by Lucy Clark
‘How’s Megan?’ Jasper asked his father.
‘Not crying.’ Ian shook his head. ‘Stubborn as a mule, that one. That’s the Irish in the family coming out, I’m afraid.’
‘I still can’t believe Calvin stood her up.’ Jasper ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. A moment later he felt Jennifer’s hand cover his, gently prising his fingers open so she could hold his hand. Jasper looked down at her as his father agreed with the sentiment, generally berating his ex-son-in-law-to-be, but Jasper didn’t hear. When he’d looked down at Jennifer, to see such calm reassurance in her eyes, he somehow knew things were going to be all right. It was a strange sensation and one he’d never felt before. This woman simply exuded strength and power and he knew it was because she had gone through so much herself. His love for her increased even more and he gave her a little smile of thanks.
Jennifer gazed up at him, so happy she could be there to help him out. In fact, she wanted to keep helping him out for the rest of his life. She wanted to be there for him, for the girls. She wanted to be a part of them for ever and she looked away, starting to tremble inside. The thought of another woman helping Jasper and the girls through such a deeply personal time like this made her feel sick to her stomach.
The last time she’d had these sorts of symptoms, she’d diagnosed herself to be in love. This time was no different. She was completely and utterly in love with Jasper Edwards.
CHAPTER TEN
‘WHAT a horrible day for Megan.’ Jasper kept his voice low as they drove along. The girls had some of their favourite music playing in the back and were happily singing along so there was no way they could overhear the conversation in the front.
‘Mmm.’ Jennifer looked down at her clenched hands, still trying to come to terms with her most recent discovery. She was in love with Jasper? How on earth had that happened? She was desperately trying to rake through the memories from the time they’d met until now to see if she could pinpoint the exact moment it had happened, but she couldn’t. It was simply that the more she saw of Jasper and his daughters, the more she wanted to be with all of them. She wanted to go to work in the morning and know they would be waiting when she got home. She wanted to cut down on her shifts to spend more time with the girls. She wanted to take the girls to the park with Jasper on a day off where they would all walk hand in hand, where she would push the girls on the swing, where she would catch them at the bottom of the slippery-dip, where she would be able to look up into Jasper’s smiling face and see the love in his eyes…the love he would have for her.
Jennifer swallowed over the sudden dryness in her throat. Was it possible that Jasper would ever risk his heart again? Ever marry again? He seemed more than content with his sectioned-off life of family and work, throwing in the occasional date with a pretty colleague so he didn’t get bored. Was that how he wanted things to continue? Was that what he wanted for them? For her to be the person he took to functions, who he spent time with but who he wasn’t ready to really commit to?
‘Are you all right?’ Jasper asked softly, and Jennifer quickly looked up to reassure him. That was a mistake in itself. His eyes were so rich, so deep, so unbelievably sexy that she couldn’t hide the tremor of excitement that coursed through her.
‘Jen?’ His voice dropped lower when he said her name like that and she could read his instant desire for her. It was utterly amazing how they seemed to be able to set each other off with just a look and she was glad that at least that part of the relationship was intensely reciprocated. ‘What is it?’ He glanced at her, trying to decipher her expression before looking back at the road.
Jennifer opened her mouth to speak but found herself incapable of forming a sentence. It was on the tip of her tongue to simply blurt out her true feelings, to tell Jasper that she’d just realised she was in love with him, but she knew she couldn’t. She didn’t want to wreck what was happening between them and, besides, she needed to think this through. Her head had been quite fuzzy of late and she’d been experiencing a general feeling of exhaustion at the end of the day, more so than usual, and now she knew what the diagnosis was—she was in love.
His gaze flicked to her one more time before he slammed on the brakes and gripped the steering-wheel tightly. Jennifer instinctively put her hand out to the dashboard but the seat belt held her in. The car skidded forward, heading towards the stationary block of cars in front of them which had already crashed.
Jennifer closed her eyes for a second, waiting for that sickening sound of metal, twisting with metal but it never came. Everything had happened so fast and, thankfully, Jasper had brought his own car to a stop within a reasonable distance. He checked his rear-view mirror to find the car behind him had already stopped as well before he turned to check on his girls.
‘Jen? You OK?’
‘Yes.’
‘Girls?’
‘Daddy?’ Lilly’s lower lip was starting to wobble.
‘Daddy?’ Lola echoed, her eyes wide with fright.
‘It’s OK, girls. We’re all all right. There’s been an accident up ahead. I’m just going to have a look.’ Jasper was out of the car before they knew what was happening. Jennifer undid her own seat belt before wriggling herself into the back seat and placing an arm about both girls as they started to cry.
‘It’s all right,’ she comforted them. ‘It’s over. We’re all OK.’
‘I want to get out,’ Lola protested, tugging on her seat belt.
‘No, no, darling. Just wait a moment. Let me check you both.’ Jennifer was visually giving them a once-over, only breathing out a sigh of relief when she’d reassured herself they were indeed both all right. Her cellphone began to ring, which momentarily stopped the girls from crying, and Jennifer quickly reached into the front seat to answer it.
‘Jen? It’s Sara. Are you all right?’
‘We’re fine. Where are you?’
‘About five cars back.’
‘Great.’ Jennifer looked out the window to see that several motorists had stopped their cars blocking off the lane next to the crash, and were directing traffic. ‘Why don’t you come and get the girls and take them to your house? I have a feeling Jasper and I will be in Theatre for a few hours.’
‘Of course. Be right there.’
It didn’t take much to pack up the girls who were both more than happy to go with Sara in her mini-van. Jennifer and Jasper kissed them both goodbye and once they were gone Jasper took her hand in his as they walked back towards his car.
‘The emergency services have already been called and I just need to get my medical kit from the car. Although there are several cars involved in the pile-up, the worst seems to be the motorcyclist at the front. He obviously had to brake hard and then went not only over his own handlebars but over the car in front which I believe was the one that caused the accident in the first place.’
‘I’ll take the cyclist. You do a closer triage on the other vehicles then report back and help me.’
Jasper couldn’t help the smile that touched the corners of his mouth. ‘Yes, boss,’ he said, and laughed away Jennifer’s brief look of alarm.
‘Sorry. I guess it’s just habit.’
‘And one that suits you.’ They were at his car now and before Jasper opened the boot to retrieve his medical bag he bent his head and placed a firm kiss to Jennifer’s lips.
Wishing she had a change of shoes, Jennifer made her way in her high heels towards the motorcyclist. There was a man sitting beside him, talking to him, keeping him alert. The rider still had his helmet on and she was thankful no one had tried to remove it.
‘Hi. I’m Dr Thorngate.’ She knelt down as best she could, given the tightness of the dress she was wearing, and was momentarily thankful she’d gone for the rich, deep burgundy colour as it wouldn’t show many of the stains she knew the garment was about to get.
‘You’re a doctor?’ The man sitting beside the rider sounded doubtful. ‘You don’t look like one.’
&nbs
p; ‘Well, I could hardly wear my operating clothes to a wedding, now, could I?’ She opened the medical kit Jasper had given her and pulled on a pair of gloves as she did a visual assessment of the injured man, thankful he was still conscious. His upper torso was angled slightly but appeared fine. It was his left leg, twisted in an odd way, that gave her the most concern.
‘What’s your name?’ she asked him.
‘Hamish.’
‘All right, Hamish. I want you to keep as still as you can, especially your head, but can you tell me where it hurts the most?’
‘My lower back. My leg.’ Hamish lifted his right hand to try and indicate the areas but she quickly put her hand on his.
‘Stay still,’ she reminded him. ‘I’m going to look at your leg now. I need to check to make sure I can feel the pulse there.’ She shifted down and pressed her fingers to the posterial tibial pulse but couldn’t feel anything. She then checked his popliteal and femoral pulses and was pleased to find the femoral one quite strong. The main break appeared to be around the knee and lower leg. ‘I need to move your leg, Hamish, in order to get some more blood flowing. I’m going to give you something for the pain. Are you allergic to anything?’
‘Not that I know of.’
‘Good.’ Jennifer drew up an injection and administered it, then looked up to see Jasper heading her way. ‘How are things going?’ she asked as he reached out a hand to help her to her feet.
‘I guess you’re not really dressed for this, are you?’ His gaze once again flicked briefly over her body, his reaction even more intense than the first time he’d seen her dressed like this earlier on in the day.
‘Neither are you.’ She indicated his suit. ‘But at least you’re more comfortable.’ She indicated the destruction behind him. ‘What’s the verdict?’ The sounds of a siren in the distance pierced the air.
‘A lot of whiplash, a lot of bruises.’ He shrugged. ‘A lot of angry and upset people. Nothing major.’
‘Good. As soon as the paramedics get here, I want to get a cervical collar onto Hamish and then we can deal with him at the hospital. His left leg will require surgery so if I could borrow your phone, I’ll call it through to see if I can secure an emergency theatre.’
Jasper handed over his phone immediately. ‘You know, Jen, there are other people who work at the hospital. They’re there now, covering the accidents that come in. You are allowed to have time off.’
Jennifer merely nodded before speaking into the phone. Jasper bent down and continued treating Hamish, straightening out his leg to allow stronger blood flow to the fractured limbs. When the ambulances arrived, Jennifer travelled with Hamish while Jasper managed to drive his car out and follow them to the hospital.
‘Get him directly into X-ray,’ she told Maryanne, who greeted them there. ‘Jasper, you’re with me.’ With that, she headed directly to the female changing rooms and started to peel off her dress. She stopped, arms raised, as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Slowly she lowered her hands and took a moment to simply look. She’d been surprised when Iris had insisted on taking her shopping for a dress to wear to the wedding.
‘You’ve been working too hard, Jennifer,’ Iris had scolded as they’d tripped from one dress shop to the next. Sara had managed to meet them and after a quick lunch, the hunt for the perfect dress had continued.
‘You need to take a break,’ Sara had reiterated and had then gasped with glee as she’d discovered the very dress that Jennifer was now wearing. ‘Wear your hair up, with a few little white flowers.’
‘Flowers?’ Jennifer had raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
‘Oh, yes,’ Iris had gasped. ‘They’d look beautiful with your dark locks.’
‘Jasper will go wild.’ Both Iris and Sara had giggled like schoolgirls at this idea. ‘I’ll come around beforehand and do it for you…and your make-up.’
‘He won’t know what hit him.’ Iris had hugged Jennifer close.
Before Jennifer had been able to reply, Sara had insisted on paying for the dress and had then led them on the search for the necessary accessories.
And poor Jasper hadn’t known what had hit him when he’d opened his front door and seen her standing there. She knew this because he’d been unable to speak as his gaze had covered every inch of the vision before him. Then he’d taken her hands in his and carefully leaned down to kiss her lips. It had been one of the most romantic moments she’d ever experienced. The memory filled her heart with love for the man who was no doubt waiting for her to change so they could perform surgery on poor Hamish.
It was true what Jasper had said. There were other people who could do this operation and Hamish’s injuries were hardly life threatening. Instead, they could have just let the paramedics deal with the situation and left to return to the girls.
But would the girls be waiting for her? Or were they just waiting for their father to return? Again Jennifer was struck with the thought that she really had no idea of the part she played in this family’s life. Was she a necessary part? Was she superfluous? Was she simply a novelty which would wear off later?
The desire to be with them all—including the extended family of Iris and Ian—was overwhelming and for the first time in her life she desperately wanted to be needed. Sitting down on a nearby chair, she realised she was shaking and knew if she didn’t pull herself together she wouldn’t be able to perform any surgery, even if she wanted to.
A wave of tiredness swamped her. Tiredness from working herself so hard, of always needing to push, to work her way to the top. It was then, and only then, she acknowledged she hadn’t really stopped for the past eight years—not since Arturo’s death.
She’d used work as a means of getting through her grief and in the process she’d lost herself…until she’d met Jasper. Another wave of fatigue washed over her. This time her stomach began to churn and she realised she probably should eat something.
At the knock on the change-room doors, Jennifer looked up, then stood up. Before she could take a step, she could hear the beeping of the combination buttons being pressed and a second later the door clicked open.
‘Jennifer?’
It was Jasper.
‘Jen? Are you all right?’
She walked out to where he could see her and when he saw she was still in her incredible dress, he smiled. ‘Need some help with the zip?’
Jennifer shook her head, then wished she hadn’t as the room started to spin. She wasn’t sure whether she actually said something or whether Jasper had been watching her closely, but in the next instant he was beside her and holding her firmly in his arms.
‘I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Here, sit down.’ He led her back to the chair and forced her to sit. He pressed a hand to her forehead. ‘You’re warm. Do you feel sick?’
‘I’ll be fine.’ But even as she heard herself speak, her throat dry, her voice cracking on the last word, Jennifer realised she wasn’t at all fine.
‘What happened? It’s only been five minutes since I left you.’
She looked up at him and was surprised to see two images of him swimming before her eyes. ‘I stopped.’
‘Stopped what?’
‘I stopped. I’ve been going…’ she panted ‘…for so long. I’ve been in survival mode for eight years and just, well…I just…I stopped.’ She tried to shake her head again but the nausea which rose up was worse than before.
‘Right. That’s it. I’m getting you home.’
‘No.’
‘Yes.’ His tone was firm and brooked no argument. ‘You’re not well, Jen, and you’re exhibiting symptoms of the dreaded lurgy that has been sweeping its way through the hospital.’
‘Don’t come close.’ Even she couldn’t believe how bad she felt, but the last thing she wanted was for Jasper to get it from her.
‘You’ve got Buckley’s and no hope of that happening.’
‘You’ll get it.’
‘I have a strong constitution. Comes from hanging aroun
d with preschoolers.’
She could tell he was smiling as he helped her up. ‘I like it when you smile.’ The words were said softly as she leaned in to him. ‘I like the way you smell. Always nice.’
‘Good to know.’ Jasper tried to put her arm around his neck so he could support her as they walked out but realised that all of her strength had gone and she was definitely coming down with whatever it was. ‘Hold on, honey.’ He pressed a kiss to her forehead and realised her temperature was raised. ‘I’ve got you.’ With that, he swept her off her feet and carried her towards the door. She was lighter than he’d expected and thankfully he was able to navigate his way out of the female changing rooms with the orthopaedic head of unit cradled safely in his arms.
Jennifer wasn’t aware of much except that Jasper stopped to talk to someone. It might have been Maryanne, she couldn’t remember. Everything became fuzzy, taking on a dream-like haze, and before she knew it she was lying in her bed and someone was taking off her shoes.
‘Jasper?’
‘I’m here, Jen. Still here. Not going anywhere. Sit up, honey. I need you to swallow some tablets.’
‘No.’ Her head was heavy and her limbs felt like lead.
‘It’s just paracetamol. It’ll help. Trust me.’
‘Trust you?’ Jennifer opened her bleary eyes and looked at him. ‘I do. I trust you, Jasper. I love you, Jasper.’ She dutifully swallowed the tablets and after that all she remembered was closing her eyes and letting the sweet darkness of rest consume her.
Jasper stood and stared down at her. His Jennifer. The woman who’d just admitted to not only trusting him but to loving him. Was this real? Was this true? He hoped it was. He hoped so with all his heart.
Right now, though, she needed him and there was no way on this earth that he was going to let her down. Knowing his parents had enough to deal with in supporting Megan, he called Sara to let her know what the situation was.
