by Lucy Clark
As he watched her, noticing the way she looked people directly in the eye when she spoke to them, seeing how she smiled at people, related to them so naturally, he couldn’t help but be jealous.
It was ridiculous as she certainly wasn’t flirting with anyone, but he was jealous of anyone who stole her attention from him. He liked it best when it was just the two of them, sitting, chatting and being. He was jealous of everyone who was with her when he wasn’t.
It was a revelation and one he wished he could have had at a more opportune time, but as staff members began to disperse and more ambulances began to arrive, Jason could only sit there and look at her—look at the woman he realised he’d fallen in love with.
Impossible. He shook his head.
Incomprehensible. He forced himself to look away.
Inevitable. He immediately looked back, smiling when their eyes met.
‘You handled that beautifully,’ he reassured her, and watched as the lines around her eyes relaxed a little. ‘You’re a natural at public speaking.’
She rolled her eyes but smiled. ‘I’ve had plenty of practice.’
‘I guess you have. I feel as though there’s a whole world of yours that I know nothing about.’
‘And yet this world that I’m living in now is the only world where I feel truly happy.’
‘You are?’
‘Happy? Yes.’
‘Happy happy?’
Her smile increased. ‘Yes. You sound surprised.’
‘Actually, I’m relieved more than surprised.’
‘Why?’
It was his turn to smile. ‘I’ll tell you later tonight.’
‘After we’ve hung the decorations?’
‘Of course. Nothing can interfere with that.’ The phone on the desk shrilled to life yet again and he quickly picked it up, his eyes still intent on Summer’s. ‘A and E,’ he said. ‘This is Dr Daniels.’ He frowned, looked away from the tempting woman beside him, and picked up a pen, quickly taking notes. ‘Yes, that’s right. You’ve heard correctly. Two other schools have been affected.’ He paused, listening. ‘No, we’re not sure what’s going on as yet but if you’ll bring the children in, that will help. Yes, all children who are complaining of abdominal pain and nausea.’ He took a few more notes and then hung up.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said to the room in general. ‘We have an epidemic.’ He took Summer’s hand in his and said softly, ‘And the latest school affected is Tommy’s.’
Summer’s eyes widened for a moment before she nodded. ‘Here’s hoping he ate the lunch I packed for him this morning and not one from the cafeteria.’
‘With your amazing cooking, I’m sure he did.’
Summer scoffed. ‘Peanut butter and jam sandwiches are hardly classified as amazing cooking, Jason, but thank you.’ She cupped his cheek for an instant to say thank you but then seemed to realise what she was doing and quickly dropped her hand back to her side.
Jason tried not to focus on her sweet touch, which took extra strength. He turned away from her. ‘Where’s the clerk?’ Jason located the woman and gave her further instructions. ‘Alert the health department. We’re going to need the police here and at the schools. A hotline needs to be set up for parents who are concerned about their children or wanting to know what’s going on. We’ll need to get information out to all other schools, both private and public, not to serve food from their cafeterias. Get extra staff on this if you need to. Mags?’ Jason turned around, looking for the triage sister. ‘Mags. There you are. We’ve just had a call from another school. I’ll need blood samples from everyone. We’ll need to rule out contamination such as mercury or anything like that, which may have been in the water or food.’
He continued to talk to the sister and although Summer could quite easily stand there and watch the way he moved, his shoulders broad and straight, his hair just starting to curl at the edge of his shirt collar, his fresh spicy scent overpowering her senses, she knew she had to break away and concentrate on her job. There were patients to be seen. A mystery to be solved and lives to be saved.
They worked on, having so many students coming in to A and E that all staff were not only run off their feet but were starting to put some patients in the corridors as they simply didn’t have the space in the treatment rooms.
Once test results started coming back from the now overworked pathology lab, stating that the culprit was a microorganism detected in margarine used in all affected schools, they started sending the milder cases home, though Jason admitted two fifteen-year-old girls for further observation overnight who’d been among the first to report the symptoms.
‘We’ve run out of the electrolyte icy-poles,’ Mags reported. ‘Neither do we have any more powdered sachets left. I’ve sent down to the supply stores for more but it’s just frustrating.’
Summer nodded in understanding.
‘Oh, how’s your son?’ Mags continued. ‘He’s not been affected?’
‘No, thank goodness. I’ve checked with the school and he should be either on the bus heading to Rent-A-Grand or already there.’
‘Good to know.’
‘In fact,’ Jason said from behind her, ‘my mother has just sent up a list of those children she now has in her care, in case parents call here wondering where their child is.’
‘Excellent.’ Mags took the list from Jason.
‘Listen, Summer, we’re settled here for the moment,’ Jason said quietly. ‘Why don’t you go down and check on Tommy? Make sure he’s really OK.’
‘Really? Because that would be great.’
‘Yeah. Go. I know you need to check on him.’
‘Thanks, Jason. I’ll just quickly finish these case notes so I don’t forget then go straight down.’
As she spoke, he could see the gratitude in her eyes and he also thought he saw a hint of relief. Did she think he didn’t comprehend exactly what Tommy meant to her? After she’d told him about her husband’s death and how Tommy had been affected by it, it was clear to him that simply hearing that her son was all right wasn’t enough. He not only appreciated her devotion to her son, he applauded it.
From everything he’d seen, she was a brilliant mother. Where Amanda hadn’t liked or wanted children, Summer was the opposite. Tommy had been the one bright spark in an unhappy marriage and in a very small way Jason envied her that, wishing for one brief moment that he, too, could have been a father. Children were so important to him, so necessary to his life. He not only loved helping them at work, helping them to heal both physically and emotionally, but he loved talking to them. They were amazing, especially their insights into the world, and he’d found young Tommy to be both highly intelligent and a lot of fun to be around.
He had an urge to check on the boy himself but didn’t want Summer to think he was intruding. Would she mind if he tagged along? Would he be overstepping the bonds of the friendship they’d forged?
Summer put her pen down and shut the case notes. ‘There. Now I don’t have to worry about them at least.’ She stood and straightened her top. ‘Still all quiet?’
‘Sure is.’ Jason smiled but crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Get going. I can’t guarantee it’s going to stay this quiet, so now is the time.’
‘Yes. OK. Won’t be long.’ She turned and took three steps away then stopped and turned back. Aware that Mags and other staff members were about, Summer inclined her head. ‘Want to come, too? If you’ve got time,’ she quickly added. ‘I don’t mean to take you away from a patient. I just thought that…you might like to…check on Tommy, too, or some of the other kids.’ She was talking too fast, something she rarely did, having been meticulously schooled in the art of conversation, but with the way Jason was looking her, as though he wanted to wrap his arms about her, pick her up and spin her around, the conscious effort to control the speed of her speech flew away with the fairies. ‘Or not,’ she added when he didn’t say anything, and turned away again.
Before she’d taken one s
tep, Jason was by her side. ‘Thought you’d never ask,’ he murmured as they headed out of the department. The easiest and most direct route was to go down the corridor towards the lifts. Neither of them spoke. The awareness between them seemed to be enveloped in a bubble that separated them from everyone else in the hospital, and when they entered the empty lift car, it only intensified.
As they stood there, side by side, Jason shifted and brushed his hand against hers. Summer sucked in a breath, all her nerve endings completely alert. It was just the way it was when Jason touched her, whether on purpose or accidentally. The main problem was, she was wanting to feel those tingles, experience those goose-bumps, and she was still astonished at how, by a simple touch, he could reduce her to a mass of warm fudge… and she liked warm fudge.
Jason was overjoyed when she took his hand, brushing her fingers inside his, the awareness alive and alert between them. He looked at her lips, lips which were parted as though they were ready and waiting for him.
‘Summer.’ He shifted closer, his warmth enveloping her, cocooning her from everything else, protecting her. The background murmur of the lift as it moved slowly between floors was nothing compared to the pounding of his heart as he bent his head towards her.
He needed to kiss her. Couldn’t she sense that? He’d worked hard at earning her trust, of keeping his distance, of doing as she asked, but how could a man possibly resist such an elegant, ripe flower who appeared to be waiting just as impatiently for his caress?
‘Summer?’ This time her name was a question on his lips and after looking intently into his eyes, she realised the truth. Jason needed her to make the first move. He wanted her, needed her even—of that there was no denying—but he wasn’t going to break her trust and at that moment Summer knew she could do this.
She could really put her heart out there again, knowing Jason wouldn’t hurt her. Trusting Jason not to hurt her, just as he was trusting her not to hurt him. Love was nothing without trust and she knew that was where her marriage to Cameron had failed dramatically. Even though she’d thought she’d loved him in the beginning, there had been no trust.
That was not the case here and not giving herself the opportunity to psychoanalyse herself any further, Summer placed one hand on the back of his neck and impatiently brought his mouth down to meet hers.
CHAPTER NINE
THE instant they touched, Summer had the overwhelming sense that she’d finally come home.
She couldn’t describe it, didn’t understand it and wasn’t going to fight it. His lips were warm and tender on her own. Soft and gentle, not that she would have blamed him if he’d taken her with a hot and hungry passion given the way they’d both been holding back from this moment, but like a man who had been crawling through the desert, dying of thirst, he obviously intended to sip thoroughly rather than guzzle greedily.
Every sense in her body seemed to be alive to the slightest pressure, the slightest touch, not only from his mouth but from his hands. He’d let go of her hand to rest his on her hips, the warmth of his palms radiating through her navy cotton skirt. He didn’t want her to move, didn’t want her to go anywhere except where she currently was. Here. Beside him. Letting him taste her sweetness.
And, oh, how sweet she tasted! The pleasures of Summer’s mouth were infinitely more incredible than his memory recalled or his dreams had imagined. A mixture of flavours hit his senses as he continued to hold himself under control, wanting to burn every second of this long-awaited encounter into the far recesses of his mind.
She was close and warm and eager as he slowly coaxed her lips to open just a little more. His tongue touched the edge of her mouth and she shuddered in appreciation, her fingers at his neck ensuring he wasn’t about to lift his head any time soon. It made him realise just how special she was and the fact that she wanted him, was willing to let him kiss her, spoke volumes for commitment to the emotions surging between them.
His thumbs at her waist started moving in little circles, creating even more heat which flooded her senses. As she managed to suck in some air, his scent increased her already over-active receptors and, sighing, she leaned closer to him, opening her mouth even more, the hunger she’d denied herself for such a very long time coming to the fore and urging her on.
Jason was pleasantly surprised when she leaned into him, letting him know she wanted more. Happy to oblige, he slid his arms around her back, bringing her body into even closer contact with his own. Both of her hands were in his hair as heat surged between them, their mouths becoming hotter and hungrier with each passing second.
As the lift continued to descend, both of them continued to soar. When they were together like this, life seemed to have a habit of standing still, as though only the two of them existed in the world, that what they felt when they were as close as they were now was all that mattered.
The faint ‘ding’ of the lift, indicating their ride was over, slowly penetrated Jason’s hazy mind. Not wanting to be caught kissing his colleague—more for her sake than his own—he eased away from her. Both of them were breathing heavily and parted as the lift doors opened. Thankfully, no one was waiting and the corridor they exited into was clear. Jason took her hand and stopped her.
‘Wait a moment. I just need to get myself under control before I walk into a room where both my parents are.’ He ran his free hand through his hair, mussing it up so it was now sticking up at an odd angle. Summer smiled, her eyes still burning with heat for him. ‘What?’
‘You look…really sexy.’
‘Summer,’ he warned.
‘I can’t help it. I like the way you look. I’m heavily attracted to the way you look and when your hair sticks up like that…well, you make it difficult for a girl to resist you.’
‘I don’t want you to resist me, honey.’ His cheeky grin only added to his appeal. ‘I just want you to pause for a while.’
Summer laughed, enjoying the light-hearted banter. It was something she knew she’d have to get used to, or at least that she hoped she’d be able to get used to, as she spent more time with Jason. ‘You make me laugh, Jason.’ She reached up and pressed one last kiss to his lips.
‘Don’t start,’ he warned, his breath catching in his throat at her quick action. ‘We need to check on Tommy.’
‘Yes. Yes. Of course.’ She was a mother first and foremost. She knew that. He knew that, but at the moment she felt more like a schoolgirl with her first crush and it was utterly exhilarating.
She felt like skipping down the corridor. Jason had kissed her—really kissed her—and it had been everything and so much more than she’d dared to dream about. Walking beside her was a man who honestly cared about her. It was definitely a change from how her life had been with Cameron and it was liberating.
When she entered Rent-A-Grand, Tommy came running over to her, embracing her instantly. Again, that was something he hadn’t done since he’d been very small and as she looked down into his face, she noticed he had been rather scared.
‘I’m OK, Mum. The teacher said it was only kids who’d eaten at the cafeteria and I didn’t.’ His words were brave but there was still a quiver in his tone.
‘No. You didn’t,’ she reiterated. ‘You’re a good boy, my darling.’
‘Brad had his own food, too, but Damian and Mike didn’t. Are they OK? Are they still really sick? Mike looked green.’
Summer mentally recalled the two boys who had joined Bradley in Tommy’s list of friends. ‘They’re both doing fine. I saw them both, spoke to their parents, and they’ll be able to go home in about an hour’s time. I just want to keep a watch on them for a bit longer.’
Tommy instantly relaxed at this news and turned to face Jason, who’d just finished having a word with his mother.
‘Hey, there, champ.’ Jason held up his hand for a high-five and then the two of them did some secret handshake thing which she’d caught Tommy practising the night before. ‘Good. You remembered.’
‘Yep. I taught Brad and
I’m gonna teach Mike and Damian when they’re better.’
‘Good thinking.’ Jason ruffled Tommy’s hair. ‘You feeling OK?’
‘I’m fine.’
Still, as though he needed to be certain, Jason squatted down and pressed a hand to Tommy’s forehead and got him to stick out his tongue. ‘No tummy pains?’ he asked.
‘Nope.’ Tommy shook his head for emphasis and Summer couldn’t help but smile. Her boy was so much more relaxed, more at ease within himself. It was good to see and with the way he was relating to Jason…it made her heart turn over with love.
‘Good to hear. How about coming back to my place for dinner tonight when your mum and I have finished working?’
‘Can we have fish fingers?’
‘Uh…’ Jason looked up at Summer, who merely rolled her eyes. ‘Sure. If that’s what you’d like.’
‘And when we go on our camping trip, we can cook them over the fire?’ The up-and-coming camping trip had also been a big topic of discussion between the two of them, even though there was no firm date set.
‘I’ll teach you.’
Tommy put his arms around Jason’s neck in a voluntary gesture of thanks, which had Jason looking instantly up at Summer as he held the boy close. Summer saw that Jason was overcome with emotion but held himself together at the unexpected embrace.
‘Thanks, JD. You’re the best.’
It was all over as quickly as it had begun as Tommy ran off to tell Bradley the news about their friends. Jason stood, blinked twice and then looked at Summer.
‘He has a way about him,’ she remarked.
‘He does.’
‘He’s going to do good things. I just know it.’
‘Brains, charm and the Hoyts family fortune to inherit? I’ll say.’
