The Nurse's Christmas Wish (The Cornish Consultants)

‘You live in a massive house. How much more room do you need? And if you’re worried about the work, I’ll look after him,’ Louisa said immediately, and Mac ran a hand over the back of his neck. Never in his life had he found it so hard to say no to anyone, but there was something about those soft brown eyes that finished

him off.

She was more pathetic than the dog.

‘Louisa.’ He hardened his tone. ‘You’re only here for a month.’

‘I’ll take him with me when I go. Please, Mac. He won’t be any trouble.’

Mac looked at the dog, took in the size of its paws and the length of its shaggy body. ‘He’s going to be a bundle of trouble.’

Louisa gave a wobbly smile and stroked the dog’s head. He thumped his tail weakly in response. ‘He deserves a chance. And it is Christmas.’

Her voice cracked slightly and Mac felt his resolve weaken further. He’d never been remotely moved by feminine tears, but with Louisa it was different. Logic and common sense died a death. There was something about her that got to him and he didn’t understand it. ‘All right.’ His tone was exasperated. ‘We’ll take him home. But this is just temporary, Louisa. As soon as he’s recovered, we find him a proper home.’

‘Oh, thank you, thank you.’ She stood on tiptoe, flung her arms round his neck and hugged him tightly, and Mac felt something unravel inside him.

How long had it been since someone had hugged him like that?

He felt the brush of her soft hair against his cheek, the push of her full breasts against his chest, and breathed in her tantalising smell.

Damn.

He was about to step backwards when she removed her arms and turned towards the vet, her eyes shining. ‘How much do we owe you?’

The vet named a figure that made Mac blink. ‘How much?’

He was just considering changing his profession when he realised that Louisa was tugging at his sleeve. ‘You’ll have to lend me the money,’ she was saying to him, ‘but I’ll pay you back, I promise.’

He must be nuts.

‘So not only do I have the bedraggled creature in my car, but I have to pay for the privilege,’ he drawled as he reached for his wallet and dutifully produced his credit card. ‘I thought you were supposed to be improving my life.’

‘I am improving your life.’ She stroked the dog’s head with a gentle hand and the animal thumped its tail weakly. ‘You’re going to have a lovely warm feeling from doing the right thing. And while you’re flexing your credit card, you might as well buy him an early Christmas present and get him a basket and some doggy stuff. I saw some things in Reception.’

Mac rolled his eyes and signed the bill, and together they carried the dog back to the car and tucked him up on the back seat, along with his new belongings.

‘That dog is more comfortable than us,’ Mac muttered, tucking the blanket around the injured animal and shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.’

‘Neither can I, but I’m proud of you,’ Louisa said happily, blowing on her fingers as she settled herself next to the dog. ‘Look, he’s thumping his tail. He knows he’s safe now. Isn’t that lovely?’

‘Amazing,’ Mac said dryly. ‘What are you going to call him? Bedraggled?’

Louisa smiled, her hand on the dog’s head. ‘I’m going to call him Hopeful,’ she said softly, ‘because that’s what he is.’

CHAPTER FIVE

HOPEFUL created havoc.

Bathed and fed by a doting Louisa, he soon regained his energy and took to bounding around the enormous garden and then into the house, leaving muddy pawprints over the floor.

‘He makes more mess than us,’ Josh said in disbelief as he watched Louisa scrubbing the hall floor three days later. ‘That’s the fourth time today you’ve done that. Hand me a cloth. I’ll do the walls.’

‘Better still, tie the cloth to his tail and he can do the walls himself,’ Mac suggested dryly as he watched the chaos with weary amusement. ‘I’ve never known a dog wag its tail so much.’

‘It’s because he’s happy and he knows we saved him,’ Louisa said happily, scrubbing hard at a stubborn muddy patch. ‘He’s showing us that he likes it here.’

Josh gave a snort. ‘Well, of course he likes it here! Warm bed, regular meals. Dammit, I like it here. Or I did before the place was taken over by a hyperactive canine.’