by Jane Toombs
“Hey,” Nathan said, falling into place with Jade, “can I be your buddy?”
She shot him a enigmatic but less-than-encouraging glance. “In case you missed the lecture,” she said, “we’re supposed to remember snakes may be near the rocks and some are poisonous. Rick said a wet year is good for snake reproduction.”
“Another thing to blame on the floods,” he said. “You know, though, I have yet to see a rattlesnake since I moved to Nevada.”
“They do try to stay away from people.”
He didn’t relish her polite but distant attitude, in place ever since that disastrous night at the ranch when she took it in her head to misunderstand what he was trying to say and wrote him off in royal fashion. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about it the day Tim was questioned by the cops, but he did need to, and soon.
Phone calls wouldn’t work. They needed to get things straightened out face-to-face. Alone. He glanced ahead and, seeing Karen, remembered the thank-you gift Laura had left for him to deliver to Zed and her. That triggered an idea. Why not take advantage of the fact that fate had brought Karen along?
After a time he drifted along the line, talking to Danny and Yasmin, as well as exchanging a few words with Tim. He smiled at Karen.
“Got a problem,” he said in a low tone. “Might help if you could offer to take Tim home with you.” She assessed him with a cool blue gaze, then nodded. “You got it.”
Back with Jade, he said, “You know, this field trip makes me feel like a parent.”
“As far as Tim is concerned, you are.”
Maybe so, he told himself, but Mama sure doesn’t want to acknowledge me as Daddy.
To keep himself from prematurely bringing up anything personal, he said, “Tell me some more about petroglyphs.”
He couldn’t decide if Jade looked relieved or not as she answered, “All I know is that they’re symbols carved into rock by ancient peoples. Rock paintings, presumably by the same Ancient Ones—the Paiute name for them—are called pictographs. It seems a miracle some still exist after all these years.”
Up ahead one of the kids stumbled, fell and let out a wail of pain. Nathan hurried to the little boy, who was wearing shorts, looked at the superficial knee abrasion and asked if anyone had brought along packaged wipes. Pat handed him several and he sponged dirt off the boy’s knee, all the while assuring him he was being very brave.
Rick took over, saying the first kid to spot a petroglyph would win a prize. When Yasmin won, Pat handed her a little figurine of a dancing lizard. Rick later pointed out a petroglyph much like the figurine.
Nathan was impressed by the rock art, but what drew the most interest as far as the kids were concerned was the real live lizard that crawled out from between two rocks and scooted off.
After a snack break, it was time to start back. Nathan had just overheard one of the little girls saying, “I liked the baby lambs better,” when Rick called an abrupt halt. “Don’t anyone move,” he warned, pointing to his right. “Look over there.”
About ten feet away, a large snake lay coiled in the meager shade of a rocky overhang. In the shadow, Nathan could just make out the faint diamond markings.
Rick took them on a detour around the rattlesnake, but the sight of the reptile was the obvious hit of the field trip and the sole topic of conversation all the way back to Highway 50.
Nathan was beginning to wonder if Karen had changed her mind about helping him when he heard her say to Jade, “We haven’t had Tim over for ages. Why don’t you let him come home with me?”
With all three kids wildly enthusiastic about the idea, Jade had little choice but to agree, just as Nathan had hoped. She saw Tim off, waving as Karen pulled away, then started for her truck. He intercepted her.
“If I’d known Karen would be here today,” he said, “I’d have brought Laura’s gift with me to give to her. It’s too big to mail and sort of perishable, and unfortunately I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to go by the ranch. Since you’re a regular visitor there, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop by the clinic, pick up the gift and deliver it for me. Now’s as good a time as any for me.”
He thought Jade eyed him with as much mistrust as she had the rattlesnake. “We’re not anywhere near Tourmaline,” she objected.
Careful to seem indifferent, he shrugged. “If you don’t have time, no problem. Maybe Karen or Zeb can drop by sometime and pick it up.” He watched to see how she’d deal with the guilt trip he was trying to lay on her.
Pat finally got the rest of the kids loaded into her big van and tooted as she drove off. Rick’s truck sped after her. He waved.
“Nice couple,” Nathan said, waving back.
“Yes, they are.” Jade sounded annoyed. “I suppose I don’t have any choice but to follow you to the clinic.”
“Laura didn’t mean to cause anyone trouble,” he said, keeping up the pressure.
“Will you stop that!” she snapped. “I said I’d come.”
He tried his best to look innocent of any hidden agenda. “Thanks. See you there.”
Jade’s pickup was close behind him when he pulled into the clinic parking lot. He glanced at his watch as he got out of the Jeep. Eleven. He had an hour of free time left.
“It’s on the screened porch,” he told her. “We can go around the back.”
They went through the gate and walked together across the grass. “I see you took the badminton net down,” she said.
“My lawn service needed to cut the grass.” He curbed his impatience to get beyond polite conversation. Not quite yet.
He opened the screen door for her and she stepped inside. “Whoa!” she exclaimed, staring at Laura’s gift.
He, too, gazed at the large tub containing a good-size dwarf lemon tree, blossoming at the moment. “I gather Laura was prompted by something Karen said about wishing she could grow her own lemons, but Carson Valley was too cold. This is supposed to thrive indoors.”
Jade took a deep breath and smiled. “Citrus blossoms always smell so wonderful.”
“Strange the scent is so sweet when lemons are so sour. And speaking of sour...” He paused. “Please sit down. I have a few things that need to be said.”
She eyed him, frowning, making him believe she’d refuse. Short of forcing her into a chair and hog-tying her, he had no way to keep her here except by words.
“As a favor to me, Jade,” he added.
Finally she shrugged and sat on the wooden swing. He remained standing, searching for the right words. It had been simpler to get her here than to find a way to make her understand how he saw their relationship.
“The last thing I intended to do that night at the ranch was to drive you away,” he said finally. “You and I, we’re like a team—No, that’s not what I mean. More like partners. Not just because of Tim but because we mesh well.”
He sat beside her on the swing and took her hand, absently stroking her fingers as he continued, “I can’t deny wanting you—you’re in my blood.”
She stared at him, her lips slightly parted, and it was all he could do not to lean over and kiss her. Not yet. Maybe not at all for now.
“What I was trying to say the other night was I can’t promise you anything permanent. It wasn’t fair to go on without telling you that.”
“Laura already told me,” she said.
It was his turn to stare. “Laura?”
“We liked each other right away. I think that’s why she warned me not to get too attached to you.”
He couldn’t judge how she felt about all this, but at least she hadn’t jumped up and rushed off. Laura’s warning to her had taken him by surprise, making him unsure how to go on. Whatever had gotten into his sister?
“Anyway, I knew from the beginning whatever was between us wouldn’t last.” Jade’s voice held the hint of a tremor, telling him she wasn’t as calm as she appeared on the surface.
“Just because that’s true doesn’t mean we have to break off abruptly,”
he said, belatedly hearing the desperate edge to his words. He didn’t want to lose her, couldn’t bear to think about it.
“I disagree. In the long run we both—”
He’d gone past being able to reason with himself. He wanted, he needed...
Pulling her to him roughly, he covered her mouth with his, cutting off the words he didn’t care to hear, his kiss demanding a response. For one endless, awful moment her lips lay lifeless under his. He was about to let her go when she came alive in his arms.
His heart leaped with joy when she started to return his kiss with passionate fervor, becoming his Jade once again. His desire fueled anew, he deepened the kiss, tasting her sweetness, reveling in her eager response.
Knowing her, it was entirely possible he hadn’t really won, but at least he’d made her admit she needed him, too. You might call it a compromise—something rare for her.
Chapter Fourteen
Jade had been on edge the entire morning, anticipating Nathan’s arrival at the site, then fighting to stay cool and distant when he got there. Her defenses held until she reached the clinic, but then began to collapse when they got to the screened porch and he sat down next her on the swing, taking her hand. One by one the walls fell as his fingers played with hers. When he finally caught her to him and kissed her, only token resistance remained.
Knowing she was where she belonged, in Nathan’s arms, Jade couldn’t help but indulge her need to be there. The swing beneath them swayed back and forth as their embrace grew more fevered and they shifted position to hold each other closer.
Desire enveloped her, heating mind and body, narrowing her world down to just him, all time collapsed into now. His soft murmur of her name against her lips mingled with the creak of the swing to become erotic love music.
Breathing in his scent with the sweet perfume of lemon blossoms seemed a heady, though unneeded, aphrodisiac. The motion of the swing grew more erratic until he stood, pulling her to her feet with him, cupping her against him. If only they had forever to be together like this.
Forever. The word echoed uncomfortably in her mind, allowing snippets of reality in.
With Nathan there was no forever, no kind of permanence. With him there was only now and maybe tomorrow, possibly next week. Is that what she wanted? Because it was all she could count on.
Never mind, her body urged. Seize the now.
But the spell was broken. Aching with unfulfilled need, she extricated herself from their embrace. When she tried to speak, her throat closed.
“Jade,” he said huskily, “what’s wrong?”
Forcing words out, she said, “Nowhere. Us.”
“Nowhere?”
“To go, I mean.” Words began to come easier. “Better to give it up while we still like each other and can be friends for Tim’s sake. I don’t want to get into what my drilling crews call a do-over.”
“You’re not making sense.”
She took a moment to gather the right words. “Sometimes, no matter how careful the crew is, a cave-in occurs. When that happens, all your time and whatever pipe and other equipment you’ve used is lost, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Everything’s gone. The well has to be done over.
“I’m afraid that’s what will happen with us, and we’ll lose whatever feeling we have for each other. New wells can be dug, but human relationships often can’t be reconstructed. And remember, we have more than ourselves to think about. If ours caves in, what about Tim, who needs us both?”
“You’re overreacting.” Annoyance tinged his words. “In my opinion we can go on as we are indefinitely.”
Jade shook her head. “You’re wrong. What’s between us is too...” She paused, eliminating “strong” as the chosen word, groping for another. “It’s too acute,” she said at last. “Like a possibly fatal disease.”
“Come on, Jade—neither of us is in any danger of expiring.”
“You’re refusing to understand the point.”
“Because I don’t see it.”
She resisted the impulse to stamp her foot like a frustrated child. Why was he being so obtuse? “You began this discussion back at the ranch in the moonlight. All I’m doing is continuing it. Didn’t you use the words ‘draw back’? Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
She watched his fists clench and relax as he spoke. “I meant we should step back a tad and discuss the fact that marriage can’t come into the picture. Just so we both knew where we stand.”
“I know exactly where we stand. Not only no marriage, no permanence, either. Marriage doesn’t happen to be on my agenda, but a day-to-day relationship doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.” Turning away from him, she headed for the screen door.
His hand clamped down on her shoulder, halting her. “Nothing was said about day-to-day, dammit. I recognize what’s between us is no one-night stand.”
She jerked free. “I’m finished with the discussion.” Before he could move, she opened the door and went out.
He’d started to follow her when, to her relief, she heard his buzzer go off. Hurrying through the back gate, she climbed into the pickup. Only after she was barreling down the narrow road did she realize she’d left the damn lemon tree behind. Inexplicably that made her burst into tears.
She slowed, easing onto the shoulder and stopping until the worst was over, angry at herself for crying and also for feeling she’d lost something precious beyond recall.
Nathan pulled himself together enough to begin seeing patients. The familiar routine gradually calmed him, but a heavy nugget of loss remained. Why did he have to get mixed up with a woman who couldn’t compromise?
Once the clinic closed for the day and he was in his apartment, he found himself pacing the living room. The image of a caged hamster came to him and he stopped abruptly, disgusted. A hamster of all things. Hell, why couldn’t he have imagined himself a caged tiger?
The hamster was Tim’s influence, no doubt. That was the only thing Jade was right about—they did have to remember Tim. But each of them being there for the boy had nothing to do with their relationship. Friends, she’d said. As if what they had could be reduced to a sexually neutral state.
He’d never felt for any woman, including Gloria, what he felt for Jade. It wasn’t simply infatuation; with Gloria he’d learned all about how quickly that state faded. Maybe the word he sought was... love?
Sinking onto the couch, he tried to come to terms with the fact he might have—no, dammit, had—fallen in love with a woman he absolutely didn’t want to marry.
And to cap it off, he still hadn’t gotten rid of Laura’s lemon-tree gift.
In the days that followed, Jade tried not to mope around because that upset Tim. Even Hot Shot seemed to sense her sad state because he followed her about the house, uttering questioning meows.
“Hot Shot misses Doc,” Tim told her, which did nothing to lighten her mood.
When Karen called to tell her Steve had arrived and wanted Tim, Nathan and her to come to the ranch on Sunday, she snapped, “You’ll have to call Nathan, because I’m not going to.”
“Another spat?” Karen asked.
“I just don’t care to talk to him, that’s all.”
“I recognize the symptoms. Been there, done that.”
“It’s not the same as you and Zed before you got married,” Jade insisted. “Not the same at all. For one thing, Nathan and I will never marry.”
“If you say so. Whatever. I’ll take care of getting Nathan here.”
When Jade pulled the pickup to a stop at the ranch on Sunday, Zed and Nathan were wrestling the lemon tree out of the Jeep onto a small hand-pulled truck.
“I could wish your sister wasn’t quite so thoughtful,” Zed was saying.
“The guy from the Tourmaline nursery who delivered it to the clinic felt the same way,” Nathan told him.
“Karen will be pleased, though,” Jade put in.
Tim stayed to watch the men, leaving her to walk to the house
alone. Steve rose from a chair in the patio and hugged her. “Seems like a long time since I hugged you last,” he said.
“I can’t believe you’re getting sentimental,” she told him. “That’s not the Steve I know.”
“Came on me suddenly. There’s something about family...” He let his words trail off.
She eyed him appraisingly and he shrugged. “It won’t last. Come on inside. Karen and Linnea have enough food stacked up to last us a week.”
Once in the house, she discovered Karen had gone to the addition to show Zed and Nathan where she wanted the lemon tree placed.
“You look as tired as Steve did when he got here,” Linnea said. “Trouble with the drilling?”
Jade shook her head with some reluctance, knowing what was coming next.
“That leaves men,” Linnea said. “I know the feeling.”
Everyone seemed to know the feeling and yet none of them possibly could. Linnea was as happily married to Talal as Karen was to Zed. Not that she believed marriage cured all ills, but, dammit, they were happy.
“Karen wants us to come to the family room in the addition so we can admire the lemon tree while we have refreshments,” Linnea said. “Jade, if you’ll push the serving cart and Steve carries this extra tray of stuff, we’ll be all set.”
When they reached the family room, the lemon tree was looking good in its new home near the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the flower garden and the pond beyond.
Tim hadn’t come in with the men, so Jade knew he’d found Danny and Yasmin to play with.
“The perfect spot for the tree,” Karen said to Nathan. “You have a delightful sister. Be sure you give me Laura’s address so I can thank her properly for a most insightful gift. Now, everybody, pour yourself whatever, sit down and nibble so we can listen to Steve before the wild trio descends on us or Erin wakes up from her nap.”
“Karen told me the cops questioned Tim,” Steve began, “and that he said he saw Alice hit his grandfather over the head with a hammer in the hall outside his bedroom. As it turns out, her blows did result in a skull fracture, but that wasn’t the cause of death.”