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Luke wasn’t quite sure what he’d said or done to set the ghosts swirling in her eyes. Perhaps it would have been better to stay with Peter, but the temptation to show her the project that was so close to his heart had overwhelmed him, and now that he’d brought her up here, he couldn’t take her back downstairs again without at least showing her around quickly.
She didn’t seem in that much of a hurry, though. If anything, she lingered over the half-finished office space, inspecting the kitchen and tiny shower room and pacing the full length and breadth of the main area.
‘It’s a huge space.’
‘Yeah. I’m going to have demountable partitions made so it can be split up into thirds later on, if necessary. For now, I prefer open-plan.’ He was watching her carefully, trying to see the place through her eyes. The value that she put on it had suddenly become un-realistically important.
‘Yes. The views are beautiful, too.’ She was leaning on one of the windowsills, looking out at the rolling green countryside. ‘It’ll be better still once you get those prefabs down.’
For the first time Luke saw the two, low, prefabricated units that had been home sweet home for the last two years through someone else’s eyes. ‘They’ll be staying for a while.’
‘But surely once you get your new offices and surgery …?’
He shifted uncomfortably. ‘That’s where I live.’
She reddened slightly. ‘Oh! I thought …’ Suspicion flickered in her eyes and hardened suddenly. ‘I thought that the coffee shop was on your way to work.’
‘It is. My surgery’s still down in the village. I pick up my coffee on the way there from here.’ He shrugged. ‘In a few weeks’ time I’ll be giving up the lease on my practice premises and moving it over here. It’s all part of a five-year plan.’
‘I see.’ She thought for a moment then nodded, obviously finding his answer acceptable. ‘So when do you get somewhere permanent to live?’
‘That’s not at the top of my list of priorities right now. I bought this land two years ago, and I’ve ploughed every penny I have into getting this place set up. I’ve got planning permission for a house down by the road there, but it’ll have to wait.’ He indicated the spot where the house would eventually stand, shaded by trees and currently overrun with brambles. ‘In the meantime, I have no shortage of fresh blackberries.’
‘Pretty long-term project.’ She was craning to see the spot he had indicated, and then her gaze swept back to the temporary buildings. ‘Doesn’t it get cold in there in the winter?’
Cold, unwelcoming, utilitarian. He didn’t spend a lot of time there anyway, and up until this moment he had neither wanted nor needed anything else. The word ‘home’ had seemed overrated. ‘Depends how many pairs of socks I wear.’
She smiled. Really smiled. A smile like that could make anywhere a home. ‘This is an amazing place, Luke. It’ll be worth it when it’s finished.’
He wanted to hug her. No—that was hardly substantial or long-lasting enough. He wanted to hold her. But the last time he’d come too close to her, he’d seen fear in her eyes and she had shrunk back from him. If that happened again, it would shatter everything that Luke had ever believed about himself. A man that a woman feared was no kind of man at all. He turned quickly, cannoning into a workbench, and put his hand out to steady himself.
The blade sliced into his thumb like a hot knife through butter. In the moment before he felt any pain he jerked his hand away from the workman’s knife, which had been left out on the bench, and saw blood plume over his fingers.
‘Dammit.’ Some blood drops had skittered across to a gap in the plastic covering the newly laid flooring and were beginning to soak into the untreated wood. Luke held his injured hand over an empty paint can and bent to repair the damage.
He felt her hands on his, something wrapped around the gash and pressure at the base of his thumb. ‘Don’t worry about that.’
‘It’ll stain the wood.’ Luke hissed out a curse as the plastic slipped under his feet and more blood spilled onto the floor.
‘And you’re just making it worse.’ Her voice was calm but brooked no argument. ‘What’s done is done. Come here and we’ll sort that out later.’ She pulled him away, her green eyes flashing dangerously when he made to resist.
‘Hey, that’s my fabric sample …’ Somehow she’d managed to locate the only clean piece of fabric in the whole place and wrap it around his hand, in the space of time it had taken Luke to half assess the damage to the flooring.
‘You’re using that colour in here?’ She raised one eyebrow. Whatever hesitation she might have displayed in the past was gone now. She was direct, calm and unmistakably in charge. Capital letters, In Charge.
‘No. When I got it back here, I thought something a little lighter would be better.’
‘Good. You’ll not be needing it, then.’ She rolled her eyes as Luke tried to move her fingers to inspect his thumb. ‘Stop that and come here.’
She hustled him down the stairs and thrust him into a battered armchair that the workmen used during their coffee breaks. ‘Peter.’ Peter was immersed in trying to disentangle a set of claws from his pullover and Katya’s voice increased in intensity if not volume. ‘Peter, will you take my keys and go and get the red bag from the back of my car, please?’
Luke took his chance. When she wore her vulnerability like armour, he could do nothing else but treat her gently. But now it was as if her true self had emerged, fearless and capable. He was the one who was at a disadvantage now, and he could afford to flex his muscles a little with her.
‘Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I need to see if I can get those bloodspots off the flooring before it stains.’
She dismissed him with a flip of her eyelashes and Luke grinned. ‘It’s already stained. You might be able to get it off with vinegar. If that doesn’t work, try a little bleach.’
‘I’d better go and see …’ He broke off as she wiggled the thumb of her free hand at him.
‘See this?’
‘Yep. I cut my hand, not cracked my skull.’
‘It’s an opposable thumb.’ She grinned at him. ‘You of all people should know how tricky things get without it.’
‘It’s a myth that we’re the only species with opposable thumbs, lots of animals have them. Gibbons, great apes. Some possums have two digits that oppose the other three. Giant pandas …’
‘So many for you to keep up with. Be a shame if you lost your grip.’ She lifted the corner of the fabric. ‘Seems to have stopped bleeding. Any loss of feeling in your thumb?’
‘No.’ Luke mimicked the movements of her thumb, circling and bending his own, and she nodded.
‘Okay. I’ll clean it and tape it up, but you need to get it looked at by a doctor if you experience any loss of sensation or movement or the wound becomes infected.’
‘Right.’ An idea was beginning to occur to Luke, and when she unzipped the red nylon bag that Peter had brought to her side, it began to gain form and substance. ‘Done this before?’
‘Once or twice.’ She began to clean the wound with alcohol wipes selected from the well-stocked first-aid kit.
‘I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. I don’t want to trust my valuable opposable thumbs to just anyone.’
‘I think you’ll be okay.’ No explanation. Nothing to reassure him, but then he was getting used to Katya giving the absolute minimum of information and leaving him wondering. Luke didn’t need it, though, her attitude and obvious expertise were quite enough.
‘It looks horrible.’ Peter had been watching carefully.
‘It does now. But the miracle of the human body is that it can heal. It’ll be just fine in a few days. When we get home, I’ll show you exactly what to do if anyone you know cuts themselves like this.’ She took a moment to check that Peter was happy with her answer and gave a little satisfied nod. ‘Now, have you chosen which kitten you’d like to take home with us?’
‘That one.’ Peter pointed to an all-black kitten, the boldest of the crew, and the one that Luke had expected him to take to. ‘Or that one.’ A little white one, with blue eyes and undoubtedly the prettiest. ‘Or perhaps …’
Katya laughed. ‘Well, I guess you’ve got a bit more thinking to do.’ She paused for a moment to concentrate on taping Luke’s wound and then glanced across at Peter’s rucksack. ‘Perhaps one of them has chosen you.’
Peter caught his breath and ran over to his rucksack, where the tiny kitten with the black patch over its eye had managed to work the zip open and was trying to crawl inside. Carefully he disentangled its claws, and let it attach itself to his chest instead. ‘It’s licking my hand!’
‘Can you let that one go?’ She turned to Luke, seeming to know that the weakest of the litter, the one that he had needed to nurse back to health, was the one that he most wanted to find a good home for. ‘Olenka will make sure he’s looked after properly.’
‘I know.’ He nodded over towards Peter and his new best friend. ‘All he needs now is someone to care for him, and it seems he’s found that.’
Luke’s gaze found Katya’s and she gave him a nod and a shy smile. Now that she was out of the loose-fitting top and apron that she wore at the coffee shop, he could see how slim she was. Almost painfully so. He wouldn’t have credited her with the strength to propel him downstairs the way she had just now.
‘All done.’ She regarded her work for a moment and then began to pack her things back into her bag, pulling her surgical gloves off and stuffing them into the pocket of her jeans. ‘You do need to see a doctor if—’
‘I know.’ Luke thought he saw an echo of his grin in her face. ‘I will. Thanks.’
She nodded, and instinct told Luke that now was not the time to press her any further. Or maybe it was, just a little. ‘I promised Olenka some things for the kitten if Peter chose one. They’re in my cabin. Will you help me carry them back?’ Luke made a slightly shamefaced gesture towards his injured hand. There was no point in wasting a good excuse.
‘Of course. Peter, you’ll be all right here for a minute?’
Peter didn’t even bother to answer, he was so absorbed with carefully stroking the small creature that had curled up in his arms.
‘He’ll be fine. We won’t be long.’ Luke made his way to the door, sure somehow that Katya would follow.
He could hear her footsteps on the gravel behind him. When he turned, she was hugging the red bag to her chest, and Luke unlocked the door to his temporary home and ducked inside, manners giving way to instinct. She’d make her own decision about whether she wanted to come in or not.
‘It looks cosy.’ She was craning her head through the doorway, keeping her feet on the rickety steps outside.
Luke shrugged. ‘It’s enough for me at the moment.’ A sofa bed that creaked whenever he turned over. His books, stacked neatly into a couple of packing cases in the corner and his clothes in a chest of drawers. A desk for his laptop, an old easy chair, and that was about it. He didn’t spend many of his waking hours here anyway.
‘It’s very tidy.’ She put the red bag down and stepped across the threshold.
‘I used to travel a lot, and I found that the best way to keep track of everything was to travel light and keep it orderly.’
She nodded. Most people would have asked where, or why he’d travelled, but he’d learned not to expect that from Katya. It would be too much like striking up a conversation, and you never knew what kind of information sharing that might lead to.
‘I was working with a unit of Rescue Dogs. We went wherever we were needed, often at pretty short notice.’ There was no reason why he shouldn’t volunteer the information.
‘Oh.’ She was still looking around intently, almost as if there was a prize on offer for shutting her eyes and remembering as many items from the room as she could.
‘The aid agency I used to work for is interested in using some of the land here as a training centre for their dogs. I’m hoping to get that up and running next spring.’
‘One of the other projects that you’re involved with.’ She turned to him, the ghost of a smile on her face. She’d remembered, and Luke’s heart crowed with triumph. Even if she didn’t seem to react much to what he said, she’d clearly been listening all this time.
‘Yeah.’ He picked up an envelope from the pile on his desk. ‘We’ve got another project that we’re trying to get off the ground as well, in partnership with the local hospital. Taking animals into the hospital so that long-stay patients can interact with them.’
A glimmer of interest showed in her eyes. Luke took his chance and handed her the envelope. ‘You might be interested in reading about it.’
‘Yes … yes, I would, thanks. Aren’t there a couple of charities that do that already?’
‘Yes, we’re working in association with one of them. And directly with the hospital authorities.’
Luke opened the door to the store cupboard and busied himself with sorting out an animal carrier, some kitten food and a few leaflets for Olenka, which he annotated quickly with extra information. When he glanced back in Katya’s direction, she was peering inside the envelope, flipping through the papers inside.
‘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.
CHAPTER THREE
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.
The clink of ice in a glass shattered her reverie. ‘I see you’ve already won the chairman of the board over.’ Luke’s eyes were flashing with gentle humour as he indicated Bruno’s head, resting in her lap.
‘He gets a vote?’
‘Yeah. I just get to do the talking.’ Luke sat down, sliding a bar menu across the table towards her. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ He saw her hesitate and laughed. ‘It’s not a trick question. I’m starving. Let’s order and we can talk while we’re waiting.’
He ordered a home-made burger with steak-cut chips and salad, grinning his approbation when Katya said she’d have the same. He took a draught of beer from his glass and then all his attention was on her. Katya tried not to think about how his gaze always seemed to resemble an embrace.
‘I’ve brought my CV for you.’ She laid her two-page résumé on the table between them, along with the fat A4 envelope. She’d brought a handkerchief, too. There was one point in this story that always sent tears coursing down her cheeks, however many times she practised it in front of the bathroom mirror.
‘What’s in the envelope?’
‘Just some supporting documents.’ Katya took a sip of water, wondering whether perhaps a little Dutch courage might not have been a good idea. ‘There’s something I’d like to tell you.’
‘No.’ Luke was suddenly still. Only his hand moved, to Bruno’s head, his fingers absently fondling his ears.
‘No?’ This was the one reaction she hadn’t expected from him. Anything else, but not this flat refusal to even listen to her.
‘I don’t want to hear it, Katya. The form that you filled out said that you’re a nurse. That you had a senior position in one of the top London hospitals but you left more than a year ago.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’ There was still a swell of pride. Muted now, and tinged with bitter experience, but it was still there.
‘In my experience, someone with that kind of background, who’s working in a coffee shop, is in need of a new start. Is that right?’ His manner was kind, but he’d sliced right to the bone.
‘Yes. That’s right.’ Katya felt her spine begin to sag, and pulled herself upright, squaring her shoulders.
‘Then let’s make one. Look forward instead of back.’
‘But you need to know …’ Katya knew that she had to put her own feelings aside. Disclosure was one of those things you had to do in this kind of job. ‘I’ll be working with children, with vulnerable adults …’
‘Not yet you won’t. It’ll be another month before the reserve is open to the public and we get the project going to take animals into the hospital. I need to put an advanced CRB check in motion, and I’ll take up the references that you’ve given, but …’
‘The references will be fine. There’ll be nothing on the CRB check either.’
‘So is there any reason why you shouldn’t work with me, setting up procedures and getting things organised?’
‘No.’ Luke would be in charge, and that was her safety net. She could refer any difficult decisions back to him.
‘Then this can wait.’ Luke pushed the envelope back across the table towards her. ‘Until you’re ready.’
He was giving her a chance. Taking her at face value and letting her prove herself. This was not what Katya had expected, but it felt okay. It was a place from which she could move forward.
‘Aren’t you curious?’ She almost wanted him to be.
‘Truthfully?’ He grinned. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘But you’re not going to do anything about it?’