Ellie looked up at her, a trace of knowingness in her eyes. ‘What do you mean? We really appreciate you allowing Mav to play with your little robots.’
‘I suppose... I meant I appreciate you coming and not trying to beat me over the head with a frying pan. I’m assuming you’re not saving that for later...’ Caro climbed on one of the high stools and pulled her coffee towards her.
Ellie pursed her lips. ‘Look, Drew’s my friend. More than my friend, you know he’s like a brother to me. I know that he wouldn’t want me to take sides, and I have no interest in that either. The one thing I’ve learned with Lucas is that there are always two sides to everything.’
‘That’s...good of you.’ Caro shifted awkwardly in her seat. ‘How is Drew?’
‘Oh, like a bear with a sore head. I offered him my services as a vet. I’ve never treated a bear before, but I could give it a go. He turned me down, though.’ Ellie shrugged. ‘He knows that Lucas and I are both there for him.’
‘Good. That’s good.’ Caro wondered if she should thank Ellie for looking after Drew, but she’d given up the right to do that. Ellie and Lucas were his friends, of course they looked after him.
‘How are you?’
‘Um. Keeping busy.’
Ellie plonked herself down on one of the stools on the other side of the breakfast bar. Clearly Caro’s answer wasn’t the one she was looking for, but Caro hadn’t been doing much else other than missing Drew and keeping busy. She took a sip of her coffee, hoping that Ellie might drop the subject.
No such luck. ‘Those crates in the hallway...?’
Caro heaved a sigh. ‘I was thinking of going back to Oxford. I can continue with my work on the prosthesis there.’
‘I imagine it would be good to be near the university.’ Ellie was gazing at her thoughtfully.
‘Yes. It would.’
That wasn’t the reason. Caro was cutting and running. As a child, she’d learned that looking back never worked, and she’d applied the same principles with Blake when he’d broken her heart, putting as much space between them as she could. Now she was doing it again with Drew because it was the only thing she knew how to do.
‘Look, Caro, it’s none of my business...’
‘That’s okay.’ Cruel hope flashed into Caro’s heart. Maybe Ellie had seen something that neither she nor Drew were able to.
‘Drew’s miserable. And from what I can see, so are you.’ Ellie held up her hands in a gesture of appeasement. ‘And if you don’t want to be with him, that’s your business and you should tell me to take my nose out of it. But he’s a good man.’
‘Yeah, I know. He’s the best.’
Ellie nodded. ‘I don’t know what he’s thinking, he hasn’t talked to me. But I’ll take a guess that he wouldn’t want you to leave because of him.’
What did that mean? Caro shot Ellie a questioning look and she shrugged. Ellie obviously didn’t know either, she was just making an observation.
But the seed was sewn, and Caro’s heart was fertile ground for it. Her parting with Drew had been final, they’d both wanted it that way. But she still loved him. She had no choice but to trust him and stay a little longer. She had to wait for him.
‘I... I do like it here. There’s something about Dolphin Cove.’
‘I think so too.’ Ellie smiled. ‘Why don’t you at least come down to the Hungry Pelican one evening with me and Lucas? I can get Drew to babysit, so you won’t be bumping into him unexpectedly.’
It was kind of Ellie to ask. Caro had no intention of taking her up on the offer, however much she wanted to.
‘Thanks. Maybe...when things have blown over a bit?’
‘Whenever you want.’ Ellie nodded, grinning. ‘Look, if you’re not doing anything this morning, why don’t you go and get dressed, and give Mav a hand with those little monsters over there? I’ll do the washing-up.’
‘No!’ Caro looked over at the plates in the sink and felt her ears redden. ‘You’re not doing my washing-up.’
Ellie laughed. ‘Nonsense. You should see how much washing-up Lucas and Mav generate, this is child’s play. Go and get dressed and maybe we’ll go down to the beach and see how they work on sand.’
* * *
Drew had finally come to a conclusion. He’d raged over the fact that he couldn’t change, and Caro couldn’t either, for three weeks now. He’d been tight-lipped and grumpy with everyone at the clinic, even telling Tegan off for painting her nails in the reception area. When he’d gone back to apologise to her for his show of temper, Tegan had smiled sweetly at him and done her best to console him with the latest action pictures of her horse. Drew appreciated it but it was better to just keep his distance from everyone, Lucas and Ellie included.