched as Lucas walked over to the coffee table, motioning to Tegan to sit back do
wn again when she saw him and jumped to her feet. Peter chuckled with glee as the three tiny tortoises wove around each other on the tabletop. Now all she had to do was sit and wait and hope that Rolf was going to be all right.

  * * *

  Drew had explained everything to Laura, and when he made his way back to the reception desk he found Caro answering the phone, while everyone else was crowded around the coffee table. She seemed very alone, and the agonised look she gave him after he’d dragged Peter away and sent him on his way with his mother tore at his heart.

  ‘They are such fun!’ Tegan bounced back to the reception desk, handing her tortoise back to Caro with a hint of reluctance. Caro found a smile from somewhere.

  ‘Keep it, if you like.’

  ‘Can I? Thank you! I can paint its shell...’ Tegan displayed her purple sparkly nails, in an indication of how her tortoise might look like when she’d finished with it. ‘I’ll put it on the table and the kids will love playing with it.’

  ‘Perhaps we can commission some from you, Caro?’ Drew wasn’t sure whether Caro knew just how much she’d helped by keeping Peter entertained.

  ‘Great idea. How much are they?’ Lucas asked.

  Caro shrugged. ‘They don’t cost anything much to print, and the micro-electrics are pretty standard. I’d be happy to make some more for you.’

  Lucas looked as if he was about to protest, and Drew silenced him with a shake of his head. They could sort all that out later, and he’d make sure that Caro was recompensed for her work, even if they just bought new supplies for her 3D printer. Caro obviously had something more important on her mind, and that meant that Drew did too. He hurried her away and back to the consulting room.

  ‘What’s the matter with Rolf?’ The question came almost as soon as he’d closed the door behind them.

  ‘First things first. He’s going to be all right.’

  ‘Oh! Thank goodness.’ Caro flopped down into a chair. ‘I should have known, really. Lucas said you were the best at what you do...’