Page 36 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘I don’t know whether a part-time role would suit him, but I suppose it can’t hurt to ask.’
‘You mean take him on as a partner?’ Ottilie asked as they began to walk the path again.
Fliss smiled. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But I wonder whether he might be persuaded to join our team.’
Ottilie turned her gaze to the tarn, catching a diving flash of dazzling blue-green. That elusive kingfisher again? She couldn’t allow herself to be too hopeful, but if Fliss was determined to spend more time with Charles but she wasn’t ready to let go of the surgery just yet, perhaps drafting Simon in was the perfectsolution. Whether he’d be on board with the idea was another matter entirely.
CHAPTER TWELVE
As she did every work morning, Ottilie knocked and pushed open the door to Hilltop farmhouse to check in on Darryl and Ann before she went on to the surgery for her clinic. This time, she was pleased to smell bacon on the air, a moment later seeing Ann at the stove.
‘You look better!’ she said.
Ann turned with a smile. ‘Good morning. I’m feeling much better. Thanks to you and Dr Stokes. He is lovely, isn’t he?’
‘Yes,’ Ottilie replied.
‘Want a cup of tea?’
Ottilie nodded and sat at the table. Darryl was in his usual spot, and he was engrossed in a book. Ottilie glanced at it but then did a double take. It wasn’t his usual book – the train encyclopaedia she’d bought for him that he pored over every day – but a new book. It contained photos of trains, but Ottilie could tell straight away they were different.
‘Morning, Darryl,’ she said. ‘New book?’
He looked up. ‘Yes.’ He held it up to show her. ‘It’s got trains in it.’
‘I can see that. It looks good.’
He nodded briefly and then turned back to it.
‘Have you had your insulin this morning?’ she asked.
When she got no reply, she looked up at Ann, who nodded.
‘That’s good,’ Ottilie said. ‘So everything seems nice and calm here this morning. It’s good to see you up and about, Ann.’
‘It’s good to be up and about…’ Ann put a mug of tea and a plate of bacon sandwiches down in front of Ottilie.
‘A sandwich too?’ Ottilie smiled. ‘I’m being spoiled this morning.’
‘Well, it ought to be a lot more than that, considering all you do for us.’
‘Oh, it’s nothing – only doing my job.’
‘That’s what Dr Stokes said when he came over last night.’
Ottilie held back a frown. ‘He came over last night? After surgery?’
‘About seven. Said he’d been doing some overtime at the surgery and wanted to see if we were all right before he headed home.’
‘But home for him is Liverpool! God knows what time he got back!’
‘Is it?’ Ann mused. ‘Well, that’s extra kind of him. And he brought this book over for Darryl. Said it was one of his favourites as a boy and he’d searched it out because he thought Darryl might like it.’
‘Looks like he does,’ Ottilie said. ‘That was nice of him.’
‘Darryl wasn’t sure at first, but I think he likes him now. He’s anyone’s for a train book.’
Ottilie smiled. ‘That’s true.’
