They walked back through to the kitchen, where the plate of scones sat, along with the kettle boiling. Eli pulled off his cap and sighed as he sat down. ‘We’ll just need to wait and see how things go.’

  Aurora went to sit down, then changed her mind. She walked through to the back kennels and shouted Bert in, picking him up and cuddling him while she sat at the table.

  ‘You okay?’ Eli asked, pouring the tea.

  ‘Yeah,’ she sighed. ‘Just wishing that the day I found Bert, I found Hank too, and all of this never happened. That little guy has been foraging for himself for nearly a month. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’

  Eli carried the tea over and reached across, rubbing Bert’s head. ‘You can’t think like that. At least you found Bert. He’s doing great, aren’t you, guy?’

  Bert lifted his head into the air and sniffed. ‘Is that the scones you smell, or is it your brother?’ asked Aurora, giving him another cuddle.

  Eli split the scones and spread them with butter and jam, putting them on two plates, and she continued to hug Bert.

  ‘What will we do with Hank over the next few days?’

  ‘I can ask Anne to do some extra hours. I’m sure she’ll be happy to.’

  ‘Okay then.’

  ‘Because...’ he met her gaze with a smile ‘...we will need some time off.’

  ‘We will? What for?’ she asked with a smile, warmth flooding through her like a comfort blanket.

  ‘I’ve booked us onto something.’

  ‘That sounds mysterious.’

  ‘There’s a graveyard tour in Edinburgh, by bus. Does the underground stuff too. But also some drinks and snacks as we do the tour. Thought we might give it a try.’

  ‘That sounds like fun. You thinking about the Scottish weather again?’

  He gave a shrug. ‘You know what it’s like. The graveyard and vault tour are probably best in October and November. This seemed like a fun added extra, and it doesn’t leave until eleven at night.’

  ‘Why do I have a feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?’

  He gave a wide grin. ‘It might be billed as a horror comedy tour.’

  She laughed. ‘Is the horror the actual comedy?’

  ‘I guess we’ll find out.’

  ‘When are we going?’

  He pulled a face. ‘I’d booked for two nights’ time. That was before Hank though. I’ll check with Anne, to see if she can cover or not. If not, we can change it.’

  Aurora nodded and, as she ate her scone, lifted the pile of notes that Anne had written this afternoon while manning the desk and answering the phone. Most were for repeat prescriptions. Anne had already printed them, and was just waiting for Eli to sign. She and Aurora would dispense and phone the owners back to let them know to collect the medications. There was another with some follow-up details Aurora had asked about a dog’s diet. One query about a sick parrot. And a final one that made her stop cold.

  Caller on the answering machine asking to speak to Star Kingfisher? Quite insistent. Must be wrong number.

  A chill swept over her entire body. No, not here too.

  She closed her eyes for a second and tried not to throw up. Could this be her stalker again? The kidnap attempt hadn’t been a physical kidnap attempt, but the police had got wind of it, and foiled it. There was clear evidence of the stalking. Aurora had texts to her phone—even though she’d changed her number a few times. Letters sent to her house. And emails to her agent, and to her own private email account. All of them bombarding her to continue in her role, when it had been announced she was leaving the series.

  She hadn’t actually had to appear in court with her stalker. She’d been protected from that. And she’d never seen him in person. Just his police mugshot, and a picture of him entering court seven years ago. Would she even recognise him if she saw him now?

  That actually scared her more than she wanted to admit.

  She had to tell Eli. She had to tell Anne. It made her insides curl. Not only would she be letting them know she’d had a past career she’d kept from them, but now she was potentially bringing trouble to their door. What on earth would they think of her?

  ‘Aurora? You okay?’

  She opened her eyes and took a quick gulp of tea to soothe her bone-dry mouth.

  She tried to be rational. Matt knew about her past career. When she’d applied for the job—although she hadn’t written it on her submitted CV—she did tell him what she’d done in her late teenage years. He’d brushed it off easily, asked a few questions about the animals she’d interacted with on set, and what she’d learned about them. But once she’d answered his questions she’d said she was just trying to have a new life, and he’d said he respected that, and wouldn’t mention it again.

  So she hadn’t been totally dishonest.

  She took a deep breath. ‘Yeah, there was just something I was going to mention—’

  But she got cut off. Anne appeared in the door way. ‘Eli, I need you.’

  They were both on their feet in an instant. Animals could crash after anaesthesia. The most common signs were tachycardia, low blood pressure—both of which had been borderline for Hank—and hypothermia, which he was exhibiting now. Anne had wrapped a silver blanket around him.

  ‘I’ll give something else to reverse the anaesthetic again. Can you increase the rate on his IV fluids please, Anne?’ asked Eli, checking the wound, then taking out his stethoscope to listen to Hank’s chest again. They were all silent for a moment, before he pulled the stethoscope from his ears. ‘No fluid in his lungs. No heart murmur, just a consistent tachycardia.’ He touched Hank’s head tenderly. ‘Just a little guy who might not have the pull to get through the other side of surgery. Maybe we shouldn’t have done it. Maybe this was cruel?’

  It was the first time she’d ever heard Eli doubt anything he’d done as a vet. No practitioner was infallible. There were always times they had to weigh the odds and hope they worked in their favour. Had she pushed him to do this?

  She put her hand over his. ‘This wasn’t cruel. This was us doing our best and trying to give Hank a chance.’

  Anne gave a slow nod. ‘There’s the human side too. If I had to tell that teenage girl that we’d had to put the puppy down, I doubt she’d get over it. Hank had a chance, and he still does.’

  Eli gave a slow nod and sighed. ‘I just hate these parts of the job. He’s just so scrawny. I’ve used minuscule amounts of drugs on him, as I have to be so careful about what his body can tolerate.’

  ‘I have an idea,’ said Aurora. ‘Give me a minute.’

  She ran through to the kitchen and picked Bert out of his basket, holding him firmly in her hands as she walked back through to the recovery area.

  Bert made a little noise, as if he picked up the scent as soon as he came in the room. He started to scrabble a bit, but Aurora held him firm. ‘No, honey. Hold still, let me take you over to him.’

  Hank murmured too, coming around a little more from the anaesthetic now the drugs were kicking in, and sniffing the air.

  Eli and Anne smiled as Aurora brought Bert nearer, talking quietly in his ear the whole time. She held Bert close enough to rub his head next to Hank’s. Bert desperately wanted to get closer, but she didn’t want him to knock Hank’s leg, so she manoeuvred around, allowing them to see each other, to lick each other’s face, and to touch with their paws.

  ‘It’s probably a million times better than any drug,’ said Eli, giving her a smile that warmed her heart.

  It struck her just how much she wanted this to work. She’d never met anyone like him before. And although she needed to tell him about her alternate identity, she was still glad that he just knew her. And liked her.

  What had started out as rocky had blossomed very quickly into something special. And as she watched him lean over Hank, stroke his head and talk to him, she realised she loved this man. She actually loved him.

  His too long, scruffy hair that she could run her fingers through. The stubble on his face that would scrape her cheek. The feel of his muscles flexing under the palm of her hand. That look from those blue eyes that made her insides want to melt.

  She could do this. She could stay here. She loved this place already, but had never really considered it for ever. But now? With Eli? It could be.

  But could she be his for ever too?

  Trust for her had been so hard since her past experiences. But trust with Eli had always seemed unquestionable—even when she hadn’t liked him those first few hours, she’d never felt unsafe. She’d never been worried.

  But there still seemed to be an edge to Eli. Something that lay deep down beneath the surface. She wondered sometimes if she really knew everything about him.

  But then, he didn’t know everything about her.

  That would have to change.

  But as she watched him take care of Hank, while still holding Bert close to her chest, she knew there was a time and place for everything. And this wasn’t it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘I THINK I might fall asleep,’ said Eli, as they climbed onto the decorated bus.

  ‘Me too,’ Aurora whispered as they were led to a table on the bus where a skeleton was in one of the seats.

  ‘Guess this guy won’t mind,’ joked Eli, as he slid in next to the skeleton and slung an arm around its shoulders.

  ‘Maybe that’s what we all look like when we get off the bus,’ joked Aurora, as one of the attendants approached with a tray of cocktails, all smoking and bubbling.

  Eli picked something green and Aurora something peach-coloured and they both took a sip. ‘Ouch,’ laughed Eli, his cheeks drawing together. ‘Well, that one is a bit strong.’

  Aurora’s eyes started to water. ‘Mine too.’ She gave a little choke. ‘One of these will definitely be enough.

  The last few nights had been tiring. Hank hadn’t settled well. They had no idea where he’d been sleeping in the woods, or how long Bert and he had been separated from their mother, but he was difficult to get to sleep.

  Both of them wished Bert could be in beside him. But Bert still had jumpy puppy traits that meant he could unwittingly hurt his brother, so they were waiting until he’d healed a bit better. They’d also spent a whole afternoon tramping around the woods to ensure there were no further puppies abandoned, but had found nothing. It had been a relief.

  As the other passengers loaded and the guide gave an overview of what would happen, Eli studied Aurora.

  He didn’t mean to. He just did it every opportunity that he got.

  She was beautiful, with her skin slightly tanned and a few freckles across her nose, her dark red hair and bright green eyes, he actually couldn’t believe he’d got this lucky.

  More than that, she had a good heart. She was feisty. She didn’t put up with any nonsense. She had a real understanding of the farming community that actually put him to shame.

  He’d underestimated her in the first few seconds of meeting her—but he’d never been that foolish again since.

  Every day he spent around her, he learned more about himself, and more about her. Part of him felt as if coming here had been cathartic. Part of him felt as if seeing Matt had been a wakeup call, to be grateful for life, and all that was in it.

  But meeting Aurora had been the icing on the cake.

  He’d never experienced a spark like this. He’d thought he had. But now, with hindsight, he realised he’d been fooled. Every time he looked at her, he had a fresh wave of emotion. She affected every part of him. His senses seemed to go into overdrive around her. Just one whiff of her perfume was enough to send goosebumps across his skin and blood rushing to other parts of his body.

  It was time to talk. Time to feel his way to seeing if he could make this more permanent. He still had questions. He still had trust issues. He wasn’t sure they would ever go away. But those were his issues, not hers.

  Aurora hadn’t given him reason not to trust her.

  He wondered if things had just moved too quickly between them. How he felt certainly had. He loved her. He was sure of it. He wanted to work next to her every day. He wanted to take her for a drive in every car in his father’s garage. He wanted to replace some of the photographs in the hallway with some newer ones—one of them together, one of them with their dogs. But how would she feel about that?

  The bus pulled out. The journey would take a few hours, with some pitstops along the way. They’d go on a visit to Greyfriars Kirkyard and walk to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby. They’d pass Holyrood Palace and go along Grassmarket and close to Edinburgh Castle. They’d go back down the Royal Mile, learning ghastly and ghostly history wherever they went, and finally finish with a visit to the underground vaults.

  He leaned back into his skeleton friend as they listened to the comedian. The mood on the bus was light, jovial and the drinks seemed to be going down well.

  He took a breath. ‘About the practice,’ he said.

  ‘Yes?’ She looked up straight away.

  ‘You’ve probably guessed this because you were with me when we visited Matt and Marianne, but I’m going to stay.’

  ‘For good?’ There was an edge of hope in her voice. And he cringed inside. His answer should be yes, but he still couldn’t honestly say that.

  He swallowed. ‘I’m going to stay for at least a year, then take it from there.’

  ‘A year?’ Was that disappointment in her voice?

  ‘At least. One of the potential applicants looks like a good candidate. You met her—Cheryl Wood? She, her husband and children are keen to move here. Her husband’s a school teacher and they know there are plenty of jobs in the area. She’s had some maternity leave during her studies, so qualifies in September.’

  ‘The school term here starts in August. Won’t that be too late for her husband?’

  ‘He can work on the teaching bank. Apparently, there are lots of hours, and it will give him a chance to get to know the area, and where he might want to work permanently.’

  ‘Only a year?’

  He blinked and put his hand on his chest. ‘I’m still not completely sure if I want to take over Dad’s practice. Working here has been better than I thought. I’ll always be known as David Ferguson’s son, but I’m beginning to feel as if I can put my own stamp on the place.’

  ‘Does that mean you’ll let me decorate?’ She’d already shown him some plans and given him some costs to update parts of the practice.

  ‘I showed them to Matt, and he likes the idea.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘But you still can only say you’ll stay for a year?’ Her voice had softened slightly.

  ‘Aurora,’ he said softly, ‘I don’t want to make false promises. I think this could work out. I think I might like to stay. But, until I know for sure, I only want to promise that I’ll stay for the next year.’

  She looked at him steadily and he continued.

  ‘You have to know that a big part of why I want to stay is you.’

  She sucked in a breath. ‘Me?’

  He gave her a smile. ‘Absolutely.’

  The bus jolted and both their drinks slid across the table, Eli barely catching them with one arm.

  She let out a laugh, then leaned forward, her face serious as she reached out and touched his hand with her fingers. ‘I’m glad you want to stay because of me, but you have to want to stay because of you too.’

  ‘And that’s the part that’s getting there. You just have to give me a little more time. There are a few other complicating factors that mean I can’t take over the practice completely. I have to let Matt and Marianne look after my dad’s share for now.’

  ‘But Matt’s...’ She let her voice tail off and pressed her lips together.

  His other hand met hers. ‘And I’ll cross that bridge if I need to. For now, I don’t.’ He took another breath. ‘And if I do decide I don’t want to stay, I’ll talk to you about it first.’

  Her brow creased. ‘So you can say goodbye?’

  ‘No, so I can ask you if you want to come with me.’

  She stayed very still. ‘That sounds serious.’

  ‘I am serious.’

  ‘We’ve only known each other for a short time.’

  He gave her a level look. ‘I know that, but I know how I feel.’ His insides were doing somersaults. It struck him that having this conversation on a bus, where both of them were essentially trapped for the next few hours, meant things potentially could go horribly wrong.

  ‘How do you feel?’ she asked, her fingers clenching under his.

  He kept his voice steady. ‘I feel like I’ve met someone that I can picture myself spending a lot of time with.’

  Her voice was equally steady. It was almost as if she was challenging him. ‘Spending a lot of time with, as in a fling? Or spending a lot of time with, as in something else?’

  The question was close to the bone.

  He didn’t hesitate. ‘Definitely something else.’

  A slow smile started to spread across her face, and she leaned over and rescued her peach cocktail. ‘Is that something we should drink to?’

  ‘I think it is,’ he said, picking up his green cocktail and clinking it against hers.

  The two of them were smiling, and Eli had to untangle himself from the skeleton to lean across the table and put a kiss on her lips. Her lips were cold and sweet from the cocktail, and he instantly wished there wasn’t a table between them.

  ‘When can we get off this bus?’ he groaned.

  Her eyes gleamed as she pulled her lips from his. ‘I have to see Greyfriars Bobby. I have to do the unthinkable thing of touching his nose.’

  ‘I don’t think we’re allowed to,’ he whispered. The act of touching Greyfriars Bobby’s nose by visitors was frowned upon, and had caused the paint to have to be restored on numerous occasions.

 

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