Finally Home

by Taylor, Helen Scott

  For long moments, she stared silently into the lengthening shadows. “It’s a long story. The crux of it is that my husband was drunk so I told him not to take Ryan out in the car. He ignored me. The rest is history. He lost control, and my little boy nearly lost his arm. I swore I’d never trust a man with Ryan’s safety again.”

  After a few moments, Jack realized that was all the explanation he’d get for now. It was a start. Gradually, one step at a time, he’d convince her to trust him enough to let down her guard. “So now you’ve had a rethink?”

  “Watching you play with him last Sunday made me realize he needs the influence of a man in his life.”

  “A role model.” Jack remembered how much he’d longed for his own father to take an interest in him when he was young.

  “Maybe.” She smiled again, and it reached her eyes this time. “He idolizes you, Jack. He told his teacher you were going to be his dad.”

  “Did he now?” Interesting.

  Ryan had stopped running in circles and was springing around like a kangaroo, still looking at his shoes. Jack sympathized with the boy for wanting a father. It was no fun going to watch a football match with your mother. He remembered the experience vividly. Although with the benefit of hindsight, he appreciated how much effort his mother had made to compensate for his father’s disinterest.

  Jack loved kids. He just seemed to click with them, especially little boys who enjoyed football. Maybe Ryan would turn out to be his strongest ally in getting to know Melanie. “So what do you mean by friends?”

  Melanie sat up straighter and flicked back her hair. “Perhaps you can kick a ball about with Ryan sometimes and be there for him when he needs a man to talk to.”

  “No problem.”

  “Maybe come out with us sometimes.”

  Jack fought to keep the smile off his face. This was starting to sound promising. The more time he spent with Melanie, the more chance he had to prove that she could trust him enough to go on a proper date. And the more he got to know her, the more he wanted that to happen. Strange how accidentally saying her name had brought them together. It was as if that slip had opened his eyes. Now he’d noticed Melanie, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

  The soft evening light gleamed off the tiny gold rings in her ears, lending a warm glow to her smooth pale skin. His fingers twitched with the desire to caress her. “Any time you want to go out, just let me know.”

  She fiddled with her handbag strap. “One thing bothers me. You won’t drop Ryan when you get another girlfriend, will you?”

  He clenched his jaw. Melanie seemed determined to ignore the fact he was interested in her. “I won’t let him down. I promise.”

  “Good.” She smiled properly, her eyes glowing in a way that made her whole face light up. It warmed Jack inside to know he’d made her happy. She checked her watch. “I must make Ryan some tea before he flakes out on me.”

  “Why don’t you go home and cook while I fetch a ball? Ryan and I can have a knock around in my garden until you’re ready for him.”

  Melanie jumped up and hooked her bag strap over her shoulder. “You’re sure?”

  Jack stood, linked his fingers behind his neck and stretched his tense shoulders. “The exercise will do me good.”

  Her eyes flicked over him, and he thought there might be a spark of female appreciation there before she averted her gaze.

  “Okay.” She took a step closer, rested her fingers lightly on his shoulder and gave him a peck on the check. “Thanks, Jack.”

  She was halfway across the garden before he recovered from the shock of what had just happened. She’d touched him, kissed him no less, with no prompting. He put his hand to his cheek. The kiss had been a fleeting brush of her lips, but the place still tingled. She was so mysterious, so hard to pin down. She fascinated him in a way he didn’t quite understand. He watched until she squeezed through the gap in the hedge before he headed inside to find a ball.

  On his way past his laptop, he made a decision. He wouldn’t pry into her past. He’d wait until she was ready to tell him what the scandal was that the doctors’ surgery had hinted at. If he wanted her to trust him, he must trust her as well.

  * * *

  Melanie looked up from preparing lunch at the sound of footfalls on the steps outside her flat. Jack appeared in the open doorway and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “Lovely day.”

  “Certainly is. Summer’s well and truly here.” In fact, it had been a lovely three weeks, both weather-wise and in other ways. Jack had been wonderful, always ready to spend time with Ryan after school when he wanted to play outside. Jack had also been the perfect gentleman. After their talk, he’d backed off. With the pressure to go out with him lifted, she’d relaxed and enjoyed his company. Although she still found herself aware of Jack in a way she hadn’t been before, she put it down to the fact she knew him better and was therefore more in tune with him.

  “Where’s Ryan?” Jack glanced around the small living room.

  “Drawing, last time I checked.” Melanie turned off the heat under her cheese sauce and went to Ryan’s bedroom door. “Jack’s here, sweetheart.”

  Ryan dropped his crayon and leaped to his feet. “Jack!” He belted towards the front door and hugged Jack’s legs. Melanie tightened her grip on the smooth wooden handle of her spoon and went back to stirring her sauce. Sometimes she felt like a voyeur, watching the two of them together. As though she were an outsider peeping in on a world she could never be a part of.

  “Come across to my garden for a few minutes,” Jack said to Ryan. “Mum as well,” he added, looking at Melanie. “I’ve got something to show you.”

  Ryan swung on Jack’s arm as Melanie followed them down the steps. After a short walk across the old cobbled stable yard, they pushed between the hedging shrubs into Jack’s back garden. Ryan went through first and squealed with excitement, pricking Melanie’s curiosity to see what was there.

  On the square of lawn flanked by curved rainbows of flowerbeds stood a trampoline. Jack pushed aside the blue safety netting enclosing it and heaved Ryan onto the bouncing surface. Kicking off his shoes and socks, Jack followed Ryan up. Melanie smiled as Jack took Ryan’s hands and they jumped together.

  “Look, Mummy, look.”

  Melanie waved. “Wow, look at you bouncing high.”

  “Come up, Mummy, come up.”

  “I don’t think it’s Mummy’s sort of thing, sweetheart.”

  Jack grinned at her. “Nonsense. Up you come.” He pushed aside the safety netting and offered his hand.

  Melanie looked down at her skirt and blouse. “I’m not dressed for it.”

  The corner of Jack’s mouth quirked up. “We’ll wait while you go and put on your leotard then.”

  She couldn’t help grinning back at him as he waited, hand still held ready to help her up. “Oh, all right then.” She toed off her shoes. “But just for a few minutes.”

  Very conscious of Jack standing above her, she leaned her knee on the edge, careful not to expose too much thigh. Jack’s large, warm hand enclosed hers. As Jack hauled her up, Ryan chose that moment to plop onto his bottom. The rebound of the trampoline caught her off balance. With a surprised squeak, she found herself propelled towards Jack. His arms closed around her, holding her fast against a chest that was every bit as hard and muscular as she’d expect of an ex-professional sportsman.

  Melanie closed her eyes as a thrill shivered up and down her spine, then
simmered in the pit of her stomach. Torn between putting some distance between them, and the fear of being dumped unceremoniously on her bottom and showing off her practical cotton knickers, she froze in the safety of Jack’s arms. He didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping his balance.

  “Keep still a moment, Ryan.” Jack’s voice sounded a little gruff, but it could be because she had her ear pressed against his chest. “Let your mum find her feet.”

  Once the surface beneath her stopped undulating, Jack loosened his arms and Melanie stepped away. She avoided his gaze, looking down at his bare feet instead. His toes were long and battered. Her heart gave an odd little jump. Even Jack had imperfections.

  “Come on, everyone bounce together,” Jack said, grabbing her hand again.

  Ryan took her other hand and they started to jump in time, but ended up out of sync. They tumbled down. Melanie landed on her back, Ryan across her legs, and Jack beside her. Ryan bounded up and launched himself at Jack, who grunted as a small knee made contact with his belly. Melanie laughed so hard at Jack and Ryan play-wrestling that tears ran down her cheeks.

  Finally the laughter subsided to chuckles and she lay still, an unfamiliar sense of contentment settling over her. Jack held an excited Ryan at bay for a moment and smiled at her, the glint of boyish mischief in his eyes filling her head with very adult thoughts.

  She put a hand over her heart. It had to be the bouncing that made it difficult to catch her breath. “You shouldn’t have done this, you know. You don’t have to buy Ryan things.”

  “What do you mean ‘buy Ryan things’? I’ve always wanted a trampoline.”

  “You really are just a kid at heart, aren’t you?” After the words left her mouth, she flushed, hoping he wouldn’t take it as an insult. He held her gaze for a moment, a smile playing around his lips, before turning his attention back to Ryan. Melanie smoothed down her skirt, crawled to the trampoline’s edge and slid off.

  “Will you get us a drink, please?” Jack shouted. “Look in the fridge.”

  Melanie collected some sodas from Jack’s kitchen and returned to the garden. Man and boy had given up wrestling and were sitting in the middle of the trampoline, engrossed in the male-bonding ritual of comparing scars. Jack had rolled up his trouser legs. She paused to admire well-muscled calves dusted in gold hairs. Then she saw the scars on his knees.

  Ryan ran his fingers across Jack’s scars, his small face creased in concentration. “Football did this to you?”

  “Lots and lots of training and rough games.” Jack ruffled Ryan’s hair. “The sort of football you play won’t hurt your knees, kiddo. Just remember, when Mummy tells you to stop doing something in case you hurt yourself, it’s a good idea to listen. When my mum told me to be careful, I didn’t take enough notice.”

  “Want to see my scars?” Ryan asked.

  Melanie’s mouth fell open as Ryan pulled his shirt off over his head and exposed his shoulder. He was usually shy about the marks that ran down his neck and across his collarbone and shoulder. “I was in a car accident. I was only one,” he said almost proudly.

  “Were you now?” Jack patted Ryan’s shoulder. “Looks like you must have been a very brave boy.”

  “I was. Mummy said my arm nearly fell off.”

  Melanie’s fingers jerked with shock and she nearly dropped the sodas. “I never said anything of the sort, young man.”

  “I heard you tell Great Nana.”

  Jack slanted her a sardonic glance, then turned Ryan’s shirt the right way out and pulled it over his head. “You’ve got big ears for such a little guy. Look at them. Ryan’s ears are so big his shirt won’t fit over them.” At Jack’s teasing, Ryan dissolved into giggles.

  As she handed over the drink cans, Melanie gave Jack a grateful smile for distracting Ryan from memories of his injuries. He’d had nightmares for years after the accident. Normally he didn’t like to talk about his scars, although there’d been a touch of bravado in his voice when he’d shown them to Jack.

  Jack jumped off the trampoline and Melanie tried not to notice the flash of hard abdominal muscle as he straightened his shirt and tucked it in.

  “Ryan and I should go and have our lunch,” Melanie said.

  “Hang on a moment. I’ve got something to show you.” Jack jogged into the house and returned thirty seconds later with a card in his hand. Without comment, he handed it to her.

  She examined what turned out to be a wedding invitation. “This is from your pregnant cousin Pippa, isn’t it?”

  “Yep. The baby’s father found out she was pregnant. Apparently, he’s Marco’s cousin. He and Pip met when he was over here visiting Marco. Mother says he turned up a few weeks ago and virtually dragged Pip back to Italy with him.”

  “The wedding’s in Positano. Lucky you. I’ve always wanted to visit the Amalfi coast. I hope you have a lovely time.”

  “Come with me,” he said softly.

  A flash of surprise tinged with longing caught her unawares. Of course, the feeling was purely because she wanted to visit Positano. The prospect of going with Jack had nothing to do with it. Melanie scanned his face, trying to fathom his intentions. So far, he’d abided by her wish to keep their relationship on a friendly footing. Could she trust him to be a gentleman if they went away together?

  He smiled. “You’ve been working so hard recently, I thought you deserved a break. It’ll be fun.”

  “Ryan’s school vacation will have started,” she said.

  “We’d only be away for a few days. Haven’t you any family he can stay with?”

  She was tempted. Very tempted. She hadn’t been on holiday since before Ryan was born. And then they’d never gone abroad because her husband wouldn’t go far from his medical practice. “He could stay with my grandma. She offered to have him for a week in the holidays.”

  Jack flashed a smile that caused a twinge deep in her chest. “That’s settled then.” He reached for the invitation.

  She hung on to the card as his fingers closed around it. “Jack. Just friends, remember.”

  “How could I forget?” he said a touch sharply. “The invitation says ‘plus guest.’ I don’t want to go alone.”

  “Okay.” She released the invitation, and he turned it over in his hands.

  When he spoke again, he seemed to have regained his good mood. “Great. It’s a date.”

  A date? Melanie hoped she hadn’t made a huge mistake. Jack appeared to have forgotten the nonsense about her stepping into Stephanie’s shoes as a prospective fiancée. Would he still be content with friendship when they reached the romantic Amalfi coast?

  Chapter Five

  Jack had hired a red Ferrari.

  Melanie tried to appear nonchalant while inside she bubbled with secret delight. She’d expected them to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel he’d booked in Positano.

  She’d had six weeks to question her decision to accompany him to the wedding, and the previous night she had nearly backed out. Not that he’d done anything to make her uncomfortable. In reality, he’d continued to be friendly in an almost brotherly fashion. What worried her were the things that happened between them in her dreams. Some mornings when she saw him in the hotel, she could hardly look him in the eye.

  Luckily, the flight from London to Naples was short so she hadn’t dozed. The thought of having a naughty dream about him while he sat beside her sent tingles of embarrassment racing across her skin. What if she talked in her sleep?
Goodness, it didn’t bear thinking about.

  When he opened the car door for her, she gave him a brisk smile of thanks and settled inside. The best way to maintain her distance was to be coolly detached—or at least strive to appear that way. As the sports car engine roared to life, a trickle of unease went through her. Melanie cast Jack a nervous sideways glance. “We’ll be driving on the wrong side of narrow roads. I don’t want to go too fast.”

  Jack released a long-suffering breath. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you the surest way to dent a man’s ego is to question his driving skills? I know you like to be in control, Mel, but be gentle with me. We’re on holiday.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Don’t worry. I’m used to it.”

  Used to what? Melanie fastened her seatbelt and looked at him. “I don’t try to control you. How could I? You’re the boss.”

  Jack gave her a sardonic glance then pulled away.

  Disquiet over Jack’s words niggled her. Just because she liked to ensure things were done properly didn’t make her a control freak. Unless she checked on people’s work regularly, they cut corners. Surely Jack was pleased she kept a close eye on the hotel, but not, she supposed, if it meant criticizing him.

  Crazy traffic shot every which way. Like everything else Jack did, he negotiated his way through the melee that was Naples and out towards the coast with consummate skill. Slowly, she relaxed.

  They drove along a winding road that hugged the cliffs above the sparkling azure Mediterranean. Jack lowered the convertible top, and warm wind whipped through her hair. He slowed to pass through a tiny village. Small white and terracotta houses decorated with ceramic pots overflowing with flowers defied gravity as they clung to the side of the cliff.

  The locals turned to glance at them, and many of the women gave Jack a second look. He steered with one hand, his other arm resting along the back of her seat. “This isn’t my first time driving a Ferrari, you know. I went through an extravagant list of fast cars in my misspent youth.”