Escape for Christmas

Chapter Thirty-One

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Brody made it to Tegan’s parents in time for dinner the following evening. He’d stayed the night at the surgery before handing over to his colleague, leaving her in charge of discharging Jingle and Belle, who thankfully were on the road to recovery.

Once again, he’d come so close to doing something he’d regret: confessing all to Sophie.

Tegan hadn’t been impressed that he’d rushed off to help Sophie, and was even less impressed when she found out he’d decided to do an unscheduled overnight shift at the surgery. God knows what she would have said if she’d found out that Sophie had made a special journey to the practice with a food parcel … Tegan had decided to stay at her parents’ last night instead, and he’d had to promise to go over there for dinner today after work. It meant they’d have to share a room, but there was no getting out of it.

Brody greeted her father and mother, handing her some flowers that he’d picked up on the way over. Alan went into the kitchen to help Fiona with dinner, leaving Brody alone with Tegan in the lounge.

She stared at him. ‘You look tired,’ she said. ‘Tough night?’

‘Not too bad. I had to operate on a dog that had been in a car accident and he stayed in overnight.’

‘Poor thing,’ Tegan murmured. ‘How are the cats?’

This seemingly innocent comment set him on edge instantly, thinking it best not to tell her about Sophie’s visit. ‘They’re on the mend. It was touch and go, but they’ll be OK.’

‘I’m sure Sophie’s relieved.’

‘She is.’

‘And very grateful. You’re making a habit of rescuing her.’

‘I’ve hardly rescued her. I’m her vet, so I’ve treated her cats, like I’m paid to do. And it wasn’t Sophie having a baby,’ he replied, more brusquely than he’d intended.

‘OK, there’s no need to be so touchy.’ Tegan moved to stroke his arm and made a soothing noise, making him feel like one of Sophie’s cats.

She then burst out laughing, on her father walking into the dining room. A smile lit up Alan’s face too, yet Brody’s spirits plummeted. He shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling tired of playing the happy couple.

‘Sorry for interrupting, only your mother says the food is ready. I’ve laid the table, if you want to come in?’

They ate dinner, chatting about the annual New Year’s Eve ball that was held on one of the lake steamers.

Tegan tutted. ‘I think you’d be better with your feet up in front of the fire, Dad, than at a wild party. I’m worried it’ll be too much for you.’

Alan patted her hand. ‘Thank you for your concern, sweetheart, but I’m already absolutely sick of having my feet up, and I’ll be stuck inside for ages after the op. And since when has the Steamer Ball ever been wild?’

‘There’s no point in trying to stop him,’ Fiona said with a shrug.

Alan rolled his eyes at Brody. ‘They want to keep me wrapped in cotton wool. Can you please tell them I’m tougher than they think?’

Brody held up his hands. ‘I’m staying well out of this, Alan. Sorry!’

‘Coward,’ Alan teased.

The talk turned to Tegan’s brother, and how he and his ex had had to share the children over Christmas, which was why Harry hadn’t been able to see them yet over the festive period.

Fiona tutted. ‘Poor wee lambs. I don’t think they know whether they’re coming or going, this first Christmas.’

‘They’ll get used to it. Kids are very resilient.’

Brody felt Tegan squeeze his knee under the dinner table, though he wasn’t sure if it was for comfort or as a warning not to get involved.

‘Tegan says you’ve been up all night with an emergency?’ Fiona queried as they finished eating.

‘Two, actually. We had a dog who’d been in a road-traffic accident, and I was on lates anyway, so I stayed over.’

‘She says your neighbour’s cats were poisoned by some mistletoe? Poor things. How bizarre.’

‘Two of her guests left the plant in their room. Cats are curious creatures, so it was just a freak accident. Luckily I was able to help them.’

‘Can it be fatal?’ Alan asked.

‘Oh yes. It can cause cardiac failure at its worst.’ Instantly Brody could have kicked himself for his choice of words and quickly modified them. ‘In this case, it only caused them to have an upset stomach and feel very sorry for themselves.’

‘Sophie was lucky that Brody was on hand. Again ,’ Tegan said.

‘You are quite the hero, saving your neighbour’s cats and delivering a baby at the same address. Must be something about that house,’ Fiona joked. ‘I hope we don’t have any drama like that here.’ She gave her husband a meaningful look. ‘Your father’s been overdoing things again. Can you believe he was in the shed looking for a snow shovel this morning, before I stopped him!’

‘Dad!’ Tegan cried. ‘You weren’t!’

‘I was fetching the shovel for your mother,’ Alan said innocently.

Fiona rolled her eyes. ‘I practically wrestled it off him and cleared a bit of the drive before our neighbour offered to help.’

‘I’m still well enough to wash a few dishes, so leave me be,’ Alan insisted, after Brody joined him in the kitchen, having offered to dry up. ‘Being a hero must be tiring,’ he went on, scrubbing at a pan. ‘If you don’t mind me saying so, you look done in.’

‘You get used to unsociable hours in my line of work.’

‘You’d have had an easier life selling garden machinery.’

Brody gave a wry smile. ‘You sound just like my dad would have done. Are you sure? I don’t think I’d have slept well, being responsible for millions of pounds worth of stock and keeping the business afloat. Uncle Trevor seems to have managed very well without me.’

‘He’s cut out for it, although the vet’s is a business, isn’t it? You have the same concerns about profit and loss, and staff.’

‘We have a very able practice manager who deals with all of the admin, thank goodness. The animals can’t phone me up and complain their new tractor isn’t what they were expecting.’

Alan laughed. ‘I can’t imagine you doing anything other than working with animals – you have a great way with them. Your father would have been proud. He knew you wanted to be a vet. He knew you’d never take over the business.’ He placed the pan on the drainer with a sigh of relief.

‘I hope so,’ Brody said quietly, paying special attention to drying a colander.

‘I know so.’ With a grimace, Alan stripped off the Marigolds. ‘Why do they never make them big enough for people with massive paws?’

Brody laughed. He had the same problem. At six feet three, his feet and hands were hardly on the petite side. ‘I dunno. I nearly dislocate my wrist pulling off some of the gloves I use.’

Alan took a seat at the table while Brody finished drying the pots. He guessed he was in for a ‘proper chat’. It seemed to be the day for it, and while Brody would much rather have avoided any deep conversations, he felt he owed it to Alan to listen.

‘I know your mother wasn’t best pleased with your choice of career, but she is very proud of you. You should hear the way she talks about you.’

‘I’m not sure I want to,’ Brody replied lightly.

Alan shook his head. ‘It’s all good. You’re a great son and a decent man. You try to do the right thing. Too much so sometimes.’

‘What do you mean?’ Brody asked, hearing an echo of Tegan’s own comment about him being ‘too nice’.

‘I’ve seen you tie yourself in knots trying to keep everyone happy: your mother, your patients – even our Tegan.’

Brody froze, his heart beating faster.

‘She’s our daughter, and we love her and want the best for her. For both of you. You do know that?’

‘I know.’

‘So if there’s anything troubling you, or her, you do realise you can always reach out to us? I know Tegan worries about us – about me – too much lately. She wants everything to be perfect. I know damn well it can’t be. I think you do too.’

Brody felt he owed Alan a degree of honesty. ‘Well, you know I lost Dad to a heart attack, so we’re both worried and want to help your recovery in any way we can.’

‘Yes, our Tegan would do anything to make me happy …’

Brody’s blood ran a little colder. Did Alan know something was up? They’d been so careful to keep up appearances since she’d got back.

‘And I’m not sure Tegan realises that the one thing that would stress me out is if I thought people were keeping things from me. If they were being less than honest with me, to spare my feelings. Trust in a relationship is important, and I’m a grown man, I don’t need to be wrapped up in cotton wool.’

With his stomach churning, Brody polished the saucepan with the tea towel.

‘I think that pan is dry,’ Alan observed and held out his hand for it.

‘Yeah. I think it is.’

Alan looked him straight in the eye as he stood up to put the pot back in the cupboard. ‘I’m strong enough to hear the truth and to know when something is wrong,’ he said. ‘And if I’d had another son, I’d be proud that it was you. Don’t think that means you have to be my son-in-law.’

Jesus! Brody had a lump in his throat the size of Mars. He wished Alan would leave off, stop tormenting him with honesty and kindness. He couldn’t cope. This was his chance to come clean too. Alan was holding out a lifeline, so why couldn’t he take it?

He murmured a thanks and, for once, was delighted that Tegan chose that moment to interrupt.

‘How long does it take to wash up? I came in to make the coffee.’ She put her arm around her father.

Alan kissed her cheek. ‘We’re done, and the pans are gleaming, thanks to Brody.’

He gave a weak smile. ‘I’ll make the coffee, if you like.’

‘We both will,’ Tegan offered. ‘You go and sit down, Dad.’

‘What do you think of Dad today?’ Tegan asked on the drive home to Felltop. ‘Is he looking more tired? I thought he didn’t eat so much at dinner.’

‘I thought he looked the same as Boxing Day. It’s a tiring time of year, but he seems to be doing pretty well to me, all things considered.’

‘Really? I hope you’re right. I only hope he doesn’t deteriorate before the op comes round. I couldn’t bear him to have any shocks.’

Brody stopped the car. ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine.’

Tegan turned to him. ‘You can’t promise that.’

‘I can’t promise anything, but your dad’s fully aware of the situation. He’s sensible and resilient. He’ll be OK. But you might have to go easy on him – I think he’s started to get a bit tired of all this fussing around him.’ Brody thought back to their conversation. Alan must sense that all was not as it should be between him and Tegan. He was giving Brody the chance to say how he felt, although Brody would never have dreamed of doing that without discussing it with Tegan first.

He felt anxious, yet also relieved that the time might finally have arrived when all the deception could end. Tegan had realised it wasn’t working and, while no situation was ideal, the best plan was surely to be honest.

His chest tightened from the cold the moment he got out of the car. Frost coated the ground and the stars twinkled above him in the great bowl of sky. Below, the village gleamed in the valley, yet across the field Sunnyside was in darkness. Sophie must be out or having an early night with the cats as they continued to recover. Brody wanted to call her to see how they – and she – were, but daren’t with Tegan nearby, particularly after her comments about him always playing the hero around Sophie. Maybe Tegan would phone Wes later and he could find somewhere quiet to give Sophie a quick call.

Look at him: sneaking around in his own home. It was another reason he really had to sort out this situation, as he couldn’t carry on walking on eggshells like this.

‘Shall I make a drink?’ Brody offered when they were inside, greeted by Harold bounding up to him for some fuss.

‘Good idea.’

They sat in the snug, with Tegan curled up on the sofa, Brody in his father’s chair, thinking back on what Alan had told him. As far as Brody could recall, his father had never told him he ought to be a vet. They’d never discussed it. Perhaps he’d assumed Brody would take over the business and grow out of his own dreams … or perhaps his dad was afraid he wouldn’t.

The chair creaked under him and the springs dug into his backside. He thought of his mother’s offer to have it repaired. If he did, he would never feel the shape of it again; never feel the hollow worn by his dad and by him; never hear the springs creak as they groaned under their collective weight. Renovating the chair felt like betraying his father, and yet Brody knew he had to do something or the whole thing would collapse.

Both options were unthinkable and, right now, he wasn’t sure which was more unthinkable than the other.