Page 21 of A Cosy Christmas with the Village Vet

‘Oh, I nearly forgot to say, I managed to take a couple of photos with the camera on my phone,’ said Ella. ‘Only problem is, the shots are a bit blurry and half the rear number plate’s missing; looks like it’s snapped off, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.’

‘It definitely is, Ells, that’s brilliant,’ Brogan said. ‘And are you okay to post them on all the local social media pages?’ That was one of the good things about living round here, the way the villagers pulled together at times like these.

‘Yeah, course, no probs. I’ll do it tonight when we get back.’

Brogan was about to ask if they knew of anyone else who’d spotted the dodgy van when she felt something warm push itself into her lap. ‘Ooh!’ Startled, she looked down to see Maudie’s brown eyes gazing up at her, her tail swishing back and forth. ‘Maudie! Hello, girl,’ she said, ruffling the dog’s ears, feeling inordinately pleased to see her.

In the next moment, Nick was standing beside her. ‘Hi, Brogan, I must apologise about Maudie, she’s never usually this forward,’ he said. ‘But she seems very taken with you.’

‘Honestly, there’s no need. It’s lovely to see her; I’m very taken with her too,’ she said, her stomach performing somersaults as she looked up at him, his blue eyes making her heart melt.

‘That’s okay then.’ He attempted to smooth his fringe down with his fingers, which Brogan noted hadn’t made a jot of difference. In fact, it seemed to have had the opposite effect and his hair was now sticking up on end.

‘I’ve just come for a bite to eat. The electric’s gone off at the cottage I’m renting. It’s absolutely freezing there and I’ve got no way of preparing food. It was a choice between either a pub meal or a dry ham sandwich. And after what I’ve been hearing about the food here, there was no contest, the Sunne won hands down.’ He gave her a disarming smile.

‘Good choice, Bea’s food is awesome,’ she said.

‘So, you work here too?’

‘I did; it’s my last shift,’ she said, aware of Anoushka and Kristy watching the exchange with interest. ‘Though I do feel a bit lazy sitting over here and stuffing my face with cake while the others are rushed off their feet behind the bar.’ From the corner of her eye, she saw Anoushka and Kristy exchange a surreptitious glance at one another.

‘Ah, right.’ Nick nodded.

‘Who’s your pal, Brogan?’ asked Jimby, in his usual friendly manner.

Brogan flushed, embarrassed at not having thought to introduce Nick. ‘Oh, yeah, sorry. Everyone, this is Nick Heuston, he’s the new vet over at Danskelfe.’ She didn’t dare make eye contact with Anoushka and Kristy as she went around the table, introducing everyone. ‘Nick, this is Jimby, he’s married to Vi here, and next to him is Camm, he’s Molly’s partner – they live at Withrin Hill Farm. Then there’s Ollie; he’s married to Kitty opposite – they live at Oak Tree Farm and she’s Jimby’s sister; Molly’s their cousin and Anoushka here is their daughter. And this is Kristy, she lives at Withrin Hill Farm with Ben who’s one of Molly’s twin sons. At the top of the table there’s Ella and Joss; they live at Camplin Hall Farm – Ella’s related to Kitty and Molly though I can’t quite remember how.’ She drew in a deep breath. Her self-consciousness had made her gabble and she wondered if she’d over-loaded Nick with names and information. ‘Phew!’

‘Hi, everyone,’ Nick said, smiling round the table and raising his hand in a small wave. ‘It’s good to meet you all, but I’ll apologise in advance if I don’t remember your names at first. I’m hopeless with getting to grips with human names; never animals, for some reason. Funnily enough, I can always remember what my patients are called but struggle to recall their owners’ names.’ He shook his head and grinned.

His comment made everyone chuckle. ‘Don’t worry, Nick, I answer to anything,’ said Jimby.

‘Just as well, mate,’ said Ollie dryly, his hand around his pint.

‘Aye, you’re not wrong there,’ said Jimby. ‘Anyroad, Nick, you’re very welcome to join us, if you fancy? I’ve kept a spare stool hidden here under the table for such eventualities. I can pass it down; there’s room at the end there.’

Various sounds of encouragement followed and Brogan’s heart took off at a gallop. She risked a glance at Kristy, who was sitting on the other side of the table, to see her friend looking highly amused.

‘Oh, I really wouldn’t want to intrude,’ said Nick, his eyes switching to Brogan.

‘Don’t be daft, you wouldn’t be intruding, would he, Brogan?’ asked Ollie.

Brogan swallowed. ‘No, you wouldn’t. Not at all.’

‘And it’d be good to get to know the new veterinary and welcome him to the village,’ said Jimby. ‘I think you’ll find we’re a friendly bunch. And you won’t regret sampling some of Bea’s cooking, I can promise you that; it’s sublime.’ He eased the stool out from its hiding place and passed it over to Nick.

‘Well, if you’re sure.’

‘Course we are, sit yourself down,’ said Anoushka, giving Brogan a loaded look.

‘Thanks, Jimby.’ Nick set the stool down opposite Brogan.

‘And I’ll just go and make sure Bea saves you a piece of cake,’ said Kristy, sloping off.

‘Oh, thanks. That’s really kind,’ said Nick, looking slightly bemused.

Brogan could feel her cheeks flame, struggling to meet his eye as he sat down. She had no idea how the rest of the evening was going to pan out, but she couldn’t deny the feelings that were now racing around inside her.

19

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