‘I have managed perfectly well for ninety-seven years without it,’ Violet said, ‘I have my stick.’
‘You used the frame yesterday,’ Lily said.
‘Yesterday I was being nice; today I’m not feeling so nice.’ Violet pushed past Lily, using her stick as a baton.
‘Gran, please,’ Lily said, trying to control the frustration in her voice. Gran could be the most frustrating woman in the world at times.
‘Oh, pish posh. It isn’t anything I need.’ Violet waved a hand contemptuously, then winced as the movement obviously hurt her. ‘Those doctors don’t know anything.’
Biting her lip, caught between annoyance and sympathy, Lily leaned over and whispered in Violet’s ear, ‘They know enough to keep you alive and kicking for nearly a century.’
Violet narrowed her old eyes at Lily.
‘Make yourself useful and get a brew on,’ Violet said, but the fondness for Lily came through in her tone and Lily gave a little smile at her feistiness.
‘Already done,’ said Lily, gesturing to the little table where Gran liked to take breakfast. She had made them both tea and there was toast in the toaster.
They ate their breakfast with gentle conversation, Lily aware she didn’t want to upset Gran any more. She seemed frailer this morning. Perhaps the excitement of coming home from the hospital and then Lily coming had given her a little buck-up, but the sore bones and bruises this morning would be a reminder that all wasn’t as it used to be.
Lily was about to clean up when there was a knock at the door.
‘That’ll be the nurse,’ she said as she stood up. ‘Tell her to be off and see someone who needs help, I don’t need anything now I have you.’
Lily walked to the door. ‘I can help you, Gran, but I can’t assess your injuries so you need to do this. Just pop your big-girl knickers on and get it over with.’
‘You keep my knickers out of it,’ said Gran with a little laugh.
Lily opened the door and there stood a man, who was tall, with blue eyes and tousled blonde hair, dressed in blue pants and white shirt with a logo from the hospital on the pocket, and a name tag that said his name wasNick Stafford, Registered Nurse.
Holy bells, Gran’s nurse was a dead ringer for a young Brad Pitt.
‘Hello, I’m Nick Stafford,’ he said. His voice had a lovely tone to it. ‘I’m here to see Violet Baxter. It says she’s ninety-seven but you look far too young to be her, unless you have an excellent skincare regime.’
Lily’s breath caught in her throat.Good Lord,she thought,Gran’s nurse looks like he’s just stepped off the cover of a romance novel,and she blinked several times, realising she’d been staring.
‘Hi, yes, um, I’m Lily, Lily Baxter. I’m um, Violet’s granddaughter,’ she managed, inwardly cringing at her stammering.Get a grip, Lily,she told herself.He’s just a nurse, not actually Brad Pitt.
But as Nick stepped into the cottage, Lily couldn’t help but notice how he filled the small space with his presence. He smelled faintly of soap and something woodsy, like pine needles after rain. It was oddly comforting and also disconcerting. No nurse should be that good-looking, she thought, or smell that good.
‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ Lily said, suddenly aware of her ratty old jumper and leggings and her feet covered in odd socks. Of course the one day she looked like a complete mess, Nurse McDreamy shows up.
Nick smiled, and Lily felt her heart do a little flip. Oh no, she thought. That smile should come with a warning label like they have on medicine bottles. Do not operate heavy machinery after being smiled at by Nurse Stafford.
‘They didn’t tell you a nurse was coming?’ he asked, his eyebrow quirking up in a way that was far too charming for Lily’s peace of mind.
‘No, they did,’ Lily backpedalled, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. ‘I just… I wasn’t expecting…’You,she finished silently.I wasn’t expecting you to look like the perfect fantasy of a male nurse and to be so stupidly handsome.
She turned to see Gran standing up by her chair, leaning on her frame, a knowing glint in her eye. ‘Hello Nurse, how lovely to see you,’ Gran said, sweet as pie. ‘But there’s no need for you to come. Everything is fine; Lily is here to look after me.’
Nick looked at Lily who raised her eyebrows and then gave a small eye-roll.
As Nick moved towards Gran, Lily found her eyes following him. The way he moved was graceful, confident but not cocky.
Lily shook her head slightly. She felt as though she was in some sort of weird fantasy dream. This was ridiculous. She was here to look after Gran, not ogle the nurse. But as Nick turned to ask her a question about Gran’s medication, his eyes meeting hers, Lily felt a little jolt of… something. Interest? Attraction?
Oh damn,she thought.This could complicate things.
Taking her lead, he walked towards Gran, carrying a medical bag with him over his shoulder.
