‘I’m also a GP at this surgery. It’ll be fine.’
Zoe’s gaze went to the window. The bright morning had been smothered by swift-moving low clouds, and the peaks that surrounded the village were smudged out of view. It looked like it was raining over there, and she wondered vaguely if it was raining over at Hilltop Farm. If it was, she hoped Alex was keeping dry.
‘Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?’
Simon’s voice shook her from her reverie. She turned and forced a smile. ‘I don’t think so. I suppose all I can do now is wait.’
‘And perhaps stop torturing yourself by consulting Doctor Google every spare minute. It will do no good. When we have an answer, and if it’s?—’
‘Yes, yes…’ Zoe cut across him. ‘I know, then I can start to worry about it.’
‘What I was going to say is then we can look for some ways to future-proof yourself against the worst of it. If we’ve caught things at an early stage, there are a good deal of options.’
‘When we know, yes,’ Zoe said. She pulled at a loose thread on her tunic. It had been loose for some time, and she’d taken a strange comfort from knowing now exactly where it was, what it felt like when she ran her fingers along it. She ought to cut it off, but over the past few days, it had been soothing, and she relied on it to soothe her now. ‘I’ve been reading about some of my options.’
‘I’m sure you have. Well, it’s good that you’re mentally prepared. I suppose it’s pointless to tell you to stop worrying.’
‘Like I said, it’s not exactly going to kill me, so I’m not worried. I suppose I’ll just be sad.’
‘I understand. You’ll have as much support as you need here, you know that, don’t you?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
‘And if you have any concerns in the meantime, come and see me. As soon as I get the results, I’ll let you know.’
‘What about Lavender? She sees all the results that come through.’
‘I’ll do my best to make sure they come directly to me, but if not…’ He shrugged.
Zoe understood, and she supposed sooner or later, if her worst fears were confirmed, she’d be telling Lavender about it anyway. She got up from her chair and headed for the door.
‘Thanks again, Simon. I’m glad you pushed me to see you; I feel better already knowing we’ll have an answer soon.’
‘Good.’
Simon went back to his computer, and Zoe took that as her cue to leave.
As she closed the door behind her and tried to skulk back to her own office, she met Lavender coming down the corridor with a large, earthenware mug. Zoe recognised it as Simon’s. Lavender gave Zoe a curious look but said nothing, except to reassure her that she’d bring a coffee in for her later, but thatdidn’t mean her head wasn’t buzzing with questions. Right now, Zoe’s head was in much the same state, and neither of them were going to get any answers.
6
Zoe tried to put her blood tests to the back of her mind because there was nothing to be done except to wait for the results, and was thankful that the weekend saw her not only on call but so busy helping Alex with last-minute preparations for their first guests that she barely had time to think about them anyway.
The sun was cresting distant hills, casting golden darts of light down into the valleys, and the grass was wet with beads of dew as they marched across the fields side by side. In the distance, partially hidden by trees, Windermere glittered beneath a morning haze that would soon clear to reveal its startling beauty. All over the hills and valleys, and on the banks of the lake, people would be waking up to this incredible morning. Not for the first time, Zoe wanted to pinch herself, to check that she really was lucky enough to be living here and that it wasn’t all just a lovely dream.
Despite this, she also took a moment to remember that, although she was blessed with the most incredible home, she had to work to keep it. As they both dragged stubborn carts behind them, laden with tools and boxes of furnishings, panting and sweating as their trolleys got stuck every five minutes andthey fought to pull them free, she was forcibly reminded of this fact.
‘I’m going to have to invest in a golf buggy or something,’ Alex grunted as he hit yet another divot that wouldn’t let him go. With a yank, he pulled it free with such force, it almost sent him flying.
‘I’m sure golf buggies aren’t meant for this sort of terrain…’ Zoe stopped to wipe a hand across her brow. ‘I mean, golf courses are usually nice and flat, aren’t they? Not that I know anything about it…My dad plays, but I never took much interest.’
‘Me neither…’ He paused to catch a breath. ‘Do you think I ought to start playing golf with your dad?’
Zoe started to laugh. ‘Where did that come from?’
‘I don’t know…I suppose I ought to bond with him somehow. We didn’t exactly do that when he was living at Kestrel Cottage.’
‘He hardly gave us the opportunity, did he? Perhaps if he’d brought less trouble with him, you might have been able to spend some quality, not quite so stressful time with him. As it was…well, it was hardly your fault you two didn’t become as pally as you’d like.’
