Page 5 of A Cosy Christmas with the Village Vet

‘Well, that’s good to hear.’ Yvonne made her way over to Wilf, giving him a tickle on the tummy. ‘Hiya, handsome.’

‘I take it you’re talking to Wilf and not me,’ said Chris, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Yvonne gave a throaty chuckle. ‘I hate to disappoint you, but, yes.’

‘Fair enough.’ Chris grinned.

Yvonne pushed herself up. ‘Right then, I’d best get back to it.’ She turned to Brogan. ‘I’ll catch up with you a bit later on; we can run through everything then; discuss the training courses I’ve got in mind for you. But in the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to shout up. Becky should be here any minute – she’s one of the other vet nurses along with Mia – she’ll be happy to help too. And I heard Chris say Jules was going to show you round the place.’

Brogan nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s right.’

‘Good.’ She gave a friendly smile. ‘You’ll be settled in and feel part of the team before you know it; everything’ll come flooding back.’

‘Thanks.’ Brogan felt reassured by Yvonne’s words and the friendliness everyone had shown her. Her biggest worry about resuming her role after such a long break was if her mind went blank or if she had an obvious gap in her training. The last thing she needed was for clients to think she didn’t know what she was doing; they needed to feel confident and secure in the knowledge that their precious pets were in good hands. She’d hate to let the surgery down, especially when it had only been running for a few months. But Yvonne’s confidence was already rubbing off on her. Brogan had done the job before, and done it well if what her previous employers had said was anything to go by – at her interview, Chris and Yvonne had said her old boss had given her a glowing reference, saying they’d been sorry to have lost her – there was no reason why she couldn’t do it again. She’d loved being a vet nurse; it had been her dream job, a true vocation, and it felt suddenly exciting to be resurrecting it. And, if things went as she hoped, once her training was up to date, she was keen to pick up where she’d left off and gain further qualifications, which both Chris and Yvonne had been pleased to hear at the interview.

‘By the way, everyone calls me Vonnie,’ the practice manager said, heading towards her office. ‘And I’ve got your new scrubs here – one to wear and a spare set for when it’s in the wash – you can get changed in the bathroom just off the staffroom.’

‘Oh, okay. Thanks, Vonnie.’ Brogan felt a thrill rush through her at the thought of wearing scrubs again.

‘Right then.’ Chris got to his feet, pushing his blond hair back off his face. ‘I’ll leave you to go and get changed. When you’re ready, Jules can show you round the place while I make us a cuppa, which is the way we always start our day, before the chaos kicks in. Clinic begins at eight-thirty during the week – nine on a Saturday where we finish at one – and Jules has just informed me we’ve got a jam-packed day ahead of us, involving a visit from a Labrador who has a habit of eating things he shouldn’t, which should be interesting.’

‘Yes, we know all about Labradors who do that, don’t we, Wilf?’ Brogan said, looking down at Wilf. On hearing his name, he glanced up at her, an innocent expression on his face as his tail swished across the floor. ‘We won’t tell Chris and Jules all about the poached salmon you swiped from the table at Tinkel Bottom Farm the other week, will we?’

Chris roared with laughter. ‘Sounds like Wilf has a very discerning palate.’

‘Not so sure about that,’ said Brogan, chuckling. ‘He’s a shameless opportunist; grabs whatever’s going; he doesn’t care if it’s the finest salmon or cold pasta.’

‘Well, Oscar would be very jealous to hear of such table swiping escapades; his legs are too short to pull a stunt like that. Not that he doesn’t give it a damn good try.’

Brogan smiled. She had a good feeling about working here. A really good feeling. Everything was going to be all right; she could feel it in her bones.

6

NICK

Locking the door of the little rented cottage that still didn’t feel like home, Nick made his way cautiously down the icy path. He’d resolved to push his conversation with Loretta right out of his mind and concentrate on getting to work, which from the look of things, was going to be something else to hold him up that morning. He cursed himself for not setting the engine away of his large four-wheel drive. The frost was thick; it would take ages to demist the windscreen. On top of that, he dreaded to think what the roads from here in Arkleby to Danskelfe would be like. All he knew was that they were narrow, full of twists and turns and more worryingly, steep in places. Not to mention the parts he’d spotted with eye-wateringly sheer drops right down the valley side. It would be so easy to find yourself hurtling down one of those. All it would take would be one unfortunate skid of a tyre. It didn’t bear thinking about. At least he didn’t have to get Maudie to Ella Welford’s boarding kennels at Camplin Hall Farm over at Lytell Stangdale, which had been his original plan. That would have been something extra to factor in and make him even more late. Chris, his new partner at the vets, had suggested he bring Maudie to the surgery where she could curl up with Oscar in front of the little stove in the staff room. His suggestion had been a huge relief – not that Ella didn’t come with glowing recommendations; she absolutely did – but Nick didn’t like to think about the sulking that would ensue once he’d picked Maudie up in the evenings. Maudie was highly skilled at the silent treatment if he dared do something to meet with her disapproval. And, boy did she know how to drag it out, sitting with her back to him, acting as if he wasn’t there. She was definitely entertaining, but the thought of her being too sulky for cuddles on the sofa held no appeal. She may be a flouncy little madam, but he appreciated her companionship. She made his empty cottage feel more homely; he dreaded to think what it would be like without her.

* * *

Nick had been shockedat how icy the roads to Danskelfe had been and had tackled them with great caution which meant his arrival at his new job at twenty-past eight, was a good twenty minutes late. ‘Here we are, Maudie,’ he said, breathing a sigh of relief when the stone building that was home to the surgery came into view. It really was impressive, occupying a large corner spot, with ample room for parking.

Moments later, he was pulling up by the other staff vehicles parked there, a feeling of first day-nerves making themselves known in his stomach. His life really had taken an unexpected turn. Maudie peered out of the window with interest, before casting him a suspicious look.

‘It’s not what you’re thinking, Maudie. I haven’t brought you here for any injections or thermometers in unmentionable places. I promise.’ He gave her a reassuring pat.

Maudie didn’t look convinced.

It took him a good five minutes to manoeuvre her off the passenger seat and out of the car; she really was a dead weight when she made up her mind she wasn’t budging. And though it was bitterly cold, Nick was now sweating, beads of perspiration prickling over his brow as he tried to tempt Maudie to move from her spot by the car. ‘Help me out here, Maudie, you know I’m already late,’ he said, tugging at her lead, still gasping after his struggle. ‘Now’s really not the time to be difficult. I promise you, you’ll love it in there.’ But Maudie remained rooted to the freezing cold ground. ‘Look, I’ll do a deal with you. If you move your backside, there’ll be a treat for you, okay? A big, fattreat.’

The word “treat” got her attention. Her ears pricked up and her bushy eyebrows lifted simultaneously.

With an inward cheer, Nick seized the moment. ‘Come on, let’s get out of this cold.’ He walked briskly over the frosty gravel, Maudie trotting along beside him.

‘Nick! Welcome!’ Inside the surgery, Chris strode over to his new colleague, his hand outstretched, a friendly smile on his face.

‘Sorry I’m late, Chris.’ Nick pulled an apologetic face as he took his friend’s hand.

‘Hey, no worries, mate; you’re here now. I should imagine the road from Arkleby was a bit dicey with the gritter not venturing this far out last night.’ He pumped Nick’s hand enthusiastically, his smile growing wider. ‘Ready to begin our new business venture?’

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