A Puppy And A Christmas Proposal

She stood and wiped her palms down her trousers. ‘You’re going to have to take him home, at least for tonight. Bring him back in the morning and we can see if anyone’s reported him missing by then.’

‘I can’t take him back there. He’s already weed on the carpet and nibbled a hole through my best climbing shoes.’

‘Oh, no? The horror! Really? That’s nothing compared to what I have to put up with in my job.’ Her hands hit her hips and her head tilted a little as she stared at him. ‘A nibbled shoe? Poor, poor Alex.’

‘Say it like you mean it.’

‘I mean every word.’ She shot him a look of disdain, but it was laced with a faint tinge of humour that gave him a powerful thump to the chest. Because he wanted her to forgive him for hurting her. He wanted things to be okay between them instead of this difficult defensive manner she took whenever she was with him. A smile was a good first step.

But the smile quickly faded. ‘You know, Alex, I really haven’t got time for this. You tried the pound in Kendal, right? I’ll call the one in Ulverston. I know it’s a long shot, being so far away, but who knows?’

He watched as she made the call and was thrown back eight years. How, when she was on the phone checking in on her mum, he’d wrap his arms round her waist and hold her close. How he’d run his fingertips over her freckles and try to count them, and she’d laugh and tell him that infinity was the number of freckles on her body and that he’d never, ever be able to count them all. How he’d nuzzle his face into her hair and tell her she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And she still was, without a doubt. Not just in the way she looked, but in her compassion and good-heartedness...if not towards him.

He jumped when she said something and he realised she’d ended the call and was now talking to him. ‘The Ulverston pound is full too. They said they’re often the first place people ring when they’re missing a pup, but they’ve had no one call them over the last few days, and definitely not for a puppy matching this one’s description. They suggest you take him home and we’ll try again in the morning.’

‘We?’ He couldn’t suppress his grin.

Her eyes blazed irritation. ‘You. I mean you’ll have to try in the morning. After you’ve taken him home.’

‘I’ve just told you, I won’t have anything left if he spends the night at my house. Can’t you have him? You have everything set up here for a puppy. Food, beds...you.’ A night with Beth? One more night?

No.

‘No.’ Her lips pursed and he was glad that was something they both agreed on. ‘I stopped doing you favours a long time ago, Alex Norton. I can’t have a boisterous puppy in here stressing Meg out and distracting me from giving her all the love and attention she deserves. That’s just not fair. She needs peace and quiet.’ She gave him a look that seemed to say, Like me. I need peace and quiet away from you. ‘Maybe it would be good for you to think about someone other than yourself for a change and take—’

‘Hey, I’m a doctor. I think about other people all the time.’

But that was what she thought. She believed he was selfish and self-centred. And he was. He’d had to be just to get through the months of debilitating treatment and recovery. But letting her go had been the single selfless act in the whole damned episode. He couldn’t have let her go through what he’d endured when his cousin had been sick; the long hours at the hospital desperately hoping for a miracle, the despair at Mikey’s suffering, the prayers and then...the loss of hope. He’d watched his family drowning in grief that had been raw and unending and all-consuming and had known the moment the specialists had sat him down and explained his prognosis that he wouldn’t put Beth through that.

Clearly not wanting to hear any more, she went to the shop section and pulled supplies out for him. ‘Here are some training sheets if you can’t cope with a bit of wee. Put them on a floor where you don’t have carpet. Your kitchen, perhaps? Here’s a bed for him, a couple of toys. Some food. A soft cage you can put him in while you’re not able to watch him. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cash, we take all major credit cards.’ She scratched the back of the puppy’s neck. ‘There you go, Button. Do your worst at Alex’s.’

‘How about “be a good boy”? Or, “don’t wee on the heirloom rug or eat Alex’s favourite trainers”?’

She eyed him wryly. ‘I thought you wanted me to say it like I mean it.’

‘I’ve changed my mind. And Button? His name is Spike.’

‘He is so far from a Spike it’s a joke. Look at those eyes—they’re like little dark buttons.’

He couldn’t argue with that. ‘But Button is a...a feminine name and he’s not a girl. And that tail is all spiky.’

‘No way. It’s a sickle tail not a spike.’ She drew shapes in the air; one arcing and one pointing straight up. ‘Sickle. Spike. See the difference?’

He ran his fingers up the fluffy tail. ‘It spikes if I hold it up.’

‘Whatever.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll just have to agree to disagree. Okay. Time to go, Button.’

‘Spike.’

‘Button.’ She held his gaze for longer than they’d managed to look at each other these last few weeks and his body prickled with heat at her fiery indignance. Yes, she still was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Why was his body reacting to her like this when he knew, rationally, that wanting her was the least best idea he’d had in a long time? Eventually, she drew her eyes away and sighed. ‘I can hear Meg whimpering. I have to go.’

‘And tomorrow morning?’ He tried to think about Spike and not about the prospect of seeing Beth again as soon as possible. ‘I’ve got a clinic booked from eight. My patients need peace and quiet, not a boisterous puppy distracting both me and them.’

The corner of her mouth twitched as she registered the same words she’d used against him earlier. ‘You’re not giving up, are you?’

‘No. Beth, Spike needs you.’

Both man and dog stared at her and he saw the softening in her eyes and the moment she finally relented. ‘Okay. Okay. Drop him off here first thing, before your clinic. I’m hoping Dennis will be here too so we can have that chat.’

‘Okay. Sure.’ He whispered to Spike, ‘See? She’s nice really. I’m persona non grata, but you’re not dog non grata.’

He got an ear lick for that. And an eye roll from Beth. ‘And there’ll be reinforcements to keep an eye on Button while I try to get a little bit of rest between clients. And hopefully we can reunite him with his owner.’

‘Thank you.’ Without thinking he pressed a kiss on her cheek and immediately regretted getting close enough to inhale the familiar fresh scent. ‘I mean, Spike thanks you.’ He held the dog up to her and was relieved when it gave her other cheek a lick that made her smile—a damned sight more than his kiss had done. ‘You’re a star.’

‘No, I’m a sook with a soft heart for a lost puppy. It’s just babysitting, that’s all. I’m helping Button. Not you.’ Pressing her palm to the spot where he’d kissed, she shook her head, and he could see the warring in her eyes. She hated him but there was something else there too. This was as hard for her as it was for him, but that didn’t make him feel any better. ‘That. Is. All.’

CHAPTER THREE

ONLY IT WASN’T ALL.

Being so close to Alex was a whole lot of everything. A whole lot more than Beth wanted. The temptation to rail at him about the way he’d so callously broken up with her was sky-high, but she wasn’t in the right headspace to hear she’d been somehow disappointing as a girlfriend, or that he’d grown bored of her, or that he’d found someone better... There were hundreds of reasons why people broke up, she was just a statistic and she’d do better than to analyse something that had happened so long ago.

So she wasn’t going to let him get to her and she certainly wasn’t going to allow thinking about him to interfere with her caring for Meg. She would ask him when the time and place were right. Or maybe she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know how much she’d cared.

So she did what she’d done for the last few years and shut down the part of her that still ached for him and didn’t allow herself to think about the press of his mouth on her skin and how, despite her anger and confusion, he made her heart race and her body tingle, and she set about saving a life.

It was a long night. Too many times Meg’s blood results had shown her to be the wrong side of critical, and Beth had fought hard to keep her patient from slipping away, but she’d held on. They both had and gradually, in the early hours, the dog’s stats started to improve.

It was still dark outside when the front door bell jangled, alerting Beth to the new day and waking her from a light and very disturbed sleep that had been punctuated by regular alarms to check on her client. She tossed the blankets aside and sprang up from the recliner chair they kept in the hospital room, checking Meg for progress. She was stable. Which was more than could be said for Beth. A combination of sleep deprivation and an endless intake of coffee to keep her alert when needed made her jittery. Not to mention the Alex factor.

‘I’ll be out in a minute!’ she called through to Reception, and quickly glanced in the mirror. ‘Ugh. You’ve definitely looked better, girlfriend.’

Her hair was a halo of tangles, and sleep lines etched deep into her cheeks. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin blotchy. Did it matter? What mattered was that Meg’s owner was here for an update, having already called twice in the darkest hours to see how his beloved pet was.

She quickly brushed her teeth and patted water over her eyes then marched into Reception, gluing a smile to her face.

‘Sorry to keep you!’ But her already jumping heart skipped a couple of beats as she found, not Dennis, but Alex and Button waiting for her. ‘Oh. Hello, you two.’

Alex’s hair was rumpled, his eyes were as sleepy as hers and he looked even more gorgeous than yesterday, reminding her of those heady early mornings they’d shared after long, late, sexy nights when they’d visited each other at university. In one hand he held his work bag, in the other was Button. He smiled, although it was a little wary, and put the puppy onto the floor. ‘Morning, Beth. You look terrible.’

She couldn’t help laughing at his audacity. ‘Gee, thanks. You don’t look so good yourself.’

‘I had a very interrupted night. You? How’s Meg?’

‘Touch and go. Poor girl had a hell of a ride. She hated the activated charcoal, but it was essential to stop her absorbing the drug and damaging her liver and kidneys further. She was quite anaemic from the gastric bleed, so I had to give her a transfusion too, which kept us both on edge for a while as she didn’t react well to it.’ She bent to the puppy and gave him a good old tummy rub. He really was the most beautiful, happy boy and it was affirming to see something with so much vibrant life instead of Meg, who was possibly reaching the end of hers. ‘How did you two get on? Did he settle okay? Did he sleep at all? What did he eat? Look at me, I sound like a worried mother. God help my kids when I have them, I’ll be your typical helicopter parent constantly fussing over them.’

‘Right. Kids. Yes, I bet you will.’ Alex swallowed and his smile faded.

Had she said something wrong? Maybe the dog hadn’t settled or he’d had as restless a night as she’d had. It would serve him right for all the sleepless nights his abrupt break-up and subsequent silence had given her.

But then he shook his head and looked down at Button, who, despite having no lead, was sticking very close to Alex’s ankles and looking up at him as if he were some sort of superhero. ‘He chewed a hole in my favourite beanie, did his business on my work bag and wouldn’t sleep unless lying here.’ Alex pointed to his chest, and she wished he hadn’t. His shoulders were definitely broader than years ago and, covered in that thick wool coat, looked just about the perfect fit for her sleepy head. She imagined how it would feel to snake her arms into that coat and slide them around his waist...

He harrumphed. ‘The soft cage was a joke. I put him in it, but he just howled and howled until I picked him up. He won’t take no for an answer and I’m pretty sure he’s completely untrainable.’

‘Going well, then.’ She laughed, even though he didn’t. ‘You’ll be glad to get him off your hands.’

‘Er... Absolutely.’

‘Indeed.’ She wanted to repeat, Say it like you mean it, but didn’t think that was fair. Anyone would fall in love with Button and she had a feeling—just by the way Alex looked at the puppy when he thought no one was watching—that he was a little way down that path. Although he’d never admit it. ‘His owner will be worried sick by now.’

‘I called everyone again this morning. The police, the pounds, the rescue centre. No one’s reported anything overnight. I’ve made some posters.’ He pulled out some coloured pictures of Button with the word ‘FOUND’ and Alex’s mobile phone number on. ‘I’m going to leave some here and get the shopkeepers to put them up in their shops between here and Bowness.’

‘Excellent idea. And I’ll put the word out to the other vets in the Lakes area. Oh, and Mum rang and said she really enjoyed the concert, so thank you for organising it.’ Beth mentally kicked herself—she sounded too prim and too polite, as if she’d never known him or loved him. But she couldn’t help it; keeping her distance from him emotionally as well as physically was pure self-preservation.

He shrugged. ‘Don’t thank me, thank Joe. He did the chauffeuring. I hope she wasn’t too upset about you missing it.’

‘She knows my work commitments sometimes mean I don’t get to keep family commitments.’

‘So, is this job here permanent?’

Weird question. Although, maybe he was just passing the time of day. She didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary talking to Alex, and definitely not about her personal life, but one conversation with anyone in the village would give him answers, so she decided she might as well tell him. ‘I’m helping Mum sell the house. She’s moving into Bay View rest home in a couple of weeks. The whole process has taken longer than we initially thought and I had to extend my stay here, which is fine by me, but I have to keep paying my mortgage somehow.’

‘You’ve bought a place? Here?’ Was she mistaken or was that a flare of interest in his eyes?

And by way of a very misguided reaction her skin heated in response. No. She was angry with him. He’d already dumped her once. She wasn’t going there again. Pets were definitely preferable to men who broke hearts, a zillion times over. ‘Not in Oakdale, no. I have a house in Glasgow and I’m heading back there on Christmas Day after I’ve spent the morning with Mum. She should be well settled by then and I’m keen to restart my life. Besides, my old boss is heading off to Australia for a sabbatical and he needs me to take charge. I had to let my job there go when I came to look after Mum, so I’m thrilled I can go back.’

Alex nodded. ‘So, you like Glasgow?’

‘I love it. Give me a busy city over boring old hills and The Queen’s Arms Friday band night any day.’

A little frown settled over his forehead. ‘You used to love it here.’

‘People change, right? Let’s just say I’ve grown out of Oakdale.’ She hoped that by saying these things out loud it would put a halt to any further feelings she might have for him or the place she grew up in. It would definitely give him the impression that she wasn’t interested in staying. She needed to get away, from here and from him, as soon as she could. When the front door bell jingled relief skittered through her. ‘Ah, here’s Dennis. Let’s have that joint chat. I’ll pop Button in the little pen over there so he can’t get into any mischief. Molly’s due in any second. She can keep an eye on him while we take Dennis through to see Meg.’

Dennis looked as if he’d aged ten years overnight; he’d clearly had as little sleep as she and Alex had had. ‘How’s my girl?’

‘About the same as when we spoke earlier. She’s not out of the woods yet, not by a long way. The poor love is old and tired and she needs all her energy to fight.’ Beth’s heart squeezed at the love Dennis had for his dog and she glanced quickly over to Alex. She didn’t know why she did it, maybe she just wanted...what? Camaraderie, a sense of something shared. He held her gaze for a little longer than she’d expected and she saw something flit across his eyes. A softening, for sure. Sadness perhaps? And she knew—she just knew by the way he was looking at her—it wasn’t all because of Dennis.

But then what? So Alex had feelings? She’d never doubted that. He’d just somehow cut them off for her and given her no explanation whatsoever.

She opened the cage and watched as Meg lifted her head slightly and sniffed Dennis’s hand, then she rested her muzzle in the old man’s palm and the two of them just looked at each other. There was an understanding between them, man and dog, that she’d witnessed often between pets and their people. She believed that dogs sensed emotion and they were hard-wired to try to ease the burden, by their nestling, nuzzling, or just by sitting stoically at your side through whatever life threw at you.

Meg and Dennis definitely had that connection and it broke her heart to think it could end sooner than any of them had expected. Her throat seemed to close over but she managed to squeeze her words out. ‘She missed you. Look how she’s perked up now you’re here.’

‘Come on, old lass, get better quick. I need you home.’ The old man’s voice sounded as rough as Beth’s. ‘Did you get to the bottom of what’s wrong with her?’

‘I’m fairly sure she was poisoned.’

The old man stroked the dog’s ears, but his shoulders tensed. He said nothing but gave the slightest nod.

Beth carried on explaining in case he was just waiting for more details. ‘Ibuprofen. It’s a painkiller. I can’t be one hundred per cent sure, but I think she ingested ibuprofen somehow.’

Dennis went very still. Poor guy, it was a lot to take in.

‘I-bu-pro-fen,’ Alex repeated the name slowly as he spoke to Dennis’s hunched back. ‘It’s a very common medication that humans take, but can be toxic, even fatal, to dogs.’

Dennis still didn’t reply.

Beth tried. ‘Do you know if you have any of it at home, Dennis? Anything that Meg could get hold of?’

He rubbed his palm across Meg’s back and made little grunts to her. But then he replied gruffly, ‘Don’t know.’

Alex frowned. ‘I checked the surgery records and Nancy had some prescribed for her when she was sick.’

Dennis shook his head again. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I imagine you threw out all her old meds?’ Beth tried, gently. ‘Or did the community pharmacist collect them? Sometimes they do that.’

Dennis shrugged and kept his eyes on the dog. The poor man was grief-stricken.

She caught Alex’s eye and shook her head, trying telepathically to tell him to leave it. They weren’t achieving anything here. She tried to infuse her voice with positivity. ‘It’s a good job you brought her in when you did. Any longer and she might not have made it. I reckon your quick action gave her a good chance of recovery.’

‘Did it?’ For the first time since Dennis had rushed in with Meg his eyes brightened, but not before a tear ran down his ruddy cheek. ‘Did I save her life?’

‘Well, she’s not out of the woods yet, but you certainly gave her the best chance.’ She put a hand to his shoulder and gently coaxed him away from Meg. ‘I think we need to let her rest now. I have to do some more checks on her, so why don’t you go home? I know you were up in the night, so you’re probably shattered.’

‘I’d like to stay if I can.’ He looked so stricken she almost relaxed the rules about visiting.

Almost. ‘I have a few things I need to do for her and the clinic’s about to start so we’re going to get busy in here. How about you pop back at lunch time?’

‘Aye, I suppose. A farm doesn’t run without a farmer. Although sheep don’t move so well without a sheepdog.’ His gaze lingered over his old friend.

Beth sighed. Living miles away from her home town, she knew how hard it was to be on your own, but she did have a large circle of friends she knew she could call on, any time. ‘You have no one to help you with the farm? Family?’

‘No. No one.’

So, he had no one to share this worrying time with either. ‘Very well. You do what you need to do and I’ll call with an update in an hour or so.’

They watched him go and Beth closed her eyes. ‘Sometimes this job is so damned hard.’

‘He certainly loves that dog.’ She was aware of a change in the air and then sensed Alex getting closer. In times gone by she would have reached for him and had a hug but now she just clenched her fists and tried to put that single tear out of her head.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, stepping away from Alex and his familiar scent of sandalwood and fresh Oakdale air. ‘Right. I’m going to keep Meg alive if it means I get no sleep at all for the next few days.’

But Alex shook his head. ‘Something’s not quite right.’

‘What?’ She bristled at his assertion. ‘It’s textbook poisoning and I’m implementing appropriate therapy. She’s improving. Small amounts, I know, but at least she’s not getting worse.’

‘Hey.’ His voice was suddenly soft and conciliatory but his frown told her he was trying to put his finger on something that didn’t sit right. ‘I didn’t mean your treatment, or even about Meg. I’m sure you’re doing everything right there. I mean there’s something not quite right about Dennis.’

Oh. That would serve her right for jumping to conclusions. ‘I don’t really know him. I mean, he’s been in Oakdale for as long as I can remember, but he’s always just been the grumpy old man up at Oaktree Farm.’

‘He can be very direct and forthright, I admit. But he’s always had a sharp mind and he nursed Nancy at home for the last six months of her life, right up until the end, refusing to let her go into hospital or even respite care because she wanted to stay in the place she’d lived for the last forty years. And at the same time he was running a working sheep farm when many men his age have sold up and retired years ago. There are no children to support him, no relatives. He took sole responsibility for his sick wife and he did it very well with our support.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘If he was so involved in her care, he would know the names of her tablets, right?’

Beth wandered out into the reception area and waved to Molly, who was talking on the phone. ‘He’s probably forgotten or trying to put all that behind him. And the names are confusing, aren’t they? They’re never easy to remember especially when you’re as stressed as he is.’

‘You’re probably right.’ Alex shrugged and walked over to the pen where Button was gnawing on a puppy teething ring. He absent-mindedly stroked the mutt as he said, ‘I was just thinking, maybe he did leave some medication out and he’s too embarrassed to say, but worse...what if he’s getting a little confused or forgetful? What if he just didn’t realise he’d left it out? Forgot he’d even had the tablets?’

‘Are you thinking general forgetfulness or something worse, like early signs of dementia?’

‘I don’t know and I’m certainly not going to jump to conclusions. He’s not the kind of man who’d respond well to me asking him to make an appointment to come to the clinic, so I’ll pop by the farm on the pretext of wanting to buy a fleece or something and try have a chat and see how things are going up there.’

Surprising. ‘I didn’t think Oakdale GPs did house calls unless it was a medical emergency. At least, that’s what the rules were when I filled in as receptionist.’

‘Normally we wouldn’t. But sometimes rules are made for breaking, right?’ Now he was scruffing Button’s neck and playing with the mismatched ears with a lot more fondness than he’d ever admit to. ‘Poor guy’s been living it tough and he’s never going to ask for help, so we have to make it easy for him to accept it if he needs it.’