by Sue MacKay
‘That’s my old injury from when I came off the bike and broke my pelvis. Still hurts on and off. Guess the arthritis is starting to set in. I was warned.’ He yawned deep. ‘Yeah, this is familiar. The bone-numbing tiredness.’
Jackson found a thermometer and slipped it under Gary’s tongue. ‘Seriously, you ever think about slowing down?’ The guy was only thirty-four but at this rate he might not make forty in reasonable working order.
Gary kept his lips sealed around the thermometer and shook his head.
‘Fair enough. Your call.’ Reading more of the file, he commented, ‘I see your malaria was diagnosed as falciparum. Common in Asia. Had you taken anti-malarials at the time?’
A nod.
Reading the thermometer, he told Gary, ‘That’s way too high. I hope you’ve been taking lots of fluids. Let’s get you up on the bed so I can check your spleen.’
Jackson gently felt Gary’s abdomen. ‘Your spleen’s definitely enlarged, which fits the diagnosis.’
‘Guess I already knew. Can’t blame me for hoping I was wrong.’
‘When did you start getting symptoms?’
‘Started feeling crook night before last, but I was working up the Cobb Valley and wanted to get the job done.’
‘You’ve got to take care of yourself, mate. This malaria can be very serious if you stall on getting treatment.’
‘I live hard,’ Gary growled. ‘With my family history of bowel cancer taking my dad and two brothers, I’m packing in as much as I can in case I’m next.’
It made sense in a way. Jackson asked, ‘You married, got kids?’
‘Kate Saunders and I got hitched ten years back. Got two youngsters. What about you?’
‘No, no kids or wife.’
‘What are you waiting for? None of us are getting any younger. You don’t want to be in your dotage, with anklebiters hanging on to you.’
‘I’ll remember you said that.’ And try not to think about Jess in the same moment. ‘I suggest we get you over the hill to hospital today. I don’t want you waiting here until we find out those results. You need intravenous fluids ASAP.’
‘Figured you’d say that. Kate’s packed my overnight bag.’
He remembered Kate from school, a quiet girl who’d followed the crowd around. After signing a referral to hospital, Jackson went with Gary out to the waiting room and explained everything to Kate. ‘It’s great to see you both again.’
‘You stopping here permanently?’ Gary asked.
‘No.’
‘Why not? I travel a lot but this is the greatest little place on earth.’
Exactly. Little. Too little for him.
Thankfully Jessica joined them and diverted Gary’s focus as she handed him a package. ‘You might as well take your bloods with you. Save time at the other end, and prevent the need to be jabbed again.’
‘Jess, line one for you,’ Sheree called. ‘It’s a Lily Carter.’
‘Cool. I hope that means good news on baby Alice Rose.’
‘Let me know,’ he called after her. That had been their first time working together and he’d enjoyed it.
So far, buster, there hasn’t been anything you haven’t enjoyed doing with Jess.
Five minutes later the woman swamping his brain popped her head around the door. ‘Lily says hi and thank you for everything we did on Sunday. Alice Rose is doing very well and we’re getting the credit.’ That smile she gave him would get her anything she wanted.
‘That’s good news. I hated seeing her pain, and I’m not just talking about the labour. She’s had more than her share of misfortune.’
‘If they have another baby, I don’t think Matthew will be taking her far from home. She hated her helicopter flight.’
‘What a waste.’ He grinned.
* * *
A light offshore breeze lifted Jess’s hair as she sat on the sand, watching Nicholas trying to fling the fishing line into the water. Unfortunately it kept getting stuck in the sand and seaweed behind him as he threw the rod tip over his shoulder. She chuckled. ‘Go slowly with that rod, Nicholas. You don’t want to break it.’
‘I’m doing what Jackson showed me.’
Right, shut up, Mum, and let the men get on with the job of fishing. ‘I guess he knows best.’
‘I’m a man, remember. We know these things from birth.’ Jackson flicked a cheeky grin her way before carefully lifting the tip of Nicholas’s rod out of the sand.
Of course she remembered he was a man. A perfect specimen of a man. Why else had she gone to bed with him? Because you were so attracted to him you couldn’t think straight. Yeah, well, there was that, too. Which only underlined the fact he was male. She lay back on her towel to soak up some of the end-of-day summer warmth, and glanced at Jackson again.
He was still watching her but now his gaze had dropped to cruise over her scantily clad body. She saw his chest rise and his stomach suck in.
Guess her new bikini was a hit, then. Sasha had told her she would be nuts not to buy it when they’d spent a day in Nelson shopping two weeks ago. While they’d gone for last-minute wedding accessories they’d got sidetracked with lingerie and swimwear for Sasha’s honeymoon. Bikinis all round.
Jackson croaked, ‘What did I tell you? Orange really suits you.’
‘You’re close. Burnt orange this time.’ Pulling her eyes away from that tantalising view of rock-hard muscles and sexy mouth, she tipped her head back to look up at the sky. Bright blue. The colour of love. Gulp. Her gaze dropped back to the man who’d snatched her heart. Thankfully he was now focused on fishing with Nicholas so she could study him without being caught. Tall, lean and as virile as it was possible to get. Yep, this was definitely love. How fast that had happened. So fast she couldn’t trust it. Yet.
Four days after that heady night with him she still didn’t know what to do. She’d been surprised when Jackson hadn’t taken off at the first hint of her talking about something as personal as her misguided parents. He’d even hugged her, reassured her. Yeah, he wasn’t hard to love. Too darned easy, in fact.
‘Mummy, something’s pulling my line. Look. Mummy, come here, quick. It’s jiggling.’
Jackson was holding the rod upright. ‘Wind the line in as fast as you can, Nicholas. That’s it. Keep it coming. You don’t want the fish jumping off the hook.’
‘Mummy, look. Is it a fish? Jackson?’
‘Yes, sport, you’ve caught your first fish.’ Jackson reached for the hand net on the sand and raced to scoop up the flapping trophy. ‘Look at that. Well done, Nicholas. You’re a proper fisherman now.’
‘Can I see? I want to hold it.’ Nicholas dropped the rod and ran at Jackson, who scooped him up and carried boy and net up onto the sand.
‘If we tip the fish out here, away from the sea, we won’t lose it back in the water.’ His long fingers deftly unhooked the ten-centimetre-long herring and handed it to Nicholas. ‘Put your fingers where mine are, by the gills. That’s it.’ In an undertone he added, solely for her benefit, ‘I hope you brought the camera, Mum.’
She did an exaggerated eye-roll. ‘Would I forget the most important thing?’
After at least ten photos, capturing the biggest smile she’d ever seen on her boy’s face, she made Jackson kneel down beside Nicholas and snapped a few more of the pair of happy fishermen. Those would look great in her album. Along with the wedding shots of her and Jackson standing with Sasha and Grady.
‘I want to do it again, Jackson.’
‘Like a true fisherman.’ Jackson retrieved the rod, baited the hook and handed it to Nicholas, then took the herring aside to deal with it.
‘Can we have my fish for dinner, Mummy?’
Yuk. Herring. But this was her boy’s first fish. ‘I guess, but it’s very small for three p
eople to share.’
As Nicholas’s little face puckered up, ready for an outburst, Jackson saved the moment. ‘You know, herrings are usually used for bait to catch bigger fish. Why don’t we put it in your mother’s freezer for when we go out in the boat after big fish?’
‘Okay. What’s for dinner? Fishing makes me hungry.’
‘Now, there’s a surprise.’ She blew him a kiss before glancing across to Jackson, who was smiling at Nicholas.
‘We’re having fish and chips as soon as we’ve finished fishing, sport. What do you reckon? Had enough with that rod yet?’
‘No. I’m going to get another he-herring.’
He did. Two more. Then they packed up and headed to the motor camp and the fast-food shop.
‘Fish and chips on the beach in the fading sunlight, with sand for extra texture, and lukewarm cans of soda. I can’t think of a better meal,’ Jess said an hour later, as she unlocked her front door. Behind her Jackson carried Nicholas from the car.
‘Talk about picky. What’s wrong with a bit of sand crunching between your teeth?’ He grinned. ‘Bedroom?’
What a silly question. Of course she wanted to go to her bedroom with him. Her body was leaning towards him like metal to a magnet. That dancing feeling had begun in her stomach.
‘Which is Nicholas’s room?’ Jackson’s deep voice interrupted her hot thoughts. A wicked twinkle lightened his eyes.
Oh, yes, Nicholas. She gave herself a mental slap and led the way into the second, smaller bedroom. ‘Definitely bedtime for my boy.’ He was out for the count, had been all the way home, after talking excitedly nonstop about his fish.
‘Whatever else were you thinking?’ The bone-melting chuckle played havoc with all her thought processes so that she stood waiting for Jackson to lay Nicholas on the bed.
‘Jess? The bedcover?’
Blink. Another mental slap. Concentrate. Heat raced up her cheeks as she hurriedly snatched the quilt out of the way. Then her heart rolled over as Jackson placed Nicholas ever so gently onto his bed and reached for the quilt to tuck it up under his chin. It wouldn’t take much for her to get used to this. This was what she wanted for her boy, for herself. Sharing parenthood. Sharing everything.
‘Thanks,’ she whispered around a thickening in her throat. She found Teddy and slipped him in beside Nicholas, before dropping a kiss on her boy’s forehead. She sniffed back her threatening tears, and grinned. ‘Yuk. He smells fishy.’
‘Only a little.’ Jackson draped an arm over her shoulders. ‘All part of the fun.’
Sniff, sniff. ‘How come you don’t reek? You handled those herrings more than Nicholas did.’
‘I used the bathroom at the takeaway place. I thought Nicholas had, too.’
‘Little boys have to be supervised at cleaning time.’ She nudged his ribs with her elbow. ‘Want a coffee before you head home?’
His finger touched her chin, tilted her head back so their eyes met. ‘Any chance I can stay longer than a coffee?’
She melted against him. ‘Every chance.’
* * *
‘What’s this?’ Jess’s fingers were running over Jackson’s flat belly, seeking pleasure, hopefully giving pleasure, as they lay luxuriating in the aftermath of great sex.
Under her hand he stilled. ‘An old wound.’
Didn’t feel that old to her. The scar was still soft with a rough ridge running through the puckered skin. ‘Define old.’ If he refused to answer she’d back off. Everyone was entitled to privacy.
‘Five weeks.’
‘That is a long time.’ She smiled into the dark.
‘Seems like yesterday.’ He rolled onto his side and ran a finger from her shoulder down to her breast, flicked across the nipple, sending shards of hot need slicing through her.
Okay, so this was the sidetrack trick. She’d run with it. She might be missing out on something important but amazing sex wasn’t a bad second.
Then Jackson said, ‘I was knifed.’
‘What?’ She bolted upright and stared down at him in the half-light from the hall. A low-wattage light always ran in case Nicholas woke up needing the bathroom. ‘You must’ve really annoyed someone.’
‘Come back down here.’ He reached and tugged at her until she complied, sliding down the bed and finishing up tucked in against him. ‘You don’t want to know.’
‘Wrong, Jackson. I do.’
She felt his chest lift as he drew a breath. Then he told her. ‘In Hong Kong there’s a group of doctors and nurses I belong to outside the hospital. We look after the poor and underprivileged during the hours of darkness. We mostly visit night shelters but occasionally the police call us to look at someone who refuses to get help.’
‘You do this as well as work in the emergency department of a large hospital?’ No wonder the guy looked exhausted most of the time. ‘This is what you were referring to the other night when I asked why you were so tired.’
‘Not quite.’ He leaned in and dropped the softest of kisses on the corner of her mouth. Then he lay on his back, hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. ‘It was Christmas Eve. Fireworks displays out on the harbour. Plenty of tourists and locals enjoying themselves.’
Jess wound an arm over his waist and laid her cheek on his chest. ‘Lots of booze.’
‘Lots and lots of booze.’ Jackson was quiet for a long time. Under her cheek she could feel his heart thudding. Tension had crept into his body. Her hand softly massaged his thigh. Finally, he said, ‘The unit I worked with was doing the rounds of the usual haunts when we had a call from the police to meet them three streets over where they’d found a woman claiming she’d been raped.’
Running her fingers back and forth over his skin, Jess waited. He’d tell his tale in his own time, and she had all night.
‘It was a set-up. We were attacked the moment we turned the corner. The nurse with me...’ His Adam’s apple bobbed. ‘It should’ve been me, not Juliet who got the fatal blow. But she was always a fast sprinter.’
‘Your friend ran into the attackers?’
‘Slap bang onto the knives they wielded.’
‘So you feel guilty because you didn’t take the hit.’ Her hand smoothed over those tense muscles. ‘How were you to know that would happen?’ About now he’d go all silent on her. ‘Is this why you get angry at times?’
‘Yeah.’
She waited quietly, only her hand moving as it swept his skin.
Exhaling, he continued. ‘Frustration, guilt, vulnerability all add up to an ugly picture. It’s debilitating.’
It took a brave man to tell her that. She wrapped herself around him, held him tight. Just listened.
‘She didn’t make it. I tried. Believe me, I did everything in my power to save her. But she’d been struck in the heart. There was absolutely nothing I could do but wait for the ambulance, hold her hand and keep talking. Noting the things she wanted me to tell her family, dreading that I might forget even one little detail.’
‘She knew she was dying.’
‘Yeah.’ His sigh was so sad it tugged at her heart. ‘I couldn’t hide that from her. She was too experienced in emergency medicine.’
‘You were wounded, too.’
‘Yeah. But I survived.’
With one hand she traced the outline of the scar that ran down his thigh. ‘Why did they attack you?’
‘No one knows. So far the men who did this haven’t been found. The police put every resource they had into finding them but no one’s talking. The cops don’t think it was personal, in that it wasn’t me or Juliet they were targeting but more likely the organisation we worked for.’
‘Will you continue with that when you return to Hong Kong?’
‘Juliet made me promise not to give up our work on the streets
because of this.’
That was a big ask. Jess chilled. No wonder Jackson wasn’t staying in Golden Bay. He believed he had to go back even if he didn’t want to. That promise would be strong, hanging over him, adding to his guilt if he even considered not returning. ‘She didn’t say not to quit if you had other compelling reasons.’ Like your mum. Like me.
‘I think I need to go back, if only to get past what happened. I don’t mind admitting I’ll be scared witless the first time I hit the streets, probably see knife-wielding attackers at every dark corner. At the same time I find myself wondering what it would be like to create a life outside medicine.’
Jess caught her breath. What sort of life? Where? Breathing out, she admitted her disappointment. He hadn’t said he intended changing hospitals or countries. ‘Guess you’ve got time to make that decision.’
‘True. Doesn’t get any easier, though. I don’t know if I’m reacting to the attack or if I’m genuinely ready for a change.’
Her hands began moving up his sides, lightly touching his skin, gentling the tension gripping him. Her lips kissed his chest, found a nipple and she began to lick slowly, teasing him to forget the pain of that night. Gradually his reaction changed from tension caused by his story to a tension of another kind, pushing into her thigh. Shifting slightly so that she held him between her thighs, she slid a hand between them and began to rub that hard evidence of his need.
‘Jessica,’ he groaned through clenched teeth. ‘Please don’t stop. I need this. I need you.’
She had no intention of stopping. Not when her libido was screaming for release. She had to have him—deep inside her.
Suddenly she was flipped onto her back. Jackson separated her thighs to kneel between them. His hands lifted her backside and then he drove into her. Withdrew. Forged forward. Withdrew. And her mind went blank as her body was swamped with heat and desire and need.
CHAPTER SIX
A VOICE CUT through Jess’s dreams, dragging her cottonwool-filled mind into the daylight. ‘Who—?’
‘Now for the seven o’clock news. Last night—’
The radio alarm. She shut the annoying drone out, concentrated on why she felt so languid this morning. ‘Jackson.’ Why else? Who else?