Page 7 of A Cosy Christmas with the Village Vet

‘Ah, talk about perfect timing, here’s our new vet nurse,’ Jules said.

The tall man turned round, his smile faltering and his mouth falling open as he clocked Brogan.

Brogan gasped, her eyes growing wide. It was as if a thunderbolt had struck her with such force it made her heart perform an enormous flip. Just like the one that had knocked the wind out of her sails when she’d first set eyes on the tall, blond man two weeks ago.

‘Brogan!’

‘Nick!’

They both spoke at once, each looking at the other in disbelief.

‘But I thought… I mean… You’re a vet nurse? Here?’ he asked as his eyes ran over her scrubs, his brow creased in confusion. ‘When did?… I had no idea you lived round here. Oh wow! This is…greatnews,’ he said, as the penny obviously dropped, a smile spreading across his handsome face and lighting up those clear blue eyes she remembered all too well.

Realising her mouth had been hanging open for what felt like too long – which she was certain couldn’t be an attractive look – Brogan clamped it shut. She took a big swallow, marshalling the thoughts that had sent her careering back tothatday.Oh, jeez. Ahem. Never mind that day! What about that night?said a little voice. She rubbed her brow, as if hoping to erase the memory that had been scorched on her brain. Erase the memory that was, at this precise moment, excruciatingly embarrassing. This couldn’t be happening, could it? He was supposed to be moving out of the area, or so he’d told her. And she’d never expected to see him again, which was exactly why she’d behaved so… so… out of character, for want of a better expression.Ughh!Don’t go there!She could feel her face growing hotter by the minute, her knees going suddenly weak.Get a grip and pull yourself together, woman!Which, after a shock of this magnitude, in her small, quiet life where nothing out of the ordinary ever happened, was easier said than done. Especially whenthatday had been extremely out of the ordinary.

While her brain was scrambling for something to say, Brogan became acutely aware of Jules glancing between them. ‘Um, I er…’ She cleared her throat. ‘I work here; it’s my first day.’

‘So it would seem. You didn’t mention it when…’ Still smiling, Nick’s gaze flicked over to Jules. ‘I mean, same here; it’s my first day too. I’m the new vet.’

‘Oh.’ If Brogan wasn’t mistaken, he seemed happy about this sudden revelation. And it looked suspiciously like the shocked expression in his eyes had been replaced by a twinkle. The very twinkle she remembered fromthatday, and the very one that had made her heart behave with such wild and reckless abandon. ‘It wasn’t just your heart that behaved with such “reckless abandon”, lady, the rest of you didn’t do so badly either,’ said the little voice, making Brogan squirm inside. She sincerely hoped Jules hadn’t spotted the twinkle too.

‘Don’t tell me you two know each other?’ Jules was evidently entertained by their surprise.

‘You could say,’ said Nick, his smile pulling wider.

‘Yeah, we met once, not long ago actually; just briefly though.’ Relieved to have been able to formulate a coherent sentence at last, Brogan was now having a battle to make eye contact with either of them as an image of herself and Nick together took centre stage in her mind.Jeez!Was it possible for her face to get any hotter? she wondered.

‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Nick’s eyebrows did an amused dance. She could see he was biting down on something mischievous to say. ‘It was a brief encounter.’

For a fleeting moment, their eyes locked, unspoken words passing between them as they both recalled that day; an invisible thread linking them to a moment of intimacy. Brogan’s heart took off with a gallop.A brief encounter?Did he really just say that?

Mrs Winterbottom made herself comfortable in her seat, folding her arms as she and Tiny looked on with interest.

‘So we can dispense with formal introductions, then,’ said Jules, grinning.

‘Er, yeah, I suppose so,’ said Brogan. Even she could hear the hesitancy in her voice, heaven knew what Jules must be thinking. She was dreading the questions that would inevitably follow once the two women were on their own.

‘No, none necessary.’ Nick shook his head. ‘It’s really great to see you again, Brogan.’ He sounded like he meant it.

Brogan blinked several times in an attempt to regain her composure. Something told her she should reply with a similar sentiment, but her mouth couldn’t form the words. Instead, she shifted her attention to the fluffy black Labrador-type dog on the end of the lead Nick was holding. The said Labrador-type dog was looking up at Brogan with a level of interest she found disconcerting; it was almost as if sheknew! ‘Who’s this?’ she asked, adding a faux breeziness to her voice. Talking about dogs put her right back in her comfort zone.

Seemingly reluctant to pull his eyes away from Brogan, Nick followed her gaze. ‘Ah, this is Maudie. She’s a Lab with a dash of Doodle thrown in, and despite her snooty expression, she’s actually very friendly with those who’ve gained her seal of approval.’ He glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Actually, I need to get her settled in the staffroom before my first patient arrives.’

‘Hello, Maudie, you’re very pretty,’ said Brogan.

‘And doesn’t she know it?’ Nick said, a laugh in his voice.

Brogan was torn between wanting to approach Maudie and give her a fuss, and feeling intensely awkward about moving closer to Nick – which, after their “history” seemed a little strange. In the end, the urge to stroke Maudie won out. ‘Hello, girl,’ she said, offering her hand for the Labrador to sniff before giving her a tickle behind the ears. ‘Ooh, aren’t you lovely and soft, eh?’

Maudie wagged her fluffy tail vigorously, apparently thrilled by the attention from this new person. All the while, Brogan was aware of Nick’s eyes on her as her mind raced over the implications of what she’d just learnt.

He was the new vet here? Really? The very place she’d just got a new job. He was going to be herboss. How had this happened? More importantly, how on earth was it going to pan out? Her brain was in turmoil. Was she going to be able to keep her job here? She really hoped so. Or was it going to be too excruciatingly uncomfortable? The thought of going back to walking dogs over the moors in the depths of winter sent her heart plummeting. She’d been so looking forward to resurrecting her career as a vet nurse. Where had her head been when she…Ughh!She couldn’t even bear to think about it. She’d never behaved so recklessly before. She cringed inwardly at what her grandparents would have thought of her if they’d known. Her actions that day had been so utterly out of character. And now look what had happened; it had come back to give her a great big bite on the backside. Typical! He could be a player for all she knew, wouldn’t be able to wait to share the details of their “brief encounter” with Chris. What would her new boss think of her after hearing that? That thought sent a wave of nausea rushing over her.

Nick’s voice pulled her back to the present.

‘Well, this is a first. Maudie doesn’t normally give strangers the time of day; she takes a long time to get to know folk, as a rule.’

Brogan risked a glance up to see Nick looking down at her, his eyes soft. She quickly looked away. ‘In that case, I’m very honoured, Maudie.’ It was somehow easier to communicate through Maudie who was savouring the attention from Brogan, nudging her hand for more ear ruffling when Brogan paused to listen to Nick.

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