She rolls her eyes, gracing me with a smile that says she has the patience of a saint. Before she turns away I mouth two words to her. ‘I’m sorry.’
Chapter Three - Jillian
I catch the urine bottle as it sails past my head and congratulate myself on the prize-winning catch. I also silently thank whoever is watching over me today that the bottle is empty. My patient is agitated, and I don’t bother to tell him the last thing I want to do is empty the damn bottle he’s meant to pee in.
Nursing has a lot of great aspects. Monitoring the toilet habits of our guests is not one of them.
“What’s the problem?”
“I’m not pissing in a bottle!” The man, who I know is named Jed, has a red face and flashing eyes. His feet are already on the floor and he’s testing his weight on one leg.
I step forward, hands outstretched, “Here, let me help. It’s quite a walk to the bathroom from here.”
“That’d be right. Too easy to put them close to the actual patients, right?” His voice is gruff, but I know the look he’s shooting around the room. Just like every man before him in this ward, he’s horrified to find himself here. Our patients rarely take their predicament well. It’s something you quickly get used to.
“Come on.” I put my arm around his waist to give him support. “Don’t be afraid to lean on me. You might not feel it now, but you’ll be grateful for the help on the way back.”
He snorts, allowing himself the slightest pressure on my shoulder. He takes a small step, followed by another, and soon we’re picking our way across the ward, heading for the toilets on the far wall. I help him into the cubicle and he bites his lip, appearing to fight the urge to say something mean, now that I’ve helped him. Or maybe because he needs my help for the return journey.
These men, and the occasional woman, arrive here full of bluster. Sometimes they’re embarrassed that they’ve been injured, sometimes they’re just angry. In almost all cases a tiny bit of respect creeps into their dealings with me the longer they’re here. They learn I’m not an airhead with crazy bright hair. I’m strong, even though I don’t look it. I’m competent. I’m also discreet. That’s often what patients value the most as they try to come to terms with what comes next in their career. A shoulder to cry on, or someone to listen in the middle of the night when they’re feeling down, and their loneliness creeps in. I’ve spent many nights sitting on the edge of a bed listening to a rehashed version of their last day in battle. It’s difficult to hear and it’s as close as I ever want to get to the front line.
The toilet flushes and Jed calls out, “Nurse!”
“I’m right here. Can I open the door?”
“Yes.” His voice takes on a quieter tone as I push the door and peer inside.
“Oh. Here.” Without another word I move beside him and slip my hands under his arm. “It’s a bit different to sliding off the bed, huh?” I don’t laugh but there’s a gentle humour in my words. I get him to a standing position and then I bend, pulling his pants up and tying the string at the front. He’s silent as I help him back to his bed and arrange his pillows. “Here’s some fresh water. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.” I move to the curtain, then turn back. “Oh, and you can call me Nurse Harmer. Or Jillian, if you like.” I smile and I’m rewarded with a tight smile in return.
I slip out of the curtain and grin to myself. Baby steps. Every new patient needs baby steps.
My eyes catch the outline of Everett behind his curtain. He’s out of bed and I wonder if he needs help with something. His shadow self appears to be talking to someone, though, so I head in the other direction, planning to peek in on Tommo. If he’s stable, they can have their visit. It’s my best chance of keeping Everett in his bed and out of trouble.
My face flushes at the thought of keeping Everett Porter in a bed and I scold myself. Jillian, it’s been fourteen years. He doesn’t even remember you.
Who would ever have imagined that the most popular boy in my high school senior year would end up in the ward where I worked? Injured and unable to escape, too. I giggle at that terrible thought. He’s crossed my mind a couple of times over the years, mostly when those celebrity where-are-they-now shows come on the television.
Everett Porter was the celebrity at my school.
He was cool, and cute, and more than a bit self-confident. His family splashed a lot of money around the campus and the students whispered about it now and then. I never saw him be mean to another student, no matter the circumstances. One time he stood up for my little brother when some older boys picked on him on the way home. I pretty much idolized him from a distance after that.
We even kissed one single time at a party that Tammy Mathers held for her sweet sixteen. She made up some game that I’ve forgotten now—but the number one aim was for everyone to get to kiss someone. Luck was smiling on me that night—I drew Everett.
I’m pretty sure if I was immature enough to do a quick comparison right now, I’d have to admit that I’ve never been kissed like that again. How pathetic. I’m nearly thirty, and the best kiss of my life was in high school with a guy who left two days later, and I never saw again.
Until now.
I shake my head as I check Tommo’s vitals and fill in his chart. His section is quiet—the whole ward is pretty quiet since we only have four patients. After Monday, they’ll all be gone and it’ll be back to checking the supplies and watching soapie reruns. And in just four weeks I’ll be on my way home for the final time.
I can hardly believe I’m leaving for good after ten years. I have no idea what to expect from the job I’ve lined up in a public hospital emergency ward in Melbourne. I do know one thing, though. It’s time for me to be close to mum. And close to Jack.
Chapter Four - Everett
“Everything okay in here?” The cute redhead sticks her head around my curtain and then moves toward my bed. “You didn’t eat your food.” Her cheery tone carries a hint of reproach.
“I’m not very hungry. I ate all the vegetables, if that makes it any better.”
“Well trained by your mother, I see.” She smiles and takes the tray, disappearing around the curtain. She still seems familiar but any chance of working out why just left with the remains of my meal.
I sigh and lean back against my curtain. I could call out to her. Ask her to get me something to read, or maybe a phone. I should call my mother, and maybe the guys, to let them know what’s happened. I snort. The thought of talking to the guys is a pleasant one, the idea of sharing with my mother, not so much. Before I have to decide one way or the other, my curtain wiggles again.
“Fancy something sweet?” I grin as a giant mound of chocolate sponge is placed in front of me. “This is leftover birthday cake. If you like chocolate, you will love this.” She flits around the room, bending down to pick up my shirt from the floor. I let my eyes roam over her legs and then up to her shapely bottom. It might be encased in a dowdy nurse’s uniform, but I’ve always had a bit of a thing for nurses. What would it be like to know a game of Doctors and Nurses was always available?
I blink twice. That thought was unexpected. Checking out the opposite sex with more than one night in mind can only lead to problems. Problems I don’t want to face.
Not now.
Not ever.
There’s something about her, though. Something… comforting.
“Do I know you?” Ever the direct one of every group, Everett strikes again!
She turns and grins at me, and the smile that graces her features is huge. I’m stunned. She’s beautiful. Truly beautiful. “You did once.” She keeps moving, emptying the bin in the corner and slipping around the curtain again, without explaining her cryptic statement.
I frown at the chocolate cake, racking my brain for a memory. Anything. I hope to hell I didn’t sleep with her and then disappear. That’s been my modus operandi ever since I was seventeen and my grandfather started his campaign to control my life. How crass would it b
e to insist on knowing who she was and then find out you were the prat who didn’t call?
I might have made it my life’s work to not get attached, but I’ve always tried to make sure I didn’t behave like an asshole. I never set out to hurt any feelings. She doesn’t seem upset though. In fact, she seems pretty happy that I find her familiar.
She reappears as I’m munching on the first spoonful of cake. “It’s pretty great, huh?”
“Mmm. I haven’t had anything that lovely in months.”
She blushes almost to the colour of her hair. “I knew you’d like it. You always did have a sweet tooth at school.” Her eyes widen and she claps a hand over mouth, her feet rooted to the spot
I put my spoon down, laughing at the look on her face. “Okay, you have to tell me. How do we know each other?” I’m intrigued, and more than a little worried that she won’t tell me as she glances at the gap in the curtain. “School, obviously.”
“Nurse Jillian!”
Her eyes close for a split second, and when she opens them, she’s the picture of patient endurance. She says, “Hang on,” then yanks the curtain back, annoyance sneaking into her jerky movements. The curtain hangs open and I see her stalk toward the man who called her. “What can I do for you, Jed?” Her tone is pleasant, even if her body says otherwise.
He complains about something menial and I watch her fuss around him, fixing whatever it is and settling him into bed again. She turns, pulling his curtain around his bed and our eyes meet. I smile and she smiles back and for a second, I almost have it. Her hair was different. Dark brown, I think. The answer lingers just outside my memory and I use the time to watch her again, as she crosses the floor, disposing of whatever she removed from Jed’s area. Finally, she turns to a dial on the wall and dims the lights through the entire ward. I watch lamps switch on in different parts of the room as she makes her way back to me.
“Sorry. It’ll get quieter now that the evening rush is over. Do you want your lamp on?”
She reaches out but I shake my head. “Leave it. I prefer the softer light.” I want to grab her wrist and pull her onto the bed so she can start her story of how we met, but my bandaged hands aren’t good for much. I stare at them and then awkwardly pat the bed instead. “Sit. Talk to me for a minute.” She bites her lip and glances out of the curtain again, before pulling it closed around the bed. She sits on the very edge of the covers, as though she’s afraid to get comfortable. “Spit it out lady. The suspense is killing me.”
Jillian blushes again. “It’s no big deal. You probably don’t even remember, but we went to Broadhurst High together.”
“Ahh.” I left that school mid-year, doing the last four months and my two senior years at boarding school. Boarding school is where I met Sayer, Cross, Merek and Wyatt. I still don’t remember this stunning woman, though. There’s no Jillian Harmer tucked away in my memory. She must have looked different back then.
“You helped my brother one day after school. When the Wilson twins went after him.”
Suddenly it hits me. “Oh.” I slap my head, cringe at the pain, then laugh. “You’re Jill Munro. Peter Munro’s hot older sister.”
“I guess I am.” She grins and I swear the dim room brightens.
“You were my first high school crush. That kiss, at the party, was the greatest moment of my teenage life.” I frown as her face turns all shades of pink, again. “You do remember, that, right? I’m not outing myself completely, here?”
Relief floods her face and her colour subsides a little. “Oh, I remember,” she breathes. “If it was the greatest moment of your teenage life, it was the highlight of my senior schooling years.” We both laugh and she settles more comfortably on my bed. “What happened to you? The next week you left.”
“My dad had an operation that weekend. He never recovered and my mother didn’t cope at all. I was out of school while he was sick and then she sent me to boarding school after he passed away.”
Her hand covers her mouth. “Oh, that’s terrible. We had no idea. No one ever said anything.” Her other hand rests lightly on my bandaged hand on the bed. “I’m so sorry, Everett. That must have been awful.”
I blink, not letting the emotions of the memory wash over me. “It was pretty shit at the time, but it’s ancient history now.” I came to terms with my dad’s death long ago. I don’t want to rehash it, so I change the subject. “Haven’t you been here all day and now well into the night?”
Jill rolls her eyes and laughs. “I’m doing a double shift. My esteemed colleague is smitten with a fellow serviceman and she begged me to take her shift tonight. Who am I to stand in the way of young love?”
“Who, indeed.” I glance around my tiny space. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get much sleep here. It’s so quiet.”
“You don’t like the quiet?”
“I’m used to a lot of noise out in the field. Here, it’s my favourite cliché, come to life. ‘The silence is deafening.’” I want to make air quotes, but my hands won’t let me.
Jill laughs. “My favourite cliché is ‘there’s plenty more fish in the sea’.”
“Oh, now there’s a story.” I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
She shrugs. “I haven’t had much luck with men, and even when they do something crappy, another one always comes along.”
“You’re a man magnet, huh? I could see that.” I chuckle as her eyes widen.
“I’m not.”
“Are you married? You last name is Harmer now, yes?”
“I was. For about two minutes. We married when Jack was a year old. When he started to show signs of his illness a few months later, Gregory ran for the hills.”
“Jack?”
“Oh, I have a son. He’s ten years old and he uses a wheelchair.”
“That must have been hard.”
She shrugs. “Hmm. It started a long time ago. I’m grateful for every moment I have with Jack. Gregory, on the other hand, decided to move overseas and I’ve never heard from him again.”
“No support?”
“Nope. Not a cent. It’s better that way, though. At least I know he’s never coming back to complicate our lives.”
I bite my lip, annoyed at the turn our conversation has taken. How typical that her ex didn’t honour his obligations. “You sound like you’ve accepted it and moved on.”
Jill nods. “What choice did I have? I had to make my peace with the way things were. Worrying about Greg won’t pay for the things Jack needs. It will just make me bitter. It’s the same as you with your dad passing. You have to accept it, or it will eat you up inside.”
“Like I said, I’ve made my peace with my childhood.”
What I don’t tell her is what I’ve never accepted is my grandfather interfering in my life almost from the day my father died. Even now, thoughts of his ultimatum are tainting my chat with Jillian. I want to suggest we catch up next time we’re both in the same place and I don’t have my hands looking like tree stumps. I want to make plans like any normal man would, but there can’t be a future in anything long term with a woman.
Not even this one, who fills me with warm feelings and good memories of a happier time in my life.
Chapter Five - Jillian
“Everett. Wake up.” I shake him gently, not wanting to disturb him, but there’s no avoiding it. “Wake up. They want you to go on the early plane today.”
He sits up and blinks, slowly making sense of my words. “Why?”
“There’s room is all they said. It will save them coming back again on Monday. Do you need help to get dressed?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Okay. I left a bag on the chair. You can put everything you have in there. As far as I know, the rest of your things have been packed up and will be onboard with you.”
“Ok, thanks.” That’s all he says, and he seems so awkward. Not at all like the funny man I chatted with last night. I stifle a yawn as I pull his curtain closed. We talked unti
l well after three and now I’m paying the price for the late night.
The ward is bustling. Anyone who was slated to fly out this week has been pushed up to today. That means Jed, Tommo, Everett and Nate are leaving.
I’m going, too. A situation I push to the back of my mind as I complete my tasks to get these men safely home. Once we’ve taken off, I plan to find a quiet corner and let myself go to pieces. I don’t have that luxury, yet, though. I have to keep moving on autopilot until everyone is on the plane.
“Jillian, we’re going to miss you.” Derek rushes toward me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, squeezing me close. “I can’t believe we didn’t get to have a farewell party for you.”
“I know. Lucky we had that birthday cake.” I put on my brightest voice to keep my tears at bay. Not yet. I promised myself no tears until we take off.
“Yes, lucky.” He leans back, dropping his head to look into my eyes. “What’s the news on your mum?”
“It isn’t the worst news. She’s stable.”
“And Jack?”
Now the tears really threaten. “He’s safe. He’s with Peter and his wife. Mum was at their house when it happened.”
“Good. Good.” Derek rubs his hands up and down the top of my arms. “This is the right time for you, Jillian. It’s a great move.”
I smile as he reassures me. Of all the people here I’m going to miss Derek, the flamboyant and sassy nurse—his words, not mine—the most. He always makes me laugh. He’s one of the few people who can. “Thanks. Make sure you keep in touch. Don’t make me track you down to check up on you.”
He grins and steps away, giving me a mock salute. “Yes, Ma’am!”
We laugh and then we’re back to work, preparing for the long flight to Melbourne.
“Are you okay, Jill?” Everett’s words aren’t meant to upset me, but they do. He swapped seats with one of the other passengers so we could sit together and now my planned breakdown is about to happen in full view of my high school crush. Of course, he’s more than that now. High school was years ago and is mostly a distant memory for us both. After our marathon six-hour chat last night, we know a lot more about each other. I know he’s married to the military. He knows I have a disabled son who lives with my mother whenever I’m away.
The Billionaire's Luck (Secret Billionaire's Club Book 2) Page 2