by Joanna Neil
Jake laughed. ‘That boy will go far.’
Grace chuckled. ‘And Cassie’s planning a range of designer jewellery for her dolls.’ She sighed. ‘I’d better get the children home before they come up with any more ideas. Thanks again for showing us around, Jake, and for letting us use your pool.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Jake saw them to the door. ‘I need to stay and lock up, but I dare say I’ll see you around the place before too long.’
Grace nodded. ‘You will.’
She ushered the children and the dog outside, while Jake turned to Lacey and said, ‘I have to lock one room at a time. Do you want to stay while I do that? I thought I might hunt out those house plans for you?’
‘Okay.’ She waved to Grace. ‘You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.’
Jake turned the key in the lock and set the alarm before walking to the next room. ‘I think this is my favourite,’ he said, gazing around at the collection of navigation instruments. There was also a ship’s anchor and a huge chain, along with other pieces that might have been used to furnish a sailing ship. ‘It’s what it’s all about…the days when men took to the oceans and pitted their wits against the elements.’
‘Do you think the sea runs through your veins?’ Lacey asked softly. ‘Is that why you have all those boats and want to set up your own marine basin?’
‘Oh, yes. It’s definitely there.’ He turned away from the collection, moving closer to her and sliding a hand around her waist. ‘It’s in the blood. It makes my heart thump and ties a knot in my belly and all I can think of is the roar of the wind in the sails as I race across the water.’
He bent his head and nuzzled her cheek. ‘It took me a while to realise what was going on but, you know, I get that same feeling when I look at you. I want to hold you, possess you, and make you think of nothing but me.’
His palm flattened on her rib cage, urging her towards him, the light pressure of his fingers drawing her body up close to his. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, and it seemed as though there was nothing to separate them. She could feel the warmth of his body through the thin cotton of his shirt, and where her wrap-around dress lay open at the front, she felt the heat of his thighs against her own.
He slid his hands over her hips, shaping her curves with his hands, and as she took a step backward and encountered the cool surface of a wall, he moved in on her, swooping down on her lips and kissing her with a thoroughness she had never known before.
Her lips clung to his, wanting more, and yet more. His hands stroked, caressed, made her feel as though her whole body was on fire, as though he was all she could ever need, and this moment was where time stood still. They were locked in a time warp. There was only the two of them, and she yearned for his hands on her bare skin, for his kisses to leave a trail of flame all over her.
‘You’re everything I could ever want,’ he said in a ragged voice. ‘You’re perfect…lush, beautiful, with a body made for love.’
His fingers trailed over her throat, her breast, dipped down to the softness of her abdomen. A soft groan escaped him. ‘I need you, Lacey. It’s sheer torture being near you every day and not being able to possess you.’
‘Jake, I…I want… I don’t think…’ She broke off. She didn’t know what she wanted any more. He spoke of possession and need, and he’d even mentioned love, but he wasn’t saying that he loved her… And wasn’t that what she needed, more than anything? She had fallen for him, big time, and yet so many things were wrong.
It was confusing, feeling this way, with her brain befuddled and her body crying out for him to make love to her. And yet it would be a mistake, she felt it through and through. He wasn’t the type of man to settle down. His priorities were different from hers, and she couldn’t bear to be hurt all over again.
She tried to gently push him away, but he was already easing back from her, and a wave of misery and loss washed over her. Why didn’t she simply take what was on offer…do as he did, and live for the day?
Only it wasn’t her way, was it? Maybe that was why she and Nick had parted, in the end, because she wasn’t laid back, reckless and ready to let life take her where it would.
Jake had straightened up, and Lacey tried to pull herself together, pulling her dress around her and tying the belt.
She heard a noise coming from the other room. There was the patter of feet across the stone flagged floor, and then Tom popped his head around the door. ‘Toby left his chew bone. Do you know where it is?’
‘Um…no,’ Lacey managed, dragging her thoughts into some semblance of order. ‘I’ll help you look for it.’
She glanced up at Jake. He must have heard Tom come back into the building. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘You go ahead.’
Lacey nodded and turned away. It wasn’t all right. She knew it, and he knew it. She had never felt more miserable.
CHAPTER NINE
‘THANK heaven you’re back.’ Grace hurried to greet Lacey as she walked into the house. ‘I was just coming to find you.’
‘I was helping Tom to find Toby’s chew-bone. It was completely yucky but Tom insisted on bringing it back here.’ Lacey glanced at her sister and realised that Grace was thoroughly agitated. ‘What’s wrong? Has something happened? Is Cassie all right?’
‘She’s fine. It’s Rob…he’s not well. He looks as though he’s really struggling. He’s had to go and lie down.’
Lacey was instantly on the alert. ‘I’ll go and see him. Do you know if he pressed the button on his hand-held device to alert the technician?’
‘He said he did. Does that mean the consultant will get to know what’s happened?’
‘Yes, it does. The technician will alert him to any major event…plus any change in his ECG will be downloaded directly to the computer. If his heart rate is outside the acceptable boundaries it will sound an alarm so that they can notify the doctor in charge.’ Worried, Lacey hurried to Rob’s room, pausing only to pick up her medical bag on the way.
Rob had collapsed onto the bed, and when she checked his heart rate she discovered that it was racing like an express train. He was struggling to breathe, as though he had just been running or exercising beyond his limits.
‘I know you’re feeling bad, Rob,’ she said softly. ‘Your heart has gone into an abnormal rhythm, and it’s much faster than it should be, so I’m going to give you an injection of something to slow things down.’
He nodded, too exhausted to speak, so she went on with the procedure, and then waited for the injection to take effect. Within a few minutes his heart rate had slowed down a little, reverting to a sinus rhythm, still very fast but at least he was out of any immediate danger for the moment. ‘You had what’s called atrial flutter,’ she explained, ‘and we need to get you to hospital so that they can start you on treatment to settle things down. I’ll drive you over there now.’
Once again, he nodded. ‘I’m sorry about this, Lacey,’ he said in a breathless tone. ‘I’m sorry to be such trouble.’
‘Don’t even think that way,’ she admonished him. ‘It may not seem like it right now, but this is actually a good thing. Now we know exactly what type of rhythm is causing your collapse, we can treat it.’
She gently squeezed his hand. ‘I’ll give the hospital a call and tell them to expect us. Just you stay there and rest. I’ll deal with everything.’
As promised, she made all the necessary arrangements, and between them she and Grace helped Rob out to the car. She settled him in the passenger seat, which was pushed well back so that he could stretch out his legs.
‘Are you comfortable?’
He nodded, but looked so fed up that Lacey leaned forward and gave him a hug. ‘You’ll be all right, Rob. We’ll be at the hospital in two ticks, and they’ll soon have you feeling better.’ She tried to appear cheerful, but in reality she was worried about him. He looked completely drained.
‘I’ve only just come out…of the wretched place,’ he said
in a flat tone, pausing to gather his breath.
‘See,’ she murmured, ‘you’re grumpy already. That’s a sure sign you’re on the mend.’
She moved away from him and closed the passenger door.
‘What’s happening?’ Jake’s voice reached her, and she looked up to see him walking along the dock towards her. ‘Has Rob collapsed again?’ He was frowning. ‘I was checking the lobster pots and saw you getting the car out. How’s he doing?’
‘He’ll be all right, I think, as long as his heart doesn’t slip into another abnormal rhythm. I’m taking him to the hospital.’
Jake frowned. ‘I guessed as much. You seem to be very concerned about him.’ His glance moved over her. ‘You still care for him a lot, don’t you? I saw you giving him a hug…not something you’d normally do with your patients, I imagine.’
She sent him a quick glance. Why had he brought that up? Was Jake jealous of the relationship she had with Rob? Then she shrugged the thought away. Of course he wasn’t. Jake was confident, sure of himself, and he wouldn’t waste time wondering what she was doing when she wasn’t with him. He probably didn’t even think of her at all, come to that.
‘I think the world of Rob,’ she said. ‘I hate to see him looking so dejected.’
She went around to the driver’s side of the car and slid behind the wheel. ‘Okay, let’s get you to the hospital,’ she said, sending Rob a quick look. His eyes were closed, and she guessed he was exhausted, worn out by the galloping rhythm of his heartbeat.
She stayed with Rob at the hospital, helping him to settle in, and making sure that she had the chance to speak to the nurses and the doctor in charge.
‘We’ll take good care of him,’ the nurse told her. ‘I think he probably needs to rest before the doctor can carry out any invasive kind of treatment. Give us a ring tomorrow, and we’ll let you know if we have him stabilised.’
‘I will.’
It was late when Lacey left the hospital and started for home. It had been a worrying end to what had started out as a perfect day, and her mind was cluttered with unconnected thoughts. She had missed the children’s bedtime, and tomorrow Grace was going to meet up with Matt and his colleagues, leaving Tom and Cassie in her care.
Looking after the children promised to be a challenge…especially with Tom getting into everything. He’d already said he wanted to go to an adventure park, and then maybe try fishing in the stream, and that was just his before-lunch agenda. She made a rueful smile. At the rate she was going, life would soon become more hectic at home than it was at work.
She saw Grace off next morning. ‘I’ll be staying overnight at the hotel,’ Grace told her. ‘I’m sorry it happened like this, just when I was visiting with you, but the dates clashed, and it’s an important business meeting for Matt.’
‘Don’t worry about it. We still have several days left to be together…even though I’m going to be working later this week, we’ll have the afternoons and evenings.’ Lacey smiled. ‘Go off and enjoy yourself. The children will be fine with me. I’m planning on taking them horse riding…or rather pony trekking as we would have called it at home, something nice and leisurely to calm Tom down a bit.’
‘You’ll be lucky,’ Grace laughed. ‘See you.’
Lacey went back into the house. She prepared breakfast for the children, and as she was adding the last few slices of toast to the rack, there was a knock on the kitchen door.
She went to open the door to Jake. ‘Hi, come in,’ she said. ‘You’re in luck—I’ve just made a fresh pot of coffee.’
Tom, who was still learning how to do certain things, picked up a slice of toast and began to slather strawberry preserve all over it.
‘You’re supposed to put butter on it first,’ Cassie pointed out in a superior, big-sister voice.
‘Ah well.’ Tom shrugged as though it didn’t matter, waved the toast nonchalantly in the air and promptly lost his grip on it. The toast went flying across the room and landed messy side down on the floor.
Both children jumped down from their seats to inspect the damage.
‘Are you sure I haven’t come at a bad time?’ Jake asked, watching what was going on.
‘Quite sure,’ Lacey answered. ‘It’s pretty much like this all the time.’
‘Hmm.’ He bent down and retrieved the toast from a small fist, just as Tom was debating whether it was fit to be eaten. ‘I think not,’ he said. ‘Try cleaning the floor with a paper towel.’
Tom thought about that, and then nodded. ‘Okay.’ For once, he was being amenable, and that was enough to give Jake cause to stop and think. His glance narrowed on the boy.
‘You’re up to something,’ he said.
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are.’
‘Aren’t.’
Tom wiped the strawberry preserve off the floor and then, with a gleeful expression, as quick as a flash, headed towards his sister, armed with the sticky paper towel. Cassie shrieked and ran out of the room, followed by Tom, and in turn by the dog.
‘Lord help me,’ Lacey said. ‘I have twenty-four more hours of this.’
Jake laughed. ‘I thought I was the one who couldn’t cope with family life.’
She sighed. ‘Grace makes it look so easy. I guess I’m just a beginner…’ She went to the inner doorway and called after the children, ‘If you children aren’t sitting at this table eating your breakfast in two minutes, there will be no horse riding. Tom, put that paper towel in the bin and go and wash your hands.’
The youngsters trooped back into the kitchen just a short time later, angel faced, with butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-the-mouth expressions. Cassie buttered a slice of toast, adding preserve, and handed it to Tom, who accepted it without comment.
‘Are we going horse riding?’ he asked, between mouthfuls, looking at Lacey.
She nodded. ‘Yes, provided you both behave yourselves. No more fighting.’
He gave his sister a considering look, and clearly he was going to have trouble with that, but for the moment he clamped his lips shut and stared thoughtfully into space.
Jake gave a soft chuckle and turned towards Lacey. ‘I think you have the magic touch.’ He pulled up a stool by the breakfast bar and sat down. ‘I didn’t give you the house plans yesterday…they sort of fell by the wayside with Tom turning up at the annexe and Rob going into hospital…so I brought them with me today.’
‘That’s great,’ she said. ‘I’ll be interested in looking them over. Help yourself to toast and croissants. I’ll get you a coffee.’
When she had finished her own breakfast, and the children had gone to play in their room, she pored over the plans with Jake. They were beautifully drawn, perfect in every detail, and she saw that Jake’s grandfather had included the natural formations of rock at the edges of her property, showing the location of small caves and inlets. The channel of water ran alongside, and it was plain to see that since the plans had been drawn the mangroves had pushed further out into the water. There were even plans for an additional building on the south side, close to Jake’s boundary.
‘My grandfather planned to build a boat-house,’ Jake murmured, ‘but other things were more important at the time. Then, when he moved to my place, there was one already in existence.’
‘Your grandfather must have been a great man…he never once gave up on his plans to find the shipwrecks, did he?’
‘No, he didn’t. And he inspired my father with the same dream, so in the end all his hard work paid off. The only regret he had was not being able to buy back this place. He wanted to keep the family together, all living on the one large estate, and after he died my father became fixed on the same idea. As I said before, they made several attempts to buy it back.’
He looked around the kitchen. ‘My mother loved living here, bringing up my brother and me. She never really settled at the big house…maybe because it is so big, or perhaps because we shared it with the grandparents. Don’t get me wrong, we all got along
really well—but she yearned for this place where we had been so happy together as a small family. She shared my grandfather’s dream of getting it back one day.’
Lacey glanced at him. ‘And that’s why you keep offering to buy me out? It’s not just the commercial interest, is it, with the plans to extend the fruit production? It’s the sentiment—the fact that your grandparents and your parents wanted it brought back into the fold.’
He nodded. ‘I know it must seem hard for you to understand. It’s just that my grandfather put every brick and piece of timber in place, and everything he did was a work of craftsmanship. My father knew that, and it was a huge wrench for him to have to sell up…the only reason he did it was because my grandfather was so convinced we were near to finding the location of the wrecks. Without the money from the house, we couldn’t have funded the extra expeditions that were needed.’
She put the plans to one side and looked at him. ‘Jake, I know what you’re asking of me, but you have to understand that Grace and I have memories tied up in this place, too. My mother planted trees and shrubs in the garden, fledgling trees that have grown to become mature, beautiful specimens. I look at each one and I see her handiwork, her vision of what the garden would eventually become.’
She pressed her lips together briefly. ‘My father dug out the fishpond and built the rockery. I remember him spending hours fiddling with the pump and the filter for the water fountain until he had it working just right. He used to grumble every time it blocked up, but the truth was the fishpond was his pride and joy. He built a wooden bench so that he and my mother could sit by the pond of an evening and watch the fish swimming about. When the water lilies were in bloom, my mother was entranced. She loved it.’
Jake made a rueful smile. ‘I do understand how you feel…but your parents also had a house in the UK and yet you managed in the end to part with that, didn’t you? Are you really so fixed on staying here?’
