Kate stepped out of her car, memories flooding back. How long was it since she’d last stood here? Three years, yes, three years since she’d first arrived at Barleybridge Veterinary Hospital as an accounts clerk to earn money while she re-took her A-level chemistry. Now here she was coming back as a veterinary student to ‘see practice’ for six whole weeks. Total, absolute bliss. Someone opened a window and a waft of disinfectant blew across the car park. Kate welcomed it. This was what it was all about: the clean, sharp smell of disinfectant, of antiseptic, of anaesthetic . . . of dog, of cat, of rabbit, of . . . A car charged in from the main road and roared to a stop beside her own. ‘Kate! Wonderful! I’ve so been looking forward to you coming.’

It was Joy the practice manager, a blonde bombshell of a person, full of vitality and bounce. She leapt out of her car and flung her arms around Kate.

‘Just like old times! This is great. Come on, what are you waiting for? You’re with Valentine this week. By the way, go carefully, he’s persuaded Nina to come back to him, again, so Nadia is a thing of the past, though she lasted longer than most of his flings.’

The two of them went in through the back door and the first person they met was Valentine going through his post on his way to his consulting room. Nothing had changed, thought Kate. He was as handsome as ever and, if possible, even more attractive than she remembered.

His dark Eastern European eyes studied her from head to foot.

‘Kate! You’re mine all week. What a time we shall have. I become busier and busier, and you’ll be a great help.’

‘I look forward to learning a lot.’

‘I have an idea you know more than enough already. You are so bright and very clever.’

Kate bowed her head in acknowledgement of his compliment. ‘Let’s hope I live up to your assessment!’ She had to smile at him. He always left people feeling better about themselves and that couldn’t be anything other than a good thing. She felt for his wife, though. Poor Nina. The times she’d left him never to come back and it had obviously happened yet again. He might be a great guy but it was time Nina called a halt to Valentine Dedic and his many short-term lovers.

Valentine handed her a new white coat, and as she put it on Kate could almost feel the authority it gave her. She slung her stethoscope around her neck and grinned at him. ‘Do I look the part?’

‘You certainly do, I shall have to watch my step. They’ll be thinking I’m the student and you the vet!’ ‘I don’t think so.’

‘First client, Mrs Bookbinder. Chang for his annual boosters. You’ll remember them, no doubt. Lovely client, devoted to her animals. She even has a graveyard in her garden where they all go when they die, headstones, the works. I suspect she’d like to call in the Vicar to do the honours at the service! Lovely woman, though.’

He opened the consulting room door, called out, ‘Chang Bookbinder,’ and, as Mrs Bookbinder sailed towards him, dragging a reluctant Chang along behind her, Valentine clicked his heels together saying, ‘Good morning, Nerissa, you’re looking on top of the world today.’

‘Valentine! You utterly charming man.’ He closed the door behind her. ‘This is Kate, my student for the week, I hope you won’t mind her being present. She’s very able and I’m sure will have a contribution to make to our consultation.’

‘Of course I don’t mind. I remember Kate. Now, Chang, less of the fuss and be a brave man for your mummy. Come along now. Right. I’ll sit down and keep a low profile. That usually works, doesn’t it, Valentine?’

She slid carefully down onto a chair and looked away from Chang so she didn’t have eye contact, but even so, Chang rather obviously had taken exception to Valentine stroking him and trying to make friends.

‘I’ll prepare the booster and then, Kate, if you could lift him up onto the examination table, I’ll do the business as quick as a flash.’ For a brief moment Chang’s small fangs were bared and a slight growl could be heard rumbling in his chest. Though fully grown, he was small, even for a Shih Tzu, and Kate hadn’t the slightest qualms about her ability to handle him.

When the injection was ready, at a nod from Valentine, Kate advanced on Chang and, speaking softly and sympathetically, she tucked a hand under his bottom and the other under his ribcage and began gently to lift him up onto the table. But she hadn’t bargained for his hatred of veterinary treatment. One rapid, vigorous twist of his body and he’d left her grip, flown through the air and landed on the computer shelf, without getting all four feet firmly on. A back foot slipped off, the whole of him followed it, and poor Chang landed on the floor on his flank with an almighty thud.

There was a split second of complete silence and then Mrs Bookbinder shrieked, ‘Oh, my God! Chang!’ Chang lay still, seemingly stunned by his fall. Kate went to pick him up but Valentine thundered, ‘Leave him.’ He swiftly plunged the syringe into the folds of flesh on Chang’s neck and stood back. Mrs Bookbinder was trembling from head to foot. ‘Attacking him with the needle when he’s in shock! How could you, Mr Dedic? He’s too old for a fall like this, he could die. How could you, Mr Dedic?’ Then she screamed, a long, piercing scream which echoed round the room. Nothing, but nothing, would stop her screaming.

Hearing her desperate screams, Chang decided to play sick and poorly. He trembled a little, lifted his head and dropped it back down again, fluttered his little furry toes, looked as though he were about to rise and then dramatically fell back down again. Mrs Bookbinder shrieked with horror. ‘See! He is, he’s dying! He is! Do something! Do something!’

Valentine took the lid off a plastic box and allowed the scent of the contents to escape. Kate caught the drift of chocolate and Chang’s nose twitched slightly. Valentine then placed three chocolate drops on the floor, positioned so Chang had to get up to reach them. As though a miracle had brought him back from the jaws of death, he leapt to his feet, followed the trail of chocolate and gobbled them up. He stood there wagging his tail at Valentine and looking pleadingly for more, so Valentine, who couldn’t resist Chang’s soulful brown eyes, put a chocolate drop on the palm of his hand and bent down so Chang could reach it.

Full diplomatic relations having been restored, Valentine patted Chang on his head and said, ‘There we are, Nerissa, everything taken care of. He should be on the stage.’

‘Chang, you naughty boy! Come to Mummy who loves you.’ Chang, with a smug look, trotted across to her and allowed her to pick him up, and thrilled to her kisses and caresses with total abandonment.

‘Thank you, Valentine. I shouldn’t have screamed and carried on. I’m so sorry. I’m just relieved he’s not hurt. I was very upset.’ ‘You’d had a shock, it’s understandable. But don’t make a habit of chocolate drops; he only got them because it was an emergency. We don’t want him overweight, do we, now? Nothing worse than a Shih Tzu waddling along.’

‘Of course not. Thanks for your help with Chang, Kate. He’s not usually a naughty boy. Bye-bye, Valentine. By the way, did you get the pastrami I sent you when I was on holiday? It was very, very special, the best there is.’

‘I did. I sent you an email to say thanks.’

‘Ah! I can’t always cope with my emails and sometimes I delete them by mistake. Taste good, did it?’

Valentine took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Absolutely excellent, never tasted better.’ ‘Good, I’m glad. I thought you’d enjoy it. Only the best for my friends.’ She stroked his bare arm, enjoying the manly froth of hair exposed by his short-sleeved jacket. ‘Yes, well, I’d better go.’ After she’d left, Kate was tempted to tell him he was shameless where women were concerned but refrained. Instead she commented on his astuteness with Chang. ‘I honestly thought he was badly injured, I felt terrible about it.’

‘Well, he wasn’t, although no thanks to you. You should have taken a better hold on him. Remember that next time.’ Stung by his abrupt criticism, but aware it was justified, Kate turned away to check on the next client. It was Miranda Costello with her rabbit, Lettice. Kate had a soft spot for Miranda. Valentine grunted when he heard who was next. ‘That damned rabbit of hers. Bites lumps out of everything, including me. Is it Lettice’s teeth again?’

‘It is. Miranda’s nice, though, I’ve always liked her. Didn’t know she had a rabbit.’

‘Got her about two years or so ago. It’s a vicious little beggar. Heigh-ho.’

Miranda got the same click of his heels and slight nod of his head as she marched in. ‘Mr Dedic! Here we are again. And Kate! I didn’t know you’d come back. Oh, how smart you look in your white coat. Are you qualified now, dear?’ ‘Hello, Mrs Costello. Lovely to see you again. No, I’ve got three more years to do yet.’

‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, vets are better qualified than doctors. Anytime I’m ill, I shall be up on that examination table letting Valentine have a go.’ Miranda giggled, then caught sight of Valentine’s look of disapproval and wondered whether she should change to one of the other vets. She found Valentine rather unresponsive. ‘It’s her teeth again. Sorry.’

‘Come along, Lettice, I’m all ready for you. No struggling now. It won’t take a minute, if you’re still.’

But Lettice hated the sharp explosive shock of her front teeth being snipped off. She braced herself, not understanding why it had to be done and not relating the ease of eating to the snipping of her teeth.

Kate found an old towel to wrap Lettice in to keep her claws from scratching either Valentine or herself. There must have been something about Kate which appealed to Lettice, because she allowed herself, without any resistance, to be wrapped and firmly held while Valentine tackled her overlong front teeth. In a trice Lettice was back in Miranda’s carrying basket. ‘Oh, Kate, you must be qualified. That’s the best she’s ever been, isn’t it, Mr Dedic? The very best. Thank you, dear. Mind you’re here next time. She’s very special to me, is Lettice. I rescued her from my neighbours, you know. They bought her for their son and he didn’t want her. She was emaciated and her coat all matted, terrible state, she was. They gave me the hutch, though, wasn’t that kind? But she’s not in it very much. I let her roam free, except at night, because of the foxes. She’s such a beauty. I love this kind of tortoiseshell colouring she has. Very unusual, don’t you think? I brush her every day, that’s why she looks so good. The whole point is . . .’

Kate went to open the door, trying to edge Miranda out because she could see that Valentine was becoming exasperated. ‘You’ve done a good job on her, she looks in excellent health now.’

‘Oh, she is, Kate, she is. Thanks, Mr Dedic, see you again soon. Nice to see you, too, Kate.’ Miranda went into reception to pay her bill.

Valentine did some magic on the computer so the staff would know how much to charge and said, ‘That damned woman, she’s nothing but a pain.’

‘Miranda is lovely, so caring.’

‘That menagerie she has is a disgrace. They’re flea-ridden, allowed to run wild, and as for the mice, well . . .’

‘How do you know she has mice?’

‘Been there and seen them inside the house as well as out. I reckon she actually feeds the little beggars.’

‘Feeds them? Help.’

‘Exactly.’

‘Even so, she’s a nice person, even if she is a bit unconventional.’

‘Ummm. Next one.’

By coffee-break Kate was glad for a pause, although she was there to learn and learn she would. It was vital to put every single minute to good use. She might not approve of Valentine’s attitude towards some of his clients but that was nothing to do with her. Learning from his techniques was far more important, and clienthandling was an equally important skill, which one didn’t learn overnight.

The sugary coffee Joy handed to her was very welcome. If it hadn’t been so hot she would have drunk it down in one big gulp. Then she heard the blast fromthe past which she had dreaded and her heart immediately pulsed with anticipation. Would he or wouldn’t he be as attractive to her as he had been in the past? This was the moment to find out. Scott Spencer, coming in from visiting a farm, shouted,

‘Coffee! Coffee! Where is it? The workers need sustenance. Thanks, Joy, timed that just right.’

He strode into the staffroom and stood sipping rapidly from his mug, the one he’d always used since he first came to the practice. God! Time had stood still then. The impact was just the same, just as vivid, just as hard to resist. But resist she would. She hadn’t spent the last two years fighting off male veterinary students without learning a trick or two of self-preservation. Kate broke out into a sweat with the emotions hammering inside her. This . . . this she had not anticipated. She’d imagined she would be able to brush off her passion for him in a brief moment of firm selfcontrol. It was appalling how powerfully her emotions were clamouring at her. Try she must to remain cool and self-possessed.

‘Hello, Scott. How’s things?’ Scott swung round to face her. A silence began as the others froze, awaiting their reaction to each other. ‘Kate! Oh, my word. I’d forgotten you were starting today. How are you?’

He advanced as though intending to greet her with a kiss, but Kate backed away and instead offered her hand to shake. ‘I’m fine, thank you. You look well.’ ‘Married life, you know. Regular meals, moving house – keeps me fit.’

‘Of course. I heard you were moving. Where to?’ ‘About two hundred yards from the Fox and Grapes. Very convenient! Brook Cottage, it’s lovely, just what Zoe’s been looking for. Nice garden with an orchard. Oscar will be in his element.’

‘How is Oscar? He must be at school.’ ‘Just started and doing well.’ For some reason, which she couldn’t have explained to herself if she’d tried for a year, Kate asked, ‘Is it just Oscar still?’ ‘It is. Perhaps you’ll be working with me one week. I’d like that. Be like old times.’ ‘I’ll certainly be doing farm practice but I don’t know who with yet.’ Valentine interrupted them. ‘Ready?’ ‘Be seeing you, Kate. You know we’re all going for a drink tonight? Fox and Grapes, half eight. You will come, won’t you? I’ve just remembered it’s supposed to be a welcome party for you.’

‘I certainly will, of course. Eight-thirty. It’ll be lovely meeting up with everyone again.’

Kate followed Valentine back to the consulting room on wobbly legs. Control. That was what she needed, control. She must not let anyone see how seriously she was affected by Scott. She flicked the appointments list on the screen but could only see Scott’s smiling face: still that same tanned, healthy look, the thick blond hair, the lean, sexy body. And his eyes! Vivid blue. He was still stunningly attractive. But now he was married so he was de?nitely verboten. But she knew now, as clear as day, that she had made the most appalling mistake in coming back to the practice. She heard Valentine speak to her, but had no idea what he said. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘I said, who’s next?’ ‘Sorry. New client, a Miss Eustace with a young Siamese for a general examination, to make sure it’s sound.’

‘It’ll be a beauty, then. I’ve a lot of time for Siamese.’

‘They’re certainly very beautiful, but are they always sound?

Too interbred perhaps?’

‘Can be, I suppose. Same with any pedigree animal, though.’ Valentine went to welcome his new client. ‘Miss Eustace.’ Miss Eustace, a bright, sleek woman of about thirty, with come-hither eyes and a great vibrancy about her, came in bubbling with excitement, her words falling over each other so eager was she. ‘I picked her up yesterday from the breeder and I just want to be certain that she’s OK. I love her already, though. I really do. If there is anything wrong with her I might have to put up with it, because I couldn’t bear to part with her. What do you think?’ Miss Eustace gently drew the kitten out of her spanking new carrier and stood her on the examination table. She was spectacularly beautiful. Tippy-toed with good health, a milky coffee colour at her nose and tail, and a soft cream everywhere else. She rubbed herself against Valentine, purring and inviting admiration, her tail curling around Valentine’s arm, as though she’d known him all her life. ‘My word, Miss Eustace, I do believe you’ve got a cracker here. What have you called her?’

‘I haven’t chosen a name. Health-wise, how do you feel?’ The kitten submitted to an intimate examination without the slightest qualm. In fact, she revelled in it. Bold and confident were the words which sprang to mind.

‘The breeder’s seen to her initial injections, I assume?’ Miss Eustace nodded brightly.

‘She appears to be in magnificent health. She’ll give you many happy years of companionship. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity of checking her out. I’ll give you some kitten leaflets, about diet and general care, and my student will take your address, telephone number and the kitten’s date of birth. She’ll need regular boosters, of course; the details are all in this leaflet on the top. Good luck with her.’

Miss Eustace held out her hand to say goodbye and Valentine took it and held it for a little longer than necessary, but the smile he gave her, and the delight with which she reciprocated his au revoir, made Kate think they’d be meeting again before long, although it wouldn’t be in his consulting room. After all, Valentine was in an excellent position for making contact again; all he needed would be on the screen in front of him. The morning rushed along, with one client after another and so much for Kate to pick up. No doubt about it, Valentine was busy. In the afternoon Valentine had three operations to do and then he was free. Not an arduous time for someone who was experienced and working every day, but for Kate, passionately determined to absorb all and every detail, it was exhausting and, at the end of the day, she fell in through the door of the flat feeling shattered and calling, ‘Mia! Mia!’

Her stepmother rushed into the sitting room, flushed with working in their tiny kitchen on such a warm day, her hair tumbled and damp, her face glistening with sweat.

‘Well?’

‘Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I’ve loved it, but I’m starving.’

‘You ate your lunch?’

‘I did.’ Kate didn’t add that Scott had made a point of sitting next to her and paying her attention in such a way that she had become embarrassed. ‘Every little bit.’

‘Hungry?’

‘Yes. I’m going out for a drink tonight with everybody. Half past eight at the Fox and Grapes.’ ‘Cold salmon salad with new potatoes? Mayonnaise? White wine left over from last night?’ Kate nodded. ‘Have you had a good day in the shop?’ ‘The Gallery, my dear, the Gallery.’ They both giggled.

Kate drawled, ‘So sorry, da-a-rling,’ imitating the accent of the woman who employed Mia. They giggled again.

‘It won’t be long.’ Mia disappeared into the kitchen, wishing she’d dared to ask about Scott. That was the problem of going back to that practice. She’d doubted the wisdom of Kate returning, but Joy had rung up and asked for Kate to go. She’d been so keen it was hard for Kate to refuse. But Mia knew that Scott had broken Kate’s heart, and however hard Kate tried she couldn’t completely disguise the fact, certainly not from Mia. But then, Mia was exquisitely tuned in to Kate’s emotions, as she had been ever since becoming her stepmother when Kate was a year old.

Mia called out from the kitchen, ‘Your father would have been so delighted by today, he’d have wanted to hear about everything you’ve done.’

‘I know he would. Just going to get washed.’ ‘Of course, after handling all those animals.’ Kate smiled to herself. Mia always worried about the germs she might pick up, but Kate rather felt that she was becoming immune to them. Her hearty salad, followed by what Mia always called her ‘meringue thingy’, boosted Kate’s reserves and she dashed away to her evening out revived and ready for meeting everyone. The warm weather meant that every available window and door at the Fox was standing wide open, and the cheerful noise of dozens of people enjoying themselves flooded out into the car park. Kate had forgotten about the special conviviality peculiar to the Fox, it was very much unto itself and no other, and her spirits lifted as she stepped over the threshold, filled with pleasant anticipation.

She couldn’t see her colleagues inside so she went into the back garden and found she was one of the last to arrive. To accommodate them all, two tables had been pushed together under the big beech trees to catch some of their shade. They were all there, happy, welcoming faces, and a positive flurry of kissing, hugging, back-slapping and chatter ensued. He was with Zoe, so too was Mungo with Miriam, and Joy with Duncan, who looked happier than Kate had ever known him, and too many others to note in one hurried glance.

Joy called out, ‘Come and sit between Duncan and me, tell us all your news. There’s such a crowd of us now, isn’t there? And of course there’s Virginia, too, whom you won’t have met yet. She’s out on a call. Don’t know if she’ll make it.’

Joy was always a fair-minded person but even she couldn’t avoid pulling a disapproving face when she mentioned Virginia’s name. But Duncan asked her what she would like to drink and Kate got carried away talking about college and what an exciting day she’d had, and they never got back to talking about Virginia again.

Mindful that she had to drive home, Kate monitored how much she was drinking and when Scott proposed getting the next round in, making notes on a piece of paper so he wouldn’t forget who had ordered what, she asked for mineral water with ice and lemon.

Scott clapped a hand to his forehead and said, ‘Water! On a night like this? Surely not.’

Zoe interrupted. ‘Scott! Water she wants and water she gets.’ She smiled and reached out to rub a streak of ink from his cheek where his pen had caught it. Kate caught sight of the love shining in Zoe’s face, and Scott’s almost embarrassed recognition of it. He flicked a glance at Kate to see if she’d noticed and when he saw she had, he looked quickly away.

The party got rowdier and rowdier, and when Mungo did an impression of a tutor he’d known at college and they’d laughed themselves helpless at him – even more so when Colin remembered him, too, and told a few spicy stories about the tutor’s relationships with some of the women students – and the landlord apologetically asked them to cool it a little, they decided it was time they all went home.

Duncan took it upon himself to see Kate to her car. ‘Now, Kate, my girl, keep well focused on your career. We’re expecting great things from you. After all, you’ve the best of starts, haven’t you, being at the Barleybridge Veterinary Hospital.’ He nudged her to show he was joking. ‘You don’t want too many distractions, right?’

‘Now who’s going to distract me? They’re all married.’ ‘That doesn’t count for much nowadays.’ He grinned, a charming, lopsided grin not often seen on Duncan’s face. ‘I must say, Duncan, if I may, that you appear much happier than when I saw you last.’

‘I am much happier, thanks. Joy and I . . . well . . . we’ve come to a splendid understanding and we have the best years of our lives still to come.’ He hesitated and looked up at the sky. ‘I don’t know why I’m telling you that. I do believe you must have the kind of face which makes people want to confide in you. Not a bad attribute for a vet. Goodnight, Kate. Sleep tight. So glad to have you back in the fold for a while, so to speak.’

When Kate got home she made herself a cup of green tea to calm her mind, and curled up on the sitting-room sofa to gaze out at the night sky. If she strained her eyes a little she could just see the practice building nestling by the foothills of Beulah Bank Top. Whatever she might have imagined about her feelings for Scott and how she’d definitely got them under control since the time he hopped back to Australia without so much as a backward glance, she knew tonight that control was the least apt word to describe her sensations. All those old emotions had come streaming back, and witnessing the love Zoe had for Scott had only heightened them, for she also knew what it was like to love the man. She must be the biggest fool under the sun.

Whatever, he was unattainable, completely and absolutely, so she might as well put him out of her mind. Put him out of her mind? That was a laugh. Who was she fooling? Only herself. She should never have given in to Joy’s pleas to see practice with them. Never. But she had, and here she was in the throes of falling in love all over again. Damn and blast.

Mia came quietly in from her bedroom and stood in the dark beside her looking out, her hand resting on Kate’s shoulder. ‘It’s turned chilly now, hasn’t it, after such a hot day. They say it’s going to be this hot for the rest of the summer. Hot you know.’

‘Right.’

Mia stood silently for a while, looking out at the lights of Barleybridge, and then decided to ask, ‘How was it, then, back with all your old fellow conspirators again? Who was there? Anyone I remember?’

‘Graham’s left, otherwise just the same. Joy, of course, with Duncan, who seems much, much happier than I’ve ever known him. Colin, but not Letty because of little John, and all the rest, Rhodri and Megan, of course. They’re all wonderful. They made me feel so welcome and we had such a laugh. Even Mungo had us in stitches. They are such brilliant people to work with – caring, happy, devoted and such good fun, too. What more could one ask?’

‘Nothing, I suppose. I’m glad for you, Kate, very glad. Just keep your mind on your goal. OK?’

Mia’s hand squezed Kate’s shoulder. ‘Goodnight, my dearest girl.’ She dropped a kiss on the top of her head and went off to bed. She’d not mentioned that Scott, but as Kate had deliberately avoided saying his name, did that mean he’d affected her just like he did before? Maybe he hadn’t turned up, maybe, for once, he’d forgone a trip to the pub. After two years of never mentioning his name, had Kate succumbed again to his tremendous charm? No wonder if she did, he was gorgeous. Blast him. Mia wanted to boot him off the face of the earth. She, Mia Howard, would have something to say if she suspected for one single minute that Scott Spencer was making moves towards her Kate.

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