Never Say Never (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 3) (4 page)

The look of pure horror – or was it terror? – on the driving tester’s face answered Leah’s unspoken question all too well.

T
hat same morning
, Olivia was cleaning her bathroom and wondering how Leah was getting on with her driving test, when the phone rang.

“I’m really sorry to disturb you like this,” she heard Alma her manager say with genuine regret, “and really if I could have avoided phoning you I would have, but if we don’t operate soon, I think the poor little mite could die.”

Olivia’s insides tightened. “Oh, no – what’s happened? Which one is it?”

“He’s just been brought in. By the looks of things he was run over, then some kind-hearted soul,” she added with heavy irony, “tossed him into the ditch to die. I don’t know how long he’s held on but he was found by someone this morning out walking their own dog.” Her voice softened. “I don’t even know if we can save him but –”

“Right. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Olivia said decisively. By the sounds of it, the patient mightn’t have long left. On call or not, the very least she could do was try. She put the phone down, grabbed a coat from the cupboard under the stairs and hastened back into the living-room.

“Let’s get your coat on, pet, we’ve got to go the centre,” she announced to her daughter.

A veterinary surgeon by profession, Olivia worked part-time at an animal shelter within driving distance from Lakeview, the village in which she and her four year old daughter now lived.

Less than an hour’s drive from Dublin, Lakeview was very much a quintessential Irish tourist town with locally owned pubs, shops and a gorgeous café along one short main street. The cobbled streets, ornate lanterns and picturesque one-hundred-year-old artisan cottages decorated with hanging floral baskets, as well as the general ‘chocolate-box’ look and feel of the place had resulted in the town being designated heritage status. The lake itself was surrounded by well-maintained older houses and lavish, newer ones further out – all centred around the large oxbow lake from which the place took its name

Olivia had moved there to be closer to her parents who’d retired to the sleepy little village years before, and she lived in Cherrywood Green, a small mature estate on the Dublin road side of town.

She hated having to drag Ellie the eight or so miles to the shelter in Enniskerry but there was simply no time to call on her mother to babysit. Ellie normally loved ‘helping out’ but with such an emergency neither Alma nor Olivia would have much time to humour a little girl.

“It’s not Angel is it, Mummy?” Ellie asked, her eyes wide as Olivia helped her into her coat. An elderly abandoned dachshund, Angel had been at the centre for sixteen months, and the little dog and Ellie had formed a special bond within seconds of setting eyes upon one another.

Olivia knew that Ellie would have mixed feelings should poor Angel ever be rehomed. As would Olivia herself. Every dog, cat, pony and ferret had a special place in the hearts of all the employees and volunteers of Paws & Tails Refuge Centre.

“No this little fella has just been brought in,” she explained, closing the front door behind them and hurrying Ellie towards the car. “Alma thinks he was hit by a car.”

This poor dog wouldn’t be the first or indeed the last hit-and-run victim upon which Olivia had operated. She’d been working at the centre for years, having gone there not long after she and Peter bought a house in a Dublin suburb close by, originally intending to spend some time there before something better came along.

But having witnessed the incredible dedication of the staff and volunteers, as well as the unfortunate condition of the abandoned and neglected animals, she had been unable to leave, despite Peter’s insistence that she would never make any money. That wasn’t the reason she’d become a vet in the first place, Olivia had argued. Yes, she could make a fortune in private practice in the city but why not use her skills on those poor animals that really needed it? Wasn’t that what vets were for at the end of the day? Peter, who at the time was struggling on his junior radiologist wages, couldn’t believe that she could be so unaffected by money – or in this case, the lack thereof.

But for Olivia, it could never have been any other way. As Peter had said many times himself over the years, if she hadn’t continued working at the centre, she would have been “taking in and fostering every Tom, Dick and Fido that looked any way miserable”.

Once Ellie had come along though, Olivia had to reduce her hours and now worked only a three-day week and occasional emergencies when Rick, the full-time vet was unavailable. This was one of those times.

“You’ll save him, Mummy, I know you will,” Ellie said, her tone revealing utmost confidence in her mother’s veterinary skills. “You always save them – every one of them.”

Pulling out onto the Dublin road, Olivia bit her lip, and marvelled at the blind and innocent trust of four-year-olds. Because Olivia knew well that, for all her talents, she hadn’t been able to save every one of them – and notwithstanding her medicinal know-how, she certainly hadn’t been able to use it when it mattered the most.

There had been an emergency that day too Olivia thought sadly, her mind recalling that heartbreaking evening all those years ago. In fact, if there hadn’t been an emergency, she would have been home on time and things might have been totally different. If only that poor Labrador hadn’t swallowed that chicken bone and needed an emergency operation to remove it. If only she’d been home when she thought she’d be. If only, if only, if only ...

T
hat day
she’d been feeling utterly shattered. Her feet had been killing her and even though it was only early afternoon, she was really looking forward to getting home. Especially on that day.

It had all gone wrong from the second she arrived that morning. Unusually for Olivia she’d arrived at the centre ten minutes late – but although she wasn’t sure of it at the time, she’d been late for a very good reason.

A short visit to her doctor at lunchtime confirmed her early-morning suspicions and from then on in, Olivia might as well have been on a different planet.

Alma noticed it immediately.

“Well spit it out,” the centre manager challenged Olivia soon after helping her administer worming tablets to a particularly skittish Alsatian.

“Spit what out?” Olivia laughed, trying desperately to keep her news to herself but annoyed with herself for being so transparent. An open book, Peter always called her, and he was right. She could rarely keep a secret or her feelings from anyone. Her open face and particularly her wide, expressive blue eyes always gave her away.

“Whatever it is that’s got you beaming like a Cheshire cat all afternoon,” Alma teased. “Although being married to a hunk like yours would probably be enough,” she added with a wink. “But you’ve been married a while now, so what’s different?”

“Nothing,” Olivia said, unable to stop grinning and unwilling to look Alma in the eye. “I’m just in a good mood today, that’s all.”

Just then the telephone rang, and as their budget couldn’t stretch to a full-time volunteer and Olivia was closest to the door, she went out to answer it.

“Paws & Tails Refuge Centre.”

“Hi love,” Olivia heard Peter’s familiar voice and she grinned even more broadly.

“Hi yourself,” she replied, although she was dying to blurt it out there and then, dying to share it with the world. “What’s up?”

“Nothing really, just checking that you’re definitely on the eight to four shift today, right? You’re not on a split or anything?”

“Nope – I’m out of here by four. Do you want me to pick up something for you?”

“No, no – just checking. I could even be home before you yet, but I’m not sure – it depends on how things go here.”

Olivia could tell by her husband’s weary tone that he was up to his tonsils – again. She hoped he would get away from the hospital that bit earlier today, not just because she had something to tell him, but also because he was working way too hard. He hadn’t been himself lately, and tended to be tired and a little moody, the stress of working all those long hours obviously taking its toll.

“Did you get yourself seen to by any of the doctors yet?” she asked him. “About those palpitations you had last week?” It was probably a result of the stress he was under, but still Olivia didn’t want him taking any chances. And working as he did in a hospital, he was in the best place possible to get himself checked out. It was probably fine, but still –

“It’s nothing, Olivia,” Peter replied, a little testily, and she thought she’d better not push it, and just let him get back to work. The sooner he did that, the sooner he’d be home.

“Right, well, take it easy, love, and I’ll see you at home this evening.”

“Talk to you later then.”

Most definitely
Olivia thought, smiling softly to herself as she put the phone down. Hopefully Peter
would
be home before her, because this particular evening they had plenty to talk about.

She glanced up at the clock. Time for a quick afternoon tea-break. Olivia didn’t normally bother with tea-breaks, viewing them as a surefire way to unhinge her attempts at keeping her figure. Still, her tummy was rumbling, she’d had very little for lunch and, in fairness, she wouldn’t have to worry about her keeping figure for too much longer. And starving herself surely wasn’t good for the baby.

Olivia’s heart leaped. The baby! She was actually having a baby. She and Peter, her college boyfriend, the long-time love of her life, after all these years they had finally, finally conceived. It was weird she thought, it still wasn’t quite real to her, not until she told Peter anyway. Even though the doctor had congratulated her on the news and given her the due date, to Olivia it wouldn’t be true, it wouldn’t be real until she told Peter. After three years of marriage, and two years of trying, it had finally happened. It had
actually
happened. She and Peter were about to become parents. He would be ecstatic. Olivia mentally hugged herself as she tried to imagine what their baby would look like. The doctor had told her to come back in a few weeks for the first ultrasound and she couldn’t wait to see Peter’s face when they heard the heartbeat for the very first time – oh, this was just amazing news.

The next hour passed without event and Olivia managed to get through a much overdue pile of paperwork. She sat back in her chair and yawned. “Great, nearly time to go home,” she sighed, relieved.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth, than Susan, one of the centre’s many volunteers, came into the office. “Olivia, bit of an emergency – someone’s just brought in this poor Labrador – he’s going into convulsions …”

Without a second thought Olivia leapt into action and twenty minutes later her hands were buried deep in the dog’s abdomen, trying to remove the dangerously sharp pieces of bone that had most likely come from a cooked chicken. Judging by his condition, the dog was most likely a stray who starving, had come across the chicken carcass in someone’s refuse and probably unable to believe his luck, had gone through it with relish and amazing speed. But now the poor thing could lose his life because of it. Shards of bone had punctured his stomach and upper colon and Olivia knew that he was lucky to have been discovered.

At last, the extractions were done and Olivia completed the final phases of surgery. Then she looked up at the clock. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the time. It was after five.

“Blast it, Alma, I didn’t realise the time. I told Peter I’d be leaving at four.”

“Go on, off with you,” said Alma. “I’ll finish up here. And sorry – I didn’t notice the time either –”

“My fault,” Olivia rushed to remove her scrubs.

She hastily cleaned herself up. Then she rang Peter’s mobile but only got his answer service. Perhaps he was still driving home … She tried the house but got the answering machine. In her haste to get to work that morning, she’d left her own mobile at home on the kitchen table, so if Peter thought she’d already left and was trying to contact her on that he wouldn’t be able to. Finally she left the centre and hurried to her car.

Some twenty minutes later, after battling maddening traffic, she drove into their housing estate, her heart plunging towards her stomach as she saw the ambulance parked there.

A small group of people were standing around on the path outside her house, their faces grave as they saw her car approach. Among them was her mother, turning a striken face towards her. There was her next-door neighbour Cora and her new neighbour Deirdre with her little boy – Alex, Olivia remembered his name was, and then wondered why all this stupid trivia was running through her mind. It was a delaying tactic, she thought, simply a delaying tactic. Because one look at her mother’s face and Olivia knew that something terrible had happened.

Her body wracked with fear, her movements almost zombie-like, she got out of the car and went to her mother. “What’s going on, Mum?” she asked, her voice shaking. What are you doing here? Where’s Peter?”

For a long moment, Eva didn’t answer; she just continued to stare at her daughter, her expression a mixture of sorrow and pity. Instantly Olivia felt her stomach twist. Oh no, please no, please don’t do this to me …

“Mum? Where’s Peter?” This time her voice was barely a whisper.

“Love – ” Eva reach for her, her eyes brimming with tears. “Love … he’s … it’s …” She shook her head from side to side, unable to find the right words.

“Mum I asked you a question!” Olivia cried. “What’s going on? Is Peter home?”

Eva’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she shook her head. “I’m so sorry, love,” she whispered hoarsely. “He didn’t make it.”

“What – what do you mean?” Olivia barely got the words out. Her mind whirled. “Did you – who – ?”

“No I only just arrived now – Cora from next door phoned me. She couldn’t get you at work or on the mobile. It was that new neighbour of yours, Deirdre, who –”

“Oh please, no…” Olivia’s heart stopped then as, behind her mother, she spotted the paramedics lifting something no –
someone
– into the ambulance on a stretcher.

A covered stretcher.