Her ex-fiancé...

...is giving her paws for thought!

Alex Norton devastated Beth Masters when he told her he could no longer marry her. The last thing she wants this Christmas is to come face-to-face with him, clutching an adorable puppy! Warm-hearted vet Beth can’t say no to a four-legged patient in need, but she’ll need to guard her damaged heart from delicious doc Alex. Which becomes impossible when he finally reveals the reason why he left...

Award-winning author LOUISA GEORGE has been an avid reader her whole life. In between chapters she’s managed to train as a nurse, marry her doctor hero and have two sons. Now she writes chapters of her own in the medical romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction genres. Louisa’s books have variously been nominated for the coveted RITA® Award and the New Zealand Koru Award, and have been translated into twelve languages. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Also by Louisa George

How to Resist a Heartbreaker

200 Harley Street: The Shameless Maverick

A Baby on Her Christmas List

Tempted by Her Italian Surgeon

Her Doctor’s Christmas Proposal

Tempted by Hollywood’s Top Doc

The Nurse’s Special Delivery

Reunited by Their Secret Son

A Nurse to Heal His Heart

Saved by Their One-Night Baby

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

A Puppy and a Christmas Proposal

Louisa George

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09036-0

A PUPPY AND A CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL

© 2019 Louisa George

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

‘DAMN SNOW. THE weather forecast said this Arctic vortex should have ended by today.’

Alex Norton locked Oakdale Medical Centre’s front door and turned up his coat collar against the flurries that were now falling thick and fast, covering Oakdale village in a glistening white blanket. Winter had arrived with a vengeance with Christmas hot on its tail. And all he had to do was keep sane through the madness of the next month and then he’d be able to breathe properly again.

All? With the memories of Christmases past haunting him at every turn in this tiny claustrophobic village he’d be lucky if he stayed sane until the end of next week.

‘Hasn’t snowed this much in December for years.’ His colleague and business partner Dr Joe Thompson grinned as he fell into step with him up the path towards the main street. ‘Going to be a white Christmas, do you think?’

White? Blue? Yellow with orange spots? Alex didn’t rightly care what colour Christmas was going to be, but he managed a half-decent, at least polite, reply. ‘Who knows? It’s three weeks away. This will all be murky slush before you can blink.’

Joe’s eyes narrowed. ‘I hope not. I promised to take Katy tobogganing tomorrow.’

Alex checked himself. Okay, so perhaps murky slush wasn’t polite. Not everyone disliked Christmas, especially not the father of a pre-teen girl. Maybe Christmas might actually be fun with a kid around. As if he’d ever know. ‘Oh, yes. First day of your holidays. Have fun. See you on the other side of New Year.’

‘I’m grateful you’ve agreed to stay here to cover the clinic for us. Rose is looking forward to her first Oakdale Christmas and Katy’s beside herself with excitement about the New Year’s skiing holiday. For the first time in years I’m going to be able to get to all the school things they have at the end of term; the kids’ disco, the Nativity... And she’s going to love the pantomime in Lancaster next week.’ Judging by the shine in Joe’s eyes he was fairly keen about it all too. Which, as far as Alex was concerned, was a long time coming. Joe had been through a rough few years and it was good to see him smile. He figured Joe’s new partner Rose had a lot to do with that too. ‘It’ll be good to be able to enjoy it all as a family without worrying about rushing back for work.’

‘You deserve the time off. Happy to do it.’ With a bit of luck he could bury himself in his job and forget it was the time of year that everyone seemed to go just a little bit crazy. Alex hated December. He hated Christmas. He hated the reminders of everything he’d lost, and at this time of year he was usually on holiday somewhere far away trying to drink away the memories.

But there would be no holiday this year; their other practice partner, Jenny, was off sick with a nasty leg fracture and their new partner wasn’t starting until next week, and with Joe having pre-booked leave right through December there hadn’t been anyone to step up but Alex.

Joe stopped as they reached the turn-off that led up the hill to his house. ‘Coming to the carol concert later?’

‘No. Not my idea of fun.’

‘Good job you don’t have kids, mate. You’d go mad this time of year with all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers going on. Katy’s been practising and let’s just say that, although I love my daughter to pieces, even I have to admit she does not have the voice of an angel.’ Joe laughed. ‘Seriously, you should come.’

‘With that recommendation?’ Alex ignored the stab in his chest. It wasn’t just a good job he didn’t have kids; it was a physical impossibility. He dug his hands further into his coat pockets. ‘No. I’m fine. A warm fire and a cold beer beckon.’

‘The pub? Friday band night?’

‘No. I’d like to keep my eardrums intact into old age. I’m just heading home. Just me, and not a red-nosed reindeer in sight.’

‘Okay. So basically it’s “Bah, humbug” and all that?’

‘Yeah. Something like that.’ Joe clearly wasn’t getting the ‘don’t push it’ vibe Alex was sending him. ‘Enjoy the concert.’

‘I’ll try...’ Joe grinned and waved his phone earbuds ‘...not to listen too hard.’

Then it was just Alex and the crunch of fresh snow as he stalked across the empty village square. Each footstep a beat...warm...fire...cold...beer... Warm...fire. Cold...beer. Nothing better after a busy work week.

Despite the streetlights it was dark and fresh and he wished he’d dressed more suitably for a blizzard. Every shopfront had some sort of festive display or Nativity scene and someone had strung bunting made out of silver stars zigzagging from the post office to the butcher’s and over to the newsagent’s. There was a small and slightly gravelly snowman outside the little supermarket, its carrot nose lying on the snow-covered ground. Alex picked it up, stuck it back onto the large white head and tightened the woolly scarf round the join between head and body. ‘There you go, mate, whole again.’

He tried hard not to think how that might feel. But at least he’d fixed the snowman. See? What was that if it wasn’t embracing the Christmas spirit? Bah, humbug, indeed.

He made his way down the icy path towards the opposite end of the village to where Joe was heading, to the house he’d grown up in, his thoughts tumbling between the usual tumult of GP life and that one Christmas eight years ago when his life had changed for ever.

He tried to push the memories away but there was something about those Nativity scenes that seemed to lock them in his head; the doctor’s office decorated in tinsel for festive fun, diametrically opposed to the hot panic that had consumed him. The phone call. Tears. So many tears. And then navigating an entirely different landscape from the future he’d been planning.

From somewhere he heard a little whine, then an excited yelp tugged him back to today, the past receding a little. Behind him was a fluffy bundle of fur on four legs. Not a red-nosed reindeer but a dog...a puppy to be exact. It stopped walking when he did. When he started again it let out another yelp then bounded through the drifts and caught him up, tangling between his legs.

Huffing out a breath, Alex disentangled himself from the pup. Along with huge soppy eyes it had a long snout, big paws completely out of whack with its body and a tail that stood up like a spike. Cute. If you were the dog-loving type. Alex wasn’t. Especially when they hindered your journey home after a long day looking after particularly difficult patients. He stepped over the mutt. ‘Whoa, puppy. It’s too slippery out here to be doing that.’

It didn’t move. ‘Go.’

Nah. Nothing. He picked it up, turned it around and plopped it back onto the snow, hoping it would return to wherever it had come from, then he set off in the direction of home. Warm fire. Cold beer. Warm fire. Cold beer.

Another yelp. A little bark. Did that one sound like, Hey, Mr Bah Humbug, I’m freezing?

‘Look, stop following me. Go home, boy...or girl...’ He couldn’t tell from this distance. But the puppy just tipped its head to one side and looked at him. ‘Go. Shoo.’

Pointy ears pricked. Well, one did; the right ear had a floppy fold. One up, one bent.

Not cute at all. Really. Not cute.

And lost. He looked at the trail of puppy paw prints in the snow and sighed as he bent down. ‘Okay, okay. Let’s have a look at you.’

No collar. Great. A boy pup. And very happy to be given attention. ‘Someone, somewhere is going to be missing you. How about you turn right around and go back where you came from?’ But he couldn’t help sinking his fingers in the fur at the back of the pup’s neck and giving him a good scratch. The puppy nuzzled against his arm and something in Alex’s chest squeezed.

No. ‘I am not going to be bamboozled by big soppy brown eyes and cold paws.’

No. Nope. No way. Niet.

As soon as this silly season was over he was booking a holiday. A climbing holiday perhaps where he could put all his energy into something physical. A holiday fling maybe? That could be good respite too. A something with someone who didn’t want for ever. He noticed his fingers were still fur-deep and his palm was wet with over-enthusiastic licks. It actually felt kind of nice. When was the last time he’d made a meaningful connection?

He didn’t want to think about that, because making connections deeper than the ten-minute appointments with his patients was something he avoided at all costs. Dragging his hand away from the fur ball, he tried to sound authoritarian. ‘Don’t go getting attached to me. Off you go.’

He started to walk away. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Words he’d repeated over and over to himself so many times in his life; in the darkest times, when he’d faced an uncertain future, he’d known that looking back at all those unfulfilled plans he’d made would have given him no solace at all.

But the puppy ran along next to him, sinking deep into the snow, then pushing with those huge paws and jumping out and into the next drift. ‘A puppy with authority issues. I see. Just my luck, right? Look, mate, this isn’t going to work. I’m just not that into you.’

The wind picked up as he reached his cottage, swirling snowflakes faster and thicker. He slid the key into the lock and pushed through into the cold and dark, pausing for a moment to stamp the snow from his boots. Wishing he’d left either a light or central heating on, he flicked on a switch, flooding the hallway in a soft cream glow, and caught a spiky tail disappearing into his kitchen. ‘What? Hey! Houdini! You don’t live here.’

The damned thing had snuck in with him and was now, he discovered as he rounded the corner into his large kitchen-dining room, lying on his grandparents’ heirloom rug in front of the dining table, chewing on Alex’s best, top-of-the-range and shipped-all-the-way-from-the-States climbing shoes.

‘Hey! Hey! No! They cost a fortune! Let go.’ A throaty, playful growl came from the dog as Alex took hold of his shoe and tried to tug it out of its mouth. ‘I only just bought them. I’ve only worn them once.’

But the dog stuck his bottom in the air and laid his enormous paws out in front and kept on tugging back, that tail wagging back and forth like a metronome on heat.

‘This is not a game.’ Alex needed to distract it. ‘Food? What could you have? Water? Yes. Water.’

He filled an old porcelain Willow Pattern bowl that had belonged to his grandmother and put it on the floor, then microwaved the sausages he’d planned to eat for dinner and chopped them up. ‘Your last supper, matey. Then you’re back out there.’

He looked out of the window at the whirls of snowflakes, heavier and thicker than he’d seen in a long time. Then he looked at the puppy, who was devouring the food as if it hadn’t eaten in days. Maybe it hadn’t. ‘Who do you belong to?’

One tentative sniff of the sausages and Spike gobbled the lot—okay, so the name just came to him. It fitted the mutt perfectly, especially with the tail that stuck straight up. And so much for not getting involved. As a rural GP he’d been around enough farmers to know you didn’t name things you didn’t want to get attached to.

Then Spike bounded over to him, dragging the now mauled and mangled shoe. Alex used his best authoritative voice. ‘Drop. Drop.’

But Spike went right on chewing at Alex’s feet. Whoever owned him scored very low in the puppy-training ranks.

‘You must belong to someone. Surely? How would I find out? A dog like you shouldn’t be out there in the freezing night—oh? Ugh.’ His words stalled as a warm and wet sensation trickled down his ankle.

‘Oh, great. Just great. A puppy with authority issues and a weak bladder. Brilliant.’ He looked down and his eyes met those dark brown soulful ones. He ignored the squeeze in his chest. ‘Spike, my man. Just what the hell am I supposed to do with you?’

Sometimes folks loved their pets more than people, and Beth Masters understood that more than most. Pets didn’t break promises or let you down. Pets never gave you the cold shoulder or silent treatment. Except for the one she was examining now; the poor farm dog was so ill, and exhausted from being sick, she could barely move. ‘How long has she been like this?’ Beth asked Meg’s owner, local farmer Dennis Blakely.

The old man just shrugged as he stared down at his lovely old collie and stroked her muzzle. ‘Help her, Beth.’

Beth recapped what he’d told her when he’d rushed through the door a few minutes before, frantic for help. ‘So, we have a history of vomiting and shaking...like a seizure?’

‘Yes. No. Well...she was shaking and coughing and then she was sick. It was dark-coloured.’

‘Blood perhaps?’ Beth did not like the sound of that. ‘And now she’s just completely exhausted. It could be a bug, or something she’s eaten. Or any number of things.’ Or, most likely some kind of tumour in a dog of such advanced age. But Beth knew better than to jump to conclusions and she couldn’t feel any obvious mass.

Mr Blakely tore his eyes away from the dog and looked over at Beth. ‘Something she’s eaten? Do you think so? What kind of thing?’

Beth listened to the dog’s heart. ‘At this time of year it’s usually chocolate. People leave it wrapped up underneath the Christmas tree and forget it’s dangerous to dogs. Oh. Oh, dear, poor you.’ She rubbed gently as the dog vomited onto the counter. This wasn’t looking good. But she could see it wasn’t chocolate that had made the poor pooch sick. Meg whined and laid her head onto her paws, her eyes looking deep into Beth’s heart. Wait...there was a tinge of yellow in the dog’s sclera. Liver problems maybe?

Her phone vibrated on the desk in the corner of the room. She ignored it. If it was urgent they’d call back.

They did. Her heart thumped as the vibrations made the phone dance across the wood. ‘Excuse me, I need to get this.’

But it was just a text from her mother reminding her about the carol concert they’d planned to go to later. Well, that plan was about to go south; she couldn’t leave poor Meg like this. ‘Mr Blakely... Dennis... I’m so sorry that Meg is so sick. I’m going to run some tests and, in the meantime, keep her as comfortable as I can. It could take a while to get her stable...if I can even manage that.’

‘Aye.’ He nodded. His pale eyes filled. ‘Do what you can, love. But save her, whatever it takes. She’s all I’ve got now Nancy’s gone. It doesn’t matter how much it costs. Just save her.’

Beth’s heart twisted. Poor guy. A widower of only two years and, judging by the scruffy whiskers and the unkempt hair and dirty clothes, he wasn’t coping well. But caring for a very sick dog overnight would mean she’d have to miss the concert and she’d be letting her mum down. Again.

Because the progressive rheumatoid arthritis had eaten away at her mum’s joints and rendered her unable to drive without a lot of pain she was relying on Beth to get her to and from the school hall. Beth felt torn; promises were something she always tried to keep, but she couldn’t not treat a sick dog.

‘Let’s see how she goes, Dennis. She’s very sick and you need to know...’ Her throat was raw. God, she hated this part of her job. She put her hand on his arm. Despite the thick old coat that hung from his thinning frame his papery skin was cold to the touch. ‘I can’t promise she’ll make it through the night.’

The man just nodded and looked as if his heart was breaking. She put a drip up through one of Meg’s veins and bandaged her paw. The poor thing barely flinched. Then Beth popped her onto a blanket in one of the holding cages and made sure she was comfortable and safe while Beth ran the tests. ‘That should start rehydrating her and hopefully she’ll feel brighter. I’ve taken some blood and will do some X-rays and see if they come up with any clues.’

Someone banged on the surgery front door.

‘We’re closed!’ she called out. ‘Dennis, you go on home. Try to get some rest.’

‘Hey!’ The person outside rattled the letterbox. ‘I can see you’re in there.’

‘Still closed!’

No rest for the wicked. She tried to remember when she’d done something wicked and came up blank. Sure, she’d wanted to be wicked...lots of times. But she was far too sensible to throw caution to the wind. As a child she’d always been a little devil-may-care but being her mum’s carer and then having her heart stamped on had curbed that a little. And now she was a very responsible professional, who could hear canine yelping and human huffing.

She sighed, because sometimes she was her own worst enemy, but she couldn’t let another animal suffer if she didn’t have to. She just hoped it wasn’t another serious emergency. ‘Okay. Give me a minute.’

Focusing back on the situation in hand, she double-checked Meg was stable then walked Dennis to the door. ‘I’ll call you if things change.’

‘Good lass. I just hope I got to her in time.’

‘Fingers crossed.’ But she had a sinking feeling that it was going to need a lot more than luck to get Meg well again. She unlocked the door and opened it to let Dennis out.

‘Hey, Dennis. How are you?’ A very familiar voice had her heart jumping. And not in a good way.

Alex Norton. Great. She breathed out slowly, trying not to let her body overreact, or her brain for that matter. She had more important things to concentrate on than Alex Norton.

Dennis sighed long and deep and shook his head. His movements were slow and infused with grief. ‘Not good, Dr Alex. Not good at all.’

‘Oh? Anything I can help you with?’ Alex smiled. There he was with the smooth, kind and concerned doctor tone. If only they knew.

He was holding a puppy, which was licking his neck. And he was smiling.

Alex Norton and a puppy and a smile. How could the universe be so cruel?

‘I doubt you can help this time, Doc. Not unless you know about four-legged patients.’ There was a crack in the old man’s voice. ‘Meg’s taken a turn. She’s not doing well. But Beth here’s a good ’un. If anyone can make her well again, she can.’

‘Yes, I’m sure Beth will do her best. I’m hoping she can help me out too.’

No. Please, no. The last thing she needed right now was a conversation with the man who’d stomped on her heart all those years ago and—unfortunately, for Beth—the only man to date who could affect her with a simple look.

Not that she didn’t want to see him per se; in fact, he was lovely to look at. From being a good-looking adolescent he’d grown into a damned fine-looking man in his expensive wool coat and jeans. His dark hair was shorter than he’d used to like it and the odd grey strand was creeping in. His blue eyes were darker than she remembered and had developed one or two lines around them. He was broader too, his shoulders more powerful-looking and he was, possibly, taller than back then. But with him being six feet two his mouth had always been a tiptoe to reach.

She was not going to think about his mouth. Or his kisses. Or him.

So, while she didn’t mind looking at the gorgeousness that was Alex Norton she just didn’t want to lay her eyes on him. Because whenever she did she was filled with such a heady mix of emotions she couldn’t sort through them. Although she knew sadness and anger were definitely the dominant ones.

‘Hey, Beth.’ His smile was still there...and something else. He wanted something and, because she knew him so well, she knew that whatever he wanted was going to cost her.

‘Alex.’ She aimed for the same amount of ice that coated the path outside the vet surgery.

He didn’t seem to notice. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I thought you might be going to the carol concert or Friday band night at The Queen’s Arms.’

‘Interesting. You thought I wouldn’t be here? Or hoped?’ He’d actually thought about where she might be? That was unusual; thinking of someone other than himself. Despite her better judgment she let him in but only because he was holding a pet, and pets were her business, not his.

But she didn’t have the time to play nicey-nicey with him, even if just looking at him sent her heart into apoplexy. Stupid heart to keep hammering a tattoo for someone who dumped her and disappeared into the ether with not a single look back.

‘I did wonder whether you might be here.’ He lugged the puppy up under his arm. ‘Or whether you’d even be open this late.’

‘We are officially closed. And I did promise to take Mum to the concert, but I can’t leave Meg now—she’s really not well.’ Beth hurried back through to the hospital area so she could keep an eye on the old dog. The poor thing lay with her head on her paws, breathing steady. No more vomiting, so that was something. But she didn’t look right. ‘I need to run some tests. Like...now.’ She hoped he’d take the hint.

‘Would you like me to arrange for someone to take your mum to the concert? Joe’s going. I’m sure he’ll be able to take her down.’

Not good at hint-taking, then. For a second she thought about saying no to him just because that was how she was feeling. But saying no to her mum having a nice night out when she rarely left the house was plain mean-spirited. So, it looked as if she was going to be beholden to Alex Norton tonight. The first and last time.

She managed a brief smile. ‘Okay, yes, if you could give Joe a call that would be lovely.’

As he called his business partner she took the chance to check on Meg again. She was holding on, but very weak as Beth did her vital signs. She didn’t move an inch when she was put in the X-ray sling. Didn’t so much as whine as Beth drew more blood.

Alex came back as Beth was finishing up another round of observations. ‘Okay, done. Joe will take her to the concert and drive her home afterwards. He was more than happy to do it. He said he’d make sure she got back into the house safely.’

‘Thank you.’ That was something to feel less guilty about, at least. One good thing about being in Oakdale was that everyone looked out for each other, even though it could feel claustrophobic at times. Like, when everyone knew when you’d been dumped at Christmas and you had to endure those pitiful stares and sad smiles and you couldn’t wait to get the hell out and never come back. Except, of course, when your mum needed you. ‘I’ll give her a call and explain why I’m still here.’

‘I’ll wait. Er...we’ll wait.’ Alex cradled the puppy against his chest and stroked its back until it fell asleep. Beth refused to let the sight of gorgeous man and dog do anything at all to her emotions.

When she’d finished calling her mum he asked, ‘Was she okay about it?’

‘Not really. We were both looking forward to going together like we used to do years ago, but she knows my work here is demanding and that I often have to stay late, or even overnight. She’s used to me making promises I can’t keep. But then...we all know how that goes, right?’ Ouch. That was probably unnecessarily harsh. But when you broke off a relationship—an engagement—by phone call with no explanation, you had to expect the odd barb, right?

Geez. Beth closed her eyes for a second as she found some calm. It had been eight years. Eight damned years. She needed to let it go. In fact, she’d thought she had, until she’d come back to Oakdale to help her mum and found herself bumping into Alex at every turn. Ironic really, given that eight years ago, when she’d so desperately wanted to talk to him, she hadn’t been able to find him, and now she didn’t want to see him he was front and centre of Oakdale life. The sooner she went back to Glasgow, the better.

When she was able to breathe slowly again she turned to him. ‘So, Alex, why are you here, exactly?’

His jaw clenched and she wasn’t sure whether it was a reaction to her short manner or whether it was something else. ‘I seem to have a new friend.’

And why do I care? Oh. Why did she care? Because she knew deep down she still did. Cared enough about him that he made her heart hurt. Just a few more weeks and then she’d be gone and Alex wouldn’t be part of her life again.

Then she realised he meant the adorable puppy in his arms, who had woken up and was licking Alex’s chin and making him squirm. She scrubbed the back of the dog’s neck and it turned to look at her, large eyes brightening at her touch. ‘He’s gorgeous.’

‘He? You can tell the gender without looking?’ Alex’s eyes grew bigger too. ‘It took me a few minutes to figure that out.’

‘I can tell the gender by the way you’re holding him.’ She tried not to laugh. ‘But, if this is just a show and tell about your new pet then I haven’t got the time.’ Or the inclination.

She had to keep telling herself she didn’t have any inclination towards Alex Norton. Except anger. Was that an inclination? There had been many times, particularly in the first few months after he’d dumped her by phone, that her inclination had been to force-feed him the engagement ring he’d so beautifully proposed to her with. That was, if she’d been able to find him.

Alex shook his head. ‘He’s not mine. He just followed me home, snuck into my house and ate my shoes.’

‘All very lovely, I’m sure. And you want me to...?’

‘Take him.’ With the kind of smile that had once melted her heart, and now did absolutely nothing to her at all—at all—he handed the puppy out towards her. ‘He doesn’t belong to me.’

‘Nor me.’ Shrugging, she looked at the cute little dog who had a silky coat and bright eyes that were adoringly fixed on the man she’d once looked at like that. But he was distracting. They both were, and she had to deal with Meg. ‘He looks perfectly fine. Healthy and alert.’

‘He is.’ Alex craned his neck away from the puppy’s tongue and grimaced. ‘Too alert.’

‘Alert is a good thing, Alex.’

‘I need to find his owner.’

‘Of course you do, and I’m sure they’ll be very grateful.’

‘Has anyone reported a missing puppy to you or anyone here?’

She quickly flicked through the notices in the large clinic diary on the desk. ‘No, not in the last few days. A white rabbit, rather unoriginally named Bugsy, is currently AWOL, as is a Siamese cat called Marg, but no dogs.’

She threw him what she hoped was an über-efficient and over-officious smile that she knew would definitely not reach her eyes or exude any warmth or encouragement for them to stay. Whimpering came from the treatment room. Meg.

Damn. ‘Look, I have to go. Meg needs me and I need some answers.’ And not just about what was ailing the dog. ‘You know where the door is. Goodnight, Alex and friend.’

CHAPTER TWO

BUT HE DIDN’T LEAVE. He just stood there open-mouthed, shaking his head and cradling the dog to his chest as if protecting it from her. Great, and now she was Cruella de Vil.

‘Beth? Really? You can’t just send us out into the snow.’

‘Yes, I can. That’s exactly what I’m doing. You live a five-minute drive away, Alex. You are not going to die of cold just going back to your house in a fancy-pants Mazda cabriolet.’ And, okay...yes, she was far too aware of Alex’s life and his penchant for red cars that zoomed too quickly down the winding Lake District country roads.

‘But...what about this little one?’ He held the dog towards her and looked at her almost as dolefully as the dog did.

Steeling her heart against them both, she peered closer. Maybe she’d missed something. ‘Is he sick?’

‘No. He’s a handful.’

It was just a ruse. He’d come here to dump the poor pooch on her, but she was in no position to take on a puppy. ‘Do you have a fire or central heating at your house so the two of you can be warm until you find his owner?’

Alex’s hopeful smile faded. ‘Of course.’

‘Right. And you’re a grown man and a medical professional to boot. You’ll manage.’ She couldn’t hold back the sigh. ‘This is not an emergency, Alex. I am not needed here.’

‘Yes, this is an emergency, Beth. I don’t want a dog. I don’t know how to look after them. I don’t have the time. I need to give him back to his owner. Think of the poor little girl who is missing her puppy so close to Christmas.’

He was standing under a swathe of the cheap tinsel they’d strung across the clinic ceiling in an effort to be festive. His eyes locked onto hers and for a minute she was thrown back to a Christmas years ago when they’d come back from their separate universities for the holidays and they’d decorated his bedroom and made love for hours. Then he’d made her a crown out of gold tinsel, kissed her hard, told her she was the queen of his heart and asked her to marry him.

And she’d been the happiest woman on earth for a whole year, until he’d unceremoniously knocked her off that throne and broken her heart with a single phone call. Then had gone travelling...without her. In breaking up with her he’d not only cut her off from him, but from his parents and sister too...the extended family she’d always craved. Because, of course, when she’d come back home in the holidays and he wasn’t around she’d questioned them about why he’d disappeared from contact. They’d rallied behind their beloved boy. With a gentle sadness in their eyes, admittedly, but they’d rallied.

We’re so sorry, but it’s what he wants. We’re sorry, Beth.

For breaking her heart?

He could deal with the dog on his own. ‘Feel free to find the owner and be the hero of the hour. Why do I need to be involved?’

He shrugged. ‘Because I don’t know what to do next.’

‘Have you developed an allergy to phones or something?’ She shook her head. ‘Call the rescue centre.’

‘I did. No one’s reported a missing dog and they’re full so they can’t take this little one. No room at the inn, right?’

She rolled her eyes at the very bad Christmas pun. ‘The animal pound in Kendal?’

‘Same. Full, no missing reports filed.’

‘The police? Here—’ Raising her eyebrows, she thrust the surgery’s laminated card of emergency numbers towards him. ‘Call the local station.’

He took the card but shook his head. ‘You know, you’re not being very helpful.’

Say what? He had a nerve. ‘Alex, I am always helpful in times of need. This is not one of them. I’m in the middle of something very important. I have to go to Meg—’

‘But you know about dogs.’

‘I know about sick ones.’ That was a little disingenuous. She knew a lot about animals in general, she just didn’t feel a need to abandon her sick dog to help Alex.

He shrugged. ‘I don’t know anything at all. He’s not mine and he needs to go to his rightful owners. He hasn’t got a collar so it’s not just a case of picking up a phone. Maybe he has a microchip? Or what if he hasn’t? What if he hasn’t got anyone?’ He almost—almost—looked genuinely concerned. ‘What do we do then?’

‘We? Oh, no. That is not going to happen.’ She was not going to get embroiled in this.

‘Me,’ he corrected. ‘What do I do with a lost puppy? I’m working all weekend. I haven’t got time for this. Oh.’ Alex’s mouth crumpled as a stream of liquid left the dog and hit the counter, splashing Alex’s jeans en route. ‘He keeps doing that.’

‘At least we know his urinary system is in good nick.’ It was getting late and she needed to check the blood results and generally tend to Meg but she also had a duty of care to the puppy too. Or, at the very least, she needed to make sure it was safe and cared for, and that the person responsible for it had an inkling of how to keep a dog alive. ‘Look, if you can give me an hour or so to get Meg sorted then I’ll be able to concentrate on this little one. Why don’t you go home and bring him back later?’

‘I’d prefer to stay here. You have all the equipment. I have nothing suitable for a pet at home. Plus, he doesn’t like cars, he howls like I’m trying to kill him. I tried to soothe him with some classic tunes from the nineties but that didn’t work, and neither did Rihanna, which I don’t understand at all, because when Rihanna sings I’m all ears.’

‘Okay, okay. That’s enough.’ She didn’t want to know any more, she didn’t want to hear his voice or see his face or be subjected to his bad puns, because those were things from her past and she was working forward now, not looking back. She dug out a bowl and filled it with water, and another one with puppy food. ‘Give him something to eat and drink then go through to the staff room and make yourself a coffee.’

And she’d make sure she stayed safely at least two doors and a corridor away from him.

‘Thank you.’ He breathed out slowly, relief flickering across his eyes, and then he smiled.

God, that smile did her in every time. No. She stood tall. She was immune. She had to be.

‘It’s okay, I’ll just add it all to your bill, which is growing by the minute.’ She watched in amusement as Alex put the dog on the floor and then proceeded to follow it around, growling every time it started to get frisky or inquisitive. He clearly had no idea how to look after dogs.

She closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten, wishing that seeing Alex Norton in charge of a puppy—or, rather, completely out of control with a puppy—didn’t make her knees weak and her ovaries prickle. ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’m going to regret this?’

‘How’s she doing?’ Alex lowered his voice to a whisper and crept into the treatment room, almost fearful of disturbing Beth as she was so completely focused on the collie. But he’d waited and waited and now he was worried the old dog had passed on and she was in here grieving and dealing with it all on her own. But no, both vet and patient were holding on. ‘I’ve brought you a cup of tea, Beth. Thought you might need one.’

As always, the sight of her made his heart stutter. Her long honey-coloured hair had fallen over her face as she titrated the IV drip attached to Meg’s paw, but he remembered every detail of her pretty features; the dark brown eyes that were warm to everyone, but him. With good cause, he knew. The perfect nose and mouth that had a generous smile...mostly. Not tonight, obviously.

Yes, this was difficult. He hadn’t wanted to bring Spike here, but he’d run out of options. And he’d hoped Beth had had the day off. No such luck.

It had been hard enough for the few weeks she’d filled in as the general practice receptionist when their regular one had suddenly taken ill, but he’d always managed to skirt past her and had tried to avoid any lengthy conversations about anything other than work. He’d breathed a sigh of relief when she’d left to take up a vet position here because time and distance, it appeared, didn’t make you forget. Strange, how the body instinctively remembered.

She looked tired, but as beautiful as ever. Capable and professional and forthright, and still angry with him. Beth had always worn her heart on her sleeve and he knew he’d stamped all over it, so had no claim on her time or generosity. But for the zillionth time in his life he wondered whether he’d actually done the right thing all those years ago.

Yes. He had. He’d had to set her free rather than lock her to him and an uncertain, potentially very dark and bleak future. And now? Even though things had gone a lot better than either he or the specialists had hoped, he still couldn’t give her what she wanted or deserved. But it didn’t hurt any less to have lost her. Never mind aching for the body he knew that fitted so well against his, the mouth that was made for his kisses. He fought against the rising regret. He’d done the right thing.

Forcing himself to not look at her, he focused on her patient. It was easier that way, because looking at Beth made his heart hurt. And sing. And beat hard and fast to her rhythm. Life had definitely been easier without her around, but he didn’t want to think about not seeing her when she decided it was time to move on.

He didn’t know anything about dog care but Meg’s breathing seemed less laboured than before. She appeared calmer and less stressed. But that could have been his imagination.

Beth straightened and drew her gaze from the dog. Her eyes were soft and kind almost as if, for a moment, she’d forgotten to be angry with him. She took the cup he was holding out and had a sip. ‘Lovely, thank you. I’m parched actually.’

‘I wasn’t sure if you still took it white, no sugar.’

‘Yes. Oh.’ Beth blinked and just like that she slipped back into the woman she’d grown into whenever she was around him: guarded, professional, distanced. She swallowed and put the cup down on the counter.

Damn. He shouldn’t have alluded to the past. ‘How’s Meg?’

Beth breathed out and he could see she was shutting him out. The warmth in her eyes slowly seeped away, her back straightened and she turned away from him. ‘She’s holding her own. Just. She’s had a hell of a ride. But I’ve run the tests: full blood count, biochemical analysis and urinalysis. Done an ultrasound of her abdomen and then an endoscopy and it looks as if she’s got gastrointestinal bleeding and some liver damage.’ Her voice was measured and professional, as if she were giving a report to someone she didn’t know. ‘She’s been in a few times recently, with the odd cut or weird symptom that led to nothing, and has no other significant morbidity, so I’m thinking she’s eaten something. I can’t be sure, but with the damage to the gut it’s classic signs of ibuprofen poisoning. And if that’s the case we need to keep a very close eye on her over the next few days.’

‘Poor Dennis. It would be terrible if he lost Meg so soon after Nancy.’ As if the guy hadn’t been through enough already, having nursed his wife through cancer. ‘He’s not really coping, is he?’

‘No, he isn’t and it’s so sad.’ Beth gave a sharp shake of her head. ‘I know grief eats away at you and sometimes makes you distracted, so I need to have a chat with him about whether he may have left any tablets lying around that Meg could have got into. People don’t realise how dangerous some medications humans take are for pets.’

‘I’m his GP. From memory, he isn’t on ibuprofen but I’ll double-check at work tomorrow. It’s easily bought from most shops, so he might have some regardless. I haven’t seen much of him recently, but he’s clearly lost a bit of weight and he looks a bit dishevelled compared to when Nancy was alive. He always made an effort for her.’ He wondered how it was to have a love that lasted decades. Then stopped himself from going down that track because it wasn’t going to happen to him. ‘Maybe I could be there when you have that chat. Give him a bit of support, you know?’

Beth raised her eyes and looked at him. He could see she was thinking hard about this. Was that because she didn’t want to spend any longer than necessary in his company? Were things so bad between them that they couldn’t even do a joint professional consultation? But she eventually nodded. ‘Okay. Yes. That’s probably a good idea. You know him better than I do. It’ll be good for him to have someone there that he’s familiar with.’

‘Good. Let me know when you’re planning to chat to him. Now, it’s getting late and I wondered if you’ve got time to just wave your magic wand over that little guy out there and see if he has a family who are missing him. And I don’t want to leave him too long on his own.’ At her wide eyes he reassured her, ‘I popped him in one of the holding cages with some biscuits and a toy duck. Yeah, I know, just add it to the bill, right?’

She looked at her watch. ‘Shoot. I’ve been in here over two hours? I’m sorry. Poor pup. But I needed to deal with Meg.’

‘I know you did. But if there is a family out there, they’re going to be frantic. I called the police and there are no missing-dog reports. I’m stumped. You’re my last hope, Beth.’ He tried the smile again, hoping she’d at least smile back. Or even laugh. Because if they had to spend time together then he’d prefer it without the daggers and sharp words.

‘We won’t be long, old girl. Hold on for me.’ She gave Meg a quick stroke then whipped round to Alex. ‘Come on, then, let’s get this sorted.’

Wow. No smile. Definitely no laugh. She really hated him, and he didn’t blame her one bit. He walked through to the place where they kept the large crates. The little pup jumped up as they entered the room, tail wagging, paws thumping, and yelping so enthusiastically it tugged at Alex’s heart. ‘What kind of dog is he?

Beth opened the cage and helped Spike jump free onto the ground. She bent down and ruffled the back of his neck. ‘This beautiful boy is the best kind there is. A pure-bred mongrel.’

He was so out of his depth here. ‘Is that a thing?’

‘Alex, really? It means he’s a cross. I think there might be some Labrador in there. He has huge paws so he’s going to be big, but he hasn’t got a lab tail. This is more beagle. He’s got the tricolour patching, but...’ She frowned and ran her hands over Spike’s ears. ‘The ears are wrong...’

‘Wrong?’ Alex felt strangely protective all of a sudden. ‘There’s nothing wrong with his ears.’

‘I mean the ears are wrong for a beagle. Look, these are pricked. Beagle ears are pendant. Well, actually...’ she smiled and held up one ear ‘...he has one of each. I guess we’ll know more when he’s older and grown into himself.’

‘I don’t really need to know as I’m not keeping him.’ He absolutely could not have a pet. They were too tying. You couldn’t take a puppy climbing up a mountain. Hiking, yes, but not rock climbing. And nothing was going to stop Alex from doing the things that kept him sane. ‘Does he have a microchip?’

She ran a scanner over Spike’s neck. Finally. Then she frowned. Repeated the scan. ‘No. Nothing.’

‘So, he’s a stray?’

‘Well, I’d say he’s at least three months old and the law now says a keeper—not an owner—has to microchip. If he hasn’t got one then either the keeper hasn’t got around to it yet or chances are he’s a stray, or lost or...’ she shrugged sadly ‘...dumped.’

‘Dumped? What the hell?’ He wasn’t going to keep the dog but, hell, dumped? ‘In winter? At Christmas? What happened to goodwill to all men and men’s best friends?’

‘It happens. Rather more than you’d think. Sometimes the dog is too fussy, or too difficult to train. Sometimes circumstances change and they have no room for a puppy any more. Sometimes they just fall out of love with the idea of having a pet.’ She pushed the pup’s mismatched ears back and rubbed his muzzle. ‘You are so gorgeous.’

She was rewarded with a lick on her cheek and smiled. Finally. But it had taken a dog and not this human to crack that. It bothered him that even after all this time he still wanted to see the pretty smile that lit up her face and made her eyes dance brightly. He should have moved on. He had to move on, because he’d given up his chance with her and, besides, she wouldn’t want him again once she knew the truth he’d been hiding from her. From pretty much everyone.

She stood and wiped her palms down her trousers. ‘You’re going to have to take him home, at least for tonight. Bring him back in the morning and we can see if anyone’s reported him missing by then.’

‘I can’t take him back there. He’s already weed on the carpet and nibbled a hole through my best climbing shoes.’

‘Oh, no? The horror! Really? That’s nothing compared to what I have to put up with in my job.’ Her hands hit her hips and her head tilted a little as she stared at him. ‘A nibbled shoe? Poor, poor Alex.’

‘Say it like you mean it.’

‘I mean every word.’ She shot him a look of disdain, but it was laced with a faint tinge of humour that gave him a powerful thump to the chest. Because he wanted her to forgive him for hurting her. He wanted things to be okay between them instead of this difficult defensive manner she took whenever she was with him. A smile was a good first step.

But the smile quickly faded. ‘You know, Alex, I really haven’t got time for this. You tried the pound in Kendal, right? I’ll call the one in Ulverston. I know it’s a long shot, being so far away, but who knows?’

He watched as she made the call and was thrown back eight years. How, when she was on the phone checking in on her mum, he’d wrap his arms round her waist and hold her close. How he’d run his fingertips over her freckles and try to count them, and she’d laugh and tell him that infinity was the number of freckles on her body and that he’d never, ever be able to count them all. How he’d nuzzle his face into her hair and tell her she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And she still was, without a doubt. Not just in the way she looked, but in her compassion and good-heartedness...if not towards him.

He jumped when she said something and he realised she’d ended the call and was now talking to him. ‘The Ulverston pound is full too. They said they’re often the first place people ring when they’re missing a pup, but they’ve had no one call them over the last few days, and definitely not for a puppy matching this one’s description. They suggest you take him home and we’ll try again in the morning.’

‘We?’ He couldn’t suppress his grin.

Her eyes blazed irritation. ‘You. I mean you’ll have to try in the morning. After you’ve taken him home.’

‘I’ve just told you, I won’t have anything left if he spends the night at my house. Can’t you have him? You have everything set up here for a puppy. Food, beds...you.’ A night with Beth? One more night?

No.

‘No.’ Her lips pursed and he was glad that was something they both agreed on. ‘I stopped doing you favours a long time ago, Alex Norton. I can’t have a boisterous puppy in here stressing Meg out and distracting me from giving her all the love and attention she deserves. That’s just not fair. She needs peace and quiet.’ She gave him a look that seemed to say, Like me. I need peace and quiet away from you. ‘Maybe it would be good for you to think about someone other than yourself for a change and take—’

‘Hey, I’m a doctor. I think about other people all the time.’

But that was what she thought. She believed he was selfish and self-centred. And he was. He’d had to be just to get through the months of debilitating treatment and recovery. But letting her go had been the single selfless act in the whole damned episode. He couldn’t have let her go through what he’d endured when his cousin had been sick; the long hours at the hospital desperately hoping for a miracle, the despair at Mikey’s suffering, the prayers and then...the loss of hope. He’d watched his family drowning in grief that had been raw and unending and all-consuming and had known the moment the specialists had sat him down and explained his prognosis that he wouldn’t put Beth through that.

Clearly not wanting to hear any more, she went to the shop section and pulled supplies out for him. ‘Here are some training sheets if you can’t cope with a bit of wee. Put them on a floor where you don’t have carpet. Your kitchen, perhaps? Here’s a bed for him, a couple of toys. Some food. A soft cage you can put him in while you’re not able to watch him. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cash, we take all major credit cards.’ She scratched the back of the puppy’s neck. ‘There you go, Button. Do your worst at Alex’s.’

‘How about “be a good boy”? Or, “don’t wee on the heirloom rug or eat Alex’s favourite trainers”?’

She eyed him wryly. ‘I thought you wanted me to say it like I mean it.’

‘I’ve changed my mind. And Button? His name is Spike.’

‘He is so far from a Spike it’s a joke. Look at those eyes—they’re like little dark buttons.’

He couldn’t argue with that. ‘But Button is a...a feminine name and he’s not a girl. And that tail is all spiky.’

‘No way. It’s a sickle tail not a spike.’ She drew shapes in the air; one arcing and one pointing straight up. ‘Sickle. Spike. See the difference?’

He ran his fingers up the fluffy tail. ‘It spikes if I hold it up.’

‘Whatever.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll just have to agree to disagree. Okay. Time to go, Button.’

‘Spike.’

‘Button.’ She held his gaze for longer than they’d managed to look at each other these last few weeks and his body prickled with heat at her fiery indignance. Yes, she still was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Why was his body reacting to her like this when he knew, rationally, that wanting her was the least best idea he’d had in a long time? Eventually, she drew her eyes away and sighed. ‘I can hear Meg whimpering. I have to go.’

‘And tomorrow morning?’ He tried to think about Spike and not about the prospect of seeing Beth again as soon as possible. ‘I’ve got a clinic booked from eight. My patients need peace and quiet, not a boisterous puppy distracting both me and them.’

The corner of her mouth twitched as she registered the same words she’d used against him earlier. ‘You’re not giving up, are you?’

‘No. Beth, Spike needs you.’

Both man and dog stared at her and he saw the softening in her eyes and the moment she finally relented. ‘Okay. Okay. Drop him off here first thing, before your clinic. I’m hoping Dennis will be here too so we can have that chat.’

‘Okay. Sure.’ He whispered to Spike, ‘See? She’s nice really. I’m persona non grata, but you’re not dog non grata.’

He got an ear lick for that. And an eye roll from Beth. ‘And there’ll be reinforcements to keep an eye on Button while I try to get a little bit of rest between clients. And hopefully we can reunite him with his owner.’

‘Thank you.’ Without thinking he pressed a kiss on her cheek and immediately regretted getting close enough to inhale the familiar fresh scent. ‘I mean, Spike thanks you.’ He held the dog up to her and was relieved when it gave her other cheek a lick that made her smile—a damned sight more than his kiss had done. ‘You’re a star.’

‘No, I’m a sook with a soft heart for a lost puppy. It’s just babysitting, that’s all. I’m helping Button. Not you.’ Pressing her palm to the spot where he’d kissed, she shook her head, and he could see the warring in her eyes. She hated him but there was something else there too. This was as hard for her as it was for him, but that didn’t make him feel any better. ‘That. Is. All.’

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