Chapter 14
WHEN JESS ASKED HIM to fill in for her on set as a consulting medical professional, Nate almost spat out a blunt refusal, but with a preeclampsia situation, he knew he had no choice. Lilia was lucky Jess was so good at her job. It could have been a dangerous situation otherwise.
Still, revealing his secret made him apprehensive. If he let it be known he wasn’t just playing a doctor, it left him wide open to a barrage of questions.
The crew were a friendly bunch. He enjoyed their company, but they also favoured gossip, and he was the new guy.
He’d already dodged most questions about his background, which he knew they’d put down to his reserved English nature.
But this would give them fresh material to speculate on.
A successful career in medicine and a fancy London apartment?
Why would he leave that behind? This wasn’t exactly a Hollywood gig.
He could keep playing it cool, playing the shy guy card, or open up and talk about the real reason he was in New Zealand, running away from his life.
Was he ready for that? Not really. It was another reason he wanted the cottage to himself so badly; it helped him avoid excess conversation about his break-up and his failed life plans.
But Jess had helped him out, both with the scene and with being flexible about the cottage; the least he could do was return the favour.
It might feel good to be honest with everyone.
Lying kept him at a distance and, in many ways, it had been hard to keep up the false pretences.
He’d already made mistakes a few times in conversation, letting it slip that he’d worked in a hospital or talking about some medical detail with too much knowledge.
He was constantly overthinking and watching what he said.
Nate agreed to help, explaining the situation to Laney.
He kept the details about Lilia and her medical issues vague to protect her privacy while offering up his own secrets.
Laney was shocked but delighted to have two medical professionals on set and, in her bouncy, overenthusiastic way, put him straight to work, coaching the actors through the afternoon’s scenes.
By the time Laney called it quits for the day, it was after seven, and Nate was exhausted and ravenous. He grabbed a chicken burger leftover from dinner and ate it as he drove back to the cottage. Jess was already there when he arrived, sitting at the table with a cup of herbal tea in her hands.
“Big day?” she asked as soon as he walked in the door.
“Let’s just say I’ll be happy to return your role to you tomorrow,” he said, checking the jug with the back of his hand and, finding it still hot, pouring himself a cup of tea. “Consulting is harder than it looks.”
“Right?” Jess said, offering him a radiant smile. It barely registered on her face, a quick flash and gone, but her eyes lit up in a way that made Nate’s skin tingle with desire.
He clutched his hot drink, feeling it scald the palms of his hands, and took a seat across from her at the small table. “How’s Lilia?”
“She’ll be okay. Still in shock. But her partner, Dan, met us at the hospital and he seemed excited.”
“It would be a lot to take in,” Nate said, remembering a cryptic pregnancy he’d come across back in London. “I had a teenage patient a few years back who didn’t know she was pregnant until she went into labour.”
“Was she showing?”
“She certainly looked nine months pregnant when she came into the A and E. Both the patient and her mother swore they had no idea,” he said, taking a long sip of his tea. “Denial can be a strong thing.”
“The only one I’ve come across was a woman in her late 40s. She wasn’t my patient, but she came into Christchurch hospital with her husband, both of them convinced she had a tumour. She’d thought she was in menopause.”
“I bet they were relieved?”
“Apparently, they were delighted. They’d never had kids and always wanted them.”
“That’s a nice outcome. The young patient I had wasn’t so happy about it.”
They both sat in silence, sipping their hot drinks, Nate thinking about his young patient.
Had she really known and just kept it a secret from her mother, not wanting to face reality?
Sadly, reality always had to be faced up to in the end.
How long could you run from it? Nine months in her case.
For him, he had less than a month on his work visa, then he’d be back home face-to-face with reality, no matter how hard he’d been trying to ignore it.
“I was thinking of going for a walk,” Jess said. “Did you want to come? I know you haven’t had much of a chance to explore since you arrived.”
Snapped out of his memories, he looked across at Jess, surprised. She returned his gaze, waiting with that same brilliant spark in her eyes.
“Well…do you, Doctor Raynard? Or is it beneath you to associate with lowly midwives?” she teased.
Nate laughed. “He’s so awful. You wouldn’t believe how much I hate playing that character some days. But I would love to come for a walk. That is, as long as you promise to walk at least three paces behind me at all times,” he teased back, enjoying seeing more of this side of Jess.
“Of course. It goes without saying.” She tipped her head, throwing the last of her tea back and revealing her long, soft neck.
Her collarbone, just visible at the top of her oversized navy t-shirt, gave him the urge to run his fingertips along it.
Although, that wouldn’t be a good idea. It would only make life more complicated.
His pulse quickened again, but he averted his eyes, quickly finishing his own tea and standing to place the cup in the sink.
“Are they all you have?” she asked, pointing to the shiny dress shoes he’d taken off next to the door. “Or do you have running shoes?”
He laughed again. “Why? Are you going to chase me out of the cottage? Ah, I see your plan now.”
Jess laughed with him, a full, beautiful, free laugh, like someone who didn’t care what anyone else thought. “Now that you mention it…”
“I better get prepared then,” he said, heading to the bedroom to find his running shoes. The teasing made him feel playful. It was a kind of banter he’d always wanted and struggled to find with a partner.
When he returned, Jess had her own running shoes on and was pulling a light sweater over her head. She led him around the rear of the cottage and through an ancient wooden gate in the back fence.
“I found this earlier when I was checking out the garden. It leads to the river,” she explained. “The countryside here probably looks exactly the same as an English countryside, I guess?”
“Similar. I live in London though, so I don’t see a lot of it.”
“Hmmm,” Jess said distractedly, watching her feet as she navigated the overgrown path.
“Which river is it, do you know?” he asked.
“Rakahuri. It’s also called the Ashley River. The river out here is really special to me. It has special memories.”
Surrounded by open fields, gorse-bush, and dozens of tiny yellow flowers, the month’s stresses slipped from his shoulders. Everything felt simpler out here. He followed Jess in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the evening sun on his back and the peaceful landscape.
He heard the water before he saw it.
“Gorgeous, right?” She picked up her pace, almost skipping to the rocky edge of the river, and placed her fingertips into the fast-flowing rapids. “It’s shallow here, but there are swimming holes up further.”
He stopped a few paces back, wanting to take it all in. Running her hands through the water, child-like delight transformed her face. In the evening light, framed by rolling farmland and the sparkling river, she was completely at home and completely stunning.
The more he got to know Jess, the fewer similarities he saw to his ex. This woman was unique, and he found himself wanting to discover everything about her.
“Is it cold?” he asked, moving closer. Needing to be closer.
“Freezing!” she laughed, flicking a handful of water at him.
He gasped as the fresh water hit his face, and then gave her a serious look. “You sure you want to start what you can’t win?”
“Who says I won’t win?” she challenged him, flicking a larger scoop of icy water in his direction, soaking his hair.
“You asked for this.” Nate bent down and, with both hands, slapped the water in her direction.
Before long, they were both drenched and laughing hysterically.
He put his hands up in surrender. “You win. You win,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “How am I more soaked than you?”
“You’ve got to get the technique right.” Pulling her wet hair into a ponytail, she wrung it out. “Years of practice.”
“You’ve spent a lot of time here?” he asked as they wandered next to the river, both still shaking out their wet hair and clothes.
“Mm-Hmm. Every school holidays with my granddad. He lived near here with my nana and we spent a lot of time at the river. It’s where he taught me to paint. He was an incredible artist.”
“They’re not here now?”
She reached down to pick up a grey stone from the riverbed, flicking it between her fingers. “No. Nan passed away first, a while ago now. Grandad when I was at uni.”
“I’m sorry.”
They walked side-by-side, allowing the birdsong around them to fill in the silence for a moment. It was too easy to picture himself living like this. Walking next to her in the countryside, talking; just being together in this effortless, relaxed way. Far too easy.
“I loved staying with my grandad, and my nan when she was alive,” Jess continued. “They were married for forty-two years and she was the love of his life.”
“Impressive.”
“Yeah. He was the calm anchor in our lives, you know? The safe place. My mum and him never got along well. They used to argue about the awful men she chose, and all the moving around we did. He didn’t think it was good for me to see those kinds of relationships.”
“Was he right?”