by Sue MacKay
Keep it simple.
Do not get too close.
Don’t ask him for more than fun. And great sex.
Her skin sizzled. What they’d shared last night had gone beyond fun, beyond description. She grimaced. What rule had she broken there?
‘Jessica, you’re going weird on me.’ Jackson was right beside her as she punched in the security code for the alarm system.
Pulling the door shut and checking it was locked, she dug deep for a nonchalant answer and came up with, ‘Not weird, just pulling on my mother-in-charge persona.’
‘You’re two different people?’ His eyes widened, making him look surprised and funny at the same time.
She couldn’t keep serious around him. Bending forward at the waist, one hand on her butt like a tail and the other creating a beak over her mouth, she headed towards her car. ‘Quack, quack, quack.’
‘Hang on, who are you? Where’s Jess gone? Bring her back. I’m not getting in a vehicle with a duck.’
‘Quack, quack.’
Jackson chuckled. ‘Is this how you bring up your son? The poor little blighter. He’ll be scarred for life. I need to save him.’
Jess felt his arms circle her and swing her off the ground to be held against that chest she’d so enjoyed running her fingers up and down during the night. She slid her hands behind his neck and grinned into his face. ‘You’re not going to kiss a duck?’
He groaned. ‘I must be as crazy as you.’ Then his mouth covered hers and she forgot everything except his kiss.
Heat spiralled out of control inside her. Her skin lifted in excited goose-bumps. Between her legs a steady throb of need tapped away at her sanity. Sparks flew. Whoever had invented electricity obviously hadn’t had great sex.
Without taking that gorgeous, sexy mouth away from hers, Jackson set her on her feet and tugged her hard against him. She could feel his reaction to her against her abdomen. She clung to him. To stop holding him would mean ending up in an ungainly heap on the ground.
His lips lifted enough for him to demand, ‘What’s that code you just punched in?’
‘Why?’
‘We need a bed. Or privacy at least.’
He was right. They couldn’t stay in the very public car park, demonstrating their awakening friendship. Not when he’d made sure no one had seen him leaving her place early that morning. She glanced down at Jackson’s well-awake evidence of their needs and grinned. ‘Three-two-four-eight-one.’
‘I’m expected to remember that in the midst of a wave of desire swamping my brain?’
Thank goodness he returned his mouth to hers the moment he’d got that question out. She couldn’t stand it when he withdrew from kissing her. Could this man kiss or what?
Cheep-cheep. Cheep-cheep.
‘What the—?’ Jackson’s eyes were dazed as he looked around.
Reality kicked into Jess. ‘My phone.’ She tugged the offending item from her pocket and glared at the screen. Then softened. ‘It’s probably Nicholas, using Andrea’s phone.’ As she pressed the talk button she gave Jackson an apologetic shrug. ‘This is another side of being a mother. Always on call.’ Then, ‘Hello, is that my boy?’
‘Mummy, where are you? I want to see Grady now.’ He’d taken to Grady very quickly. Perhaps it was a sign he needed a male figure in his life?
‘I’m on my way to get you.’ She turned from the disappointment in Jackson’s eyes. He might as well get used to the reality of her life right from the start. Presuming he wanted to see more of her, and that bulge in his jeans suggested he did.
‘How long will you be, Mummy? I want to show you the fish the seagulls stole.’
‘Nicholas, you know I can’t talk to you while I’m driving so you’ll have to wait until I get there to tell me about the seagulls. Okay?’
‘Why won’t the policemen let you drive and talk to me? It’s not fair.’
Jess grinned. ‘It’s the law, sweetheart.’ Knowing Nicholas could talk for ever, she cut him off. ‘See you soon.’
Jackson’s hands were stuffed into the pockets of his designer jeans as he leaned against the vehicle he’d borrowed from his mother. ‘Want me to drive?’
‘You still want to come with me?’ Now, that surprised her. As far as she knew, Jackson wasn’t used to little kids and this particular one had interrupted something fairly intense. ‘Are you going to growl at him for his timing?’
‘No.’ He flicked a cheeky smile her way. ‘The day will come when someone interrupts him in his hour of need.’
She groaned and slapped her forehead. ‘I do not want to think about that. He’s four, not thirty-four.’
‘Thirty-four?’
‘That’s when I’ll think about letting him out on his own to see girls.’
‘Good luck with that one.’ He crossed to the driver’s side of her car and held his hand up for the keys. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Um, my car. I drive.’
He just grinned at her. Really grinned, so that her tummy flip flopped and her head spun. So much that driving could be dangerous.
‘Go on, then.’ She tossed the keys over the top of her car. ‘Men.’
‘Glad you noticed.’
How could she not? His masculinity was apparent in those muscles that filled his jeans perfectly, in his long-legged stride, in the jut of his chin, in that deep, sexy chuckle that got her hormones in a twitter every time. She climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door with a firm click. Then something occurred to her. ‘We’re going to Pohara Beach. Shouldn’t we take both vehicles, save a trip back into town later?’
‘Nah. I’ll go for a run when it cools down, pick up the truck then. Mum won’t be needing it today.’
‘Running? As in pounding the pavement and building up a sweat?’ She shuddered. ‘You obviously need a life.’ But it did explain those superb thigh muscles. And his stamina.
Jackson just laughed. ‘You’re not into jogging, then? Knitting and crochet more your style?’
Thinking about the cute little jerseys she’d made for Nicholas last winter, she smiled and kept quiet. If only you knew, Jackson.
Then he threw another curve ball as they headed towards the beach. ‘Who held you while you had Nicholas? Who smoothed your back and said you were doing fine?’
The man wasn’t afraid of the big questions. ‘No one ever asked me that before.’ Not even Mum and Dad. Especially not Mum and Dad.
‘Tell me to shut up if you want.’
That was the funny thing. She didn’t want to. Jackson touched something in her that negated all her usual reticence when it came to talking about personal things. ‘Two nurses I was friendly with took it in turns to hold my hand and talk me through the pain.’ She’d trained with Phillip and Rochelle, and when they’d got married she’d been there to celebrate with them. They’d been quick to put their hands up when she’d announced she was having a baby, offering to help in any way they could. It had been more than three years since they’d left to work in Australia, and she still missed them.
‘That must’ve been hard.’
Because Nicholas’s dad wasn’t there? No, by then she’d known she’d had a lucky escape. ‘Not so bad. It was worse afterwards when I wanted to share Nicholas’s progress, to talk about him and know I was on the right track with how I brought him up. That’s when single mothers have it tough. That’s what I’ve been told, and going by my own experience I have to agree.’ It was also probably why Nicholas got away with far more than he should. There was no one to share the discipline, to play good cop, bad cop with.
‘So how do you cope with the day-to-day stuff of being a solo mum?’
‘Heard of the headless chook? That’s me.’
‘When you’re not being a duck, you mean?’
She giggl
ed. ‘That too. I don’t think about how I manage, I just do. I wouldn’t want to go back to before I had Nicholas. Being a mother is wonderful. Though there are days when I go to visit Sasha or your mum for a bit of adult conversation and to help calm the worry that I’m getting it all wrong.’
‘Even two parents bringing up a child together have those worries.’
‘Guess it will never stop.’
Jackson turned onto the road running beside Pohara Beach. ‘I was watching Lily and Matthew earlier. They were desperate to hold their baby and it hurt them not to be able to.’
Again she thought she could read him. ‘Believe me, if you want to be a part of your child’s life then you’re not going to miss that first cuddle for anything. Sad to say, but my boy’s father truly didn’t care. He came to town for three months, had a lot of fun, and left waving a hand over his shoulder when I told him I was pregnant. He didn’t even say goodbye.’
It was silent in the car for a minute then she pointed to a sprawling modern home on the waterfront. ‘There.’
Jackson pulled up on the drive, switched the engine off and turned to her. ‘He wasn’t interested in his child?’
‘There was a wife in Alaska.’ It had hurt so much at the time. She’d been an idiot to fall for him.
‘The jerk.’ Jackson lifted her hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of it, sending shivers of need racing through her blood. Again.
‘It’s Nicholas who misses out. He’d love a dad to do all those male things with. Apparently I’m no good at football.’ She pushed out of the car. All the better to breathe. Despite the conversation they were having, sitting beside Jackson in her minuscule car did nothing to quieten her rampaging hormones.
‘Mummy, here I am.’ Nicholas’s sweet voice interrupted her internal monologue and reminded her who was important in her life. Here was the only person she should be thinking about.
‘Hey, sweetheart, have you had a good time?’ She reached out to haul him in for a hug but he’d stumbled to a stop and banged his hands on his hips.
His head flipped back at Jackson. ‘What’s your name?’ he demanded.
Jackson stood on the other side of the car, studying her boy in that searching way of his. ‘I’m Jackson Wilson. You saw me at the wedding.’ He came round and put his hand out to be shaken.
But Nicholas hadn’t finished. ‘Why did you drive my mummy’s car?’
The corner of Jackson’s mouth lifted but he kept his amusement under control. ‘I like driving and haven’t been doing very much lately.’
‘Mummy likes driving, too.’ Nicholas stared at the proffered hand. ‘Are you a friend of ours?’
‘Yes, I am. That’s why I’m waiting to shake your hand. Want to put yours in mine, sport?’
Jess could barely contain her laughter as she watched her son strut across and bang his tiny hand into Jackson’s much larger one. They both shook.
‘See, Mummy. That’s how it’s done.’
‘So it is.’ What she did see was that Nicholas really did need some male influence in his life. He picked up on anything Grady said, and now, if she wasn’t mistaken, he was factoring Jackson into his thinking.
A chill ran through her veins. Not good. Jackson would soon be going away again, and if Nicholas got too fond of him, they were in for tears. Some of those might be hers, too. Already she felt comfortable around him in a way she rarely felt with men. There were a lot of hidden depths to Jackson, but she liked the way he took the proper time with her son. Amongst other things. Then her face heated as she recalled how there’d been no time spared last night when they’d first fallen into bed.
‘Do I get my hug now, Nicholas?’
Dropping the strut, her boy ran at her, barrelling into her legs. ‘I missed you, Mummy. Did you miss me?’
Swinging him up in her arms, she grinned and kissed his cheek. ‘Big time.’
‘Hi, Jess,’ Andrea called from the porch of the house. ‘How was the wedding?’
Andrea’s question might have been directed to Jessica but her gaze was fixed on Jackson. He seemed to have that effect on most women. Including her. Even now, when there was no alcohol fizzing around her system, she definitely had the hots for him. She knew that if they were alone with time to spare she’d be requesting a repeat performance of last night’s lovemaking.
But she wasn’t alone with him. Her son was waiting to go and see Grady, and Andrea was waiting for a reply to her question. ‘Sasha looked stunning, and Grady scrubbed up all right, too. They’re leaving on their honeymoon shortly so I’d better get Nicholas around there to say goodbye. Thank you so much for having him to stay. I hope he wasn’t any trouble.’ He could be. She knew that. He hated being told what to do and could throw a paddy that matched the severity of a tornado. It was something she needed to work on.
He wriggled to be set down as Andrea waved a hand in his direction. ‘You were very well behaved, weren’t you, Nicholas? I wish Bobby could be half as good.’
Huh? Did Nicholas only play up for her? ‘Thank goodness for that.’ Jess checked he’d put his seat belt on properly before walking around to get back in the car.
Jackson started backing out the driveway. ‘What did you get up to with your friend, Nicholas?’
‘We played soccer, and Bobby’s dad took us in his truck to get a boat. I wanted to go fishing but we weren’t allowed because no adults wanted to go with us.’ On and on he went, detailing every single thing he’d done since she’d dropped him off after the wedding service and before the reception.
Warmth stole through her, lifting her lips into a smile. ‘That’s my boy,’ she whispered. Though thankfully they were pulling up outside Virginia and Ian’s within minutes. Jess didn’t want Jackson bored to sleep while driving. But he was the one to unclip Nicholas’s belt and help him down. ‘There you go, sport. Let’s see if there’s any of that brunch left for us to enjoy.’
‘What’s brunch?’
‘Breakfast and lunch all mixed together,’ Jess told him as she straightened his shirt.
‘Why do you mix them?’
‘So you only have one meal.’ She rubbed his curls and got a glare for her trouble.
‘That’s a dumb idea.’ Nicholas, as usual, got in the last word.
There were still a lot of people milling around, obviously in no hurry to leave. Jess hoped Virginia was coping. Yesterday had been tiring enough for someone with her disease. ‘I’m going to see if I can do anything to help,’ she told Jackson.
‘I’ll go and find Dad,’ he told her.
‘Hey, there you two are.’ Grady strode across the lawn towards them.
The way he said it suggested she and Jackson were a couple. That would surely send Jackson off to hide amongst the guests.
‘Howdy, Grady. How’s married life treating you so far?’ she asked.
‘No complaints,’ he answered, before swinging Nicholas up above his head and holding the giggling, writhing body of her son aloft. ‘Hey, Nicholas, how are you doing, boyo? Did you have fun at Bobby’s house?’
‘Yes, yes,’ Nicholas shrieked. ‘Make me fly, Grady.’
‘Please,’ Jess said automatically.
Too late. Grady swooped his armful earthward and up again. How his back took the strain she had no idea. ‘Where’s Sasha?’
‘Inside with Virginia, getting some more food. Man, these people can eat.’ Swoop, and Nicholas was flying towards the ground again.
‘You okay with Nicholas while I go see what I can do to help?’ she asked Grady.
‘She thinks I can’t look after you, Nicholas. Women, eh?’
‘What do you mean, women?’ Nicholas’s little face screwed up in question.
Jackson laughed. ‘Get yourself out of that in one piece, Grady.’
‘Better that he k
nows all he can as soon as possible.’ Grady grinned. ‘Leave the lad with us, Jess. We’ll teach him all our bad habits.’
‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’ She tipped her head to one side. ‘You are grinning a lot this morning, Mr O’Neil. I’d better go see what Mrs O’Neil has been up to.’ Jess headed to the house, ignoring the ribald comments coming from the two men she’d just left.
Inside she found Sasha and Virginia busy plating up leftover dessert from the wedding dinner. One look at Sasha told her everything. ‘Oh, yuk. You look as happy as Grady. Must be something in the water out here.’
Sasha grinned and rushed to hug her. ‘Morning. You’re not looking too unhappy yourself.’
Uh-oh. Jess looked over at Virginia who suddenly seemed very busy placing slices of fruit on a pavlova. ‘Of course I do. I’ve just delivered a baby. Although she was ten weeks early.’
‘Is that why the helicopter went over earlier?’ Virginia finally lifted her head. Dark shadows stained her cheeks, and her smile was a little loose.
‘Yep. Now, Virginia, I’d love nothing better than a good old chinwag with Sasha before she leaves on her honeymoon. Want to let me finish that while I talk? Jackson’s outside somewhere.’
Jess held her breath. She knew better than to out and out insist that Sasha’s mum should take a rest.
‘Good idea. I’ve been waiting to have a chat with that boy of mine.’ She had the audacity to wink at Jess.
‘I think he’s with Grady, though he said he wanted to find Ian.’
Virginia hadn’t even got to the door when Sasha rounded on Jess, grabbing her arms. ‘What’s this about my brother staying the night at your place?’
Didn’t Sasha approve? She should have known it wasn’t wise to get too close to her friend’s brother. Hell, none of last night had been wise, but it had been a lot of fun. Though if it would come between her and Sasha then she’d learn to get over Jackson fast. Which wasn’t a bad idea. She didn’t want a serious relationship. ‘Your mother’s been talking?’
