‘She’s always been the shy one,’ Sophie explained.
However, Belle did eventually emerge from the carrier, allowing Brody to scoop her up in his arms – strong, tanned arms, Sophie couldn’t help noticing. Perhaps having to scoop up pets all day brought some benefits, but it was weird to think of Brody like this.
He stared at her. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing. Only a shiver.’
His brow furrowed with concern. ‘You’re not getting flu, are you? Mum’s only just over it, and half the village seems to have had it.’
‘I hope not. Not with the guest house to run, although in my job it would be amazing if I didn’t catch something,’ Sophie admitted.
‘Same,’ Brody murmured in agreement as he began expertly examining Belle, while Jingle looked on in contempt. ‘Only there’s more stuff I can get. Erysipelas and psittacosis …’ At Sophie’s frown, he clarified: ‘Better known as parrot fever.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘Parrot fever can be caught by humans?’
‘Oh yes,’ he said solemnly. ‘And don’t get me started on lumpy wool disease.’
She snorted. ‘Now you’re making them up!’
‘Oh no,’ he shook his head before a playful grin brokeout on his face. ‘I promise they’re all too real, but not dangerous to a healthy human.’
‘I’m very glad to hear it,’ Sophie said, still giggling.
Jingle let out a loud miaow and Brody returned the disgruntled feline to the back of the table.
‘Actually it’s the humans who are the filthy disease-carriers, especially at this time of year,’ he joked. ‘Now shall we turn our attention to the most important creatures in the room?’ With Sophie’s assistance, Brody managed to weigh both cats, take their temperatures and give them booster jabs for cat flu, enteritis and FeLV.
Belle protested more than Jingle, who simply looked outraged at the indignities heaped on him.
If Sophie was ever even to contemplate letting a man near her again, Brody McKenna would come top of the list – which wasn’t difficult, when he was the only man on the list. He was not merely her vet, but her nearest neighbour. In fact he was probably the only single man in the village close to her age.
When she’d first moved into Sunnyside, his black Labrador, Harold, had run straight through the open door of the guest house, knocking over a vase that Ben’s mother had given them as an anniversary present. Brody had chased after Harold, apologised endlessly and offered to pay for the vase. Sophie had refused, admitted she’d always loathed it and didn’t know how it had found its way onto the removal van.
She’d also instantly warmed to Harold and had been friends with Brody ever since. Which was fortunate, asHarold was prone to making frequent breaks for freedom from Brody’s smallholding and into the Sunnyside grounds.
Brody stroked both cats’ backs. ‘Jingle’s a handsome boy,’ he said admiringly, ‘and Belle has a beautiful coat.’
‘Thank you,’ Sophie said proudly, ‘I bet you say that to all the owners.’
Now it was Brody’s turn to feign outrage. ‘Would I?’
‘Yes,’ Sophie replied, laughing again.
‘Well, they seem absolutely fine.’
Sophie received his verdict with pride, relief and a teeny tinge of disappointment that the appointment was over and now she had no excuse to linger. She found herself racking her brains for a cat health-related question to ask him to prolong their meeting. Failing that, she had a flash of inspiration. ‘How’s Harold?’ she blurted out.
‘He’s –Haroldy. As always,’ Brody answered, looking surprised to be asked. ‘I’m sorry about his unscheduled visit last week. I heard he helped himself to the remains of a guest’s Full English?’
Sophie smiled. ‘Luckily the guests had already gone out. I hadn’t had a chance to clear the tables when Harold appeared and hoovered up a stray bacon rasher. Ricky took him back to your gate, so we assumed he’d got home safely and well fed.’
Brody rolled his eyes. ‘That dog really does think he owns the whole village! Seriously, if he sees food, he eats it. I need to keep a constant check on his diet.’
‘Just like me,’ Sophie said. ‘Although after cooking fullbreakfasts for the guests, I find I’ve mysteriously gone off a fry-up myself.’
‘You don’t need to watch your diet,’ Brody replied.
Sophie cheeks felt warm.
