‘All right, Jeff. She’ll be here in a minute.’ Ethan had parked the car in the empty forecourt of the veterinary surgery, and he twisted round in his seat. Jeff lifted his head slightly at the sound of his name and Ethan reached back, stroking the dog’s head. Jeff had been with him for nine years, through love and loss, dreams and shattered hopes, and the thought of losing him now hurt.
It’s okay to be upset about this.
The words of the pretty red-haired vet who’d seen Jeff last week sounded in Ethan’s head. He’d explained to her that, in the scheme of things, this wasn’t so bad and she’d cut through his bravado with one look.
Another car swung onto the forecourt, its headlights blinding him for a moment. It stopped at an interesting angle, taking up two parking spaces, and the driver’s door opened. Kate Foster got out, hurrying across to where Ethan’s car was parked.
‘I’ll straighten it up in a minute...’ Ethan wound the driver’s window down and she grinned at him. ‘Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry, my last call took a bit longer than I anticipated.’
‘I was early. And it’s good of you to see us so late in the evening.’
She brushed the idea away with a wave of her hand, even though Ethan knew from his earlier conversation with the receptionist that Kate had been working all day. Despite that, she was all fresh-faced energy as she craned her neck through the window of his car, her gaze seeking Jeff out.
‘Hello, Jeff. How are you doing, old boy?’
Jeff’s tail thumped on the seat and he raised his head again. Kate smiled, and Ethan provided the answer to her question.
‘He’s been a lot more comfortable since you saw him last week. I’ve been giving him the medication regularly.’
She nodded. ‘Good. Let’s get him inside and I’ll take a look at him.’
Kate unlocked the main door of the surgery and waited while Ethan unclipped the car safety-harness. Jeff lumbered slowly inside. The door slammed behind them and she squeezed past him in the narrow entranceway, leaving a scent of fresh air and flowers behind her as she walked through the darkened reception area and opened a door to the surgery at the back, flipping on the light.
‘Bring him through...’ She held the door open and Ethan bent, ready to lift the large dog up onto the examination couch. ‘That’s okay. Sit down there with him. He didn’t much like it up on the couch last time, did he?’
She’d only seen Jeff once before but she remembered. Ethan sat down gratefully on the long vinyl-covered bench which ran along one wall of the surgery, and Jeff sprawled on the floor next to him, leaning against Ethan’s legs.
‘You’ll be okay there for a moment? I’ve got to go and get my bag from the car.’ She gave a smiling shrug that, for one moment, dispelled the weight in his heart. ‘I should probably take another shot at that parking bay, too. I’m told the white lines are there for a reason.’
‘We’ll be fine. Call me if you need someone to wave you in to your space.’
She chuckled, and it occurred to Ethan that parking in a straight line wasn’t much in Kate’s nature. At work, she was thoughtful and methodical, but everything else she did betrayed a deliciously free spirit.
He heard the sound of the front door closing behind her. Then silence, broken only by the faint whisper of a car engine. A dull thud, and then silence again.
‘Better go and see if she needs some help, Jeff.’ Ethan shifted Jeff to one side a little and got to his feet. As he did so, the sound of a scream made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
No... Not so much a scream as a battle cry—the incoherent noise of blind effort and determination. Ethan ran to the front door, cursing as he fumbled with the catch in the darkness.
His eyes strained against the shadows cast by the high hedge which ran around the forecourt. Kate’s car had been backed into a parking space, and a few feet away she was struggling to escape from a dark form which was gripping her arm.
‘Hey! Let go of her!’ Ethan hollered at the top of his lungs and the shadow froze for a moment. That moment was just enough for Kate to land a punch, and as the man’s head snapped around his hood fell from across his face and Ethan saw him.
Young—early twenties, probably. Dark hair cut short. The details registered automatically in the back of Ethan’s mind as he made a charge towards them, a roar escaping from his lips.
The more she fought, the greater danger there was of her being hurt. But instinct had taken over and Kate was fighting. She aimed another punch at the man and he threw her to the ground. Ethan heard Kate yelp as the man aimed a kick at her ribs, before running out of the forecourt and across the road.
‘Kate...’ She was halfway to her feet, scrambling backwards away from him as Ethan slowed his pace, walking towards her. ‘Kate, it’s all right.’
His words weren’t registering. He’d seen this before, someone so frightened that they’d fight anyone off, even the people who came to help them. Ethan held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, his heart pounding.
She was stumbling towards her car, her eyes wide in the darkness, red corkscrew curls of hair escaping from the knot at the back of her head. Ethan tried to head her off, wondering whether she might be about to lock herself in her car and try to drive away, but she seemed more interested in the back of the vehicle than the driver’s door.
‘It’s okay, Kate. He’s gone now.’
‘Gone?’ The one word seemed to penetrate her panic. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Yes, I saw him run across the road and get into a van. They’ve driven away.’ He stepped forward and she practically fell into his arms, hugging him.
He could feel her body shaking against his. Ethan held her tight. This was...
It was almost...good. Almost the best thing he’d done in a long time. He smoothed the dishevelled curls on the back of her head, trying to focus on what he was supposed to be doing. Comfort. That was right.
‘You’ve had a shock.’ Ethan swallowed down the impulse to tell her that everything was all right now. However much he wanted to make it all right, that wasn’t in his power. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘No, I...’ He could feel her hands clutching at his sweater. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘We’ll get you inside and have a look.’ He made to lead her towards the front door of the surgery, but she resisted, suddenly breaking free of him.
‘Sorry...sorry, I’m okay. I have to get my bag.’ Kate looked up at him apologetically, wiping the sleeve of her jacket across her tear-stained face. Flipping the car remote, she opened the boot, pushing a rug back to reveal a boot safe.
She sorted through her keys, pushing out a sharp breath as if to steady herself. But when she tried to open the safe, her hands were shaking too much.
‘Let me.’ Ethan held out his hand and for a moment panic flared in her eyes again and she gripped her keys tightly.
‘Yes... Sorry. Thanks.’ She handed the keys over and he opened the boot safe. Inside, he saw a small zipped bag which obviously held the drugs that she had been carrying.
He wished she’d stop apologising. And that she’d let him take her in his arms again so he could comfort her. He should tackle the first, as the second was a more selfish impulse.
‘This was why you fought him?’ Ethan put the bag into her hands and she clutched it to her chest, nodding.
‘I know I should have just let him take the car but I couldn’t bear to think that these would get into the wrong hands.’
She was twisting her mouth wryly, probably about to apologise again. Ethan cut her short.
‘You