Vets in Love (18 page)

‘Let’s get this one sorted first. Nicci, you can wait upstairs – there’s a viewing gallery and a coffee machine.’ He hands me his keys. ‘You might want
these. It’s going to be a long afternoon.’ He touches my shoulder, a brief but telling gesture for Mel’s benefit, I suspect. ‘I’ll catch up with you later. Oh, the car’s insured for any driver, in case you’re wondering.’

‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘Good luck.’

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it’s a proper, full-scale operation, not delicate and bloodless keyhole surgery. The pony lies anaesthetised on her back on a hydraulic table under the bright theatre lights, her feathery feet wrapped in plastic bags and most of her body covered with green drapes to reduce the risk of contamination. Matt, Mel, two vet nurses and a couple of technicians – scrubbed up and dressed in gowns, masks, hats and gloves – stand around the patient.

Matt and Mel are side by side, gazing down at the coils of gut they’ve pulled out of the pony’s belly and spread across the drapes.

‘Here we go.’ Matt uses forceps to point to a dark purple length of gut that appears to have lost its blood supply. ‘Let’s resect this section from here … to here. Do you agree?’

‘Do I dare disagree, you mean?’ Mel says. ‘No, it’s fine. This is one decision I can respect, even if I don’t agree with you on very much else.’

I thought she might have been off with him, considering what he said about her reaction when he ended their relationship, but she seems fairly cheerful, flirty even.

I can’t help feeling horribly jealous. I know they have to work well together as part of a team. It’s the
way it has to be, but I wish they wouldn’t stand so close together, passing meaningful looks and touching hands as they manipulate the surgical instruments glinting beneath the theatre lights.

Matt’s entire focus is on the pony and the team.

‘Mel, you’re supposed to be resecting that.’ He points to a healthy part of the gut beyond the piece that’s damaged beyond repair. ‘Not my arm, thank you, or anything else for that matter.’

‘Will you stop hovering and move your arm out of my way? I do know what I’m doing.’ Mel holds up the scalpel and flutters her eyelashes at Matt. ‘You’ve taught me well.’

‘Thank you,’ he says, with mock solemnity, and I feel slightly nauseous. I don’t like seeing my boyfriend flirting with his ex. I don’t think he’s even aware he’s doing it. It’s the way some surgical teams work and I’ve seen it many times before when I was a junior doctor.

‘Nicci,’ Matt calls up. ‘Could you do us a favour, come down here, slip some covers over your shoes and take some piccies of this? The camera’s on the shelf in the room on the way into theatre. You can’t miss it.’

I pick up the camera and start snapping, following Matt’s instructions.

‘I hope you aren’t going to faint,’ Mel says. ‘We haven’t got the staff to pick you up.’

‘Nicci won’t faint,’ Matt says. ‘She’s a doctor. She’s one of us.’

Mel gives me a sour look, then turns to Matt. ‘Oh, Nicci, of course, I remember now,’ Mel says. ‘You’d
been over at Nicci’s before you came round to pick up the Bobster from the flat the other night.’

The flash goes off on the camera. Immediately, my brain homes in on her comment. Matt collected the dog from Mel? On which night?

‘You said you were meant to be having dinner at Nicci’s house, but something came up.’ Mel grins. ‘As it always does with you, Matt, without fail.’

I notice the slight scowl crossing Matt’s face in response, as if Mel is overstepping the mark, or is he afraid she’s going to reveal more than she should?

‘Do you need me any more?’ I ask abruptly.

‘No, that’s great, Nicci. Thank you.’

I switch the camera off and stick it back in its case. Why didn’t Matt mention that he’d left the dog with Mel? Why did he give me the impression he was going straight home to see the Bobster? Did he stop for coffee and a chat when he collected the dog, or – my suspicious mind is racing – did he stay overnight?

‘All we have to do now is make sure there are no leaks and then we can close her up,’ Matt says. ‘The signs are positive and the surgery’s gone well. We’ll have to see how she wakes up.’ He looks at me, not quite meeting my eye. ‘One step at a time.’

This is mad, I tell myself as I return the camera and head back up to the gallery. Did Matt not mention Mel because he didn’t think it was important, or because he did think it was important and wanted to hide it from me? Maybe Mel is the one telling the truth. Maybe the ex-girlfriend isn’t quite so ex as Matt’s made out. My palms grow damp and my heart hammers like the
hooves of a bolting horse. Now I don’t know what or who to believe. I wait until Matt’s finished operating, and then I join Mel in a padded recovery box as she watches the pony struggling to get back up after her operation. Matt phones Robert and writes up his notes in his office.

‘Do you think she’ll be all right?’ I ask Mel. I hate to see her getting onto her front feet before falling down again. She’s sweating and confused, but she’s fighting.

‘It’ll be a few days until we can be certain.’ Mel turns to face me. ‘How did you meet him?’

‘Matt?’

‘Well, of course, Matt.’

‘Oh, we happened to run into each other and got talking.’ I really don’t want to discuss it.

‘Has he made you listen to live jazz on the quay yet?’

‘It’s none of your business,’ I say.

‘So he has.’ Mel smirks.

‘He has what?’ Matt reappears, out of his scrubs now, his hair ruffled and a spatter of blood on his arm.

‘I was just saying, you took Nicci to the same place we went to for our first date.’

‘Mel!’ he exclaims, his complexion darkening with suppressed fury. ‘Do you mind?’

‘It’s all right, darling,’ she goes on smoothly. ‘You’re so predictable.’ She turns back to me. ‘I expect he ordered the profiteroles too.’

‘Mel, how’s the pony?’ Matt snaps.

‘She’s doing okay, but I still need to talk to you about the horse. In private,’ she adds, glaring at me.

‘There’s no need. I’ve put my head over the door and looked at your treatment plan, and it’s fine. Keep it on the penicillin and I’ll check it again in the morning.’ Matt gazes at me. ‘I’m taking Nicci home.’

To his home or mine, I wonder? On the way back towards Talyton, I’m not sure where we’re going, in more ways than one. ‘It was a bit of a coincidence your mother showing up at the hospital,’ he says, breaking the silence.

‘Yes, I was surprised to see her.’ I bite my lip, tasting metallic blood. It’s only a small thing, but considering everything else, it niggles. ‘Matt, why didn’t you tell me you’d left the Bobster with Mel the other night?’

‘I didn’t think.’ The gearbox grates as he changes down a gear.

‘I want everything in the open,’ and I want him to know how I feel. ‘I want us to be honest with each other from the start.’

‘I know, and you’re right, but I didn’t mean to—’ he clears his throat ‘—I didn’t intend to deceive you. I was going to leave the dog with Mel all night – she has a dog too – but your family arrived and I thought I’d rather have the Bobster at home with me.’

‘It wasn’t that you saw the opportunity to spend time with Mel?’

‘Nicci, all I wanted was to spend the evening with you. I know what you said about her telling your nurse that she was still involved with me—’

‘You did speak to her?’ I interrupt.

‘She said there was a misunderstanding. She said she was talking in the past tense. Your nurse
misinterpreted what she said. It seems reasonable – Claire would be keen to look out for you.’

‘But why on earth would Mel raise the subject in the first place?’

‘Perhaps Claire did.’ Matt smiles softly at me. ‘You mustn’t be jealous of Mel. I work with her, but it won’t be for much longer. She’s only with us for a couple more months, then she’s off to another practice. She’ll probably become a partner pretty soon. She’s very good.’

I don’t want to know that Mel is good at anything.

As we continue along the lane, he rests his hand on my thigh, sending tiny shocks of electricity across my skin.

‘I’ll never do anything to hurt you, Nicci, I promise. I do have some standards. And Mel is a nightmare. I would never take her back.’

I glance at the shadowy profile of his face. Do I believe him? I have to if we’re going to survive as a couple, but can I see my way through this? There are still two months to go until Mel pushes off, giving her plenty of time and opportunity to try to seduce Matt back into her bed, and although I believe him when he says he wouldn’t be tempted, there’s a part of me that can’t bear for a moment longer to think of them continuing to work together.

‘I don’t want to take you back to your house,’ Matt says gruffly as we get close to his home. He pulls in at the side of the lane beside a five-bar gate, leaving the engine running. ‘Stay over tonight,’ he whispers, his breath warm against my ear. ‘Please …’

It’s enough to melt the heart of an iceberg, but not me.

‘I want to go home,’ I say, fighting the impulse to throw my arms around his shoulders and bury my face in his neck. ‘Another time.’

‘Another time,’ Matt echoes.

‘I’ve got to be up to ride Willow in the morning,’ I say, knowing it sounds like a lame excuse. What I really mean is that I need some time to think.

Chapter Ten

Only Fools and Horses

‘DELPHI,’ I ASK
when I’m up at the yard the next day. ‘Could I book a lesson for my niece on one of your ponies?’

‘Whenever you like. I’ve got a group lesson of child beginners next Saturday at ten. I should be able to find another pony.’ She smiles. ‘I have more than enough to choose from. In fact, I ought to get around to advertising another one for sale.’

‘Delphi, I said Sage would like a riding lesson, not that she wants to buy a pony. Please don’t let that idea even enter her head. She isn’t staying with me for ever and the last thing my sister needs is a pet of any kind.’ I sigh. ‘She can barely look after herself sometimes.’

Delphi chuckles. ‘It was worth a try. But I do have that rather nice chestnut pony, Tizzy. She’s rather too good for the riding school.’

‘Isn’t she the nutty one?’ I have to ask. ‘Sage needs one of the quiet, ploddy ones, like Harry.’

‘I’ll get her on one of the old kick-alongs.’ Delphi pauses. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’

‘Quite sure,’ I say, biting hard on my lip.

‘Are you up for a dressage lesson later today? Only I’m going to see a horse tomorrow and I’m not sure I’ll be back in time.’

‘How about now?’

‘In twenty minutes. The indoor school will be free at ten.’

‘That’ll give me time to get Willow tacked up.’

Riding takes my mind off Matt, for a while at least. Delphi is a hard taskmaster, tramping around the centre of the indoor arena, yelling instructions, many criticisms and a few compliments. She has one tone of voice: loud. I ride straight and tall with a long whip for dressage, touching it against Willow’s sides now and then to reinforce the signal from my leg. She doesn’t need much encouragement because she likes to work, and at the end of half an hour her neck is damp with sweat and my head feels prickly under my hat.

‘That’ll do,’ Delphi shouts. ‘We’ll work on the half-passes again next time. Orf you go – unless you want me to wash Willow down.’

‘I’ll do it,’ I say. ‘Thanks, Delphi.’

‘In that case, I’ll go and grab Dark Star. He really needs working every day.’

As I walk to cool the horse down, thoughts of Matt flood back into my head. I hope I haven’t put him off by going on about Mel and the dog, and what it appears that Mel said to Claire. I grab my mobile and call him while I’m walking Willow, partly to find out
how he is, partly to hear news of Beauty – assuming it’s best to hear news straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak – and partly to see if we can arrange to meet up again.

He’s well, and Beauty is up and about and on intravenous fluids until she’s ready to be offered food and water by mouth.

‘Have you forgiven me?’ he asks.

‘As you suggested, there was nothing to forgive,’ I say.

‘I should have thought about how it would look.’ He pauses. ‘Shall we try again?’

‘That’s what I was calling you about. And I didn’t have a chance to try any of your cake.’

‘Ah, and you won’t now,’ he says, his tone teasing again, ‘because I’ve eaten it.’

‘You’ll have to bake another one.’

‘I’ll do that. When are you free?’

When Matt is free, I’m not and the earliest we can meet is next Saturday, which is almost a week away.

‘I do want to spend some time with you, Nicci, because what with my work and your riding, we don’t have much opportunity.’

‘Are you putting in a complaint?’

‘Yes, I am.’ He’s joking, but there’s an edge to his tone. I think he’s beginning to resent my all-consuming hobby already, even though he’s too cool to admit it.

‘You can join me at the yard whenever you like. You can help me, mucking out and cleaning tack.’

‘I’d hate to do anything that makes my shoulder worse,’ he says cheekily.

‘Why don’t you meet me at the yard next Saturday afternoon? My niece is having her first riding lesson and the Bobster can have a run around. I can drop Sage back home and we can go out for a pizza, or something.’

‘Or you can come back and have cake at my place.’

‘I can’t wait.’ Saying goodbye, I jump off Willow and lead her back to her stable, making the most of the brief respite from my overcrowded house. Occasionally, I wonder if I could bed down in one of the foaling boxes Delphi keeps free for emergencies.

Willow stands quietly. I whip off the saddle and place it on the lower half of the stable door, then swap the bridle for a head-collar and leave her with the rope slung over her neck. I don’t bother to tie her up – she isn’t going far. I give her a wash down, concentrating on the sweaty bits behind her ears, her chest and saddle patch. She shakes her head and flicks her skin when the cold water from the hose touches her, but eventually she relaxes, standing with her head low, her eyes closed and her lower lip hanging down.

‘Willow, Henry might have had a point when he said you looked like a donkey.’ I stroke her and scratch her withers and she utters a sigh of deep contentment. I love this horse. She appreciates my company and she loves to work. I wish I could write a prescription for every patient I saw to spend half an hour once or twice a day with a horse like Willow, not one like Dark Star, though, I think as I catch sight of him sidling around the outdoor school. Unlike Willow, his presence raises the blood pressure rather than lowering it. Prescribing
a session with Dark Star when he’s in a bad mood could be fatal.