Page 16 of Christmas at the Home Farm Vets (Hartfell Village #2)

‘I have all the education I need, thank you very much. No plans to study anything ever again. Except maybe brass bands, let’s see if you can convert me this time.

’ The nativity procession was beginning, circling the green as marshals in hi-vis jackets cleared a path through the crowd.

‘Is that Dorothy, leading an alpaca? I can’t see her face, but I reckon that’s her coat.

She might not even be inside it, it could well be walking on its own. ’

‘Yep, and Alfie’s leading the other one. He’s Harriet’s boyfriend, another young farmer. Maybe it’s the alpacas slowing everyone down, they’re such plodders.’

‘And spitters. Please tell me they’re not really wearing antler headbands?’

‘I can’t, because they are.’ Erin laughed as Oli shot her a sardonic look. ‘I suppose available reindeer are in short supply at this time of year and they’re having to make do with Rufus and Rupert.’

Dorothy had rescued the alpacas a few years ago and they lived a very comfortable existence on her farm, being indulged by her and Harriet.

Pippa wasn’t keen, having been spat on at first introduction.

Erin saw her outside the gallery with Gil, arms wrapped around one another as Harriet walked slowly past with Posy the Shetland pony.

Posy was on a very tight lead rope in case she attempted to take off in search of food or trouble.

She was also sporting a reindeer headband, and when she shook her head, it flew off to land on the cobbles.

‘Erin, babe!’

An arm was thrust around Erin’s shoulders as someone shoved their way into a space beside her, and she staggered into Oli.

His hands went to her waist to steady her, then fell away just as quickly when she was tugged backwards, landing against a solid chest. The man who’d just arrived sported a body honed by hours in the gym and a face she was startled to realise she was beginning to find more attractive than his personality.

Tonight his long brown hair was tucked inside a grey beanie instead of fastened in the usual man bun.

‘Jason, hi,’ Erin replied, trying to disguise her surprise. She’d forgotten she’d invited him tonight and didn’t want either man to notice her discomfort now their paths were about to cross.

‘Hey, you.’ Jason took her hand. ‘So my guy was running late and he wanted to talk through his event. He suggested we do it over a quick beer. You know how it is, I couldn’t turn him down.’

‘Well, at least you made it.’ He always had an excuse for his lack of timekeeping, she’d noticed. Never an apology.

‘And miss all this?’ Jason smirked at the nativity procession walking slowly past, the band marching to the tune of ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’. ‘I was going to let you know I was on my way but I’m here now. You look, er, nice. Is that a new hat?’

‘No, I wore it last time I saw you.’ When he’d taken her to a run instead of brunch because a client was racing, and he’d wanted to watch. They’d all ended up at the pub afterwards, and he’d barely even tried to include her in the conversation.

‘Anyway, it suits you.’

Erin wasn’t quick enough to dodge Jason’s mouth heading for hers, and she tried to quash her irritation. He’d never once attempted to greet her with a kiss before. He leaned past her to look at Oli.

‘I’m Jason, Erin’s, er…’ He stuck out an arm, reaching across her, the explanation already abandoned. ‘So you are…?’

‘Oli Sterling.’ Oli shook Jason’s hand firmly. ‘How do you do?’

‘Oli’s our new locum, Jason, he’s working with us until Christmas.’ She jumped into the silence before it became an awkward one. ‘Jason’s a joiner, Oli, a really brilliant one. He’s from Darlington originally but lives in…’

‘And a personal trainer,’ Jason said quickly. ‘I run two businesses and I’ll be giving up the joinery soon. Got plenty of demand for the training and that’s where the money is when you find the right clients.’

‘Good for you,’ Oli murmured, and Erin sent him a warning glance.

Jason was still holding her hand, and she wasn’t sure she liked the possessive weight of it around hers, but decided to go along with it for now given they were dating.

‘So what happened to that other locum, Erin, the one who was staying with you? Never showed up?’

‘Her family circumstances changed, and she had to alter her plans.’ Erin’s even tone belied the sudden swirl in her stomach at what was coming next and how Jason might take it. She hadn’t been expecting him to remember the change in personnel at the practice. ‘So Oli stepped in instead.’

‘Right.’ Jason’s fingers around Erin’s tightened. ‘So where are you staying then, mate?’

‘With Erin,’ Oli replied smoothly, and she cringed at the amusement in those two words.

He’d enjoyed that and she’d be having words later, but he hadn’t finished.

‘She’s made me very welcome, and the cottage is so snug.

I have to keep remembering to duck but that’s all part of the experience, right? ’

‘You never said, Erin.’ Jason huffed out another laugh and she didn’t think she was imagining the edge in those few words.

‘You never asked,’ she told him flatly. She wasn’t about to apologise for whom she invited into her own home, and certainly not to a man with whom she’d had six dates.

‘Erin, look, I think Alfie’s having trouble with his alpaca.

’ Oli pointed and she spotted Alfie trying to persuade it to stay in line instead of hauling him into the nearest garden.

‘Do you remember that time at Catz when we had to examine one with an abscess on its jaw? You were the first who dared go near it, then got slathered in pus when the needle went in, and the abscess exploded.’

‘Thanks for reminding me,’ she said. ‘It was a perfect introduction to the stink that comes with being a vet. The pus leaked through to my T-shirt as well, took me about three washes to get it out.’

‘Catz?’ Jason inquired. Erin freed her hand; she’d had enough of hers being held as though she were a toddler about to run away.

‘Sorry, yeah.’ Oli flashed him a grin. ‘Erin and I were at Cambridge together. Catz is the nickname for our college, St Catharine’s.’

‘Nice. Never went to university, didn’t see the point in wasting all that money. Better off earning it instead. So you two are old mates then?’

‘Not really,’ Erin said, fixing her gaze on the band heading out of sight towards the church, torches bobbing in the dark.

‘We didn’t see that much of each other outside vet school, it was seriously full on.

’ She’d done her best to avoid Oli socially after the end of their first year, guarding her heart for all she was worth.

‘So how did you and Erin meet, Jason? Which one of you swiped right first?’

‘Oh, Erin would’ve swiped for me but she’s not on Tinder.’ Jason laughed, fumbling for her hand again to squeeze it. ‘No, we actually met IRL, and it’s quite a funny story, isn’t it, babe?’

‘Not especially,’ she replied, taking a swift dislike to his use of the abbreviation. Her toes were curling at the thought of Jason explaining and what Oli would make of it. ‘I was with Jess at…’ But Jason was already speaking over her a second time.

‘It was at a beer festival, Oli, and I’d just been giving CPR to some guy who’d keeled over.

He was fine, by the way. Ambulance came and they said I’d done everything right and probably saved his life.

Anyway, I picked up my beer, a mate whacked me on the back to say well done, and I threw my drink all over poor Erin. ’

She didn’t dare look at Oli. Already she was right back there with him, the evening of the first May Ball.

The cold shock of his drink against her skin, the warmth of his fingers clutching hers, his urgency as he’d hurried her away from the crowd.

Her very first kiss, the feel of his mouth finally claiming hers after all those weeks of waiting, the completeness she’d felt in holding him and being in his arms. His surprise and then his desire when she’d undone her shirt and taken it off, and watched him do the same.

‘You’re right, Jason, it is quite funny. Apart from the nearly dead guy, of course.’

She couldn’t let Oli see that she was wondering if he was thinking the same.

How much she’d wanted him then and how devastated she’d been when she’d seen those images of him on holiday with Bella Browning just a couple of weeks later.

He’d smashed her trust out of the park and taken her love with it.

And she especially didn’t want him to know that now he was here, all those old feelings she’d long thought she’d put aside were rising once more to the surface.

‘Yeah, apart from him,’ she said lightly, tilting her head to smile at Jason and remind herself of the man she was dating. ‘I know you can’t make the pub afterwards, Jason. You said you were busy so don’t worry if you have to head off soon.’

‘No, actually I think I can make it,’ he said quickly, sliding an arm around her waist. ‘The boys won’t mind if I jump online a bit late, it’d be great to meet your friends and see this country pub you’ve been going on about.’

‘Right.’ Erin tried to feel pleased; a casual drink in the local pub was one thing, his actually meeting Jess and the rest of her colleagues was quite another.

And she’d literally mentioned the pub once, suggesting they eat there one night, and he’d cancelled at the last minute to fit in a client instead.

As they joined the crowd following the procession to the church for carols, it felt to Erin that the two halves of her life had collided in spectacular fashion.

Oli represented her past and her first love, those long, hard years of studying, and the very young woman she’d been whose experience of a harsh world was balanced out by the care and support of her family.

Jason was a reflection of now, the home she was making in Hartfell alongside a flourishing career and the independence she’d established.