Vet's Desire (7 page)

He nodded.
“It’s a girl, by the way.”

“A girl?” She
gently stroked the little body and he didn’t miss the tear that
slid down her cheek. “I’ll remember. She’ll have a nice name,
too.”

Jesus, his
heart was going to break. He followed her out to the car and waited
while she got in and locked the door. When she looked up at him
through the open window, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning
down, reaching in, and wiping the tear away with his thumb. “It’ll
be okay.”

She nodded. “I
know.” She started the car.

“Call me when
you get home,” he said abruptly.

“I’ll be
fine.”

“Please.”

“Okay.”

Nodding, he
straightened and stepped back. He watched until her rear lights
vanished in the traffic. Only then did he return to the clinic and
enter all the details of the consult into the computer before going
out the back and getting the kitten. After packing him, the warmer,
the bottle and formula into a cat carrier, he turned off the lights
except for the reception, reset the alarm and locked the door.
Placing the cat carrier in the passenger seat, he heard a faint
meow from the kitten and smiled.

This was one
little scrap he wouldn’t have to euthanase due to being unwanted.
Now all he had to do was keep it alive. If it didn’t make it, he
had a feeling that Cindy’s tears just might kill him.

Once home, he
checked his answering machine but there was no message light
glowing. Maybe Cindy was going to bury the kitten first. He still
felt wrong leaving her to do it, but he understood her need.

Placing the
carrier on the kitchen bench, he turned the oven on to rewarm his
food and plugged in the kettle.

The phone rang
about twenty minutes later and he grabbed it off the counter.
“Hello?”

“Tim?”

Relief coursed
through Tim and he relaxed on the stool at the kitchen counter.
“Cindy. Everything okay?”

“Yes. I buried
Princess beside Bast.”

He waited
several heartbeats before saying, “Princess, huh?”

“She was a
little princess, Tim.”

“Yeah, she
was.” He took a breath. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.
How’s the boy?”

Reaching into
the carrier, Tim carefully lifted a corner of the fluffy sheet.
“Fast asleep.”

“He’s
okay?”

“Doing well
under the circumstances.”

“Good. That’s
great. Give him a kiss goodnight for me.”

He blinked.
“Sure.”

There was
silence for several seconds before she said quietly, “Thanks, Tim.
Really, I mean it.”

“No need,
sugar.”

“No, there is.
Thank you.”

He smiled.
“I’ll call you in the morning.”

“I’ll be
waiting.” She rang off.

Tim slowly
lowered the mobile to the counter and turned to face the cat
carrier. “She’ll be waiting for my call but I’ve no illusions,
kitten. It’s you she’s interested in.”

Why that would
make him feel a little put out, he had no idea. Or at least, not
one he wanted to scrutinize too closely. Nor did he want to
scrutinize the fact that he rather looked forward to the phone call
in morning.

Chapter
Three

Troubling
thoughts of the kittens plagued Cindy all night, and she felt
incredibly sad that one of the kittens had died before she could
get it - her - help. But she prayed so hard that the little boy
kitten would live.

Five thirty
found her in the kitchen sipping on coffee and gazing unseeingly
out the window to the beautiful gardens beyond. Birds flittered
through the branches of the huge Poinciana tree, and several of the
birds were splashing in the bird bath beneath. The sun was just
clearing the horizon.

It promised to
be another overly warm day and she screwed her nose up. Summer
wasn’t her favourite season.

Looking at the
phone on the wall, she wished heartily that it was time for Tim to
call. Surely if the kitten had died during the night, he would have
let her know?

No, he’d wait
until the appropriate time, which was probably after seven
thirty.

With a sigh,
Cindy took the cup to the sink and rinsed it out. Now would be a
good time to go for a walk, try to get her mind on other things and
enjoy the cool of the day before the heat set in too much.

Walking around
the gardens was lovely, but she found herself passing the lilac
tree and seeing the little patch of raised dirt that marked the
grave of Princess. Beside it was the more settled earth where Bast
lay.

Lengthening her
stride, she walked down the driveway and out onto the road. The
footpath went past several stately homes, and she admired the
gardens while privately thinking that Ruth’s magic fingers
definitely made hers look the best in the neighbourhood.

By the time she
returned home, Ruth was out checking the plants for pests. She
watched Cindy approach and come to a stop. “You’re up early.”

“Couldn’t
sleep.”

“Late
night?”

“Not really.”
Cindy rocked back and forward on her heels. “We’re getting a
kitten.”

“Oh?” Ruth
inspected a thin branch.

“If he survived
the night.”

“I see.”

“I found him.
Or rather, Marty and I did.”

“Uh-huh.”

Ruth, lady of
few words. Cindy smiled a little. “You’re so curious.”

“I figure
you’ll tell me what you want to.” There was a small crinkle of
amusement at the corners of Ruth’s eyes.

“Think Sam’ll
mind?”

“Would it make
a difference?”

“No.”

“There you go.”
Ruth glanced up at the sky. “Going to be hot today.”

“Yeah.” Cindy
checked her watch. Six thirty. “Think I’ll have a shower to freshen
up and get some breaky.”

Ruth nodded and
resumed checking the bushes.

Cindy had just
finished drying off when the phone rang. Heart thumping, she
wrapped the towel around herself and ran into the bedroom. She
nearly fell over the kitten-heeled slippers she’d left beside the
bed, stumbled against the set of drawers beside the bed, and
snatched up the phone as she managed to right herself before
hitting the floor. “Yes?”

There was
complete silence on the other end for several seconds before a male
voice asked cautiously, “Cindy?”

“Oh. It’s you.”
She sat down on the bed.

“Glad you’re
pleased.”

“Sorry. Didn’t
mean it like that. I’m just waiting for an important call.”

“At this time
of the morning?” Her brother was surprised, then suspicious. “Who
is the bloke? Anyone I need to know about?”

“Marty, it’s
the vet.”

“You’re
shagging a vet?”

“What? No! I
mean, he’s going to call me this morning about the kitten.”

“Okay.” She
could clearly hear him take a slurp of coffee before he spoke
again. “So, you all right after last night?”

“Fine.”

“Dad gave me
heaps for not coming with you to the vet.”

“Dad worries
too much. I was fine.”

“I know that.
He knows that. Hell, we all know that.”

“You should do.
I got four separate calls last night after I got back. Scratch
that, three of them were on my answering machine.”

“Don’t you just
feel the love?”

Cindy
laughed.

“You’re just
lucky Dad and Mum didn’t come over to check on you personally. Alex
was going to but I talked him out of it. You owe me, sis.”

“Put it on my
tab.”

“Already there.
You owe me big time.”

She lay back on
the bed and stared at the ceiling. “You rang me at this hour to ask
about the kitten?”

“Sure. I knew
you wouldn’t be asleep.”

“But there’s
something else, too, right?”

“Well…”

“Out with
it.”

“You know our
cousin’s wedding?”

“Don’t remind
me.”

“I broke up
with Christy.”

“I am so
surprised. Gosh.” Cindy rolled her eyes. “The shock of it.”

“Sarcasm. Why
am
I
not surprised?” Marty grumped. “Would it hurt you to
fake a bit of sympathy?”

“Not at all.
Not if I knew that Christy had actually meant anything to you.”
Lifting up one leg, Cindy studied her toenails. They needed
re-doing. Maybe she’d go hot pink this time. “So I’m guessing no
Christy and the cousin’s wedding equals one thing.”

“Give it a
shot,” Marty replied. “I’m sure you’ll get it if you try really
hard. Just don’t pull a muscle.”

“Marty, are you
asking me to be your date?” Cindy cooed. “Oh, Marty! I am…I am
so…oh wow!” She panted into the phone. “Yes! Yes! I thought you’d
never ask!”

“You are so
sick,” her brother returned in disgust. “I’ve got you on speaker
phone, you know.”

“Liar.”

“Everyone in
the office can hear you.”

“If you were in
the office. Which you’re not.”

“How do you
know?”

“At seven in
the morning? Even you’re not that dedicated.”

“Never mind
that.” He blew out a sigh. “Look, you haven’t got anyone to bring,
I haven’t got anyone to bring, let’s just bring each other, okay?
Save a lot of hassles.”

“Ellen will go
nuts with the seating arrangements.”

“Ellen can kiss
my skinny arse.”

“Can I put that
in writing and you sign it before we post it to her?”

“Sure, why
not?”

Cindy laughed.
“Fine, let’s go together.”

“Dumb idea to
have ‘Marty and Partner’ on the invite anyway.”

“Trust me,
Ellen put that on there because she knows you change women as often
as your underwear. You’ve already gone through three girlfriends
since the invites were sent out.”

“Yeah, well,
right now I’m too busy to be canvassing the joint for a female.
It’s settled, then.” She could hear the grin in his voice. “I’ll
tell Ellen.”

“Be my guest.”
Cindy could just imagine the screech of frustration her cousin
would give. “And this is one less thing I owe you, so you can take
that off my tab.”

“You wish.” He
rang off.

Pushing herself
into a sitting position, Cindy placed the phone onto the hook and
smiled. At least she’d be sitting with someone fun. Marty was
irreverent to the point of embarrassing sometimes, but he could be
counted on to keep her entertained. Knowing Ellen - or more
precisely, her knowing Marty so well - she’d stick both he and
Cindy at the back of the hall behind a potted plant. That suited
Cindy, she could bring a book.

Thinking it
wasn’t such a bad idea, she reached for the phone when it rang
again. “Hello?”

“Cindy?”

“Tim?” All
hilarity fled her and she bit her lip anxiously. “The kitten?”

“He’s fine.
Kept me up most of the night, so out of the two of us, he’s the
better looking one right now.” Humour seeped through the phone.

Her shoulders
slumped in relief. “I’m so glad.”

“Do you still
want him?”

“Of course! Can
I get him now?”

“We’re not
officially open until eight, but I’ll be here. I’m here now,
actually, if you want to come straight away.”

“Great! I’ll
just replace this towel with some clothes and be right there.”

There was
silence for a split second, then, “A towel?”

“I took a walk
and showered.”

The silence was
broken only by what sounded like a heavy breath being taken.

“Tim?”
Concerned, she tightened her hold on the receiver. “Are you
okay?”

“Sure.” There
was a definite trace of irony in the reply. “By the time you get
here, anyway.”

She frowned.
“What’s wrong?”

“Just a little
clothing adjustment needing to be made.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.
See you when you get here.” He hung up.

Rubbing her
forehead under her fringe, Cindy eyed the phone. The man was
stranger than the shirts he wore, and that was a fact.

Excitement
bubbled through her at the thought of finally picking up the
kitten. Racing into the walk-in robe, she grabbed a pair of
figure-hugging, tiny-flowered pants that stopped just below the
knee in a little frill. Wriggling into it, she snapped the button
closed and nodded in satisfaction. Yep, fitted like a glove.
Eat
your hearts out, you voluptuous-babe-loving men!
A low-necked,
plain white blouse with frilly cap sleeves topped it, and she
finished with a pair of white wedges. In deference to the heat, she
pulled her hair up into a loose knot on top of her head and
fastened it with a dainty clip. Little tendrils bounced around her
ears.

White button
earrings, a tiny-beaded white necklace that hugged her throat, a
swipe of lipstick, a smear of eye shadow, a buff of the cheeks, a
dollop of mascara, and she was good to go.

Grabbing a
little, tiny-flower printed purse, she tossed her mobile phone
inside, grabbed her car keys and ran down the stairs, almost
colliding with Sam at the bottom.

He frowned at
her. “It’s only seven thirty in the morning. What are you doing
up?”

“Things to do!”
She yelled gaily as she ran through the kitchen.

Sam followed a
little more slowly on her heels. “What mischief are you up to?”

“You’ll find
out.” She slammed the car door shut, flicked on the air conditioner
and pressed the remote for the garage door.

When she pulled
out, Ruth was approaching for breakfast. She nodded to Cindy in her
usual stoic way and continued on into the house.

By ten to eight
she was pulling to a stop in front of the vet clinic. One of the
vet nurses must have been watching for her, because she was holding
the door open by the time Cindy was out of her car.

“You must be
Cindy.” The vet nurse smiled.

“I am.” Cindy
stepped through the door into the waiting room.

The vet nurse
led her to a different consult room to the one she’d been in the
previous night. “Just wait here and Tim will be in to see you with
your kitten.”