‘You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? Haven’t I put you off yet?’
‘You’ll have to try a bit harder if that’s what you’re aiming for.’
Joe was referring to a career as a paramedic. They both knew that but the innuendo that the words created grew until it was unmistakable. And they both pretended it wasn’t there. They moved to the living room and Jessica sat on the battered, leather couch opposite the piano. She watched Joe select a CD of old Beatles songs and adjust the volume to allow easy conversation.
Heavens, she loved this man. She had thought her feelings had been strong enough to present a problem a week ago, but they had been only a taste of what she felt now. To see the compassion this huge man had for children, the depth of emotion he was capable of feeling—and sharing—had stolen her heart completely.
‘It’s funny, isn’t it?’ Joe sat down and the small old couch sagged enough to bring his thigh into contact with Jessica’s. ‘I’ve always known that having kids changes people. I’ve just never known quite how. I’ve focused on the negative stuff like how demanding they are. How much they cost in terms of money and time you could be spending on yourself.’
‘And now?’
‘Now I see that they add a dimension to life that puts other things into a different perspective. I don’t know.’ Joe shook his head slowly. ‘It’s as though they give you a connection to other people. To life, even, that you couldn’t otherwise find.’ Joe smiled as though he wanted to erase the philosophical depth of his comments but then he met Jessica’s steady gaze and the smile faded. ‘I don’t even have my own child,’ he murmured. ‘It’s being with you and Ricky that’s changed things. I feel like a different person.’
‘You are an amazing person, Joe,’ Jessica told him softly. ‘You are the kindest and most generous man I’ve ever met.’ She smiled gently. ‘You’re the best friend I’ve ever had and…’ The hesitation was barely noticeable. ‘And I love you…so much.’
‘I love you, too, Jess.’
They simply stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Jessica was feeling the extraordinary ripples of joy that Joe’s words had created and which seemed to travel to every cell in her body. Joe was stunned by his own words. Not by the fact that he’d said them but by the fact that he hadn’t recognised their truth until they’d been uttered. How had he managed to break his rules and fall in love with this woman? He’d been being so careful to keep things on a level of friendship—to ignore Jessica’s attractions. To concentrate on Ricky so as to keep reminding himself that she was a single mother. No-go territory. Somehow, under the guise of friendship, they had connected at a level far more meaningful than the distraction of a physical relationship could have allowed in such a short time.
It didn’t mean that Joe had to move any further down that path, however. It was OK for friends to love each other, wasn’t it? Even a male and female friend. It didn’t mean they had to cross the boundary between being friends and lovers. Except that Joe couldn’t quite discern that boundary line any more. And any hint of its solidity evaporated the instant Jessica reached out and softly touched his face.
The kiss was as inevitable as falling in love with this courageous, gentle and loving woman had been. There was certainly no denying that it had happened. As Joe felt her soft lips part beneath his he knew that what was going to happen next was just as inevitable and he wasn’t going to deny a second of its significance. Or pleasure. Joe had never wanted to take a woman to his bed as much as he wanted to take Jessica. And he had never been so concerned with making it a mutually memorable encounter.
‘Tell me what you like,’ he said softly when they lay together on his bed. ‘Where you most like being touched.’
Jessica stiffened slightly in his arms, feeling suddenly and acutely shy. ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered. ‘Anywhere.’ It was true. She wanted Joe’s touch and that was all that mattered. She tilted her head to kiss him but found Joe gazing at her intently.
‘You really don’t know?’ She didn’t have to respond. Joe could see the truth in her eyes. Jessica might have a child but she was new to the game of making love. He felt his lips curl into a lazy smile. ‘We’ll just have to take our time, then, won’t we? And find out.’
He started with her lips and then her ears and neck. He used his fingertips and hands, his lips and tongue and voice. And Jessica responded instinctively, letting him know exactly how the touch affected her. By the time he reached her breasts and nipples, Jessica was overwhelmed by the sensations her body was producing. The only other person she had been this close to had been Ricky’s father and he hadn’t tried to find out what pleased her. Her virginity had been an inconvenience but he had taken on board the role of instructor to the degree needed to teach her how to please him. He had directed, commanded and taken what he’d wanted. Jessica had never known that sex could be like this.
It was showing her another side of Joe’s compassionate nature and she wouldn’t have believed that such a huge and physically powerful man could have the control to be so exquisitely gentle. Or so giving. Jessica gasped with surprise as Joe’s tongue and trail of kisses moved lower than her belly button and reached a place nobody had ever touched like that. She felt like some exotic flower whose petals were being lovingly explored and tasted. But it also felt embarrassingly one-sided.
Her fingers curled in his dark hair. She wanted to urge him to move so that she could give him the kind of pleasure she was receiving but Joe’s response was simply to increase the intensity of his attentions. And suddenly his size and power didn’t feel so controlled or gentle. It became astonishingly exciting and Jessica wanted to be swept away. To feel him inside her and for him to use his power to carry the building tension to whatever heights it needed in order to take them wherever they were going. Jessica had no knowledge of the ultimate destination. She’d never been there and had decided long ago that the physical paradise she’d read about so often was an escape she was never likely to experience. This was all new territory for her.
‘Joe!’ The word was a plea. ‘I want you.’
‘Soon.’ His reply was a promise. ‘Very soon.’
The tension of desire was unbearable. Jessica arched towards him and then it happened. The tension became an excruciatingly intense knot and then unravelled in wave after wave of pure pleasure. Jessica was vaguely aware that she cried out, that she reached for Joe and then she was able to open her eyes and use all her senses to welcome him into her body. Now her desire was to return the pleasure—to give Joe as much as he’d just given her. And to show him just how much love for him was overflowing from her heart.
Joe seemed as happy as she was when they lay entwined in each other’s arms a little later, but Jessica was worried.
‘You did far more for me than I did for you,’ she said softly. ‘Are you sure it was OK?’
Joe chuckled and planted yet another kiss on Jessica’s lips. ‘OK is not a word that springs to mind.’ He kissed her again, a lingering kiss that conveyed far more than words were capable of. ‘It was…amazing. You are amazing.’
Jessica smiled beneath the lips that were still close enough to feel. ‘Next time, then,’ she whispered. ‘It’ll be your turn.’
‘Mmm.’ Joe wondered how long a decent interval to wait might be. ‘Ricky isn’t going to wake up, is he?’
‘He’d sleep through an earthquake.’
‘I think I felt one not so long ago,’ Joe said calmly. ‘Didn’t you?’
Jessica giggled and the humour was as much of a revelation as Joe’s love-making had been. You could talk in bed. And laugh. And be so close it felt like she’d never be alone again. ‘He’ll come looking for me in the morning,’ she warned.
‘I’d better dig out some pyjama pants then, hadn’t I?’ Joe said. ‘You can have the top half,’ he added generously.
‘OK.’
‘But I don’t think we need them just yet, do we?’
‘Oh, no.’ Jessica fe
lt her smile starting. It grew rapidly. ‘Not for a while yet.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘SOUNDS like things are getting pretty serious.’
‘Mmm.’ Jessica smiled at Kelly as she lifted the glass of sparkling wine. ‘I’m hoping so.’
‘That’s wonderful, Jess. I’m really happy for you.’ Wendy’s smile was a little poignant but she raised her glass to clink it against those held by the other two women.
‘It’s a miracle if you ask me.’
Jessica’s eyebrows flew up. ‘Why? Am I that unattractive?’
Kelly laughed. ‘Get real! I’m talking about Joe and Ricky here. I still can’t get over him offering to babysit.’
‘Insisting, by the sound of it.’ Wendy nodded.
Jessica grinned. ‘He said it was about time I had a night out with my mates. If we stayed in together all the time, people would start rumours.’
‘The rumours have started already,’ Kelly warned happily. ‘I wasn’t the only person to notice him going around at headquarters with a silly grin on his face. And he’s been heard to sing, for heaven’s sake! The fact that he’s in love is as obvious as the size of his feet.’
‘He has got big feet,’ Jessica mused. The notion that Joe was incapable of hiding how he felt in front of his colleagues only added to her current level of joy.
‘Oh?’ Wendy had a wicked twinkle in her eyes. ‘Is that an indication of any other commendable physical attributes you’d like us to know about?’
‘Could be.’ A blush accompanied Jessica’s attempt to look demure.
‘I think that’s a yes,’ Wendy told Kelly.
‘I reckon.’ Kelly picked up the bottle of wine. ‘Something else to celebrate, yes?’
The laughter was enough to turn a few heads in their direction but then the group of attractive young women sitting by themselves at the corner table of the quiet bistro had been a visual magnet for more than a few of the patrons. The one with that glorious mane of dark, coppery curls looked happy enough to suggest the outing was a hen night. And her mood was clearly contagious.
‘And here’s to Ross.’ Kelly eyed the bubbles drifting towards the top of her tall glass. ‘Getting out of bed into a wheelchair will be the next big step to recovery. How long will it be, do you think, Wendy?’
‘Maybe in the next few days. The collar has stabilised his neck safely and the surgery on his back was successful. The period of complete bed rest is nearly over. They’ve measured up for a spinal brace which will mean he can get mobilised to a chair.’ Wendy’s forehead creased. ‘I’m worried about him, though.’
‘Are you?’ Jessica wanted her friends to feel as happy as she did at present but both Kelly and Wendy had big issues they were having to deal with. Life was not a fair business.
‘He was too sick for the first week or so to think much about the future and the signs since then have been positive. He’s got full use of his arms and hands and the sensation in his legs is almost normal now. And he’s got some movement.’
‘But that’s great,’ Kelly said in the short silence that fell. ‘He could still make a full recovery.’
‘I think he expected a return of strength by now. If things don’t improve a lot more than this then there’s no chance of him walking—unless it’s with callipers and crutches.’
‘It’s only been a few weeks. He can’t expect any real indication of a final outcome yet, surely?’
‘No.’ Wendy smiled at Jessica, clearly wanting to avoid further discussion of the potentially depressing topic. ‘Did Kelly tell you about the visitor we had this week? It was kind of funny in its own awful way.’
‘No, who was it?’
‘Kyle Dickson.’
‘You’re kidding! I’m surprised he had the nerve to show his face after causing the accident that put Ross into hospital in the first place.’
‘He doesn’t see it that way. He actually seemed surprised that Ross wasn’t pleased to see him.’
‘Did Ross tell him to get lost?’
‘No, but I did when he hung around long enough to catch me on my own and ask me out for a date.’
‘No!’ Jessica’s jaw dropped. ‘I don’t believe it!’
‘I do.’ Kelly grinned. ‘We all know how much he fancied you on the course, Wendy.’
Wendy shuddered theatrically and reached for her glass. ‘Here’s to Kyle’s car suffering a major breakdown so he can’t travel north again.’
The comment about travelling made Kelly look thoughtful. ‘What’s happening about your house, Jess?’ she queried. ‘Are you going to sell it?’
‘It’s only rented,’ Jessica responded. ‘And I do have to do something about moving the contents, I guess. It’s silly to keep paying rent if I’m not going back to Silverstream.’
‘I’m sure there’s plenty of room in Joe’s house for some more furniture. It’s huge, isn’t it?’
‘Big enough.’ Jessica nodded. ‘But he hasn’t said anything about it and I don’t like to ask. Not yet, anyway. I’m supposed to be looking for a place to rent in Christchurch but I seem to keep putting it off. Joe’s been home on his days off and we’ve been working in the garden. And I had to take Ricky in to get his cast changed. He’s got a waterproof one now. It’s bright blue and Joe’s painted flames up the sides.’
Kelly and Wendy exchanged a meaningful glance. ‘Sounds like they’re getting on very well with each other,’ Kelly said.
Wendy nodded. ‘How much time does Joe spend with Ricky?’ she asked.
‘Quite a lot on his days off,’ Jessica reported happily.
‘What do they do?’
‘Well, Ricky helps him in the garage. Joe’s fixing up this old car. And he’s teaching him rock ‘n’ roll dancing. And they play in the sandpit.’
‘What?’ Both Kelly and Wendy were grinning in amazement.
‘There’s this big pile of sand at his place,’ Jessica explained. ‘They’ve built roads and tunnels and bridges and they drive toy cars around it.’ She was grinning now as well. ‘I get the impression Joe enjoys it nearly as much as Ricky does.’
Kelly looked gleeful. ‘He’s going to get a hard time at work about this.’
‘Oh, don’t say anything. Please!’ Jessica sounded anxious. ‘I’d hate him to feel embarrassed. It might make him think twice about playing with Ricky.’
‘Doubt it,’ Wendy said. ‘Sounds to me like he’s stepped firmly into the role of being a dad.’
Kelly was smiling. ‘Bit different from that vet chap, isn’t it? It must make being in love with Joe just about perfect.’
‘Pretty close,’ Jessica said softly.
‘Are we talking marriage here?’ Wendy prompted.
‘Oh, yes,’ Jessica breathed. ‘If he asked me tomorrow, I’d say yes. Like a shot. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything this much in my whole life.’
‘He’ll ask,’ Kelly said decisively. ‘Next time we get together I’ll bet you’ll be showing off an engagement ring.’
Jessica simply smiled. She didn’t want to tempt fate by making any kind of prediction but she was quietly confident that Kelly was right. With the way things were between her and Joe, surely it was only a matter of time.
It was only natural that couples in love made plans for the future. It didn’t really matter that Joe and Jessica’s plans were only short term to begin with.
‘I’ve got a day off on Saturday. Would you and Ricky like to go to the car races and see the hot rods in action?’
One look at Ricky’s face was enough to make Jessica ignore any personal preferences. ‘That would be fantastic,’ she agreed with enthusiasm. ‘Wouldn’t it, Ricky?’
Jessica found herself inspired by ways the old villa could be improved and made to look like a home that was loved instead of a bachelor’s pad.
‘The cornices on the ceilings are amazing. We just need to scrape them off and repaint them.’
‘Big job.’ Joe didn’t sound overly enthusiastic. ‘It could take mo
nths.’
‘Be worth it, though.’ Jessica wasn’t fazed by the thought of spending months working on Joe’s house. Far from it. ‘We could rip up that old carpet in the living room as well and polish the floorboards. Much better for dancing.’
Joe’s dance class had expanded to include Jessica as well as Ricky. The house seemed to echo with loud music, instructions and a lot of laughter.
‘We could strip the woodwork,’ Jessica suggested a few days later. ‘These old Kauri doors would be a gorgeous colour under that dark varnish.’
‘You’ll have us slaving over this place for years.’
‘It’d be worth it,’ Jessica said again. And not just for the house. She loved the thought of working with Joe on such a big project. She wasn’t going to push him into starting until he was ready, though. In the meantime, there were plenty of small ways to begin. Jessica used the days when the weather wasn’t nice enough to work in the garden to tackle some of those small tasks. Like mending curtains that had sagging hems and holes. Joe was impressed.
‘I can’t even see where that big hole was.’
‘I used some fabric from inside the hem. My mother was a dressmaker. She taught me invisible mending as soon as I was old enough to thread a needle.’
‘You know the Mustang is a convertible, don’t you?’ Joe grinned at Jessica’s slightly bewildered nod. ‘There’s some holes in that, too…and new hoods are hideously expensive.’
That hopeful expression was irresistible. ‘I’ll have a look at it,’ she promised, ‘and see what I can do.’
‘You’re a goddess, Jessica McPhail.’ Joe moved in for a lingering kiss. ‘And you have the body of one as well.’
‘Hmm.’ Jessica shoved the pile of curtain fabric away with her foot and gave herself up to the kiss with great pleasure.
‘How long have we got before you need to pick Ricky up from school?’
‘Long enough.’ Jessica pulled Joe’s face closer for another kiss. Joe was smiling.
‘I hope it rains all week,’ he murmured.
It stopped raining that evening, in fact, and the moisture had made the soil much easier to work in the garden.
THE NURSE'S RESCUE Page 11