Rescued by Dr. Rafe by Annie Claydon Page A

its patients. A young man appeared, white coat and all, and set about examining the wound on Tallulah’s leg.
    Mimi showed no signs of wanting to leave just yet and Rafe picked up her jacket, brushing the inside down. There were a few wet patches but they would dry in the car. Something nuzzled at his legs and a plaintive bleat reached his ears.
    Tommy had been towelled dry and looked even more appealing now. Big eyes and a fluffy brown and white coat. Rafe bent down to pet him.
    â€˜Oh, look. He likes you.’ The woman set two cups of tea down on the counter and Mimi took one, thanking her.
    â€˜I think he likes my sweater, actually.’ Tommy was busy trying to nibble at his sleeve.
    â€˜Yeah. Goats. They’ll eat anything.’ The woman bent down, nudging Tommy away from Rafe’s arm, and he started to lick his hand.
    â€˜It’s not much of a hole. You could darn that.’ Mimi was sipping her tea, looking at him speculatively.
    â€˜Darn it?’ He raised an eyebrow. The Mimi he knew couldn’t sew on a button and, unless she’d fundamentally changed in the last five years, darning was way out of her skill set.
    â€˜I said you could darn it.’ For a moment the old warmth flashed between them and Rafe found himself snagged in a tingling sensation, which reached all the way to his heart.
    â€˜It’s an old sweater.’ He stood up to collect his tea and Tommy followed him over to the counter.
    â€˜Be careful. He’ll be wanting to go home with you.’ Mimi chuckled and he saw the smile that up till now she’d kept for her patients and for Tallulah. This time it was unmistakably his, and Rafe found himself luxuriating in it.
    â€˜He’s a great little guy.’ Rafe took a swig of his tea and bent down to stroke Tommy’s head.
    The vet looked up from his patient, smiling. ‘Well, she’s okay. Just a bit of a scrape and the skin’s broken where she tried to untangle herself. All she did was manage to pull the plastic even tighter. It was acting as a tourniquet, so it’s a good thing you got it off when you did.’
    Mimi nodded. ‘I’m glad she’s all right. I bet you’ve had a lot of animals brought in here after the flooding.’
    â€˜Quite a few. Not so much domestic pets—people are keeping them inside mostly—but a lot of wild animals have been washed out of their homes by the floods. We’ve had birds, foxes, voles, you name it. Even a couple of grass snakes.’
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜Yeah.’ The vet pointed to a large, leaf-lined aquarium in a quiet corner of the room. At first glance there was nothing in it, but then Rafe saw something green coiled around one of the tree branches, which was propped against the glass. ‘Take a look if you like. But don’t get too close; they’re very shy and you’ll spook them.’
    Rafe smiled as she approached the container warily, stopping a couple of feet away from it. ‘I can see them...’ Her voice was hushed with wonder. He wanted to walk over and fold her in his arms so they could watch the shy creatures together.
    His phone rang. Mimi turned and the moment was gone.
    Resisting the temptation to pull his phone from his pocket and stamp on it, he looked at the caller display. He shrugged and took the call, listening carefully to the instructions that the ambulance controller was reading out at the other end.
    â€˜Got to go?’
    â€˜Yep.’ Rafe checked the text that had just arrived, confirming the name and address of their next call. ‘Got to go.’
    * * *
    Men holding small fluffy animals with big eyes. Rafe , with his strong arms and gentle way, and a small fluffy animal with big eyes. It was a little too much to bear.
    Maybe it was emptiness in her stomach causing that pang. More likely, it was the thought of Rafe’s tenderness, and her own instinctive reaction. There was only one thing that