Chapter 29
Brodie found it difficult not to be distracted by thoughts of Lettie spending time with Joe. He wished he didn’t think that getting involved with a client was such a bad idea, especially for someone trying to build up a new business. It occurred to him that Lettie was also working long hours and he doubted her busy life would allow her to spend much time with Joe. The thought cheered him slightly.
‘Hmm, maybe.’
‘Are you talking to yourself?’ Bethan asked from the doorway. She held up the medication she had collected for one of the patients when he gave her a quizzical look.
‘Sorry, I hadn’t realised you were there.’ He hoped he hadn’t spoken Lettie’s name out loud.
‘You said maybe,’ she said, a cheeky smile on her face. ‘Could you have been contemplating the details of our date?’
Taken aback, Brodie struggled to reply. ‘Date? Oh, you mean going for a drink?’
‘Is that a yes?’ She grinned turning to leave the room and glancing over her shoulder at him.
Remembering he’d already agreed to go with her, he nodded. ‘It is.’
‘Great. Shall we meet at eight?’
Brodie nodded. ‘Eight is fine.’
‘No problem.’ She raised a finger. ‘Ooh, I nearly forgot, Mrs, um, the one with the nasty tabby, is here to collect the food you wanted her to feed him. I couldn’t recall which packet I should give her.’
‘The weight-management one. The one with the blue writing on the cover, not the lavender writing.’
‘Great.’ She went to the door, stopping and turning to him. ‘Your next patient has arrived, too.’ She grimaced. ‘With a very cross-looking Siamese cat.’
Brodie had come across the cat a couple of times before and gave a resigned sigh. ‘Give me a couple of minutes to finish writing up these notes then send them through please.’
‘Will do.’ She left the room humming something to herself and Brodie immediately realised he should have put a stop to it, or at least let Bethan know that he saw her as a friend, rather than in a romantic way. He regretted agreeing to go out with her. Surely the only thing worse than becoming involved with a client was to do so with your most vital member of staff. Damn.
Later as his door closed behind another patient, Brodie’s thoughts turned to Lettie. He was looking forward to walking their dogs together the following evening just like friends would do, he decided. He hoped the weather forecast that had shown squally showers would be passing the Channel Islands was wrong and wouldn’t be bad enough to cancel their walk. Although, he doubted Lettie would be fazed by a bit of wind and rain – with her being a farmer’s daughter.
His phone pinged and picking it up from his desk he turned it round to look at the screen. ‘Maddie.’ He read her message saying to let her know when he was free, about redecorating the cottage. Brodie decided he would do so as soon as he was finished for the day. He was amused to think of her reaction when she heard that he did want her help after all. Knowing his sister, she would be bracing herself for a row with him having come up with a list of reasons why it would be a sensible idea for him to let her get on with bringing the cottage up to date. He looked forward to seeing the surprise on her face when he spoke to her.
He replied with a message asking Maddie to call in at the cottage any time between five thirty and seven thirty that evening. It would give him time to see his sister, then go and meet Bethan. He went out to the reception to check on Thistle and picked up one of his toys that was somehow wedged behind the filing cabinet. His life was so different now after those dark months when everything had seemed so miserable after he and Tiffany split up.
Apart from a scrap between two dogs, the rest of the day passed with little incident. Even so, Brodie was happy to be back at the cottage and changed into his oldest jogging bottoms and T-shirt. He decided he had better tidy the place up and make sure the few dishes he had washed that morning were put neatly away in the cupboards. He fed Thistle who had just settled down in front of the fire when there was a loud knock on the door, causing the dog to leap to his feet and bark noisily.
‘It’s only my nosy sister,’ Brodie soothed, stroking the dog’s head and settling him back down. ‘No need to worry.’
He went to the door and opened it. ‘Tina?’
He stepped back, shocked to see her there and waved her inside. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘That depends,’ she said carrying Noah through to the living room when he waved for her to go inside. She bent to stroke Thistle’s head.
A sense of foreboding flooded through him. ‘You’ve heard from his owners, haven’t you?’
‘I’m afraid I have.’
The thought of returning Thistle to his home upset him. ‘Tell me everything,’ he said, then remembered his date with Bethan. ‘Sorry, I’ve just got to send a brief message to someone.’ He tapped out an apologetic text telling her that Thistle’s owners had been found and that they would need to reschedule their drink. Pressing send, he decided that when they discussed the matter he would have to let Bethan know that although he was happy to go for a drink as colleagues, he valued her too much as his practice nurse to want their professional and friendly relationship to change in any way.