Page 9 of Healing Hearts on Thistledown Lane, Part Two

Fraser looked amused. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it.

I was going to say you look like you’ve stepped out of a magazine spread extolling the virtues of life by the sea.

’ He glanced down at Hubert, whose thin tail was whipping back and forth in a frenzy of excitement.

‘Is this the fearsome beastie you warned me about?’

She watched as he held out a hand to be sniffed and then crouched down to rub Hubert’s ears. At least that meant she didn’t have to acknowledge the compliment he’d just given her. ‘Yes. He’s usually much more growly with strangers.’

‘Ah, but I’m not the least bit strange,’ he said, and glanced up at her. ‘Am I?’

Something odd happened in Maura’s stomach then, a sort of lurching, twanging sensation that inexplicably made her feel sixteen again. ‘He doesn’t think so,’ she said, fixing her attention on Hubert. ‘I think he likes you.’

‘Good to know someone does,’ Fraser said cheerfully, which almost made Maura laugh because popularity had never been a problem for him. ‘Shall we see if we can wear him out?’

They made their way onto the sand, with Hubert stopping to sniff at regular intervals.

‘Do you walk him much?’ Fraser asked.

‘Not really,’ Maura replied. ‘My neighbour is elderly and had a fall so he asked me to help out today. It’s no trouble really.’

Fraser nodded. ‘I miss having a dog. We had a pair of German shepherds when I was growing up and I always thought I’d have one of my own, but I chose the wrong career for that.

’ He caught Maura’s quizzical look. ‘Unpredictable working patterns and long hours at rehearsals. Flying out the door at a moment’s notice for an audition on the other side of London.

Parties, if you’re lucky, and travel. It didn’t seem fair to get a dog when I didn’t know how much time I’d have to spare. ’

It made sense, Maura thought. ‘Your working pattern is a lot steadier now. Does Naomi like dogs?’

There was a slight pause. ‘No. She’s not really an animal person.’

Maura had only met Naomi once but she couldn’t say she was entirely surprised by the news. ‘Jamie isn’t either,’ she said. ‘Although his argument is that we don’t have a garden, so it wouldn’t be fair.’

Fraser pursed his lips. ‘I can see his point. But plenty of people manage without. Your neighbour, for example.’

It was an argument Maura had tried herself but Jamie had refused to budge.

And if they moved to the new apartment he wanted, that was the way it would stay.

‘Do your parents keep dogs, at least?’ She stopped.

‘I mean, assuming they’re still… that they haven’t…

’ She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence in a way that didn’t sound horribly unfeeling.

She had no idea how old Fraser’s parents were – her own were in their sixties – but it was quite possible he’d lost one or both.

‘They’re still going strong,’ Fraser said, interpreting her meaning. ‘They live near North Berwick now, with an extremely over-indulged cockapoo that thinks it’s a human. I’m going to see them this weekend, as a matter of fact.’

Hubert tugged on the lead, pulling towards a small cluster of seaweed he clearly wanted to investigate.

Maura allowed him to sniff at it, although she kept her gaze fixed upon him.

The first time she’d brought him here, there had been an unfortunate incident with a dead seagull and it was an experience she had no intention of repeating.

‘My folks are across the Firth, just past Aberdour. My sister too, with her husband and kids.’

‘Kirsty, isn’t it?’ Fraser said. ‘We met on the ghost tour.’

‘That’s right,’ Maura replied, surprised he’d remembered her name. ‘You made quite an impression, by the way. She was a little bit starstruck.’

Fraser sighed. ‘It comes with the territory when you’ve played such a high-profile role as Louis the Chicken. People look at you differently.’

Maura couldn’t contain a snort of laughter. She was developing a healthy appreciation for Fraser’s dry self-deprecation. He had every right to be proud of his talent and achievements but he never missed an opportunity to downplay them, usually to elicit a laugh. ‘Hungrily, I imagine,’ she said.

He eyed her with mock severity. ‘You may laugh, Maura McKenzie, but I have a Red Rooster card that entitles me to free fried chicken for the rest of my life. You can’t buy perks like that.’

‘Wow,’ Maura said, grinning. ‘Naomi is a very lucky girl.’

Fraser started to reply but Hubert chose that moment to let off a volley of ferocious barks in the direction of a swooping gull.

By the time Maura had calmed the dog down, Fraser’s gaze was fixed on the distant shoreline.

They walked in amicable silence for a few moments, then Fraser glanced sideways at her.

‘Do you ever wonder why we weren’t friends at school? ’

Maura blinked. Surely he had to know they had been as different as night and day back then. ‘Erm, not really. We… uh… moved in different circles.’

‘But we were both arty,’ he said. ‘I remember seeing you once, in the art block, and peering through the window to see what you were making. But I don’t remember us talking much.’

The fact that he remembered her at all caught Maura off guard.

When had he seen her in the art block? she wondered, and then decided it didn’t matter.

For the vast majority of their school days, she had swum beneath Fraser’s notice.

Although that wasn’t strictly true, she recalled, because there had been that kiss, when he’d said such lovely things and it had been clear he’d been more aware of her than she’d realised.

And here was a gilt-edged invitation to test her conviction that he had no idea it had happened.

All she had to do was drop it into conversation now.

Oh, we did a little bit more than just talking, Fraser. Don’t you remember?

She cleared her throat. ‘I’m not sure we did.’

‘I wish we had,’ he said, his gaze lingering on her.

For a moment, she was back outside the pub on a cold December night, staring into his blue eyes and wondering whether she was dreaming. ‘Me too,’ she said, before she could stop herself.

Fraser smiled. ‘At least we’re friends now.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to correct him, to remind him, the way she reminded everyone else, that they were business partners, not friends.

But somewhere along the line the boundaries had blurred, and Maura found herself thinking of Fraser as more than someone she worked with.

‘Yes,’ she said, returning his smile. ‘It might have taken nineteen years but I think we’re finally friends. ’