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Evelyn pulled a face. ‘I think badgers are quite shy, and it’s very cold. Most of them are probably still snug in their setts.’

Summer’s face fell and Jake instantly berated himself for creating this situation. ‘Your mum’s right, but when it’s warmer, we run badger walks sometimes to help raise money for the local wildlife rescue centre. If you’re really lucky, some of the badgers who have been released can still be spotted. I could let you know when the next one is.’

‘Yes please!’

‘That would be good, thank you.’ Evelyn smiled. ‘Shall we sort out Tilly’s appointment? I’m worried we’ve already taken up too much of your time.’

Jake wanted to argue with her, to explain that he’d enjoyed chatting with them but instead he reminded himself that she was probably just being polite and wanted to get going. He pulled out the large diary from behind reception, and ran his finger down the entries. He was expecting his next patient in a few minutes, but had space in a couple of days. He agreed the time with Evelyn and gave her a copy of the registration form.

‘Thanks so much.’ Evelyn smiled.

‘You won’t forget about the badger walk, will you?’ Summer begged.

‘No. I’ll let you know,’ Jake promised, wondering how early would be too early to organise the next event, even while mentally berating himself for the thought. He held the door open, reluctantly.

‘Thanks Jake, we’ll see you in a few days, won’t we Tilly?’

‘See you then.’ He waved as they left, then closed the door against the cold, and went to put the kettle on for another coffee. Clearly the first one hadn’t done its job in waking him up properly, because he still felt very odd. He returned to the window and watched the trio as they headed back towards the village centre. Even as they approached the corner, he could see Summer waving her hands around animatedly as she said something that was clearly exciting. For the briefest of moments, just before they crossed the road and turned the corner, he could have sworn Evelyn glanced back towards him. But then he shook his head against the foolish thought.

He definitely needed that coffee.

Summer skipped cheerfully by Evelyn’s side, chattering happily about her “new friend” the vet who was so nice even Tilly liked him, and how cool it would be to meet badgers. Evelyn didn’t have the heart to remind her that badgers were shy, wild creatures – in all her time in Broclington, she’d only seen a badger a handful of times, and always from a distance. She didn’t want to tell Summer she’d be lucky to even see one – and would probably never get to pet one like she’d planned. And she didn’t tell her that Jake was probably just being polite to a new client. Summer had always been such a friendly, happy, outgoing child, and she’d spent so long in isolation only meeting doctors and nurses, that Evelyn didn’t want to discourage it.

She unlocked the front door, and knelt to wipe Tilly’s paws while Summer raced ahead to talk to Nanny.

‘Summer, shoes!’ She shook her head, trying not to laugh at the healthy exuberance of her beautiful daughter. She thanked God every day that she got to see Summer smile like this. It was funny, she’d never really been particularly religious – until Summer had gotten ill, and now, despite not going to church regularly, she still prayed all the time. Just a quick, few words here and there, but a prayer nonetheless.

‘Sorry, Mum!’ Summer skidded back into the hall, and sat on the stairs to tug her boots off before racing back towards the kitchen. Tilly bounded after her, barking cheerfully, and Evelyn followed at a more sedate pace.

‘We’ve got a couple of hours before we need to go meet your new doctor, what do you want to do?’

‘Not see another doctor!’

‘Summer Marie …’ She hesitated over the last name. ‘Summer’—she knelt down—‘I know you’ve seen more than enough doctors to last a lifetime, but you do need to be registered with one here.’

‘I know.’ Summer rubbed at an invisible spot on the floor with her toe, her bottom lip starting to stick out. ‘But I was having such a nice day. Do we really have to?’

‘Yes, we really have to.’

‘And the doctor is a friend of mine,’ Linda reassured Summer. ‘He’s really nice.’

‘OK. I s’pose. If I have to.’

‘I’m afraid you do.’

‘But I’m still not happy about it.’

‘I know, sweetheart.’ Linda rested a hand on her granddaughter’s fuzzy head. ‘But I think I might have something to cheer you up. How would you like to try a Brockle cake?’

Summer’s eyes went wide. ‘Is that like the badger cakes we saw today?’

‘Exactly like. Chocolate, vanilla and cherry in a stripy, delicious cake. Would you like one?’ she teased gently, as she got the plates from the cupboard.

‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!’

‘How do you know he’s going to be nice?’ Summer dragged her feet as they approached the surgery.

‘Because Nanny said he is. And he was nice when I lived here.’ Evelyn gave her a brief hug. ‘And you met his son Jake this morning, remember? You liked him, so you’ll like his dad.’