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‘There. Easy.’ She felt him put his free hand on the small of her back, balancing his weight and steadying her. It wasn’t quite as easy as she was making out, but she could walk a dozen steps before she swung him back down on to his feet.
‘Impressive.’ He looked impressed as well. Some men would object to a woman being able to carry them, others might suffer it in silence, but she’d never imagined that it might be a cause for congratulation. But then Jack was different to most men.
Or perhaps he wasn’t. His lips curled, and suddenly she was pressed hard up against him, his leg between hers. ‘Hey...!’
‘Sorry. That’s not right, is it?’ He eased back a bit, turning what felt a lot like an embrace into the exact position for a lift. Then she found herself swung up on to his shoulders with about as much effort as it would have taken to swat a fly.
His right arm was wound around the back of her knee, his hand holding her arm. Perfect form. Perfect balance.
‘Not bad.’
He chuckled. ‘What’s wrong with it?’
What was wrong with it was that the primitive beat of her heart actually wanted him to carry her off to his lair and claim her as his. He’d lifted her with no apparent effort last night, and she’d always assumed that he was perfectly capable of slinging her over his shoulder, but having him do it was something different.
‘You’re not running.’
He settled her weight on his shoulders and started to stroll slowly back to A and E. ‘Paramedics never run when they can walk. We don’t go in for all that macho firefighter stuff.’
‘Cheek!’ She smacked at his back with her free hand. ‘Are you calling me macho?’
‘Never. Takes a real woman to do what you do.’
She tapped his shoulder. ‘Thinking of letting me down any time soon?’ She was getting to like this far too much. His scent, the feel of his body. The sudden dizzy feeling that accompanied his compliments.
‘Oh. Yeah, of course.’ He didn’t bend to set her back down on her feet, just shifted her around so that she slithered to the ground against his body.
‘You lost marks there.’ She stared up into his eyes.
‘I know. Worth it, though.’
It was the most exquisite kind of letting go. Forgetting about the effort and the stress of the morning and taking something for themselves, even if it was just messing around in a car park, testing each other’s strength. And if it meant any more than that, Cass was going to choose to ignore it.
‘Suppose we should get back.’ He nodded and they started back towards the hospital building. Back towards the cares of the day, the problems that still needed to be solved. And still neither of them had said anything about the one thing that she couldn’t stop thinking about. That kiss.
* * *
The smell of a Sunday roast pervaded the church hall and people were busy smoothing tablecloths and positioning cutlery. Everything neat and tidy, as if the families of Holme were determined to show themselves, and each other, that despite everything which had been thrown at them in the last few weeks, life went on.
Jack popped his head around the kitchen door to ask what time lunch would be, fully expecting to be shooed away, but instead he was drawn in and questioned rigorously about Sylvie and her family. He imparted the news that they were all recovering well, that Sylvie was spending tonight under observation in the hospital and that the family would stay with her sister in town. In return, he was told that no one knew where Cass was, but that she’d gone out about half an hour ago, saying she wouldn’t be long.
Armed with half a packet of biscuits, and the knowledge that it would be another hour before lunch was served, he walked through the winding passageways at the back of the church, losing his way a couple of times, but finally managing to find the corridor that led to the porch. When he opened the door, no one was there.
* * *
He wondered whether he should sit down and wait for Cass. This was her private place and it seemed like an intrusion, but he needed to talk to her alone.
He had to make a choice. He could leave, and thank his lucky stars that the constant demands of other people had meant that one brief but sensational kiss was all they’d been able to share. Or he could live with that mistake and not let it stop him from doing the right thing.
He heard footsteps approaching the door. When she opened the door into the porch she was rubbing her face, as if supremely weary. In that moment, Jack knew that he cared about her far too much to leave her here, with such a heavy weight of responsibility on her shoulders.
‘Jack!’ As soon as she caught sight of him she seemed to rally herself. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing.’
She shot him a puzzled look, then dropped the pair of waders she was holding and took off her coat.
‘Where have you been?’ She pressed her lips together in reply and Jack gave up trying to pretend that he didn’t know. ‘Your house?’
