The Country Vet. Eleanor Jones

when he came back to Sky View. Gwen, his mum, was a lovely lady, and she was happy to help look after the children. I don’t know how he and Bill have been coping since the accident...”

      “I guess it’s just a case of having to,” Cass suggested thoughtfully. “Donald mentioned something about Robbie going to live with his mum. Was he Lucy’s twin?”

      Clare nodded. “She took him away with her after the funeral. I don’t know whether it was her idea or Jake’s. But tell me some more about the cottage. Exactly when are you moving in?”

      Cass frowned, her thoughts still on the tragedy that must have turned Jake and Bill’s whole world upside down. Bud’s death had changed her life, and sad though it was, a pet’s death couldn’t even come close to losing a wife, a daughter and a mum. An image of Jake’s bleak, angry face slid into her mind. Did he ever smile? she wondered. What was he like before the accident? Perhaps he should have kept Robbie with him—having the little boy to care for might have helped him to move on and find something to smile about again.

      Clare touched her arm. “So...when are you leaving us?”

      “Sorry,” Cass apologized. “I was miles away. I’m moving in tomorrow, but I’ll pay you for the whole week.”

      “You don’t have to do that. I’ll miss the company, of course, and the money, but I really am happy for you. I just hope you don’t get too lonely out there by yourself.”

      “But I won’t be alone, will I?” Cass laughed. “I’ll have a dog to keep me company.”

      * * *

      JAKE LEAPED EASILY down from the saddle, ran his stirrup irons up the leather and gave Carlotta an affectionate pat.

      “What would I do without you, girl?” he asked, pulling the reins over her ears to lead her across the yard to her stable. The gray mare nodded, as if in understanding, and followed obediently.

      Jake’s eyes were drawn to the space in the yard where poor Rosie had lain, awaiting collection. A sigh of relief passed his lips, accompanied by a lurch of guilt at not being there when they came for her. His dad would probably say he had run away from his responsibilities, just as he always did, but it wasn’t true. Rosie was gone, and there was nothing more he could have done for her. When Tara left he had run away, throwing himself into his career instead of staying home and taking care of Lucy and Robbie. He knew that only too well now, and he would be paying for it for the rest of his life. A sharp pain tore at his stomach, bringing a rush of bile into his mouth. He didn’t deserve to feel any happiness when little Lucy and his mum were no longer here to feel anything at all, and Robbie was gone to the other side of the world.

      Oh, how he hoped his son was okay. A few minutes on the phone once a week, if he was lucky, told him nothing, and the darned lawyer he’d hired to try and get Robbie back was worse than useless. The memory of Tara’s bitter voice in his ears, when he eventually managed to get hold of her after the funeral, doubled the heavy burden of guilt he felt every single day of his life.

      You aren’t fit to be a father. Robbie is staying in America with me now. I know I went away, but I thought I was doing the best thing for them by leaving them with their dad. You’re the one who really abandoned them.

      The accusation rang inside Jake’s head. Was she right? Had he abandoned them? The answer came at once. Yes, in a way he had, running around Europe, throwing himself into the thrill of competition when his kids needed him. His poor, dear mother had never once complained about his being away so often. Perhaps she should have. She would still be here if he’d faced up to his responsibilities for once. A sob rose in his throat and he forced it back, turning his attention to the gray mare standing patiently beside him.

      * * *

      BILL MUNRO SAW his son clatter into the yard and vault down from Carlotta, saw the expression on Jake’s face as he gave the mare an affectionate stroke. It seemed that Jake could only really communicate with animals nowadays. Setting his jaw, the old man headed purposefully toward him. Gwen would have told them both to get on with their lives, but it was just so hard. But he owed it to her to at least try to get Jake’s life back on track.

      “Good ride, son?” he asked.

      Jake glanced sideways at him. “They turned up for her, then.”

      Bill nodded. “Yes, about two.”

      “I’m sorry.” He turned away, unable to meet his father’s eyes. “I should have seen to it myself.”

      “No, really. It isn’t a problem.... Sad, though.”

      Jake’s eyes darkened. “It should never have happened.”

      “There are a lot of things around here that shouldn’t have happened,” Bill agreed. Tentatively he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “They say it gets easier with time.”

      Jake shrugged off his sympathy. “It will never get easier,” he declared, leading Carlotta into her stall.

      Bill shook his gray head sadly. “We have to try and get on with our lives, son. I know the anniversary has made it all raw again, but somehow we have to get through it.”

      “Why did you rent Sky Cottage to that girl?”

      Jake’s unexpected question took Bill totally by surprise. It held an accusation that brought out a sudden prickle of anger in him.

      “I’ll rent the cottage to whoever I please. She’s in a strange place with a new job and she needed somewhere to live. And she’s hardly a girl. She must be almost as old as you are.”

      “She doesn’t look it,” Jake responded. “She’s hardly vet material, either. A gust of wind could blow her over.”

      Bill popped his head over the stable door as Jake slid off the gray mare’s bridle, replacing it with a head collar and tying her to the wall ring.

      “According to Todd,” Bill said, “she’s very highly qualified and totally dedicated. If I’m honest, I suppose I felt a bit sorry for the lass. She seems lonely and I wanted to give her a break.”

      Jake picked up a body brush and began running it rhythmically across Carlotta’s gleaming coat.

      “Well, just keep her away from me.”

      “If she has any sense, she’ll stay away from you all by herself,” Bill retorted. “Oh, and by the way...”

      Jake looked back, raising his eyebrows.

      “I might have told her that you have some pups for sale.”

      “Well you’d better untell her, then, hadn’t you,” Jake snarled.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      DAWN WAS BREAKING as Cass pulled off the lane into the Low Fell parking lot. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she clambered out of her car, taking gulps of the sharp morning air to try and clear her head. In retrospect, the celebratory drink she and Clare had shared last night might have been a bit rash, since it had been almost midnight when she’d finally gotten to bed. Then again, she hadn’t known she was to going to be called out to an emergency at five-thirty.

      A small blue car was parked erratically, abandoned outside the clinic’s front door. Cass peered around the courtyard—all she’d been told in the brief message she’d received half an hour ago was that a dog was having difficulties and its owner would bring it straight to the surgery. She heard a muffled sound beyond the bank of colorful begonias that lined the bright green grass at the side of the stone building.

      “Hello!” she called, trying to make herself heard above the dawn chorus of a thousand early birds. “Can I help you?”

      The woman who appeared from beyond the begonias was elderly, red-faced and very distraught. Cass recognized her at once. “Mrs. Park!” she exclaimed. “Is it Poppy?”

      “Oh, thank God,” the distressed old lady responded. “Yes...he’s