‘She did care for us. But life wasn’t easy for her. As for the lie … that was a long time ago and it wasn’t a huge lie. Not really. Only the matter of a few minutes.’
‘Not for you, but those few minutes would have changed so much for me. My whole life started with a lie because of her. Everything could have been different.’
‘So your life now is bad. Is that what you are trying to tell me?’
‘No. But … I don’t know what might have been different, all I know is I didn’t get a chance to decide for myself. That’s what I can’t forgive.’
They drove in silence the rest of the way into town. Justin parked the vehicle and turned the engine off. ‘I’m going to see her.’
In the passenger seat, Ben tensed. ‘Fine. That’s up to you. But don’t expect me to come.’
‘I don’t.’
‘And afterwards, don’t talk to me about it. I don’t want to know.’
Ben got out of the car, but instead of going inside the building, he turned and walked in the direction of the pub. Justin watched him go. He was beginning to worry about his little brother. Ben had always been the wild one. When they were kids, that mostly involved getting into scrapes at school, sneaking out of the house at night to meet girls and occasionally drinking alcohol when no one was looking. Pretty harmless kid stuff. But since the night he’d learned about his birth, and the lies their mother had told, he’d been angry. That anger had shown itself in too much drinking and the occasional fist fight. And while he took his job seriously and did it well, Ben’s personal life involved a devil-may-care attitude that one day was going to get him into serious trouble. There was only so much Justin could do to protect him from himself. As for knowing their mother was nearby, that was only going to make him worse. Unless …
Maybe it was a good thing they had this chance to let their mother back into their lives. Maybe it would help Ben. Of course, it could just as easily push him over the edge into a course of real self-destruction. All Justin knew was he had to try to fix this.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the recent calls, looking for the one Ben had answered. He found it, but the caller’s number was hidden. That wasn’t a problem. The vet, Anna, was a good contact point. He’d see if she would help him. It meant seeing Anna again, too, and that thought gave his heart a lift. He started the ignition and reversed out of the shed.
When he arrived at the vet clinic, there were three cars parked outside. He walked towards the clinic door, noting from the sign that this was a time for small animal appointments. He should have called ahead to see if Anna was free. He only needed a couple of minutes of her time, so he entered the clinic hopefully.
‘Can I help you?’ The young woman behind the reception desk was wearing a nurse’s uniform. In a small independent clinic, she probably performed both roles. The badge pinned to her collar said Shea.
‘Yes. Hi. I’m Justin Turner. RFS. I was hoping to get a quick word with Anna.’
‘She’s with a patient now, and we have other appointments booked.’
‘I’m sorry. I should have called ahead. I’m happy to wait.’
The door to the treatment room opened and Anna appeared, holding a squirming white and black puppy in her hands. She laughed softly as the puppy tried to lick her face. The girl standing next to her laughed too.
Justin found his lips curling into a smile too. Anna was so beautiful, and her face glowed as she placed the puppy back into the little girl’s arms.
‘He’s fully up to date with all his shots for now,’ Anna told the woman who was standing behind the little girl. ‘The next thing will be to neuter him.’
‘About six months?’ the woman asked, casting cautious eyes on the little girl to see if she was listening. She was too wrapped up in the puppy to pay attention to the adults.
Anna nodded. ‘About then. But give me a call if you have any questions.’
‘We will. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome. Bye, Leanne. Bye, Rufus.’
‘Bye, bye, Dr Anna,’ said the little girl.
Anna then turned to look for her next patient, revealing the left side of her face and once again, Justin saw that puckered scar that ran from her chin, up her cheek, barely missing her eye, and onto her forehead. His heart clenched at the thought of the pain that wound must have cost her.
Anna’s eyes caught his and she looked surprised. ‘Oh. Justin. I wasn’t expecting you. I didn’t know you had a pet.’
‘I actually don’t.’ He took half a step towards her. ‘I need to talk to you about something else. I can see you’re busy. I’m more than happy to wait.’
‘I have one more patient,’ Anna said, smiling at the only other person in the waiting room, a woman with a wicker cat basket on her lap. ‘Hi, Kelly.’
Justin recognised the woman immediately. She’d served him at the shop when he and Ben had gone looking for groceries. He nodded to greet her.
‘If nothing else comes up, I can see you after Kelly,’ Anna said. ‘It shouldn’t be too long.’
