“Reminds me of someone.”
I kick him lightly beneath the table.
He catches my foot and massages it gently.
Finn stands first and carries his mug to the sink.
“I should go get ready. Duncan’s always early.”
“Okay.”
He kisses me again.
Longer this time.
“See you tonight?”
“See you tonight.”
He leaves the kitchen.
A few minutes later, I hear the cottage door shut and the engine of his Land Rover start outside.
I stay sitting there in the sunlit kitchen with my coffee slowly cooling beside me, and suddenly I realize something:
I’m happy.
Really.
Deeply.
Simply happy.
The Glenfield veterinaryclinic sits at the end of Main Street just past Ewan’s pub.
When I arrive, Mrs. Douglas is already waiting outside with her dog and six puppies.
“Morning, Mary! They’re ready for their shots.”
“Perfect. Come on in.”
I spend the next hour examining puppies, giving vaccines, and reassuring anxious owners.
The puppies are adorable.
Mrs. Douglas is wonderfully chatty.
She fills me in on the latest village gossip while I work.
“I heard Dr. McLeod completely redid his clinic,” she says at one point.
“That’s true.”
“So he’s really staying then?”
I glance up at her.
“Yes. He’s staying.”
