Читать книгу Fairytale With The Single Dad - Алисон Робертс - Страница 14

SYDNEY DASHED TO the boot of Nathan’s car and panicked as she struggled to open it. At first she couldn’t see the reflective triangle he’d mentioned—his boot was full of stuff. But she rummaged through, tossing things to one side, until she found it. Then she dashed to the bend in the road and placed it down, hoping that it would be enough of a warning to stop any other vehicles that came that way from running into them.

She ran over to the ditched car and horsebox, glancing quickly at the horse in the back. It was neighing and huffing, making an awful lot of noise, stamping its hooves, struggling to find a way to stand in a box that was on its side. She couldn’t see if it had any injuries. She hoped not. But there wasn’t much she could do for the horse anyhow. She needed to help Nathan and the people in the car.

She’d already seen the driver was out of the vehicle. He was sitting in the road, groaning and clutching at his head. He had a bleeding laceration across his brow, causing blood to dribble down his face and eyes.

Nathan was in the ditched vehicle, assessing whoever was in the front seat.

Sydney knelt down, saw the head wound was quite deep and pulled the scarf from around her neck and tied it around the guy’s scalp. ‘You need to come with me. Off the road. Come and sit over here.’

She pointed at the grass verge.

‘I didn’t see… I didn’t notice… We were arguing…’ the man mumbled.

He was in shock. Sydney grabbed the man under his armpits and hauled him to his feet. Normally she wouldn’t move anyone after a car accident. She knew that much. But this man had already hauled himself out of the vehicle and dropped onto the road before Nathan got there. If he’d done any damage to himself, then it was already done. The least she could do was get him out of the middle of the road and to a safer zone.

The man was heavy and dazed, but he got to his feet and staggered with her to the roadside, where she lowered him down and told him to stay. ‘Don’t move. Try and stay still until the ambulance gets here. I’ve called for help—they’re on their way.’

The man looked up at her. ‘My wife…my son!’

He tried to get up again, but Sydney held him firmly in place. ‘I’ll go and help them, but you must stay here!’

The man looked helpless and nodded, trembling as he realised there was blood all over his hands.

Sydney ran back over to the ditched car, heard a child crying and noticed that Nathan was now in the back seat. He called to her over his shoulder.

‘There’s a baby. In a car seat. He looks okay, but I need to get him out of the vehicle so I can sit in the back and maintain C-spine for the mother.’

Sydney nodded and glanced at the woman in the front seat. She was unconscious, and her air bag had deployed and lay crumpled and used before her. There was no bleeding that she could see, but that didn’t mean a serious injury had not occurred. If a casualty was unconscious, that usually meant shock or a head injury. She hoped it was just the former.

‘I’m unclipping the seatbelt.’

Sydney heard a clunk, then Nathan was backing out, holding a car seat with an indignant, crying infant inside it, bawling away.

The baby couldn’t be more than nine months old, and had beautiful fluffy blond hair. But his face was red with rage and tears, and his little feet in his sleep suit were kicking in time with his crying.

‘Shh… It’s okay. It’s okay… I’ve got you.’ Sydney took the heavy seat with care, cooing calming words as she walked back across the road to take him to his father.

In the distance she heard the faint, reassuring sound of sirens.

‘Here. Your little boy. What’s his name?’ she asked the man, who smiled with great relief that his son seemed physically okay.

‘Brandon.’

That was good. The man’s bump to the head hadn’t caused amnesia or anything like that. ‘And your name…?’

‘Paul.’

‘Okay, Paul. You’re safe. And Brandon’s safe—he doesn’t look injured—and that man helping your wife is a doctor. She’s in good hands. He knows what he’s doing.’

‘Is she hurt? Is Helen hurt?’

Sydney debated about how much she should reveal—should she say that Helen was unconscious? Or stay optimistic and just tell him she was doing okay? The truth won out.

‘I don’t know. She’s unconscious, but Nathan—that’s Dr Jones—is with her in the car and he’s looking after her. Do you hear those sirens? More help will be with us soon.’

The sirens were much louder now, and Sydney knew she was breathing faster. Hearing them get closer and closer just reminded her of that morning when she’d had to call an ambulance for Olivia. Wishing they’d get to her faster. Feeling that they were taking for ever. Praying that they would help her daughter. She could see the same look in Paul’s eyes now. The distress. The fear.

But this was an occasion where she actually had her wits about her and could do something.

‘I need to go and help Nathan.’

She ran back across the road. The car’s radiator or something must have burst, because she could hear hissing and see steam rising up through the bonnet of the vehicle. She ducked into the open door.

Nathan was in the back seat, his hands clutching Helen’s head, keeping it upright and still. His face was twisted, as if he was in pain.

‘Is she breathing still?’ he managed to ask her.

Is she breathing? Sydney wasn’t sure she wanted to check—her own shock at what had happened was starting to take effect. What if Helen wasn’t breathing? What if Helen’s heart had stopped?

‘I—’

‘Watch her chest. Is there rise and fall?’

She checked. There was movement. ‘Yes, there is!’

‘Count how many breaths she takes in ten seconds.’

She looked back, counting. ‘Two.’

‘Okay. That’s good.’

She saw Nathan wince. Perhaps he had cramp, or something? There was some broken glass in the car. Perhaps he’d knelt on it? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as vehicles flashing red and blue lights appeared. An ambulance. A fire engine, and further behind them she could see a police car.

Thank you!

Sydney got out of the car and waved them down, feeling relief flood her.

A paramedic jumped out of the ambulance and came over to her, pulling on some purple gloves. ‘Can you tell me what happened?’

She gave a brief rundown of the incident, and pointed out Paul and baby Brandon, then filled him in on the woman in the car.

‘Okay, let’s see to her first.’ The paramedic called out to his partner to look after the driver and his son whilst he checked out Helen, still in the car with Nathan.

Sydney ran back over to Paul. ‘Help’s here! It’s okay. We’re okay.’ She beamed, glad that the onus of responsibility was now being shouldered by lots of other people rather than just her and Nathan.

As she stood back and watched the rescue operation she realised there were tears on her face. She wiped them away with a sleeve, aware of how frightened she’d been, and waited for Nathan to join her, shivering. She wanted to be held. To feel safe. She wanted to be comforted.

The morning she’d found Olivia she’d been on her own. Alastair had already left for work. So there’d been no one to hold her and let her know it was okay. She’d needed arms around her then and she needed them now. But Alastair had never held her again.

If she asked him, Nathan would hold her for a moment. She just knew it. Sensed it. What they’d just experienced had been traumatic. But she remained silent, clutching her coat to her. She just stood and watched the emergency services get everything sorted.

And waited.

Nathan was needed by the paramedics, and then by the police, and by the time he was free she was not. The horse needed her—needed checking over.

She told herself a hug wasn’t important and focused on the practical.

Paul and Brandon had been taken to hospital in one ambulance; Helen had been extricated and taken away in another, finally conscious. The horsebox had been righted and the horse had been led out to be checked by Sydney. It had some knocks and scrapes to its legs, mostly around its fetlocks—which, in humans, was comparable to injuries to an ankle joint—but apart from that it just seemed startled more than anything.

They’d all been very lucky, and Sydney now stood, calming the horse, whilst they waited for an animal transporter to arrive.

Nathan stood watching her. ‘That horse really feels safe with you.’

She smiled. ‘Makes a change. Normally horses see me coming with my vet bag and start playing up. It’s nice to be able to comfort one and calm it down.’

‘You’re doing brilliantly.’

She looked at him. He looked a little worn out. Wearied. As if attending to the patients in the crash had physically exhausted him. Perhaps he’d had a really long day. Just like being a vet, being a doctor had to be stressful at times. Seeing endless streams of people, each with their own problems. Having to break bad news. She knew how stressful it was for her to have to tell a customer that their beloved pet was dying, or had to be put to sleep. And when she did euthanise a beloved pet she often found herself shedding silent tears along with the owner. She couldn’t help it.

Perhaps it was the same for Nathan. Did seeing people in distress upset him? Wear him out?

‘You did brilliantly. Knowing what to do…who to treat. How to look after Helen. I wouldn’t have thought to do that.’ She stroked the horse’s muzzle.

‘It’s nothing.’

‘But it is. You probably saved her life, keeping her airway open like that. She could have died.’

‘At least they’re in safe hands now.’

She looked at him and met his gaze. ‘They were already in safe hands.’

She needed to let him know that what he’d done today had mattered. Paul still had a wife. Brandon still had a mother. Because of him. A while ago she’d almost lost her faith in doctors. She’d depended on them to save Olivia, and when they’d told her there was nothing they could do…

At first she hadn’t wanted to believe them. Had raged at them. Demanded they do something! When they hadn’t she had collapsed in a heap, hating them—and everyone—with a passion she had never known was inside her. Today, Nathan had proved to her that doctors did help.

‘How do you think the horse is doing?’

Sydney could feel the animal was calmer. It had stopped stamping its hooves and snorting as they’d stood there on the side of the road, watching the clean-up operation. It had stopped tossing its head. Its breathing had become steadier.

‘She’s doing great.’

‘Paul and Helen aren’t the only ones in safe hands.’ He smiled and sat down on the bank beside her, letting out a breath and rolling his shoulders.

She stared at him for a moment, shocked to realise that she wanted to sit next to him, maybe to massage his shoulders or just lean her head against his shoulder. She wanted that physical contact.

Feeling that yearning to touch him surprised her and she turned away from him, focussing on the horse. She shouldn’t be feeling that for him. What was the point? It was best to focus on the horse. She knew what she was doing there.

It didn’t take long for the accident to be cleared. The police took pictures, measured the road, measured the skid marks and collected debris. The car was pulled from the ditch and lifted onto a lorry to be taken away, and just as Sydney was beginning to doubt that a new horsebox would ever arrive a truck came ambling around the corner and they loaded the mare onto it to take her back to her stable.

Sydney gave the truck driver her details and told her to let Paul know that she’d be happy to come out and check on the horse, and that he was to give her a call if she was needed urgently.

Eventually she and Nathan got back into his car and she noticed that it was nearly midnight. Normally she would be lying in bed at this time, staring at the ceiling and worrying over every little thought. Wide awake.

But tonight she felt tired. Ready for her bed even without a sleeping pill. It surprised her.

Nathan started the engine. ‘Let’s take you home. Our little trip out lasted longer than either of us expected.’

‘That’s okay. I’d only have been awake anyway. At least this way I was put to good use.’

‘You’ve not been sleeping for some time?’

She shook her head and looked away from him, out of the window. ‘No.’

He seemed to ruminate on this for a while, but then he changed the subject. ‘Good thing I didn’t get any more house calls.’

That was true. What would he have done if he’d got a page to say that someone was having chest pains whilst he’d been helping Helen? They’d been lucky. All of them.

It was nice and warm in Nathan’s car as he drove them steadily back to Silverdale. For the first time Sydney felt the silence between them was comfortable. She didn’t need to fill the silence with words. Or to feel awkward. The circumstances of the emergency had thrown them together and something intangible had changed.

It felt nice to be sitting with someone like that. Even if it was with a man she had at first disliked immensely.

A jolt in the road startled her, and she realised she’d almost nodded off. She sucked in a breath, shocked that she’d felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.

She glanced at Nathan just as he glanced at her, and they both quickly looked away.

Sydney smiled.

It was beginning to feel more than nice.

It was beginning to feel good.

Nathan pulled up outside Sydney’s cottage and killed the engine. He looked out at the dark, empty street, lit only by one or two streetlamps, and watched as a cat sneaked across the road and disappeared under a hedge after being startled by his engine.

Despite the accident he’d had a good time tonight. It had felt really good to spend time with Sydney, and he felt they’d cleared the air after their misunderstandings at their first meeting and the awkward coffee.

Turning up at her door to ask for help with directions had almost been a step too far for him. He’d joked about asking her for her help, but when he’d tried to find Eleanor’s cottage on his own his stupid GPS had made him turn down a very narrow farming lane and asked him to drive through a muddy field! He’d got out and checked that there wasn’t a farmhouse or something near, where he might ask for help, but there’d been nothing. Just fields. And mud. Plenty of mud!

He’d argued with himself about going to her house. Almost not gone there at all. He knew her address. He’d seen it on his computer at work and for some reason it had burnt itself into his brain. She didn’t live far from her place of work, so it had been easy to find her, but he hadn’t known what sort of reception he’d get. She might have slammed the door in his face.

He’d felt awkward asking for help, but thankfully she’d agreed to go with him, and it had been nice to have her with him in his car, just chatting. It had been a very long time since he’d done that with anyone. The last time had been with Gwyneth. She’d always talked when they were driving—pointing things out, forming opinions on people or places that they passed. Her judgemental approach had made him realise just how insecure she’d been, and he’d done his best to try and make her feel good about herself.

Tonight, Sydney had been invaluable at the accident site—something he knew Gwyneth would never have been. She’d not been great with blood.

Sydney had been brilliant, looking after the driver and the baby, and then she’d managed to calm the horse and check it over. He wouldn’t have known how to handle such a large animal. He barely coped with looking after a rabbit, never mind a terrified horse that had been thrown around in a tin box.

Now they were back to that moment again. The one where he normally kissed people goodbye. And suddenly there was that tension again. He wasn’t sure whether he should lean over and just do it. Just kiss her.

‘Thanks for everything tonight. I couldn’t have done it without you,’ he said honestly.

She’d grabbed her handbag from the footwell on her side and sat with it on her knee. ‘No problem. I couldn’t have done it without you either.’

Though half her face was in shadow, he could still see her smile.

‘Well…goodnight, Sydney.’

‘Goodnight, Nathan.’

She stared at him for a moment, and then turned away and grabbed the latch to open the door. It wouldn’t budge and she struggled with it for a moment or two.

‘Sorry…sometimes it catches.’

He leant over her for the handle and she flinched as he reached past her and undid the door for her. He sat back, worried that he’d made her start.

She hurried from the vehicle without saying a word, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder and delving into her coat pocket for her house keys.

Disappointment filled his soul. He didn’t want her to walk away feeling awkward. That flinch, it had been… He wanted…

What do I want?

‘Sydney?’ He was out of his car before he could even think about what he was doing. He stood there, looking over the top of his car, surprising even himself. The night air had turned chill and he could feel goosebumps trembling up his spine.

She’d turned, curious. ‘Yes?’

‘Um…’ He couldn’t think of anything to say! What was he even doing, anyway? He couldn’t turn this friendship with Sydney into anything more. Neither of them was ready for that. And there was Anna to think of too. He was sure Sydney would not want to take on someone with a little girl—not after losing her own. And surely she wouldn’t want to take on someone who was ill?

Gwyneth had made it quite clear that he wasn’t worth her time and affection. That he had somehow ruined her life with his presence. Did he want to put someone else through that? Someone like Sydney? Who’d already been through so much? He’d end up needing her more than she needed him, and he’d hate that imbalance. He knew the state of his health. His condition would make him a burden. And Anna had to be his top priority. And yet…

And yet something about her pulled at him. Her energy. Her presence. Those grey eyes that looked so studious and wise, yet at the same time contained a hurt and a loss that even he couldn’t fully understand. He’d lost his fiancée, yes, but that had been through separation. It wasn’t the same as losing a child. Nowhere near it. He and Gwyneth had hardly been the love story of the century.

Even though he’d only known Sydney for a couple of days, there was something in her nature that…

‘Remember to take your sleeping pill.’

Remember to take your sleeping pill? Really? That’s what you come up with?

Her face filled with relief. ‘Oh. Yes, I will. Thank you.’

Relief. See? She was being polite. She was probably desperate to get inside and away from him, because he clearly had no idea how to talk to women, having spent the last few years of his life just being a father and—

Being a father is more important than your ability to chat up women!

‘You get a good night’s sleep yourself. You’ve earned it.’

He opened his mouth to utter a reply, but she’d already slipped her key into the lock. She raised her hand in a brief goodbye and then was inside, her door closing with a shocking finality, and he was left standing in the street, staring at a closed door.

Nathan watched as Sydney switched on the lights. He ducked inside his car as she came to her window and closed the curtains. He stared for a few minutes, then tore his gaze away, worried about what her neighbours might think. He started the engine, turned up the heater and slowly drove away. Berating himself for not saying something more inspiring, something witty—something that would have had her…what?

That wasn’t who he was. Those clever, witty guys, who always had the perfect line for every occasion, lived elsewhere. He didn’t have a scriptwriter to think up clever things for him to say that would charm her and make her like him more. He wasn’t suave, or sophisticated, or one of those charming types who could have women at their beck and call with a click of their fingers.

And he didn’t want to be a man like that. He was a single dad, with a gorgeous, clever daughter who anyone would be lucky to know. He led an uncomplicated life. He worked hard.

What did he want to achieve with Sydney? And why was he getting involved anyway? His own fiancée—the woman he’d been willing to pledge his entire life to—had walked away from him, and if someone who’d once said they loved him could do that, then a relative stranger like Sydney might do the same thing. She didn’t strike him as someone looking to settle down again, to start a relationship in a ready-made family. Especially not with another little girl after losing her own.

Did she?

No.

So why on earth could he not get her out of his head?

Nathan was fighting fatigue. Over the last few days he’d been having a small relapse in his symptoms, and he’d been suffering with painful muscle spasms, cramps, and an overwhelming tiredness that just wouldn’t go away. That accident had aggravated it. It was probably stress.

As he downed some painkillers he knew he’d have to hide his discomfort from his daughter. She mustn’t see him weaken. Not yet. It was still early days. He didn’t want her to suspect that there was something wrong. He had to keep going for her. Had to keep being strong. Normally he could hide it. And he needed his energy for today. Anna was still too young to understand about his condition. How did you explain multiple sclerosis to a six-year-old?

Today Lottie was due for her next check-up, and he was feeling some anticipation at seeing Sydney. At work, during breaks, he often found himself itching to cross the road on some pretext, just to see if she was there, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of anything to say. His inner critic kept reminding him that seeing her was probably a bad idea. The woman practically had ‘Keep Out’ signs hanging around her neck, and she’d certainly not divulged anything too personal to him. She hadn’t even mentioned her daughter to him.

And yet…

‘Anna! Come on, it’s time to go.’

‘Are we taking Lottie now?’

‘We are. But we’re walking because…’ he reached for a plausible excuse ‘…it’s a nice day.’ He smiled, reaching out for the counter as a small wave of dizziness affected his balance briefly. Of all his symptoms, dizziness and feeling off-balance were the worst. He couldn’t drive like this. It would be dangerous. And at least the crisp, fresh winter air would make him feel better.

‘Yay!’ Anna skipped off to fetch Lottie’s carrier.

He managed to stop the world spinning and stood up straight, sucking in a deep breath.

The rabbit was doing quite well, Nathan thought. She was eating and drinking as normal, had come off the medication and was settled back outside. The bite wounds had healed cleanly and Lottie’s eye had escaped surgery, much to both his and Anna’s delight. They were hopeful for a full recovery.

With Lottie in her box, Nathan locked up and they headed to the veterinary practice. He still wasn’t feeling great—quite tired and light-headed—but he tried to keep up a level of bright chatter as they walked along the village roads.

His daughter hopped alongside him, pointing out robins and magpies and on one particular occasion a rather large snail.

The walk took a while. They lived a good couple of miles from the practice and his arms ached from carrying Lottie, who seemed to get weightier with every step, but eventually they got there, and Nathan settled into a waiting room seat with much relief.

He didn’t get to enjoy it for too long, though.

Sydney had opened her door. ‘Do you want to bring Lottie in?’

Sydney looked well, though there were still faint dark circles beneath her eyes. It felt good to see her again. He carried Lottie through and put her onto the examination table.

‘How’s she doing?’

He nodded, but that upset his balance and he had to grip the examination table to centre himself.

Had Sydney noticed?

He swallowed, suppressing his nausea. ‘Er…good. Eating and drinking. The eye’s clean and she seems okay.’ He decided to focus on Sydney’s face. When he got dizzy like this it helped to focus on something close to him. She wasn’t moving that much, and he needed a steady point to remain fixed on.

‘Let’s take a look.’

Sydney frowned, concern etched across her normally soft features as she concentrated on the examination. She was very thorough, reminding him of her capability and passion. She checked Lottie’s eye, her bite wounds, her temperature and gave her a thorough going-over.

‘I agree with you. She seems to have recovered well. I think we can discharge this patient.’ She stood up straight again and smiled.

‘That’s great.’

He realised she was looking at him questioningly.

‘Are you okay?’

Nathan felt another wave of nausea sweep over him as dizziness assailed him again. ‘Er…not really…’

Had the walk been too much? Was he dehydrated?

Sydney glanced at Anna uncertainly, then came around the desk and took Nathan’s arm and guided him over to a small stool in the corner. ‘I’ll get you some water.’

He sank his head into his hands as the dizziness passed, and was just starting to feel it clear a bit when she returned with a glass. He tried not to look at Anna until he was sure he could send her a reassuring smile to say everything was okay.

He took a sip of the drink. ‘Thanks.’

‘Missed breakfast?’

He gratefully accepted the excuse. ‘Yes. Yes, I did. Must have got a bit light-headed, that’s all.’

‘Daddy, you had toast with jam for breakfast.’ Anna contradicted.

He smiled. ‘But not enough, obviously.’

‘You had three slices.’

He smiled at his daughter, who was blowing his cover story quite innocently. He was afraid to look at Sydney, but she was making sure Lottie was secure in her cage.

Then she turned to look at him, staring intently, her brow lined. ‘Are you safe to get home, Dr Jones?’

He stood up. ‘We walked here. And I’m fine.’ He didn’t want to let her see how ill he felt.

‘You don’t look it. You look very pale.’

‘Right…’ He glanced at Anna. ‘Perhaps I just need some more fresh air.’ He took another sip of water.

Sydney stood in front of him, arms crossed. ‘You don’t seem in a fit state to walk home yet. Or to take care of Anna.’

‘I am!’ he protested.

‘You had nystagmus. I know your world is spinning.’

Nystagmus was a rapid movement of the eyes in response to the semi-circular canals being stimulated. In effect, if the balance centre told you your world was spinning, your eyes tried to play catch-up in order to focus.

‘Look, let me tell my next client I’ll be ten minutes and I’ll drive you both back.’

‘No—no, it’s fine! I can’t disrupt your workday, that’s ridiculous. I’m okay now. Besides, that would annoy your patient. I’m fine.’

He stood up to prove it, but swayed slightly, and she had to reach for him, grabbing his waist to steady him.

‘Honestly. I just need to get some air for a moment. I could go and sit down across the road at the surgery, maybe. Check my blood pressure. Have a cup of sweet tea. It’ll pass—it always does.’ He smiled broadly, to show her he was feeling better, even though he wasn’t.

She let go of him. ‘You’re sure?’

No.

‘Absolutely.’

He saw her face fill with doubt and hesitation. ‘Maybe Anna could stay here with me. She could look after the animals in the back. Give them cuddles, or something.’

Anna gasped, her smile broad. ‘Could I, Daddy?’

He didn’t want to impose on Sydney. He could see it had been tough for her to offer that, and she was working. Anna should be his responsibility, not someone else’s.

‘Er… I don’t know, honey. Sydney’s very busy.’

‘It’s no problem. Olivia used to do it all the time.’ She blushed and looked away.

Her daughter.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure. You’re clearly unwell today. She can stay with me for the day and I’ll drive you both home when I finish. Around four.’

Anna was jumping up and down with joy, clapping her hands together in absolute glee at this amazing turn of events.

He really didn’t want to do this, but what choice did he have? Sydney was right. And hadn’t he wanted to move to a village to experience this very support?

‘Fine. Thank you.’ He knelt to speak to his excited daughter. ‘You be good for Sydney. Do what you’re told and behave—yes?’

She nodded.

Standing up, he felt a little head rush. Maybe Sydney was right. Perhaps he did need a break.

He was just having a difficult time letting someone help him. It irked him, gnawing away at him like a particularly persistent rodent. How could he look after his daughter if he was going to let a little dizziness affect him? And this was just the start of his condition. These were mild symptoms. It would get worse. And already he was relying on other people to look after his daughter—Sydney, of all people!

‘Perhaps she ought to stay with—’

Sydney grabbed his arm and started to guide him towards her exit. ‘Go and lie down, Dr Jones.’

Nathan grimaced hard, then kissed the top of his daughter’s head and left.

It had been a delight to have Anna with her for the day. The invitation to look after Nathan’s little girl had just popped out. She’d not carefully considered exactly what it would mean to look after the little girl before she’d said it, and once she had she’d felt a small amount of alarm at her offer.

But Anna had been wonderful. She was sweet, calm with the animals, with a natural affection and understanding of them that those in her care gravitated towards, allowing her to stroke them. The cats had purred. Dogs had wagged their tails or showed their bellies to be rubbed. And Anna had asked loads of questions about them, showing a real interest. She’d even told Sydney that she wanted to be a vet when she was older! That had been sweet.

Olivia had liked being with the animals, but she’d only liked the cuddling part. The oohing and aahing over cute, furry faces. Anna was different. She wanted to know what breed they were. What they were at the vet’s for. How Sydney might make them better. It had been good to share her knowledge with Nathan’s daughter. Good to see the differences between the two little girls.

Once they were done for the day, and the last of the records had been completed, she smiled as Lucy complained about her sore back after cleaning cages all afternoon, but then sat down to eat not one but two chocolate bars, because she felt ravenous.

They sat together, chatting about animal care, and Anna listened quietly, not interrupting, and not getting in the way.

When she’d gathered her things, Sydney told Anna it was time to go.

‘Thank you for having me, Sydney.’

She eyed the little girl holding her hand as they crossed the road to collect Nathan. ‘Not a problem, Anna. It was lovely to have you. Let’s hope your daddy is feeling better soon, hmm?’

‘Daddy always gets sick and tired. He pretends he’s not, but I know when he is.’

‘Perhaps he is just tired? He does a very important job, looking after everyone.’ But something niggled at her. The way Nathan had been, and the nonchalant way Anna had mentioned that ‘Daddy always gets sick and tired…’

Was Nathan ill? And, if so, what could it be? Just a virus? Was he generally run-down? Or could it be something else? Something serious?

They quickly crossed to the surgery and collected a rather pale-looking Nathan. He insisted he was feeling much better. Suspecting he wasn’t quite being truthful, she got him into the car and started the engine, glancing at Anna on the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Anna smiled, and the sight went straight to Sydney’s heart. To distract herself, she rummaged in the glovebox to see if she had any of Olivia’s old CDs. She found one and slid it into the CD player, and soon they were singing along with a cartoon meerkat and a warthog.

Driving through the village, she found herself smiling, amazed that she still remembered the words, and laughing at Anna singing in the back. It felt great to be driving along, singing together. She and Olivia had always used to do it. It was even putting a smile on Nathan’s face.

Much too soon she found herself at Nathan’s house, and she walked them both up to their front door, finally handing them Lottie’s carrier.

Nathan smiled broadly. ‘Thanks, Sydney. I really appreciate it. I got a lot of rest and I feel much better.’

‘Glad to hear it. Anna was brilliant. The animals adored her.’

‘They all do. Thanks again.’

‘No problem. See you around.’

She began to walk away, turning to give a half wave, feeling embarrassed at doing so. She got in her car and drove away as fast as she could—before she was tempted to linger and revel in the feeling of family once again.

It felt odd to be back in the car, alone again after that short while she’d been with Anna and Nathan. The car seemed empty. The music had been silenced and returned to the glovebox.

By the time she got home her heart physically ached.

And she sat in her daughter’s old room for a very long time, just staring at the empty walls.