Chapter 9
May
It had been almost a month since Lettie’s departure and Brodie wondered how soon she would return. He had tried and failed to stop thinking about her, but for some reason she kept popping into his mind. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was beautiful, clever and good company, or simply that he was impressed by her determination to completely change her life to save her family farm. He admired her. Maybe that was it?
He reminded himself about his vow not to become involved with a client, which had been cemented more firmly in his mind after his vile break-up from his toxic ex. And anyway, Lettie was soon to be a client of his and he had no intention of mixing business with pleasure. As the farm’s vet, he would need to keep any contact between them as professional as possible. The thought lowered his mood until he reminded himself he had far too much going on to even consider hooking up with anyone and needed all his energy for building the practice and gaining his clients’ trust after the decades most of them had spent dealing with his predecessor.
Hearing a commotion outside in the reception area, Brodie hurried to the door to see what was going on. ‘What’s happened?’ he asked, finding Bethan comforting a small child of about seven or eight clutching a plastic animal carrier to her chest as an anxious-looking elderly lady stood next to her looking as if she was trying not to cry.
‘It’s my rabbit. Granny rolled over his foot with her trolley.’ She looked up at her grandmother. ‘It wasn’t on purpose.’
‘No, it wasn’t,’ her grandmother said taking a tissue from her handbag and blowing her nose.
Hating to see the two people in obvious distress, Brodie bent slightly to address the child. ‘Do you mind if I take a look at him?’
‘Her,’ the little girl said lifting the carrier holding her rabbit with a little difficulty. ‘She’s called Daphne.’
Daphne the rabbit. He smiled. ‘That’s a beautiful name for a pretty bunny,’ he said taking the carrier from the child’s arms. ‘If you both follow me, we can go and have a proper look at her foot.’
‘Thank you.’ He noticed the little girl take her grandmother’s hand, clearly trying to comfort her. It reminded him of his close relationship with his own much missed late grandmother, who had looked after him from when he was a few weeks old until he started school, when his parents had been at work and couldn’t do so themselves. They had formed a very close bond and he had many happy memories of his first time riding upstairs on a double-decker bus when she took him to town, their many visits to the local park near her bungalow, and her teaching him to cook scrambled eggs before the two of them enjoyed a plateful each in front of the television watching one of his favourite programmes. Having her in his life had made his childhood all the more special, and he could see that it was a similar relationship to the one the two people who had brought Daphne into the surgery also enjoyed.
He closed the door behind them and placed the carrier onto the table. Then after opening the mesh door he carefully lifted the rabbit out, cuddling her for a few minutes to calm her racing heart. He saw instantly that her foot had been cut slightly but although the small animal was trembling badly, she seemed to be reasonably all right.
‘Do you want to hold her, while I have a proper look?’ he asked, lowering Daphne gently to the table. ‘I’m Brodie, by the way. Do you mind telling me your name?’
‘I’m Betsy and this is Granny.’
The grandmother gave a shaky smile. ‘Jean Blanchard,’ she said. ‘Thank you for seeing us so promptly, Brodie. I really am very grateful.’
‘Not at all.’ He checked the rabbit was being held before reaching to pick up his stethoscope. ‘We’re having a quiet morning, which is lucky.’
After examining the little girl’s pet, Brodie explained that he was going to have to keep Daphne in overnight. ‘She needs a scan to check that there’s nothing broken and I’ll give her some antibiotics and dress this wound on her foot.’
‘Will she be all right?’ Jean asked, her voice quaking anxiously.
‘We’ll do everything we can to make her well. You should be able to take her home first thing tomorrow.’
The little girl brightened considerably when he told her the good news. ‘Thank you, Brodie,’ she said. ‘Can I give her a cuddle before I go?’
‘Of course. Sit for a bit with her. She’ll be calmer after a cuddle with you.’
After they had left he saw two more patients, then had to drive to a nearby stable to check on a foal and its mother. ‘I shouldn’t be too long, Bethan,’ he said, as he was leaving.
‘No worries.’ She glanced at her computer screen. ‘You have three more appointments after lunch at the moment, so no need to rush back if you want to stop off and grab a bite to eat.’
He picked up his bag and Land Rover keys and left through the back door of the surgery.