Chapter 35
35
At Salisbury hospital, Jade asked to be directed to Men’s Surgical.
‘Bay four, bed three, love,’ said a sweet-faced nurse on the nursing station when Jade arrived at the right ward.
She found Aiden sitting up in bed, reading a veterinary journal, which he put down as soon as he saw her.
‘Jade! Hi!’ He sounded so pleased to see her that she felt terrible.
‘Hello, Aiden. How are you feeling?’
‘All the better for seeing you.’ His whole face lit up. Then he shifted in the bed and winced, and the journal slipped off his lap on to the floor.
‘Are you very sore?’ she asked, reaching to pick it up.
‘No, not really. It was my own stupid fault for thinking I knew best. Molly – she’s the goat who put me in here – gave me the impression that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, although her owner did try to warn me.’
‘What happened?’
‘Basically, she head butted me with her very sharp horns. And while I was trying to get out of her way, I knocked myself senseless on the door of the jeep. Didn’t take a lot of doing. I was halfway there already.’
She wondered if he was referring to hitting Finn. Not sure how to respond, she glanced around the room. There was a card on the bedside table. She gave him the box of chocolates she’d bought in the hospital shop.
‘Thanks. How are things at Duck Pond Rescue? How’s Fang? Is she still there?’
Jade nodded, relieved Ray had decided against having Fang in the end. It would have been horrible having to tell Aiden he wouldn’t see the little dog again. ‘She’s fine. She misses you. We all do,’ she added impulsively. ‘You’ll have to pop in and see us some time. If you want to, I mean.’
‘I’d like that very much.’ He turned towards her, and Jade saw the bruise and a small cut on the side of his head.
‘That looks nasty. Is that why they’re keeping you in?’
‘Yes. Just for the night, with a bit of luck. I can hobble about all right, but they don’t like to take any risks when you’ve knocked yourself out. How did you know I was here?’
‘Paul popped in this morning.’
‘I bet he was laughing his socks off.’
‘No, I don’t think so. I wasn’t there, as it happens. I was in Skegness rescuing a donkey.’
‘That’s a long way to drive – did Finn go with you?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘Things are working out all right with Finn, then?’ There was a hint of resignation in his voice and Jade nodded, reminded suddenly of the same look of resignation in Richard’s eyes.
Compassion rose in her, and she said, ‘I shouldn’t think he’ll stay around much past the end of the summer. He’ll want to get something better.’
‘I’m glad. That things are working out, I mean.’ Aiden’s eyes warmed. ‘I guess I ought to prepare myself for being the butt of a few jokes when I get out of here. Literally, in my case.’
They both laughed and the tension left the room.
They talked for a bit longer about the animals she’d taken in and re-homed and then Jade said, ‘I’d better get off. It’s later than I thought.’
‘I really appreciate you coming, and I’d love to see Fang some time. That’s if you’re really sure?’ He lifted his hand but at the last minute seemed to think better of it and dropped it back on to the bed.
‘Of course I’m sure. Give me a call first and I’ll make sure I’m there.’
And she’d make sure Finn wasn’t, she decided as she drove home. Perhaps asking Aiden back hadn’t been such a good idea. It had seemed the right thing to do, but Finn might not be quite so enamoured with the news.
‘It’s up to you, Jade,’ Finn said, not looking up from the Wordle he was doing when Jade got back to the cottage. ‘As long as the bloke doesn’t have another pop at me. I might hit him back next time.’
‘I’m sure he won’t. It’ll be a while before he can even work again.’
Finn didn’t answer and she sat on the sofa. He might say he didn’t mind her inviting Aiden back, but the temperature in the room had definitely dropped since she’d told him.
‘Thanks for coming to Skegness,’ she added, anxious to get things back on an even footing.
‘Like I said, it was my fault you had to go there in the first place. It was the least I could do.’ His voice was cold and suddenly she was angry .
‘What is the matter with you?’ she demanded, getting up from the sofa and storming across to him.
He looked startled. Then he stood up so they were facing each other.
‘I just can’t work you out.’ She knew her voice was rising. ‘One minute you act like a normal human being. Quite a decent person, in fact. And the next you’re a bloody iceberg.’
For a moment he didn’t say anything, just looked at her with an expression she couldn’t fathom. Then he grabbed hold of her arms, pulled her roughly against him and kissed her. It was such a shock she felt her legs melting beneath her. Or maybe it was the passion in his kiss. Iceberg-like, it was not. There was no tenderness there, either. Not like the last time they’d kissed, at all. Ribbons of fire flicked through her at his touch.
When she’d recovered the use of her legs, she tried to pull away from him, or at least that had been her intention, but somehow she found herself kissing him back. It was impossible not to – every defence she had was gone and she never wanted him to stop. When he did, she felt too weak even to slap him.
‘Was that bloody normal enough for you?’ he growled, and she saw that his grey eyes were blazing. And then he spun around and slammed out of the room.
Jade sank on to the sofa, so shocked she could hardly believe it had happened. Perhaps she should go after him. She dismissed the idea immediately. She’d provoked him quite enough for one evening. Best to let the dust settle.
She touched her lips, which still tingled from the roughness of his kiss. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She took a few deep breaths until the hysteria subsided. Well, it had certainly proved one thing. Indifferent to her he was not. Her mind leapt ahead to work and the normality she’d been trying to recapture. Oh my God. What on earth were they going to say to each other tomorrow?
Fortunately, they didn’t have to say anything because when she got up the next day he was already out working. Deciding there was a better chance of them resuming a professional relationship if as much time as possible passed before they saw each other again, she threw herself into the routines of the morning.
Finn kept out of her way for most of the day. Around teatime he called across the yard that he was going to wood stain some fences and that he’d probably be a while.
Jade locked up and took her paperwork into the cottage. He’d have to come in sooner or later.
It was dusk and she was sitting in the lounge, showered and changed and having extreme difficulty concentrating on a batch of invoices, when the front door banged.
‘Is that you, Finn?’
‘No, it’s a burglar.’ His footsteps slowed outside the lounge door, but he didn’t come in.
Jade leapt up and went into the hall. ‘I want to talk to you.’
‘I’ll get changed first. I’m covered in wood stain. Is there any hot water left?’
When he came down, his hair was still damp. ‘I’m all yours,’ he said, stepping into the room, his face guarded.
She’d been going to hedge round the issue, but now she was facing him, she couldn’t, so she just launched straight in. ‘Why did you kiss me last night? And I want a straight answer. I’ve had enough of your games.’
‘I’m not playing games.’ He gave her a direct look. ‘I thought we’d got that clear in Skegness. ’
‘Just tell me why you kissed me.’
He looked uncomfortable. His gaze flicked around the room and he took a step away from her. Then he brushed a hand through his hair, leaving a spike of it sticking up so that Jade had a strong urge to go across and smooth it down for him. ‘I guess because I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have happened. Do you want me to go?’
‘No, of course I don’t want you to go.’ She watched his face. He rarely looked unsure of himself, he hardly ever looked vulnerable, but she could see he was both, now. She wanted to make him feel better and she’d had enough of keeping this forced distance between them. She was tired of pretending and she was worn out with lying – not just to him, but to herself.
‘I enjoyed it,’ she murmured. ‘Didn’t you?’ She’d surprised him, she saw, but then she’d surprised herself, too. In for a penny, in for a pound. She took a step towards him. ‘Am I embarrassing you?’
‘No.’ He stayed where he was.
Just two more steps to the point of no return, Jade thought, wondering who would be the one to take them. Or were they going to turn away from each other again? Keep pretending there was nothing between them? She could feel the electricity sparking, but she also had a feeling that if they stopped now they’d never reach this point again. Then, making a decision she knew she would live to regret, she took another step. But it was he who took the final one. He put his arms around her and gave a small moan.
‘Bloody hell, Jade.’ His arms tightened and he buried his face in her hair and then his lips found hers and she knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him, and that this time they weren’t going to stop.
She forced herself to break the kiss and he looked at her, his eyes quizzical, but before he could speak, she grabbed his hand and led him out of the room.
Her bedroom door was open and they went inside wordlessly.
She sat on the bed and he knelt on the carpet in front of her. ‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ His voice was little more than a whisper, his eyes smoky with desire, and in answer she kissed him again and drew him up onto the double bed beside her.
In the morning, when Jade woke up, there was an empty space beside her and she thought for a moment it had all been a wonderful dream. But she could still feel the effects of his body on hers, a delicious awareness that was replaced by a quiver of lust when she thought about what they’d spent the night doing. So the love gene hadn’t been missing in her, as she’d always suspected; just buried, she reflected, rolling over and burying her face in his pillow. What a pity she hadn’t discovered it before. She’d been missing out.
Last night when they’d made love, she had never felt so on fire, so much at one with another person. She had gazed up at the outline of his face. His eyes, dark with passion, were totally unguarded. It was like looking into his soul. In that moment none of the past had mattered. She had felt as though she was exactly where she was meant to be. As if her whole life had been leading up to this point and if there was no more time left to her afterwards, it wouldn’t matter.
So where was he now?