by Jeannie Moon
“I’m here. Thank you.” Entering the kitchen, she looked around at the space with new appreciation. She imagined it filled with noisy children and grandchildren—mobs of happy people talking, laughing and cooking.
It was rare to find a space that exuded such joy, but that was the hallmark of Lina’s kitchen. There was only one thing, or person, rather, who was missing. “Where’s Nick?”
Lina tilted her head toward the side porch and Jordan heard him stomp his feet in the mudroom. Poking her head around the corner, Jordan saw Nick unzipping his snow-encrusted parka and Gertie giving herself a good shake.
He’d gone out in the storm with her dog.
How did you pay someone back for that?
Lina had left a couple of towels in the mudroom, knowing they were going to have to dry off. The wind was wicked, blowing the snow in sheets that pounded the house. She couldn’t imagine worse weather. Giving him a good once-over, she decided he looked almost as good as he did when he was shirtless.
“You are the slowest peeing dog ever, Gertie,” he said to her. “What the hell?”
She heard Gertie moan in response, and Jordan chuckled. That was her dog, always with the last word.
“Yeah? It’s a little late for an apology.” He was talking to her dog. Jordan couldn’t count the ways she loved this. “Well, look here. Come on, get up. Nona left us towels. I’m going to dry you off.”
The sight of Nick and her dog in a mutual love fest as he rubbed down her wet fur gave Jordan more joy than anything in the past six months. He was scratching her belly, and she was looking at him like he was the only person in the world. The little traitor.
Still, Jordan let that sink in—he’d bonded with her dog. Considering how fussy Gertie was, it spoke volumes about Nick.
He continued to fuss over Gertie, not realizing that she could hear the entire one-sided conversation. When he and the dog came in with towels draped over them, Jordan burst out laughing. It quickly dissolved into a coughing fit, but the look on Nick’s face when he realized she heard him having a full out conversation with her little hound was worth it all.
“Yeah, serves you right for eavesdropping, doesn’t it, Gertie?” he growled sarcastically. He grabbed the towel from the dog’s back and tossed both in the basket in the laundry room that was perched off the kitchen.
“It’s good to see you back in the land of the living. The shower was a good idea.”
“I don’t smell, so yes. I still feel crappy, though.”
“I’m not lying when I tell you it’s going to take a few weeks, maybe a month, before you feel totally like yourself.”
She still couldn’t get her head around that. “A month? This is not going to be fun.”
“If you’re lucky it will be a month. Full recovery takes a while. You’ll improve quickly, but like I said, the cough will linger, and you’ll be run down.”
“I’ve got no time for that,” she snapped. “I have to go to school. What about my students? And my dad…” She trailed off. Damn, she wasn’t ready to tell him, but there was no way around it.
Sitting in the chair Lina had pulled out for her, Jordan folded her hands in her lap and dropped her head.
“How is your father, sweetie?” Lina sat in the chair next to hers and rested a hand on her shoulder.
Feeling her eyes burn, Jordan looked up and took a breath. “He’s been doing okay. Stable, but that could change any day. I miss him. I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days, and I don’t want him to worry.”
“What’s up with your father? Can I help?” Nick stood on the far side of the table, holding a cup of steaming coffee.
Talking was the last thing Jordan wanted to do, because the words somehow made it more real. “Lina didn’t tell you?”
“I’m not following,” he said. “Tell me what?”
She took another deep breath to calm herself before plowing forward. “My dad is a patient at Shoreline Hospice House. He has liver cancer, it’s metastasized, and he’s terminal.”
The expression in Nick’s eyes, on his face, went from curious to concerned to compassionate. There was no need for explanation. He was a doctor. He wasn’t clueless.
“I’m so sorry, Jordan. When was he diagnosed?”
Unlike everyone else in her life who danced around the question, Nick was direct. Jordan nodded. “About a year and a half ago. We had high hopes, but right after Christmas we found out it had spread. There was nothing left to do.”
“I had no idea. I’m… I’m so very sorry.”
“I just… I haven’t seen him for a while. I didn’t dare walk in there when I was so sick. I’ve called, but he hates the phone. And now I don’t have a car.”
“In a few days, I can drive you over, or if you’re up to it we’ll get you a rental. Try not to worry.”
Of course, Nick was right. Dad was safe, but she didn’t want him to worry. Then a thought hit her. She didn’t know why, or where it came from, but in her desperation, she blurted it out. “Could you go? Check on him?”
Nick sat on the other side of her and put his hand on her knee. “I will if you want me to, but they won’t tell me much.”
“No, just go visit with him. I’ll tell the nurses who you are, but I just don’t like him being alone so much. Most of his friends either still work, or have moved away, and we don’t have much family.”
“Will he be okay with that?” She could see he was hesitant, and Jordan felt bad taking advantage of Nick’s willingness to help, but she was desperate. “Oh, he’ll love meeting you. He’s a vet, like you. And he loves people. God, they called him ‘the mayor’ in his neighborhood. That’s why I’m so worried. If he’s isolated too long…”
Worried was an understatement. Jordan was frantic. She was terrified he’d die before she got to see him. Logically, she knew there was still time, but if he was lonely… anything could happen. She knew the fear was irrational. The disease would do what it was going to do, but Jordan never discounted the power of her father’s emotional state. There wasn’t time to waste.
Nick was the perfect person to visit him.
“Sure.” He nodded slowly. “As soon as the roads are clear, I’ll head over.”
The wave of relief propelled her out of her chair and right to him, but she stopped just short of throwing her arms around him. As much as she liked him, as much as she appreciated what he’d done, that was a step too far. Her voice cracked as she held herself back, only reaching out to touch his hand. “Thank you. Thank you, Nick. I know we don’t know each other well, but I’ll never forget this.”
The pull to him was primal, she felt it down to her very core. Everything about the man drew her in. It was heady, and dangerous. She was too close to him. Attraction like this was raw, visceral, and she felt vulnerable just thinking about him.
Having sworn off men was proving to be a lot more inconvenient than she thought it was going to be, especially with Nick Rinaldi in her life.
*
Mint.
It was swirling around him, coming off her skin and her hair. She was fresh, clean, and her body reached out to his in a way that was intoxicating, and very, very dangerous. Up close, he could see the curve of her neck, the softness of her earlobes, the pink flush of her skin. His blood heated in a way it hadn’t in… jeez, longer than he could remember, and there’d barely been any contact.
“Ahem,” his grandfather said while clearing his throat. “Jordan’s food is getting cold.”
Crap. What was he doing? Her eyes were locked on his, deep and crystal blue. She felt it too. He could see in her gaze that she was as affected as he was.
And she was not happy about it.
Stepping away, Nick had to reorganize his thoughts before he could say anything.
“He’s right. You need to eat something.”
He liked Jordan, but at this moment in time, she didn’t need a guy with a hard-on. She needed a doctor, and a friend. Right.
“I’m sorry. I sho
uldn’t impose on you.”
“It’s fine,” he responded. “Come on.” Hoping to coax her, Nick pushed her plate closer.
“Thank you. I mean that.” She obliged him, picking up her fork. “This looks wonderful, Lina.” Giving him a quick glance, she grinned. “Just what the doctor ordered.”
The woman was a stunner. Sitting there, freshly showered, her hair still damp on the ends, she had a natural beauty that transcended any illness. Her eyes were a bright blue, wide and intelligent, and now that she’d started beating back the infection, he could see the life in there.
Again, he wondered about her engagement to Chase Stanley. He couldn’t see the two of them together in any reality. They were so different, and Jordan didn’t seem like the type who would go for money. What he did know was that the breakup left some scars.
Jordan had been babbling in her sleep, tossing and muttering things about his secretary, and letting the occasional f-bomb fly. He had to laugh; even asleep, she swore with conviction.
But it also told him the broken engagement still weighed on her, and that made him wonder exactly what had gone down. Even months later, the gossip mill was still spinning, because the Stanleys always seemed to be at the center of any town drama.
That was one thing he didn’t miss while he was away. He loved his hometown. It had given him an upbringing like no other, but Nick didn’t need drama, and it was one of the reasons he’d been laying low. He didn’t want questions, he didn’t want pity, he just wanted to find a way back to having a normal life.
Treating Jordan reminded him that he could be a doctor even if his hip never straightened out. The message couldn’t have come at a better time.
He kept his focus forward and that meant he couldn’t allow Jordan to relapse. She seemed to be over the worst of the pneumonia, but that could change on a dime. If he could give her some peace of mind by going to visit her father, that’s what he was going to do.
How he got himself in these situations, he had no idea.
*
Lina watched as Jordan and Nick sat at the kitchen table, the chemistry between them actually generating heat. She knew she shouldn’t spy, but she wondered if the two of them realized they were each other’s perfect match.
“What are you doing?” Lina jumped when Angelo’s gravelly voice came from behind her.
“Shh. I’m watching them. I think there might be something there, Ang. I don’t know, but the way those two dance around each other…”
“Oh, good grief, Michelina. You can’t tell those things. Jordan is a pretty girl, and Nicky is only human.”
Waving him off, she peered back into the room. They were talking now, and he was laughing at something she said. “You men don’t know anything about affairs of the heart. Look at him, the way he looks at her, his eyes…”
“I knew enough to catch you, my love.” Angelo’s arms looped around her waist. What was left of her waist, in any case.
“I just want him happy. I think she could do it.”
Her husband kissed her on the cheek. Bicker they might, but Lina knew she was lucky to find such a man as Angelo Rinaldi.
“Maybe, but she has to want to be happy herself.”
Lina knew this was true. The two of them were so wounded, both carrying around scars on their battered hearts. Nick felt he failed in his duty. Jordan felt as if she wasn’t good enough. If only they could see the possibilities of what they might have together.
Chapter Four
The snow had finally stopped, but not before it left twenty-seven inches across the North Shore. Compass Cove was doing pretty well, but recovery was going to take a lot of work, and more time than anyone wanted to think about.
Jordan sat on the chaise in her room at the Rinaldis’ house waiting for the verdict on the cottage. With the power out, and the frigid temperatures, pipes on the outside wall had frozen solid, and one had burst.
Lina told her Nick had done his best to protect against a freeze, but there was nothing that could have prevented what happened.
Now she just wanted to know if the place was habitable, or if she’d have to find another place to live in the meantime.
“Jordan?” Lina’s voice carried through the house like it was on wires. “Lilly is here. I’m sending her up.”
That brightened Jordan’s mood immediately. Lilly was her best friend, and she’d missed talking to her with all the craziness of the last few days. Scratch that… the last week. She could only imagine how her friend’s salon was faring since the storms.
“Well, aren’t you the princess?” Lilly Vasquez entered the room with two take-away cups in her hands and a wide smile. “You are living the life, my dear.”
“I wouldn’t say that, but the Rinaldis have taken good care of me.” Jordan adjusted the soft knitted throw covering her legs and lap. Gertie objected, but she moved and got comfortable again.
“No doubt.” Lilly set the cups on the table and gave Jordan a big hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I was worried.”
“I’m much better. I was lucky.” She coughed twice, relieved that every day she was getting stronger.
“Hot lemon mint tea. Perfect for what ails you,” Lilly said as she nudged one of the cups in Jordan’s direction. Lilly grinned before she sat on the edge of the chaise. “But back to your point about luck, you were lucky to have a very hot doctor on call, I would say.”
Jordan didn’t respond at first, because she was looking for a way to disarm the comment. “He’s been very…kind. I was fortunate he was able to step in when he did.”
“Kind. Right.” Her friend wasn’t buying it, and why would she? Jordan wouldn’t believe her if the roles were reversed.
“Lilly, don’t turn this into anything. Okay? Tell me how the town is doing? How are you? Are your parents okay?”
“We’re digging out. That’s the best I can say about it. The salon has no power, which means my apartment doesn’t either. Fortunately, my parents have a wood stove and a fireplace, so the house isn’t freezing, but there’s no hot water. I was going to head over to the firehouse to shower.”
“You have clothes with you?”
“Yeah, in my truck, why?”
“Shower here. Lina won’t mind.”
Lilly breathed a sigh of relief, running her fingers through her silky dark hair. “Normally, I’d say no, but a hot shower sounds so good right now, and compared to the firehouse, I may take you up on it.”
Focusing on Lilly, Jordan started when the deep voice came from behind her. “Hey.”
Nick.
Turning her head sharply, she felt her stomach tighten when she took him in. God, it was like he got better looking every day. Jordan found herself frozen in place, but Lilly bounced right up to give him a hug.
“Hey! Thank you for rescuing my poor sick friend. I was so relieved when she told me you had been there to help.”
“I’m glad I could. When she’s not giving me attitude, she’s a good patient.”
Feigning shock at first, Jordan had to smile. The teasing grin on his face was too adorable to resist. “I do not give you attitude. I have been a model patient.”
“Yes, when you were asleep, you were perfect.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and the smile faded away. “Jordan, we have some news on the cottage.”
Based on the downward cast of his expression, she was fairly sure it was not going to be good. “A pipe burst and flooded a section of the basement, including the laundry area. Additionally, some of the wallboard in the kitchen need replacing. You’re not going to be able to go back for at least a few days until we can dry it out and replace the water damaged floors and walls.”
“My furniture? My things?”
“All fine. Your kitchen table was sitting in a couple inches of slush, but that may be okay in the end. It’s being pumped out now. Pops and I grabbed the clothes that were near the washer and dryer and I filled another tote with some personal items you might need.” He put the tote
bag on the floor next to the door. “Nona is sorting all the laundry. We’ll send some out and she’s taking care of the rest. It’s just a precaution since you’ve been sick.”
“I can send the laundry out…”
“No need. It could have been much worse. Pop has a construction crew coming tomorrow, and the insurance adjuster will also be here.”
“I have renter’s insurance…”
“Good. We’ll keep you posted. But for now, it looks like you’re going to be here until we get the mess at the cottage sorted out. Like I said, at least a few more days. The power company is hoping to have the electricity back to this street by tonight.”
“So, I’ll stay here?”
Nick nodded. “You can stay as long as you want.”
“I understand, but this is so unexpected. I can find another place.” That was a lie, she had no idea where she would go, but imposing on the Rinaldis much longer, and staying in Nick’s orbit, wasn’t good either. He made her think of what could be, and that wouldn’t bring Jordan anything but heartache.
“It’s not that long; at most, it will be a week. And it’s good because I can keep an eye on you.” He winked.
Mother of God.
Lilly shrugged. “You can always stay with me. My sofa pulls out.”
Nick raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I hear you say something about not having heat?” he asked.
“Details, details,” Lilly grinned.
“I appreciate everything, Nick. Thanks.” It was nice to know she had options, but staying with the Rinaldis for a week? That could prove to be awkward. But Lilly’s was out of the questions, especially without heat.
Nick nodded and left her with Lilly, who blew out a breath when he was out of sight. “Oh. My. God. He is so into you.”
“There are times when I think we have moments, but then he shuts down again. He’s so guarded.” Jordan would like nothing more than to find out what made the man tick, but it made her nervous too. He made her nervous. “It’s better that way, I guess. Especially if I’m going to stay here.”
“Ah. I see. Who’s guarded?” Lilly took a sip of her coffee and widened her eyes in the way she did when she wanted answers.