CHAPTER FIVE
CARO COULD GET used to ham and cheese toasties. These weren’t as tasty as the ones that Drew had made, but she was a great deal more awake to appreciate them. They’d gone to his office to eat, and the ashen tiredness in his face had begun to lift a little. He’d stayed put while she’d taken her laptop from her bag, opening it on his desk and scanning through the data from the force plates.
‘You have what you need? Or are you still at the stage where vets shouldn’t interfere with your process?’ There was a sudden tension in his voice that told Caro he was expecting an answer that he didn’t want to hear. A week ago, he probably would have got it, but now... She’d seen Drew work, and he was truly dedicated to the welfare of the animals under his care. Caro didn’t feel the same need to keep him at arm’s length.
‘No. Ve
ts are very welcome to interfere with my process at the moment.’ One vet. Carol liked Lucas and Ellie, and she was sure that they were both completely trustworthy. But Drew was the vet she was beginning to actually trust.
‘That’s reassuring. I wouldn’t want to meddle.’
She supposed she’d asked for that one, making him sign the non-disclosure agreement. But since she had, perhaps it was okay to share a little. However risky her heart told her it was.
‘I don’t suppose you’d mind taking a look through these results, would you? I can analyse the data from a mechanics point of view, but it would be good to get another perspective.’
He looked pleased. A little surprised as well. ‘Yeah, sure, I’d be happy to. I’ll come to you and we can review them together?’
‘Yes. Thanks.’
Nice. It felt nice to have someone to share her ideas with. The taste of danger in the thought only seemed to add a bit of extra spice. Maybe that was what had been missing from her work in the last few months. The sense of reaching out into the unknown that drove her forward.
‘I know that the people who came today did so because you asked them. I really appreciate that. They’re all very kind...’
Perhaps too kind. Everyone seemed to be so careful around him, and it clearly made Drew uneasy. But Caro shouldn’t say it, Blake had told her more than once that voicing whatever was on her mind wasn’t her most attractive trait.
He was looking at her questioningly. ‘Don’t let me down now, Caro. I was starting to appreciate your habit of saying exactly what you mean.’
‘I just... I was wondering if this “poor Drew” thing that everyone seems to have is helping. It’s not my business...’
He let out a short, barking laugh. ‘One of the things about living in a village is that everyone knows your business. I don’t see why you should be any different.’
Caro took a deep breath. ‘Is it helping, then?’
‘Everyone’s been really supportive, and I appreciate it more than I can say. And, no, it’s not helping. I feel as if no one has any expectations of me any more.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘Apart from you, of course.’
‘Is there anything else I should know? That might make me rethink my expectations?’ If he wanted honesty then Caro was up for that. It saved a lot of time and beating around the bush.
‘You don’t need to rethink anything.’ He narrowed his eyes, searching her face, and it occurred to Caro that she wasn’t the only one who had reason to be cautious. ‘Two years ago I lost my fiancée in a diving accident.’
‘I’m sorry. You’ve had a lot of hurt to bear in a very short time.’ Caro’s own troubles seemed insignificant in the face of this.
‘It doesn’t define me.’ There was a trace of defiance in his tone.
She didn’t know what to say to him. And then it occurred to Caro that this was Drew’s problem. Everyone knew what had happened and no one talked about it.
‘Were you there? When your fiancée died?’
Something ignited in his eyes. An understanding between them that it was okay to ask, because Drew wanted to answer.
‘No. Luna and I had a shared interest in marine conservation, that’s how we met. She was a member of a team that travelled a lot and I was busy here, building up the practice with Ellie.’
‘So you didn’t get to see her as much as you wanted?’
Drew puffed out a sigh. ‘Luna was very determined, and I always knew she’d stop at nothing for the things she believed in. It was one of the things I loved about her. She’d driven for two days to get to the team’s encampment, and she was exhausted, but she went diving anyway.’
A prickle of embarrassment travelled down Caro’s spine. She was no stranger to working for two days straight and fighting exhaustion to do just that bit more. Drew’s insistence on food and afternoon TV the other day hadn’t been a whim.
‘And you think that if you’d been there, you might have stopped her?’ Caro shook her head. It was a natural enough reaction, but it could only lead to more grief.