Page 91 of A Home Among the Snow Gums
He let that thought swill about in his head for a moment.
Life sucked.
His, in particular. Especially now, when he had a team of neurosurgeons warning him that the use of his legs was hanging by a thread—literally. So, yeah, when the woman he’d been in love with for more than half of his life finally worked out he could be The One? That was a reason for scotch if ever he’d heard one.
He opted for milk instead, and sploshed it onto muesli which he pretty much expected would taste like dirt, because why would anything good ever happen in his life now?
He pressed a finger to the crease between his eyebrows that he would have sworn wasn’t there yesterday. He needed to burn the memory of today out of his brain.
He sucked in a breath. Okay, maybe he didn’t want to forget the whole memory. That moment when Hannah had said she wanted him … yeah, that he was happy to remember, even if the ache was as sweet as it was bitter.
But her look of desolation when he’d turned her down.
That was a memory that could burn.
CHAPTER
34
Monday morning at the Cody and Cody Vet Clinic began quietly, for which Hannah was beyond grateful. She was wrecked.
No sleep, a calf fatality and a broken heart could do that to a girl.
Sandy had dragged herself in the door five minutes late, heavy-eyed and full of apologies, but also bearing takeaway coffee and a batch of pinwheel sticky buns from the bakery near her home.
The two of them were collapsed on chairs in the back office when the elephant tread of Josh on the stairwell announced his arrival. He had a hangover, for which he was unapologetic.
‘I’m drinking for two now,’ he said, as he chugged down two paracetamol, a rehydration tablet that dissolved into fizzy water the colour of one of the urine samples sitting in their bloods fridge, and two sticky buns.
‘How many patients are booked in, does anyone know?’ said Hannah. ‘I’d look myself, but I’m too tired to boot up the computer.’
‘Why are you tired?’ said Josh. ‘You didn’t get married last night and dance until dawn. Remind me to schedule a day off afterwards next time I decide to get hitched.’
‘I’ll be sure to let Vera know you’re already planning your next one.’
‘Now, now, sourpuss. Did you get called out? Is that why you disappeared?’
‘The Waterhouse place. Calving. Took hours and didn’t go well. I haven’t written it up yet.’ She could add that to the list of jobs she felt too tired to deal with.
‘Oh, Han, I’m sorry.’
‘We’ve a cat due in to have stitches removed, a few vaccinations and then a busy window with both of you booked between two and four,’ said Sandy, who’d pulled the keyboard in her direction and logged into their system.
‘Why don’t you go get some sleep?’ Josh said to Hannah. ‘I’ll cover us until two. I can probably do all day if Sandy can juggle the afternoon bookings around a bit.’
‘What about Mum and Dad? They’re coming over today.’
‘They can hang out with me. You’ll just frighten them away if they see you now.’
‘Gee, thanks. I thought you were the charming one.’
‘Not anymore. I’ve bagged my bride and now I can settle down into a life of tactless misogyny and rampant ball scratching.’
Hannah snorted and Sandy gave a giggle. Josh was an idiot, but he knew how to cheer her up.
‘Okay. Thanks. I’ll hit the doona for a bit and then maybe we could do lunch with the oldies at noon.’
‘It’s a plan.’ Josh got to his feet as the bell on the front door sent a melodious dong through the ground floor. ‘Look alive, Sandy; it’s you and me this morning, and that sounds like our first customer of the day.’
