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A few minutes later, the sat-nav app on her phone cheerfully announced her destination was on the left, and she pulled into the driveway of the cottage that Tom’s recommended agent had found her. She slipped her bag over her shoulder and headed up the garden path, lined with fragrant flowers. She didn’t know enough about gardening to be able to name most of them, but did recognise the daffodils and hyacinths in amongst fluffy looking purple and pink tall blooms. She ran her fingers over the nameplate: “Aosán Taigh”. She had no idea what the quaint name meant, but it seemed to suit the little golden stone and slate-roofed building that could have been lifted straight out of a fairy tale. She couldn’t believe she was going to get to call it home for the next few months.

Tom had offered her the chance to house sit for him while he and his wife were away, but — as much as Liv had appreciated the offer — she’d really felt she wanted her own space to start finding her life, and herself, again. The apartment in London had been sophisticated, sleek and expensive — and filled with luxury marble, gloss and gadgets in every room. Very much Mike’s home, and not hers — which he’d made abundantly clear.

Irritated at herself, Liv shook her head in the hope it would shake . . . him . . . out of her mind. He’d already had more space in her thoughts than he deserved, and she wasn’t going to let him spoil this as well. Resolute, she knelt and stuck her hand through the letterbox. As promised by the agent, she found a length of string that, when pulled, produced a heavy key. She shook her head in disbelief as she let herself in to the small hallway — things were very different here to the alarms, video doorbells and multiple locks she was used to.

Smiling, she hung her bag over the banister and pushed the door shut. She’d bring in her suitcases and the couple of boxes of things she couldn’t bear to leave in storage, later — now she wanted to explore her new home.

Opening the first door, she had to stifle a little giggle of excitement: the living room was small, but perfectly formed. Painted in pale yellows, with a squishy brown sofa facing a huge stone fireplace, it looked like something out of a holiday brochure. Liv could already imagine spending cozy evenings in there with a good book and steaming mug of hot chocolate — without Mike complaining about the smell or playing obnoxiously loud music. She shook her head, again banishing him from her thoughts.

The flagstone corridor led to another door, this one revealing a bright, typically country kitchen, clearly designed to be the heart of the home. A real kitchen with a solid wooden table that Liv thought was probably older than she was, matching countertops and cream wooden cupboards. It was exactly what Liv thought a real home kitchen should look like, without expensive imported marble and enough stainless steel to rival an operating theatre.

This time the excited laughter couldn’t be held back when she spotted a cream Aga sited along one wall, in what was left of the old kitchen chimney. And there was a proper, stove-top kettle — instead of one of those soulless taps that spouted boiling water on demand, or a dreadful automated machine that beeped and hissed and spat. Yes, they were convenient, but to Liv there was something incredibly satisfying about the idea of taking her time to properly boil a kettle and make a nice cup of tea in the morning.

She peered out of the kitchen window, taking in the colourful, higgledy-piggledy garden and clapped her hands in delight. She hadn’t even stepped foot on the second floor, and already she knew she was going to love living there, and that the kitchen was going to be the place she spent the most time. It was exactly what she needed.

If only her new— albeit temporary — boss had been as charming as this little home.

Chapter Two

‘How was judo?’ Callum asked as Sarah threw her bag in the back of the car and clambered onto her booster seat.

‘Awesome. We practiced falling and learned how to throw each other. It was really cool, even though I had to partner with Keith who has sweaty boy hands.’

‘Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Even with sweaty boy hands. What happened to your usual partner?’

‘Beth had to go to hospital to visit her brother.’

‘Timothy? He’s in hospital?’ Callum was instantly concerned.

‘Yup. He had annie lexus when he was with his nanny at the Brockle’s Paws.’

‘Annie lexus with his nanny at the café?’ Callum tried to figure out what his daughter meant. Usually, he was good at interpreting her meaning, but sometimes she might as well have been speaking a foreign language.

‘Yeah. You know. When you eat something bad for you, and your tongue gets all big and you turn blue.’

‘You mean anaphylaxis?’ He stared at Sarah in the rear-view mirror.

‘Maybe. He was having breakfast with his nanny, and he got the annie lexus-thingy and had to go to hospital.’

‘Is he all right?’ Callum was already calculating how long it usually took an ambulance to arrive.

‘Yup. There was a doctor lady there who gave him an injection and made him better.’ Sarah paused in playing with her doll and stared at Callum in the mirror. ‘Do you think it was the new doctor who is coming to work for you?’

‘Yes, I think it probably was.’ Callum grimaced and cursed himself mentally. He really had messed things up.

* * *

Liv paused at the surgery entrance, trying to mentally prepare herself for the day ahead. Once she had settled into her cottage — just thinking that made her feel warm and cosy! — and finished unpacking she’d spent the rest of the weekend trying to figure out how best to deal with Callum. But even though she’d wracked her brains for hours, she hadn’t come up with the perfect answer she’d been looking for. That lack of certainty, plus a couple of sleepless nights, had left her feeling unsure and apprehensive.

After the attack in A&E she’d spent weeks recovering, with little else to do but think and question her life’s decisions. She’d convinced herself the only way she’d really feel safe and happy again was to give up practicing medicine completely. She’d finally committed to that, only to have her former advisor, Tom, saunter into her hospital room like he hadn’t just flown back into the country and beg her to change her mind. He convinced her that she was too good to leave the profession entirely, and that Broclington and its surgery was exactly what she needed, and the perfect place for her to heal.

She’d trusted Tom’s judgement throughout the early years of her career, so she’d reluctantly agreed to give it a try. But after her first visit to the surgery and meeting with Callum, she was already questioning her decision.

She straightened her jacket and squared her shoulders before striding through the glass doors. The small reception room already had a young pregnant woman and older wheezing man waiting within. Liv smiled politely and made her way over to the empty desk. She stood there for a few seconds, trying not to let the anxiety take hold.

She rested her bag on the desk, and started to wonder if the practice manager was deliberately making her stand around waiting, to prove a point. She really hoped not, as she wasn’t sure she could successfully work with someone who would be so immature and rude. She tapped her fingernails on the desk, starting to feel anxious again. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a woman rushed in, twisting her long auburn hair up into a clip as she looked around the waiting room.

‘Sorry, Kerry.’ She spoke to the pregnant woman. ‘I got caught up at the nursery signing forms. Just give me a couple of mins?’