‘I’m looking to employ someone to help me for the next three months. This place is taking up a lot of time, and I need to concentrate on my veterinary practice in order to finance the building work.’
‘Must be quite a juggling act.’ She’d now tucked the envelope into her bag.
‘It is at the moment. When I’ve got the visitors’ centre and the dog school properly sorted, then the place will begin to pay for itself, but that won’t be until next spring. In the meantime, I’m looking for someone with some experience of hospital procedures, who likes animals and who can work well with kids. And the pay’s not great either.’
Luke reckoned that he could match whatever Katya was getting at the coffee shop, but that was about all.
‘Sounds like a great job, though. I’m sure you’ll get some takers.’
‘Not so far. I haven’t had many applications, and they’ve all been completely unsuitable. I need someone who actually thinks that this is a good idea, not someone who doesn’t care what they’re doing as long as the hours suit them.’
She didn’t take the bait. For all Luke knew, she might have been thinking about it, but she said nothing, just picked up her bag and tucked the animal carrier under one arm. ‘You can manage the rest?’
‘Yeah, no problem. Thanks.’
He could wait. Luke had seen something in Katya, something loving and compassionate. Something that would make her fight for whatever cause found a way into that closely guarded heart of hers. In the old days, the charming, happy-go-lucky version of Luke would have wanted that for himself, along with those enchanting eyes and the body that seemed to cry out for the safety of his arms.
Now he wanted it for the only thing that his heart knew how to desire. His work, the land here, and all the possibilities that they held.
KATYA SAT OPPOSITE Olenka at the dining-room table, a sheet of paper between them. ‘So what do you think?’
Olenka picked up the application form, and read it through. ‘Sounds great. Really impressive.’
‘What would you do?’
‘Well, he hasn’t offered you the job yet. There’s nothing wrong with making an enquiry to find out whether it’s what you want …’ Olenka twisted her mouth in an expression of resignation. ‘That’s not the problem, eh.’
‘No. I’m going to have to tell him about what happened.’
Olenka sighed. ‘Okay, so what did happen? You meet a guy in the course of your work, have a few conversations with him and he decides that he’s in love with you. He asks you out, you turn him down nicely and he stabs you. It wasn’t your fault. No one said it was your fault.’
‘That’s not all, though, is it?’ Olenka made it all sound so simple but there was so much more to it than that. Enough to fog even the most straightforward decisions.
‘Of course not. It’s all that matters to any employer, though.’ Olenka looked weary. She worked hard, raising a child and running a business, and now it seemed she had Katya to look after as well.
‘I’m sorry, Ola. You’ve enough on your plate, you can do without me turning up and dumping my troubles on your doorstep.’
Olenka grinned. ‘Lucky for me that’s not what your parents said when I arrived from Poland with a new baby and no husband.’ She crooked her little finger and Katya wound hers around it. Shades of the time when Katya had been the one to offer comfort, helping Olenka with her English and babysitting when she went out looking for work. ‘Look, the only thing I care about is that you’ll be safe and happy. And from what I know of Luke, you will be.’
‘You mean from what your spies tell you?’ It hadn’t escaped Katya’s attention that Olenka had drawn a couple of her customers aside, people who, she guessed, knew Luke well, and asked a few hushed but clearly important questions.
‘You’re not in London now, this is a village. Everyone has spies.’ Olenka brushed the accusation off. ‘And none of mine have a word to say against him.’
‘Right. And what do they have to say about me?’
‘Nothing. What happened to you is your business, no one else’s. The only thing that Luke has a right to know is whether you can do the job. This other thing is …’ Olenka waved her hand dismissively ‘… nothing to do with it.’
‘You think so?’ Katya supposed that Olenka was right. On the other hand, this was a position of responsibility. Shouldn’t a prospective employer know that she had feet of clay?
‘You came here to make a new start. You can leave it all behind you if you want to. Whatever you want to think, none of what happened was your fault.’
Katya shrugged. She couldn’t bear to say that she was innocent when she felt so very guilty, even for Olenka’s sake. ‘Well, I’ll send the application form off and see what happens. Maybe I won’t even get the job.’
Clutching the envelope that contained her curriculum vitae, Katya walked through the pub and into the garden behind it, scanning the wooden tables and benches. Luke was there, an untouched pint of beer in front of him and a blond Labrador retriever dozing in the sun at his feet. He frowned when he caught sight of her.
‘I thought we decided this wasn’t an interview.’ His eye travelled from her blouse and skirt to his own work-worn jeans. ‘I didn’t bother to dress up.’
‘Neither did I.’ Like hell she hadn’t. Katya had spent a good couple of hours deciding what to wear. Lively and outgoing the job description had said. She’d reckoned that warranted a bright summer skirt and a pair of strappy sandals, and that her plain blouse would cover the responsible part of things.
‘Oh. Well, in that case what can I get you to drink?’ He grinned up at her, his dark eyes flashing with mischief.
‘Water, please. Sparkling.’ Katya sat down opposite him, laying her envelope on the wooden trestle table.
‘Sure? I can’t get you anything stronger? This really isn’t an interview, it’s just an informal chat …’
‘I’d like some water, please.’ Katya wanted to keep a clear head for this.
‘Of course.’ Luke bent and ran his hand down the sleeping dog’s back and it opened its eyes. Dark and soft, like its master’s. ‘Meet Bruno. Say hello, Bruno.’
The dog rose and lifted its paw, and Katya took it. ‘Is he yours?’
‘Don’t let him hear you say that. Bruno’s always earned his own living. He’s retired from the rescue business now, though, and I’m the one who gets to feed and look after him.’ Luke rose from his seat. ‘Ice and lemon?’
‘Yes, thanks. Not too much ice.’
Katya watched him go. Pale, washed-out jeans that fitted him far too well and a dark polo shirt, which clung to his broad shoulders. An easy, laid-back gait, which made her want to walk beside him. Any woman would. Luke was by far the best-looking man she’d seen in years, probably for ever, and he had that indeterminate quality about him that turned good-looking into something that made you catch your breath and shiver every time you even thought about his lips.
She’d get used to it, though. After a couple of weeks working alongside him she’d get to see the person and forget all about the gorgeous outer wrapping. And she wanted this job. Katya had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t ready to go back to nursing yet, but she’d outgrown the coffee shop. She wanted something more, and this was an ideal stepping stone.