Eleanor Jones - The Country Vet

As she carefully negotiated the narrow lane that ran across the steep Lakeland fell side on a wonderful summer’s evening, those early years at college seemed so very long ago. All the nights spent in a tiny, basically furnished room, poring over books and files and forgetting to eat while her flatmates went out partying. They told her she was crazy, but she didn’t care. In fact, if it hadn’t been for her mother packing up a huge box of groceries for her on the rare occasions when she went home to visit, Cass reckoned she might just have wasted away.

Turning away from the past, Cass peered over the steering wheel, looking for the sign to Sky View. Bill Munro had told her to take a sharp right down a narrow grassy track once she’d gone through the gate. She nosed her car along the path, then rounded a corner to see a pretty little stone cottage. Her heart raced. Could this really be it?

Bill appeared just as she switched off the engine. He raised one hand in welcome while fumbling in his pocket with the other, withdrawing a set of keys.

“Hi,” she called, falling into step beside him, trying to look calm but struggling to control her excitement.

He flashed her a smile. “It’s very small, you know.”

“It’s so pretty,” she exclaimed as the front door swung open.

“And there is no central heating, just old-fashioned electric heaters,” he warned.

Cass locked her fingers together. “Is there a fire?”

“Better than that,” Bill declared. “There’s a wood-burning stove and a good stack of dry logs in the shed around the back.”

As a vision of herself basking in the warm glow of burning logs after a hard day at work slid into her mind’s eye, a smile spread across Cass’s face. “I’ll take it,” she said.

“But you haven’t seen everything yet,” Bill reminded her. “And you don’t even know how much I’m going to charge.”

Cass flushed, feeling stupid. It wasn’t like her to be so impulsive.

“Let’s have a proper look around, and then we can talk business,” Bill suggested. “Of course, you might find it a bit too isolated. It can be pretty bleak here in the winter.”

“Nowhere is too isolated for me,” Cass said, welcoming the idea. “And anyway...I might get a dog for company.”

The vague idea, now put into words, made her feel panicky. What was she talking about? Having her own dog had been a plan for the future—somewhere in her dreams. Did she really even want a dog? Was she ready for that kind of commitment?

Oblivious to her doubts, Bill nodded. “That’s a good idea. In fact, we have some pups for sale at the farm, you’ll have to come and see them.”

* * *

AS SOON AS the words left Bill’s lips, he realized it was a bad idea. Technically, they were Jake’s pups, and it was pretty obvious that his son had taken a real dislike to his prospective tenant—mainly because of Rosie, of course, but it was more than that. After Tara let him down so badly, he seemed to avoid all contact with women. Cass was nothing like Tara, although... Bill cast her a sidelong glance. She might not have had Jake’s ex-wife’s glamorous good looks, but the young vet certainly did have something. An innocent, untouched beauty.

Suddenly, Bill found himself questioning his decision to offer her the cottage at all. He and Jake had drifted apart since the accident.... He took a breath. He and his son needed to build bridges, and bringing Cass here might be knocking them down.

“You would probably be happier closer to the village, don’t you think?” he asked. “Closer to work and...”

His voice trailed off as he noted the disappointment in her dark eyes. “You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you?” she said sadly.

“No, of course not. It’s just...”

“You don’t need to worry,” she assured him. “I won’t come anywhere near the farm, and I’ll stay well away from your son, if that’s what this is about. He won’t even know I’m here.”

“Well, in that case...” Bill held out his hand. “It’s five hundred a month, payment in advance, and you pay the council tax and any fuel bills.”

Cass took his hand and shook it firmly for the second time that day. “It’s a deal. I’ll move my stuff in tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“Whenever you like.” The older man smiled. Never mind what Jake thought, he decided. She seemed like a lovely young woman, and maybe Jake would eventually discover that for himself.

* * *

THE IDEA OF having a dog had sprung itself on Cass. It wasn’t until she’d announced her intention to Bill that she realized it had been preying on her mind. She hadn’t even thought about owning another dog since Bud, but maybe she had finally come full circle.

She drove slowly back toward Little Dale, allowing her mind to wander back to the day her little ginger terrier cross had run out in front of a car. Bud had been a present from her parents on her ninth birthday and her constant companion from the day he arrived until that terrible day in the lane that changed her whole focus on life. Even now, a lump caught in her throat as she imagined his bright face. With her parents constantly busy in the shop and no siblings, she had spent hours with Bud in the fields around their village. Losing him had left a huge shadow over her life, especially when she found out that she could probably have saved him if she’d known how to staunch the bleeding. That was the day she decided to become a vet, and she had never swayed from her purpose.

Feeling the sudden weight of sadness, Cass pulled over and cut the engine, looking down into the valley far below without, for once, taking in the beauty of the scene. The memory of Bud’s trusting little face broke her heart. Did she really want a dog again, after all this time?

The sound of hooves brought her out of her reverie as they clip-clopped hollowly along the lane behind her. Twisting around in her seat, she saw a horse and rider trotting toward her. A big gray, its hatless rider sitting tall. Jake Munro! He was the last person she wanted to see, but it was too late to start her engine and pull out. The hoof beats grew closer and she leaned down to fumble in her bag, trying to look busy while wondering why she should care if he saw her sitting idly by the side of the road.

“Having trouble?”

His voice was just as she remembered, deep and melodic. Why did she feel like such an idiot?

She glanced up, not quite meeting his eyes, cursing the blush she could feel spreading on her face. “No, thanks. Just looking for something.”

“I saw you driving out of Sky View.”

Jutting out her chin, she regained her confidence. “Yes,” she said, determined not to be daunted by his sheer masculinity. “I’ve just rented a cottage from your dad.”

The icy glint in his blue eyes could have pierced her soul, but she held his gaze without faltering.

“Don’t worry, though—it’s quite far from the farm, so you won’t have to see me.”

He swung his mount away.

“It makes no difference to me where you live.”

The angry set of his jaw belied his pronouncement, and Cass found herself hoping he wouldn’t give poor Bill a hard time.

“Look,” she called after him. “I needed somewhere to stay, and your dad had the perfect place going begging.”

Jake reined in, turning his prancing horse back to face her. The wild-eyed gray mare tossed her beautiful head and foam flew like snowflakes.

“I already told you,” he repeated drily. “It means nothing to me where you live.”

“If this is still about Rosie, then I’m sorry, but you know it had to be done.”

Across the short distance, she could see the pain flashing across his face. “I just like my own space, that’s all.”