She picked up a home-made apple pie at the beach café and a sausage for Archie, then clipped the dog into his harness on the back seat and drove to her sister’s house.
Stacey greeted her with a hug. ‘Perfect timing. The kettle’s hot.’
‘Lovely. I’m dying for a mug of tea. And I brought pudding.’ Toni kissed her sister and handed over the apple pie. ‘How’s my best niece?’ she asked, lifting Scarlett out of her bouncy chair and giving her a cuddle.
Scarlett giggled and plastered a mushy kiss to Toni’s cheek. ‘Tee-to!’
Scarlett-speak for Auntie Toni; Toni was so glad she’d stayed in Norfolk and had the chance to watch her niece grow up instead of going back to London, when maybe she would only have seen her sister once a month and missed all the important milestones in her niece’s development.
‘How’s your day been, Stace?’ Toni asked.
‘Good. We had toddler group this morning, and Mary brought her guitar in. Then we went for a picnic in the park. How about you?’
‘My usual Monday afternoon at The Beeches,’ Toni said. ‘Archie brought a smile to a few faces.’
‘That’s good. Though it must be bittersweet for you, going back and knowing Gran isn’t there any more,’ Stacey said softly.
Toni nodded. ‘It is. And I know you miss her, too.’ There was a lump in her throat. ‘She would’ve adored Scarlett.’ Except Betty Butler had died from pneumonia, the month before Scarlett was born. In some ways Toni had been relieved, because at last her grandmother was out of pain and confusion; but in others she’d been devastated. Another link to the past severed. If only Betty hadn’t developed dementia. If only their parents hadn’t died. They would all have loved Scarlett so much. And it must be even harder for her sister with all the might-have-beens.
‘Yes.’
Hearing the slight crack in her sister’s voice and knowing they were sharing the same regrets, Toni changed the subject. ‘The new doctor started at the practice today.’
‘What’s he like?’
Toni wrinkled her nose. ‘Your age, I’d say. Tall, dark and grumpy.’
‘Not handsome?’
‘I didn’t notice.’ It was a slight fib. Ben Mitchell was very nice-looking. Or he would be if he actually smiled. And his eyes were the same green as the sea on a spring day. Not that she should be focusing on that.
‘But grumpy?’ Stacey shook her head. ‘I can’t imagine Ranjit offering a place to someone grumpy. Someone like that just wouldn’t fit in at the practice.’
Ranjit Sidana, the head of the practice at Great Crowmell, was one of the nicest-natured men either of them had ever met, always full of smiles.
‘We clashed a bit.’ Toni rolled her eyes. ‘Over Archie. He didn’t approve of the dog being at the surgery.’
‘Maybe it was first-day nerves,’ Stacey suggested. ‘You know what Gran would’ve said. Give him time to settle in before you judge him.’
‘I guess.’
‘So what do you know about him? Is he married? Single? Any children?’
Toni heard the hopeful note in her sister’s voice and sighed inwardly. ‘I have absolutely no idea. All Ranjit told us about him was that he’s moved here from London.’
‘Like you did.’
‘From another practice, rather than a hospital.’ And the reason why he’d moved from the capital to a quiet country practice was none of her business. ‘Even if he isn’t involved with someone, I’m really not interested, Stacey. You don’t have to hope that he’s a potential date for me. I don’t want to date anyone.’
Stacey squeezed her shoulder. ‘You know I worry about you being alone.’
‘I’m not alone. I live in the same village as the best sister and brother-in-law and niece in the world, I have plenty of friends locally, and I have Archie to keep me company at home.’
Stacey raised an eyebrow. ‘Thank you for the compliment, but you know what I meant. Surely you’d like to share your life with someone who says more than just “woof”?’
Toni laughed. ‘There’s an awful lot to be said for talking to someone who doesn’t answer back.’
As if to emphasise her point, Archie wagged his tail and licked Stacey’s hand and then Scarlett’s foot, making the little girl giggle.
‘I swear you trained him to do that on purpose.’ But Stacey was smiling. ‘Just don’t let Sean the Smug put you off finding happiness with someone else. Not all men are like him.’
‘I know they’re not.’ But she hadn’t managed to pick anyone who felt right before him, either. ‘I’m doing just fine on my own, Stacey. I live in my favourite place in the world, I love my job, and I have my family and friends nearby. I don’t need anything else.’
‘Hint taken, and I’ll stop nagging,’ Stacey said.
For now, Toni thought. She knew her sister’s motives were good, but her life really was just fine as it was. Toni felt very much part of the village where she’d grown up and she had absolutely no regrets about coming here from London. She had a great life; she didn’t need to date someone.
She didn’t need to prove her judgement to herself, either. Of course she knew that not all men were as selfish and demanding as her ex. But if she was honest with herself she knew that the two men she’d dated before him had been just as single-minded and just as selfish as Sean. Sometimes she wondered if she subconsciously picked men who just couldn’t give her love and security so it wouldn’t break her heart when things went wrong. She’d already lost too many people who really mattered at too young an age. Sean had given her an ultimatum: dump her grandmother, or be dumped. That one had been very easy, and she was done with ultimatums.
Single and happy. That was her. And that was the way she intended to stay.
‘Let’s get you back down in your chair, Miss Beautiful,’ she said to her niece, ‘and I’m going to help your mummy cook dinner.’
‘Din-dins,’ Scarlett said, and beamed.
ON TUESDAY MORNING, Ben was in early for the weekly team meeting. ‘I made brownies,’ he said, taking the lid off the tin and putting it in the centre of the table.
‘Thank you. Good choice,’ Ranjit, the head of the practice, said with a smile.
Everyone except Toni took a brownie; Ben sighed inwardly. Obviously he’d annoyed her enough that she was going to ignore his peace offering. Well, he’d had it with women who were snippy. He’d put up with it from Karen—until he’d learned the bitter truth—and he wasn’t going to bend over backwards to please Toni Butler.
Once they’d gone through the morning’s agenda, Ranjit asked, ‘Is there anything that anyone wants to bring up?’
‘Yes—we need someone out at The Beeches today, please,’ Toni said. She looked at Ben. ‘That’s the local nursing home. Forty beds; and they’re set up for patients with dementia. We need to follow up Liza’s UTI and Renée’s lithium levels.’
‘Can you do the follow-up for us, Ben?’ Ranjit asked. ‘It’d be useful for you to meet Julia and her team.’
‘Sure.’ He looked at Toni. ‘Do you do a regular practice visit,