Chapter 4
Brodie sat nursing his pint at the pub near the veterinary practice he had taken over only a few months before. He was enjoying living back on the island, but having lived in Devon since qualifying as a vet he was still getting used to bumping into people he had known years before. He had left Jersey to go study for his veterinary degree at Bristol University. Following it with two years working for a large veterinary practice in the South West of England before his father tipped him off that the local vet – who everyone referred to as Old Man Winter – was retiring and needed someone to take over his practice.
Brodie leapt at the chance to return home, back to the place where he could settle in a village not far from the sea, closer to his parents and family and, with a loan from his grandfather, took on the lease for the practice and the cottage that went with it, where he now lived.
Brodie listened to Bethan, the practice nurse and receptionist. She had taken over from the elderly lady who had done the job for over four decades before deciding that it was time she retired when Old Man Winter sold up. Bethan was extremely efficient and liked by everyone, probably because she knew most people who came in with their pets. Brodie was also relieved to discover that she was very knowledgeable and it had been she who had persuaded him to join her at the pub for a few drinks.
‘You need to get to know the locals again,’ she had insisted that lunchtime when he had tried to turn down her suggestion of an after-work drink. ‘Learn to relax at the end of a long, tedious day.’
Now he was here, it felt good to be sitting at one of the oak tables listening to the chatter around him.
Bethan seemed to know everyone. She was chatty and confident and couldn’t do enough for him, and he decided he was very lucky to have her working for him at the practice. He watched as she said her goodbyes to her friend by the bar before returning to join him at the table.
‘My friend was telling me that her mother’s cousin’s youngest daughter was speaking to someone who had brought their tabby to the surgery a couple of weeks ago.’
‘Sorry, what?’ Brodie wasn’t sure if it was because he was tired, or that Bethan simply talked in riddles.
She didn’t explain further, but leant over the table slightly and lowered her voice. ‘She only brought the cat to you because she couldn’t get an appointment at any other surgery.’
Was telling him this supposed to be inspiring confidence in him? Brodie had no idea, or where the conversation was going. Hoping she might be going somewhere with her thoughts, Brodie kept eye contact with her and concentrated on listening. ‘That doesn’t sound very complimentary.’
She shook her head. ‘No. I mean, it is. Listen, I’m getting to the point.’
He wished she would. ‘OK, go on.’
‘She said that she was extremely impressed with the new vet.’ She pointed at him unnecessarily. ‘And will be bringing her cat to us should she need to in future.’ He went to reply, but Bethan raised her hand to stop him. ‘And, that’s not all. She’s going to tell all her friends to bring their animals to you, too.’ She lowered her hand indicating she had finished. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
Brodie nodded enthusiastically, mostly because he presumed that’s what Bethan expected of him. ‘Very good. Yes. Nice of your friend to tell you all that.’
‘I thought so.’ Bethan sat back looking satisfied and took a sip of her lager before looking up and catching his eye.
The door opened and a man walked in, closely followed by a woman he thought he vaguely recognised. She followed the man over to the bar, both scanning the room. The bloke spotted Bethan and raised his head before motioning for the girl to go over to their table.
Who was she? Brodie wondered, racking his brains to try and picture where he might know her from.
Bethan clocked him staring and turned in her seat, immediately waving for them to join her and Brodie. ‘I’d heard she was on the island again. Lettie, come and sit with us.’
The girl, Lettie, beamed at Bethan and immediately did as she asked. ‘Bethan! So good to see you again.’
Bethan stood and hugged her. ‘I haven’t seen you in such a long time.’ She pulled out the chair next to her for Lettie to sit on.
The man she had come in with looked very like her, Brodie noticed. Both had chestnut-coloured hair and dark blue eyes and freckles. He supposed they must be siblings.
‘Hi, I’m Zac,’ the bloke said carrying two drinks and kissing Bethan on both cheeks before giving Brodie a friendly nod. ‘You don’t mind if we join you, do you?’
Brodie shook his head, just as Bethan laughed. ‘When have you ever worried about anyone minding anything you did, Zac Torel?’
Torel? The name rang a bell. He’d had a crush on a girl with that last name once, but the girl Brodie knew hadn’t been called Lettie. Maybe they were related? It was a local name after all.
‘True.’ Zac placed the two drinks on the table and pulled out a chair next to Brodie.
‘This is Zac’s sister, Lettie,’ Bethan explained smiling briefly at her friend who, Brodie mused, also seemed vaguely familiar to him for some reason. ‘We were at school together.’
Brodie said hello but instead of Lettie reacting in a similar way to her brother, she seemed a little subdued. Maybe she was shy. He hoped that was the case and not that they had met at some point in the past and he had inadvertently upset her.
‘Good to meet you both,’ Brodie said.
‘Letts promised to come and meet up with me earlier,’ Zac explained, ‘but she’s been helping Dad out on the farm, so I’ve been catching up with a few mates in the next parish.’
‘You’re working on the farm?’ Bethan asked.
Brodie wondered why this seemed so surprising to Bethan. ‘Is there something odd about that?’
‘Only because Lettie here has a fancy job in a fashion business in London. At least you did the last time I bumped into your mum in the village store.’
‘You wouldn’t think it fancy if you worked the hours I do each day,’ Lettie scoffed. ‘Although I do love it. Did.’
‘I’m intrigued.’ Bethan nudged her and smiled.
‘Which farm does your father run, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Hollyhock Farm,’ Zac replied pointing towards the window. ‘It’s not one of the bigger farms, only about thirty-two verges.’
Brodie had no idea what that meant. ‘Right.’
Lettie must have seen his confusion. ‘Just under eighty acres. It’s only a mile that way.’
‘Yes,’ Zac said. ‘Close enough to walk here, thankfully.’
Brodie decided he liked the siblings. They were friendly and not at all wary about him being a relative stranger. He decided he wanted to know more about them. ‘And what does he farm?’
‘Organic produce,’ Lettie explained. ‘Mostly vegetables, Jersey Royals, of course, and apples, plums and damsons late summer. He also has a few animals, too. Goats, which we sell on to other locals to either use or make cheese, and our chickens. He has a couple of cows left over from his dairy herd when he sold them on over ten years ago. They’re useful for grazing on the fallow land during a rest period.’
He was surprised to hear that he didn’t still have a dairy herd. ‘Really? That sounds interesting.’
He noticed Lettie study his face and hoped he hadn’t sounded sarcastic. ‘I mean it. I don’t know if he’s one of the practice’s clients but if he is I look forward to visiting the farm.’
He was relieved when Bethan began chatting again, asking Lettie how long she was over for, before Lettie explained she had been given the opportunity of running their father’s farm and needed to find a way to prove herself in three months.
‘That’s not long enough to prove anything much.’ Brodie laughed, shocked to think anyone could expect to do much with a farm in that time. Everyone glared at him and, mortified, he realised he had said the words out loud. ‘Sorry, I hadn’t meant to say that.’
‘You did though,’ Lettie snapped, clearly offended. ‘And you thought it was funny.’
Brodie grimaced as he locked eyes with the pretty girl glaring furiously at him across the pitted bar table. ‘I really didn’t mean to offend you.’
‘I’m not sure I believe you.’
He realised she wasn’t joking. Taken aback by her reaction, he took off his glasses and busied himself cleaning each lens before putting them back on. ‘We seem to have got off to a bad start. I haven’t been back on the island long and the last thing I want to do is upset people.’
‘Brodie’s taken over the veterinary practice that Old Man Winter used to run,’ Bethan explained. ‘He’s lovely really.’ She gave Brodie a pointed look. ‘And not always this hopeless with people.’ Her expression changed and Brodie suspected she was thinking he liked Lettie. Did he? He pushed the thought away. Now wasn’t the time for getting ideas about people.
He had no intention of getting romantically involved with a client, not after what had happened in the last practice he had worked. Brodie shuddered to think about the drama that had ensued when his kindness had been taken as attraction when a farmer’s wife assumed there was more between herself and Brodie, and rumours had begun flying, causing the practice to lose several much-needed clients when the husbands lost their trust in him. He needed to make amends and quickly.
‘He is?’ Lettie asked doubtfully.
Brodie gave what he hoped was an appealing smile in Lettie’s direction. ‘I like to think so.’
She didn’t seem impressed.
He heard a laugh and realised it was Zac. ‘Maybe you two should start again?’ He held his hand over the table. ‘Brodie, meet my older sister Lettie. Letts, this is the new vet you’re going to have to get along well with if you expect him to help you out with any animal emergencies.’
Lettie’s eyebrows shot up, as if this thought hadn’t occurred to her. She glanced at her brother before turning her focus back to Brodie. ‘I suppose he’s right.’ She sighed and held out her hand, waiting for Brodie to shake it. He slipped his hand into hers, grateful to her brother for the chance to smooth things over. ‘Hello, Brodie. I’m pleased to meet you.’
For all her niceties, Brodie could tell she still wasn’t convinced about him. He decided that he liked how she had made up her own mind and doubted Lettie Torel would be intimidated by anyone. He had his work cut out if they were to become friends, and for some reason he couldn’t understand, he felt compelled to find a way to make sure they did just that.
He shook her hand. ‘Very pleased to meet you too, Lettie. If there’s anything I can do to help with your father’s animals, please call on me.’
‘She’ll do that,’ Zac replied before Lettie had the opportunity to do so.
Lettie glared at her brother. ‘Thanks, Zac, I’m perfectly capable of answering for myself.’
‘I can see that,’ Brodie interrupted. ‘I just want to offer my personal services, if you ever need me.’ He saw her looking confused and realised he hadn’t been very clear. ‘That is…’
‘I know what you meant,’ Lettie said quickly before he could finish. Her expression softened. ‘And I am grateful to you for offering. Thank you.’ She raised an eyebrow in her brother’s direction before focusing on Brodie again. ‘I just get a bit defensive when I’m being pushed into something.’
‘And, let me guess,’ Brodie said with a laugh, ‘you then don’t want to do whatever it was, whether you had been intending to, or not.’
‘He’s got you summed up already, Lettie,’ Bethan teased.
Lettie threw her head back and laughed. ‘Exactly that.’ She gave her brother a pointed look. ‘You see, Zac? Other people can understand where I’m coming from. I don’t know why you find it so difficult to do the same. You’re supposed to know me better than anyone.’
Brodie leant slightly forward. ‘I think it’s a sibling thing.’ He turned to his side. ‘Am I right, Zac?’
Zac nodded. ‘I get more entertainment winding my sister up than I do most things.’
‘I have a sister, Maddie, so understand your pain.’ He looked across the table at Lettie to see her reaction, relieved when she pulled a face. The mood lifted and he relaxed.
‘Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Brodie?’ Lettie asked.
Bethan grinned, clearly happy that they were all getting along well now. ‘Yes, why don’t you.’
‘I’m from a family of dentists. Apart from my sister. Maddie did qualify as one too, but decided it’s not for her and recently finished her training to become an interior designer. She hopes to set up her own business.’
‘Were your parents upset when you didn’t choose to follow in their footsteps?’ Lettie asked.
He nodded. ‘They were at first, mostly because my parents and grandfather always assumed I’d join the family practice, but now they’re fully behind me being a vet.’
‘And a brilliant one you are, too,’ Bethan said.
Brodie was grateful to her for saying as much. ‘I’m glad you think so, Bethan.’
Bethan’s cheeks flushed. She finished the rest of her drink and, placing her palms flat on the table, got to her feet. ‘I’m off. I have to get to my mum’s early to walk her two dogs before work, so don’t want a late night.’
‘Is your mum all right?’ Lettie asked.
‘She’s fine, but she’s gone to a spa for a few days with a couple of her girlfriends and Dad is on an early shift, so they asked me to take them out instead.’ She shrugged. ‘I rather like having a reason to get up extra early and always feel more energised when I’ve walked on the beach before breakfast.’
‘I suppose we should be going too,’ Lettie said smiling first at Bethan and then at Brodie, causing a strange sensation in his stomach. He reminded himself that she was probably going to be a client and the thought made his mood dip. ‘I’ve got to be up early for a lesson in how to drive Dad’s tractor and I’m not looking forward to it.’
‘I doubt Dad will be either,’ Zac quipped giving Brodie a wink and making him laugh, relieved for the distraction.