Lucy beamed at them. ‘You can call me, too, if you like because Red and I passed our assessment last night.’
‘Oh, Lucy, that’s great!’ Ally leaped up and gave her a hug. ‘So she’s now an official search dog?’
‘She certainly is.’ Lucy peeled a banana and curled her slim legs under her bottom, a pleased expression on her pretty face.
Sean frowned. ‘Who calls you out if there’s an incident, then? Jack?’
Lucy nodded. ‘Either him or Howard Davies, the SARDA co-ordinator.’
SARDA, the Search And Rescue Dog Association—Ally knew how many lives they’d saved over the years.
She grinned. ‘So now you have your own pager?’
‘I do, indeed.’ Lucy cocked her head on one side and gave a flippant grin. ‘So I can dump my patients on you lot and dash off to the rescue.’
‘Well, I don’t want you rescuing us, thanks!’ Ally finished her apple and tossed the core into the bin.
‘Where are you planning to go?’ Sean stretched his long legs out and Ally tried not to notice how the fabric showed the hard muscle of his thighs. Since the bonfire party they’d hardly seen each other, mostly due to conflicting on-call demands, and she was horrified by how much the fact bothered her. Also, if she was honest, she was more than a little disappointed that he hadn’t really gone out of his way to seek her out. Maybe he’d changed his mind about her—maybe. She gave herself a sharp talking to. So what if he’d changed his mind? That was good, wasn’t it? That was exactly what she wanted.
Realising that Sean was waiting for an answer, Ally shook herself. ‘Um…depends on the weather.’
She removed a crumb from her lip with the tip of her tongue, colour seeping into her cheeks as she caught Sean’s eyes on her mouth. For a brief second their eyes held and her heart lurched as she read the message in his. He hadn’t changed his mind. He was biding his time. The knowledge made her nerve endings tingle.
‘You were saying?’ His eyes teased her and she looked away, flustered.
‘I don’t know—maybe the Fairfield Horseshoe.’
Will frowned and glanced out of the window. ‘Well, for goodness’ sake, check the weather and be careful, the pair of you.’
‘Yes, Uncle Will.’ Sean grinned and it occurred to Ally that he hadn’t said anything else about leaving. Had he changed his mind about that and decided to stay on in the practice for a while? She gave herself another sharp talking to. So what if he had? It wasn’t any of her business. It wouldn’t change the way he felt about relationships—or the way she felt about men who didn’t want commitment.
* * *
Her afternoon antenatal clinic was busy and her nerves were jangling by the time Felicity Webster walked in, two children strapped securely in their buggy.
‘I know you’re not supposed to bring buggies through to the consulting rooms, but Helen said it would be fine and I—’
‘Felicity,’ Ally interrupted gently, ‘it’s no problem. It’s a rule that’s meant to be broken in cases such as yours. I wouldn’t fancy trying to examine you with those two on the loose.’
Felicity dropped into a chair, clearly exhausted. ‘Well, I certainly can’t carry them.’
‘How’s the chickenpox?’
‘Oh, it’s cleared up nicely.’ She leaned forward and tugged a woolly hat off one of the children. ‘Tom’s still got scabs, but we’re managing to stop him scratching.’
Ally had a brief look. ‘Oh, that’s looking fine. And what about you?’
Felicity gave a short laugh. ‘What about me? I’m due tomorrow, and if it doesn’t come soon I’m sending it back.’
Ally grinned. ‘Any twinges?’
‘Plenty.’ Felicity shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable. ‘But none that have made this baby pop out.’
‘When’s your next hospital appointment?’
‘Next week.’ Felicity pulled a face. ‘But it’s got to come before then. I’m stuffing myself with raspberry tea, pineapples—you name it, I’m doing it.’
‘Well, let’s have a look at you.’ Ally checked Felicity’s blood pressure, examined her ankles and fingers for signs of swelling and tested her urine. ‘That’s all fine, Felicity. Hop up on the couch and I’ll take a look at the baby.’