Faith sat beside Hew in the Kindrogan Estate pickup as he drove along the track towards Kinder Vale. Her weekend bag rested on the backseat with the picture Hew had given her, securely wrapped in bubble wrap and brown paper. They traveled the same route in the same vehicle as four days ago, when he had collected her from the train station, yet now everything was different. Back then, she had thought him cold and distant, and now she thought the complete opposite.

As Hew changed gear up the hill, Faith brushed her fingertips across the back of his hand, just a fleeting touch. He flashed her a grin she wouldn’t have believed he was capable of when she arrived here. The grin transformed his face into the warm, caring man she had so recently come to know.

The previous evening, they had prepared spaghetti bolognese together in his kitchen at Boathouse Cottage, working side by side as if they had been cooking together forever. Later, she’d snuggled next to him on the sofa while they watched a family movie with Fergus. Once Fergus went to bed, they had cuddled on the sofa and talked into the night, sharing everything from their earliest childhood memories to their hopes for the future, delighting in finding out where they agreed and disagreed.

Hew Mackenzie was a good, kind man, a little shy with people he didn’t know, and definitely burdened with guilt and regrets about his past. But he listened to what she had to say and wasn’t afraid to admit his mistakes. He was steady and well balanced with his feet planted firmly on the ground. He had his priorities straight. His son, his family, and his work mattered to him, and he thought about others instead of being wrapped up in himself. He was so different from Liam, who had carelessly destroyed her relationship with him by indulging in a succession of infidelities, because the only person who mattered to Liam was himself.

Faith had promised herself, never again would she go through that. Where Liam had been blond and charming, Hew was dark and considerate. After three years alone, she really thought she might have a chance of being happy with Hew.

“I sent one of the lads out on the snowplow to clear the drifts after the wind last night, so the road should be clear all the way to the village,” he said.

The vehicle’s tires skidded and it fishtailed as Hew made a run up the steepest hill, but they made it into the pine forest and followed the ice-crusted track. The wider road to the village had been salted and gritted after the snowplow went through and was easier going.

The collection of old slate-roofed stone cottages came into view, the start of Kinder Vale. Faith stared out of the window as they passed a police station, the doctor’s office, and some small shops. They navigated around an area that was covered in snow with a Christmas tree still lit up in the center. On the far side of the village, Hew pulled up outside a single-story brick building with its own parking area.

“This looks promising.” Faith leaned forward and took in the neat modern lines of what appeared to be a custom-built veterinary hospital. She’d expected the local veterinarians to work from an old converted house as they so often did in England.

Hew parked and climbed out to stride around the back of the vehicle and open her door. She waited for him, not wanting to spoil his gentlemanly gesture by jumping out before he got there. She took the hand he offered, even though she was wearing her boots and unlikely to slip. He gripped her fingers firmly as they headed towards the building, and she suppressed an urge to grab hold of him and dance around like a teenager.

This was all so new, so exciting. She was acutely conscious of the feel of his hand around hers, and very much aware that she must make the most of her time with him. In an hour, she would be boarding the train back to Edinburgh, and would likely not see him for a few weeks.

They stepped into the warm, welcoming waiting room, decorated with colorful posters about the importance of worming your pet and keeping its teeth clean. Two people sat on the contemporary wooden chairs, an elderly man with a cat basket on the seat at his side, and a middle-aged woman with a collie dog sitting at her feet.

A woman Faith judged to be in her late twenties manned a light wood reception desk, with shelves full of veterinary products on the wall behind her. She put the phone down as they approached.

“Hew,” she said, smiling. “How can I help you?”

“Greg’s expecting me. I spoke with him yesterday.”

“Okay. I’ll just let him know you’re here.” She disappeared along a hallway into the building and knocked on a door before entering.

Excitement buzzed through Faith. The veterinary center had a nice vibe, clean and clinical but friendly.

An older man in a tweed jacket and brushed-cotton shirt followed the receptionist back to the waiting room. Smiling broadly, he offered his hand to Hew. “Good to see you, lad.”

“Greg, I’d like you to meet Faith Wallace.”

Greg offered Faith his hand, and she accepted it. “Nice to meet you, lassie.”

“Thank you for agreeing to see me. I appreciate your time.”

“Come on through.”

He led them to a staff room off the end of the hall, containing comfy chairs and a small kitchen area equipped with a kettle and microwave oven. “Tea,” he asked, starting to set out three cups before they answered. After they each had a cup of tea, Greg led them to the chairs and they sat.

Greg was older than she’d expected, his sandy hair threaded liberally with gray, his nose and cheeks weathered a ruddy color. He listened attentively while she explained her situation and admitted that although her stint as an army veterinarian had been interesting, the breadth of her clinical experience had been limited in the army.

“Well, we don’t need an extra veterinarian in the practice. My son, Alex, is my partner here. We have enough work to keep two of us busy, but there is little prospect of growing the practice because of the geography.”

The disappointment hit Faith harder than she’d expected. When she woke this morning, she’d had her head in the clouds. She’d convinced herself that her relationship with Hew was meant to be, and that this job would work out the way she wanted.

“However…” Greg smiled, obviously aware he had just burst her bubble. “For the last couple of years, I’ve been promising myself it’s time to slow down. My knees and the small of my back object when I’m crawling around after sheep in some crofter’s shed in subzero temperatures. I’m not quite ready to step back completely, but if you were happy to start with us on a part-time basis, then you’ll be in place when I retire for good in a couple of years when I’m sixty.”

“That sounds…promising.” Faith’s mind spun, doing mental arithmetic to estimate how far her savings might stretch.

One of the good side effects of being in the army was the lack of time she had off to spend money. As a result, most of her not ungenerous salary went straight into her savings account. She should have enough to survive on part-time earnings for a few years, and if she didn’t, she would have to find a second job to supplement her income.

The sound of a door opening came from the hallway. “Sounds like my son might be between patients. I’ll see if I can collar him for a moment.” Greg jumped up and stuck his head out the door. “Alex, can you come in here for a moment?”

A younger version of Greg appeared in the doorway, with the same sandy hair and ruddy cheeks, only dressed in dark jeans and a navy scrub top with the red-and-gold practice logo embroidered on it. Greg introduced her, and she shook hands with Alex and exchanged a few pleasantries.

When Alex went back to his patients, Faith and Hew bid Greg farewell with the promise that they would keep in touch, and in the spring, she would return and spend a trial day with them to make sure they liked each other.

Faith hummed inside with excitement as they headed back to the pickup. She took in every detail of the surgery she could, imagining herself here wearing the navy scrub top bearing the practice logo.

Hew’s hand settled on her back, a warm and encouraging touch. “Well done, lass. That was more successful than I dared hope.”

“I know. It would be fantastic to work here.”

As they drove towards the train station, Faith saw the village in a new light, imagining herself living here, going into the small local shops. Her euphoria lasted the two miles to the station, when she remembered she had to leave Hew.

Once he’d stopped the vehicle, he angled his body towards her and lifted one of her hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles. It was so sweet the way he did that, sort of old-fashioned.

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” he said.

“I’d rather stay here with you.”

She leaned over the gearshift into his embrace and pressed her face into his neck, breathing in the fragrance of him. Apart from the first time she met him when he smelled of shortbread, he always smelled of the fresh Scottish air with a hint of pine trees.

He carried her bag and picture onto the platform and stayed with her, keeping her nestled beneath his arm out of the bitter wind while they waited the five minutes until the train pulled in. One last kiss and she boarded. The door slammed, and she ducked to keep him in sight out of the window as the train moved off. He had his hand raised in farewell as he disappeared from view.

Faith stowed her things, slumped down in a seat, and breathed deeply a couple of times, her emotions swinging all over the place, one second happy and the next near tears. She wished she could leave the army now and move up here, but she would have to be patient. It was only five months until the end of her contract.

Five months that would probably feel like an eternity.