Baby Lessons

by Teri Wilson

  “Of course you did.” She rolled her eyes, but her smile grew wider.

  God, she was beautiful—the most beautiful woman he’d ever set eyes on. Her smile could light up the entire New England night sky. And standing in his darkened hospital room, backlit by the hallway light streaming through the window on his door, her untamed copper curls almost looked aflame. She was fire, and even though Jack had spent his entire adult life putting out flames, for once he just wanted to give in and let himself burn.

  Things that burn come back stronger and healthier than before.

  Their gazes locked, and he swallowed hard.

  What if she leaves?

  As gingerly as he could, he shifted closer to the edge of the bed and patted the empty space beside him. “Come lie down beside me?”

  She climbed into bed next to him, kissed his cheek and with her graceful body pressed against his and her hair fanned out on his pillow, just like he’d dreamed about on so many nights, Jack fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

  What if she stays?

  Chapter Thirteen

  To: MadisonJulesQueenBee@LovestruckBee.vt

  From: AngelicaKentEOC@FashionistaMagazine.ny

  Subject: Job offer

  Dear Ms. Jules,

  Your recent appearance on Good Morning Sunshine was most impressive, as is your creative and whimsical approach to your small-town parenting column. I particularly love your recent story on diaper bedazzling. It is my understanding that until recently, you were a junior reporter at Vogue, and I’m pleased to say that your fashion experience definitely shines through in your work.

  I would like to speak with you regarding a social media editor position here at Fashionista Magazine. Your familiarity with the high fashion industry, combined with your obvious knack for witty repartee—as evidenced by your correspondence with Fired Up in Lovestruck—would be a huge asset to our magazine. The position is available immediately and includes a generous benefits package, as well as a moving allowance. If you have any interest in relocating to Manhattan, please give me a call at your earliest possible convenience.

  I look forward to hearing from you.

  Best wishes,

  Angelica Kent

  Editor-in-Chief

  Fashionista * where high fashion meets fun

  The gentle vibration of Madison’s cell phone in the pocket of her polka dot swing dress stirred her to consciousness just as the morning light pouring through the window of Jack’s hospital room was shifting from pale pink to a pure lemon yellow. Her eyes drifted open, and even though years of putting her career before anything and everything else had her itching to read the incoming email, she paused to take in the sight of Jack’s handsome face resting just inches from hers.

  She’d spent the entire night in Jack’s hospital bed. By some miracle, the nurse who’d come to check in on him every so often hadn’t uttered a word of protest. She’d just offered a quiet smile and made an offhand comment about how nice it was to see Jack finally content. And weirdly, that was exactly how Madison felt waking up beside him: content. As if she’d finally landed in the place where she was supposed to be—not New York, not her feather bed in Aunt Alice’s guest room with Toby curled at her feet—but tucked right alongside Jack where she could feel his broad chest rising and falling beneath the palm of her hand.

  She’d been terrified the entire ride to Burlington in the passenger seat of Brett’s car. He seemed to make an effort to tamp down his enthusiasm over chasing a news story that wasn’t in any way related to a bake sale or a maple syrup festival, clearly sensing that she was upset at the prospect of Jack being injured. Upset was an understatement, actually. She couldn’t stop thinking about Ella and Emma and what would happen to them if they lost their dad. Fate wouldn’t be that cruel, would it?

  She knew firsthand it could, though. Fate or destiny or whatever unseen force that had put Jack in the hospital had also been behind the death of her mother when Madison had been too young to remember a single thing about her. No one knew what might happen from one day to the next, which was precisely why her father had taught her to always be prepared. Invest in yourself and your future. Always make the smart choice, the safe choice. And by all means, think twice before letting someone get too close. He’d never exactly said that last part out loud, but the message had been there all the same. She’d learned it by the way he’d dote on her, but always somehow treat her like an adult instead of a child—by the way he’d kiss her on the forehead when he tucked her in at night but never said anything in response when she’d tell him, “I love you, Daddy.”

  She’d learned it by watching him choose to remain single until his dying day. He’d never once gone on a date or brought anyone home to meet Madison. Her father worked. He’d been married to his office, and according to Aunt Alice, he hadn’t always been that way. His workaholic tendencies had only begun after Madison’s mother died. It had been the way he coped with his grief until, ultimately, it became his way of life.

  Madison understood him, though. And she’d emulated him the best she could, because it was what she knew. Her dad was a brilliant man, as smart as they came. She didn’t date at all until college, and even then, she kept her boyfriends at arm’s length. She had places to go, things to do and she didn’t need the complication of heartbreak to get in her way.

  But heartbreak had found her, anyway. When Brett announced that Jack was the firefighter who’d been taken to the hospital, it felt like the bottom had dropped out of Madison’s world. She’d tried her best not to care about him—or his girls—especially after he’d let her quit. But it was too late. She’d apparently gone and fallen in love with him accidentally. It was the only explanation for the sudden and overwhelming sense of dread that had come over her when she’d found out he’d been injured.

  So she’d gone to him, having no clue what sort of mess she’d be walking into or whether or not he’d even want to see her. While Brett tried to convince the firefighters milling about the hospital waiting room to talk to him on the record, she’d stood on the fringe of the crowd, willing her legs not to buckle beneath her. Wade had taken one look at her, grabbed her hand and led her to Jack’s room.

  “He’s not supposed to have visitors,” he’d muttered, then shot her a wink. “But I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  And somehow the scariest part of all had been the moment Jack opened his eyes and found her lingering at the foot of the bed. He’d said her name—or at least she thought he had. His speech was slurred and there was a bandage on his head, just above one of his beautiful blue eyes. All of Madison’s hopes and dreams seemed to gather in a tight lump in her throat, and when he’d smiled at her and called her sweetheart, she could have sworn her heart cracked wide open.

  Ten hours later here she was—waking up in his bed to find an email offering her a one-way ticket out of Lovestruck and back to her old life in New York. The best part about the job offer was that she’d never even contacted Fashionista. They wanted her, which meant she could probably write her own ticket. Instead of living with her aunt in rural Vermont, she could find a posh little apartment overlooking the glittering skyline of her favorite city in the world. She’d get to dress up in designer gowns and attend all the big shows during New York Fashion Week. Best of all, she wouldn’t simply be a writer. She’d be an editor!

  She’d have to be a fool not to slip out of bed, step out into the hallway and dial Angelica Kent’s number right away. The offer was everything she’d been hoping for, but for reasons she didn’t quite understand, hadn’t taken the time to pursue. It was a life-changing opportunity.

  But Madison suddenly wasn’t sure if she wanted her life to change. At the moment her life seemed just fine the way it was.

  Was that crazy? It had to be, right? She couldn’t toss away her entire future to stay in Lovestruck just because she had feelings for a man she’d never even kissed
. That was borderline insane.

  “Hey there,” Jack said groggily.

  She tucked her phone back inside her pocket and snuggled into his side, all thoughts of Manhattan and Fashionista instantly forgotten. “Hey yourself.”

  Her heart pounded hard in her chest—not because it was weird waking up in Jack’s hospital bed, but because it wasn’t. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. What were they doing?

  “How are you feeling?” She’d been so afraid of hurting him that she’d done her best all night to stay as still as possible, which in and of itself felt strange. He was so big and strong that she couldn’t even wrap her hands around one of his biceps. If anyone seemed unbreakable, it was Jack.

  No one was invincible, though, and Jack was a firefighter. He put his life on the line every time he went to work. Yesterday it had been a cat, but tomorrow it could be something much, much worse.

  Jack propped himself up on one elbow so he was looking down at her. There was a fine layer of stubble on his jawline, and his eyes were heavy-lidded from sleep. But he was right there, so close, so very, very close, and he was still in one beautiful, unbroken piece.

  “Never been better,” he whispered, and then he cupped her face in his hand and finally—finally—after so many near misses, he lowered his mouth down on hers and kissed her with a tenderness so reverent that it brought tears to her eyes.

  She was crying.

  Over a kiss.

  She squeezed her eyes shut so he wouldn’t see, but it was no use. Her tears spilled over, dampening his fingertips where they caressed her cheek.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered against her mouth. Then he made a slow, lazy trail over her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, sending shivers through her entire body. “I’m perfectly fine and honestly, it was worth falling out of a tree to get you into my bed. I should probably send Fancy a thank-you note.”

  She laughed, and he pressed gentle kisses to her tear-stained cheeks. But suddenly, his tenderness wasn’t quite enough. She wanted more of Jack Cole. She didn’t just want calm and collected. She wanted the brave, burning heart that beat inside a man who wasn’t afraid to walk through fire. She wanted the aching kind of passion that she’d never let herself experience with anyone else.

  She wanted all of him.

  So she balled the front of his hospital gown into her fist as their kisses grew deeper, needing something to hold on to—something to anchor her into this moment, lest she lose herself.

  Too late, she thought, I’m already lost.

  And she finally understood what Alice and Sarah had been trying to tell her at knitting class the night before.

  You’ve got to let go...sometimes whatever we’re creating doesn’t turn out the way we planned. It might look different from anything we’ve imagined, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good or valuable.

  She’d made a life for herself in Lovestruck, and it didn’t look anything at all like the life she’d had planned. It didn’t look anything like the life the email in her in-box was promising. And that was okay.

  Because right then, with Jack’s hands buried in her hair and his bold, heroic heart beating fiercely against hers, it looked even better.

  * * *

  A soft knock on the door to Jack’s hospital room put an abrupt end to the kiss Jack felt like he’d been waiting on for a lifetime. But that was okay—the kiss had definitely been the beginning of something, not the end. And he supposed he could tolerate the interruption if it meant he might be able to go home.

  “Come in,” he said, biting back a smile as Madison scrambled out of the bed and smoothed down her dress.

  “Good morning, Lieutenant.” The nurse who’d been looking after him since he’d first been brought to his room was still on duty. She winked at Madison. “And good morning to you, too, Ms. Jules. Or should I address you as Queen Bee?”

  Jack’s headache returned with a vengeance.

  Somehow, he’d managed to conveniently forget about his alter ego since he’d fallen out of the tree and hit his head. Perhaps not entirely, but Fired Up in Lovestruck’s antics had certainly taken a backseat in light of recent events. The respite was apparently over though, and all too soon.

  “Please call me Madison.” She let out a little laugh and shook her head. “It’s so strange that you know who I am. Until a few days ago, no one did. Not even anyone in Lovestruck.”

  “Oh, believe me. All the nurses here know exactly who you are. We saw you on that morning show, and practically the entire hospital has been talking about it nonstop. Have you identified that big jerk who’s been writing the letters yet? What was his name again?”

  Big jerk? Jack coughed. The nurse glanced at him, but her attention moved swiftly back to Madison.

  “Fired Up in Lovestruck.” Madison rolled her eyes. “And no, we haven’t a peep from him lately. Actually, the reporter who gave me a ride to the hospital last night wants to try and find him so he can convince him to come out of hiding. I’m just not so sure that’s a good idea.”

  It was a terrible idea—the worst Jack had ever heard. Thank goodness he wasn’t hooked up to a heart monitor or else alarms would have been sounding all over the building.

  He shifted in the bed, and Madison and the nurse both eyed him with concern.

  “Oh, no. You’re as white as a sheet all of a sudden.” Madison’s eyebrows drew together. “I thought you were feeling better.”

  “It looks like it’s time for another neuro observation,” the nurse said, pulling a checklist and a penlight from the pocket of her scrubs.

  He held up a hand. “Ah, can it wait a second?”

  He needed to talk to Madison in private. Immediately, even if it meant laying all his cards out right there in his hospital room.

  “No, it cannot. The queen is right. You look terrible.” The nurse glanced down at the checklist and back up at him. “Can you tell me your name?”

  Fired Up in Lovestruck. What would happen if he just blurted it out? He’d rather do a slo-mo walk through a burning building drenched in kerosene. “Jack Cole.”

  The nurse checked off a box on her list. “And your date of birth?”

  He sighed mightily. “Is this really necessary?”

  “I’m going to tell you the same thing that I told you last night when you didn’t want to spend the night here—yes, it is.” The nurse arched a brow. “Your birthdate?”

  “I should probably go. It looks like you have a lot going on here, and I have work in a little while.” Madison waved a hand in the general direction of the door.

  “No!” Jack sat up ramrod straight. Thankfully, his head felt much better this morning, so sudden movement no longer had him wincing in pain. “Stay, please.”

  She gave him a slow smile that built until it bloomed into a joyous grin. “Okay. I can probably stay for another hour or so before I have to head back to Lovestruck and get to the office. I’ll just run and get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria while you finish up here.”

  And then with a flippy little wave she was gone, and Jack could only hope and pray that Brett wasn’t lurking out in the hallway somewhere, armed with Jack’s biggest secret.

  He did his best to complete the neurological check in good humor, given that his nurse had looked the other way for his impromptu slumber party. He answered all the basic questions, sat perfectly still while she checked his pupils with her penlight and tried not to sigh while she checked his extremities for any signs of weakness, even though it felt like it was eating up half the time Madison had left before she needed to head back to Lovestruck.

  Once he’d passed with flying colors, Madison returned and sat on the foot of his bed with her willowy legs tucked up under her and her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee. She’d brought a cup back for him, as well, and while it didn’t hold a candle to the Bean’s maple b
lend, it wasn’t altogether terrible.

  “So did Brett stay all night? Is he taking you back to Lovestruck?” He tried to sound as casual as someone recovering from a head injury who was also hiding an appalling secret possibly could.

  “Oh.” She shook her head. “No, actually...”

  “Knock knock!” A woman carrying a folded knit blanket poked her head in the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”

  “Aunt Alice!” Madison hopped off the bed and waved the woman inside. “I was just telling Jack that you were on your way to come get me. You got here so fast.”

  Too fast—certainly too fast for Jack to unburden his fired-up soul. He felt guiltier than ever when he learned that the blanket in Alice’s hands was for him, and she’d knitted it herself. Obviously, he couldn’t ask her to go back outside so he could have a heart-to-heart with her niece.

  Even if Alice hadn’t managed to hit every green light and empty expressway on her way to Burlington, he wouldn’t have been able to spend any more quality time with Madison. Less than two minutes after Alice’s arrival, a hospital technician pushed an empty wheelchair into his room and announced he was there to escort Jack to the radiology department for his follow-up CT scan.

  But hey, at least once he passed this last test, he’d be discharged and he could go home. So he gamely got into the wheelchair and even let Alice fuss over him and tuck the hand-knitted blanket around his legs as if he were a nursing home resident.

  “Do you have a ride back to Lovestruck once you’re discharged? I’d be happy to come back and get you after I drop Madison off for work,” Alice said as the tech began wheeling him toward the hallway.

  Everything seemed to be happening at breakneck speed, and as much as Jack wanted to go home so he could hold his daughters tight and give his mom a good long look at him so she could put any lingering worries at ease, he found himself feeling wistful. He looked at Madison walking alongside him—really looked at her—and at that moment he would have given anything to rewind the clock and spend last night in a hospital bed all over again if it meant he’d fall asleep with Madison’s head on his shoulder once more.