She was being ridiculous.

With a mammoth effort Jessie tore her eyes away, made sure Niall’s hand was supporting the injured pad and then turned to find her bag.

‘Let…let’s go, then, Dr Mountmarche,’ she said unsteadily and fumbled in the undergrowth for her belongings.

‘Let’s go.’ Niall Mountmarche repeated and by his words Jessie knew that she wasn’t imagining it.

Whatever she was feeling, Niall Mountmarche was feeling it too.

They didn’t talk on the walk to the house.

Jessie walked swiftly beside Niall, struggling to keep up with his long strides, support the trap and watch the big dog’s pain-dulled eyes at the same time. He was so far gone. At any moment she expected to see those big eyes glaze over…

The Mountmarche house was three minutes’ walk along the creek bed. It was a ramshackle old homestead, grand in its day but long fallen into disrepair. Jessie had expected the house to be deserted but as they neared the house she stared in astonishment as a man emerged from the back door.

The man was elderly, wiry and wrinkled to almost prune-like appearance. He looked like a man who’d spent his life in the sun. Like he’d been dried in the sun…

‘What the…?’ The elderly man stopped short as he caught sight of the group emerging from the bushland. His hand rose to scratch his bald head in a gesture of bewilderment. ‘What’ve you got there, Doc?’

Doc…So Niall really was…

‘An injured dog,’ Niall said brusquely. He motioned with his head to Jessie by his side. ‘Hugo, this is Jessica Harvey, the local vet. The dog’s been caught in a trap, Hugo. Can you bring the Range Rover round before Paige sees us?’

She’d already seen. There was someone else emerging from the house behind Hugo.

‘Daddy…’ The word was a cry of shock.

Niall’s face changed. He faced the door of the house like a man expecting trouble.

‘Paige…’

A tiny, elfin-like creature was limping into the doorway.