Page 60 of A Cosy Christmas with the Village Vet

‘I’ve been thinking about what you said about the lock on the porch door of your cottage being inadequate.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty useless.’

He was relieved to see she looked interested and not wary. He went on to say how he knew of a reliable odd-job man in Middleton-le-Moors who could turn his hand to anything, and wondered how Brogan felt about getting him to fit a new lock to the porch door. ‘Everyone I know uses Mike. He’s a tidy worker and as honest as the day is long.’ What he didn’t tell her was that he’d already spoken to Mike earlier that morning, and explained the situation to him. Mike had been sympathetic and told him if Brogan was interested he’d call out the following day and fit a new lock as a favour to Nick. The only proviso was that he let him know by that afternoon so he could stop at the wholesalers and buy a suitable lock.

‘So, what do you think?’ Nick asked her, hoping it didn’t look like he was interfering or over-stepping the mark. He was aware how fiercely independent she was and the last thing he wanted was to offend her or get her back up and create an uncomfortable atmosphere between them.

She answered without hesitation, taking him aback a little. ‘I really like the sound of that. Shattered as I was last night, I couldn’t get to sleep with worrying about it and I can’t see that feeling going any time soon. Are you sure you don’t mind asking him? Or you could give me his number and I’ll ring.’

‘I’m happy to do it, if you like?’ The relief in her eyes made him glad he’d mentioned it.

She mustered up a smile. ‘That’d be great, thanks.’ Again, her reaction surprised him.

Nick called Mike while Brogan was getting changed out of her scrubs. It was agreed that he’d call round the following morning at eleven provided the weather wasn’t too bad, and he’d also put a new lock on the shed.

‘All sorted,’ said Nick when Brogan came back into the waiting room. She’d got her hands full of the stuff she’d brought to drop off for Bert who they were going to call in to see on their way back. Brogan had already been on the phone to him that morning, and though he was still understandably upset about Nell, he’d assured her he was all right. That was all well and good, but Nick and Brogan agreed they needed to see her neighbour in person, make sure he really was okay. And besides, without Nell around, he’d be feeling extra lonely.

‘Thank you. I really appreciate you organising it,’ she said to Nick.

‘No problem.’ Nick smiled. ‘Right, let’s go and see Bert.’

* * *

They’d been relievedto see the elderly man looking better than he had the previous evening. The bump on his head had shrunk considerably, leaving only a tiny cut visible. However, his hacking cough gave them both cause for concern and Brogan had confided in Nick that she was going to try to work on her neighbour to make an appointment at the surgery in Danskelfe.

Back at Pond Farm, they’d just finished their late lunch of sweet potato and rosemary soup with thickly cut slices of Lucy’s wholemeal bread when Nick’s phone rang. He picked it up from the dresser, his eyebrows shooting up when he saw the number on the screen.

‘Everything okay?’ asked Brogan.

‘It’s the Trotters,’ he said, surprised. He’d been beginning to think he was never going to hear from them. ‘I’d best take it before they ring off.’

‘Good luck,’ she said as he pressed the phone to his ear and headed into the living room.

The phone call had gone exactly how Nick had expected, the upshot being Gary Trotter lay the blame for the flood firmly at Nick’s feet. ‘You must’ve left the bloody bath running, you sodding daft arse! Don’t think you’re going to get away with trying to blame us, that house was in perfectly good condition when you took it on, and we’ll be expecting you to cover the full cost of the repairs.’ He’d also denied all knowledge of any prior problems with the heating and hot water system. ‘Everything was in perfect working order before you moved in, mate.’

‘Well, it wasn’t by the time I set foot over the doorstep!’ Nick had said, exasperated. ‘And I’m not your “mate”.’

Before the call ended, Nick had managed to get Gary Trotter to agree to meet him at the cottage the following afternoon, albeit reluctantly. He wanted his landlord to take a look at the damage, prove to him that it hadn’t been caused by an overflowing bath. There was no way he was going to take the blame for the faults with Willow Cottage and there was no way he was going to hand over money to fix a house that was already in a shocking state of repair before he’d taken over the tenancy. Their conversation left Nick with the impression Gary Trotter was an obnoxious bully who wasn’t to be trusted, which was why he planned on taking someone else along as a witness to any underhand stunts Trotter might try to pull.

With adrenalin making his skin prickle, he headed back into the kitchen to see Brogan bent fussing the dogs who were both sat at her feet looking up at her adoringly. She glanced up at him, smiling.

In an instant, Nick felt his stress levels shrink back and his heart rate calm. There was something about her that put his problems and worries into perspective. Yes, the situation with Willow Cottage was one hell of a pain, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t as awful as what Bert was going through right now. Being with Brogan triggered something indefinable inside him that managed to override the negative and instil a feeling of calm and a lightness in his heart. He’d never experienced anything like it before. Indeed, his life with Loretta had been something of a roller-coaster, with her mood swings and always having to be competing with her sister. He hadn’t realised just how exhausting it had been until they’d split up.

He drew in a deep breath and launched into a brief rundown of his conversation with Gary Trotter, telling Brogan of their planned meeting at the cottage.

‘That’ll be interesting,’ she said. ‘But watch him, he’s a notoriously slippery character.’

‘Don’t worry, I will. I’m going to ask if Jimby or Ollie will come along as a witness, but I’m not going to worry about Trotter today.’

‘My grandma Elsie always used to say worrying doesn’t make things any better.’

‘She sounds like a very wise lady.’

‘She was.’ Brogan smiled fondly.

‘Anyway, what do you normally do of a Saturday afternoon?’ Nick asked, feeling suddenly at a loose end.

‘Well, being a former dog-walker I’d normally be walking lots of dogs, but since this is the first Saturday afternoon I’ve had off since I… oh… um… since a few weeks ago.’ Her eyes widened and she pressed her fingers to her lips. ‘Actually, I don’t know about you but I could do with a cuppa?’ She scurried over to the Aga, scooping up the kettle.

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