Josh looked at her. ‘You could be right. Makes sense, I suppose. Good thinking. We need to do a dipstick test on her urine.’
‘Hannah is doing one now.’
Josh nodded and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. ‘All right. We’ll transfer her up to the medical assessment unit and they can take it from there.’ He walked back into the cubicle and explained to Vera what was happening even though she didn’t seem to take any of it in. ‘I’ll tell Louisa and she can give Alice a ring, Vera. Don’t worry about a thing. Hannah is going to take you upstairs now.’
Kat followed him out of the room. ‘How do you know Vera? And who’s Alice?’
‘Her sister.’ Josh strode towards the staffroom. ‘They live next door to Mac. Louisa adopted them at Christmas. They were one of her projects.’
Kat laughed. ‘Like Hopeful?’
‘Nowhere near as troublesome as Hopeful,’ Josh drawled, pushing open the door of the staffroom and stopping dead as he saw the number of people in there. ‘I didn’t know we were throwing a party.’
It seemed as though the entire staff had gathered to say hello to Louisa, and Kat felt something shift inside her.
What did it feel like to be part of a small community like this, where everyone not only knew their neigh-bours but cared for them? Where the staff all really minded when you left and wanted you to come back? What was it like to truly belong? For a moment she envied Louisa and then she pushed the thought away.
Her life was good. She didn’t have anything to complain about.
She caught Louisa’s gaze on her and forced a smile. ‘Hello again.’
‘Hi.’ Louisa struggled to her feet and Josh strode forward and helped her.
‘You weigh a ton and you’re disrupting my department. Clear off, before I call the authorities and have you removed.’
Louisa smiled, unrepentant. ‘It would take a crane to remove me now. How’s Vera?’ They moved to one side so that they couldn’t be overheard.
‘Kat thinks she has an infection brought on by lack of fluid. She’s dehydrated.’ Josh frowned. ‘Do you know if she has a problem with incontinence?’
‘Alice, her sister, would know.’ Louisa looked at Kat. ‘You think she’s restricting her drinking?’
‘I think it?
?s possible,’ Kat said, and Louisa nodded thoughtfully.
‘Could be. Smart thinking. Well…’ Her brow cleared. ‘To be honest, it would be a relief if it was that and nothing worse. I’ll pack her off to the GP once she’s home and better. She can talk to him about the options. And holding off on the fluid isn’t going to be one of them.’
Josh smiled at Kat. ‘You can safely rely on my sister-in-law to interfere until it’s sorted out,’ he said mildly. ‘Interfering is her special talent.’
‘Come to lunch on Sunday,’ Louisa said impulsively, catching Kat by the arm. ‘I owe you a whole string of sausages after what happened the other day.’
‘Oh!’ taken by surprise Kat just stared at her. ‘Well, I’m not sure. I—’
‘Say yes,’ Josh advised. ‘She makes a barbecue sauce that’s enough to bring a man to his knees.’
Kat hesitated. She was so unaccustomed to receiving social invitations that she didn’t really know how to react. In her last post, everyone had worked together and then gone home and lived separate lives, often miles away from each other. She wasn’t used to working as a member of such a close-knit team. Did she want to go? Did Louisa really want her? ‘But I have Archie…’
‘Well, of course you have Archie,’ Louisa said happily, ‘and he’ll be a wonderful playmate for Hopeful. To be honest, he isn’t the best dog to have around at a barbecue.’
‘He isn’t the best dog to have around at any culinary event,’ Josh pointed out in a dry tone, and Louisa sighed.
‘That is true. He does love his food. But most of all he loves other people’s food.’ She giggled and turned back to Kat. ‘So will you come?’
Her smile was so genuine that Kat couldn’t do anything but accept. ‘All right. Thank you very much.’
‘Twelve o’clock and dress casually. Better bring something to swim in, too.’ Louisa took a pad and pen out of her bag and scribbled a map. ‘We’re just down the beach from you. If you’re feeling really decadent, you can just walk along the sand, otherwise you can take the more conventional route and use the road. See you there.’
CHAPTER FIVE