On the first day she’d met him he’d been wrinkled and tired and ruffled and exhausted and even then he’d looked incredible. Today, though, his jaw seemed squarer, possibly due to the light stubble enhancing his good looks. It made him seem more relaxed, more rugged, more sexy.
She blinked once, twice and then forced herself to stop ogling him and to snap back into functioning mode. ‘Uh … yeah … um, I mean yes. Sure.’ She was standing at her desk, having just finished writing up some notes on her little patients. Five babies had been well enough to go home and seven had been moved to the maternity ward near their mothers. The unit was now back to a more reasonable level of occupancy and she knew her staff were more than capable of handling any emergencies that happened, although she seriously hoped for a quiet day.
‘I’ll get my things,’ she murmured, and as she turned her back on him Miles couldn’t help but take in her more casual attire. Up until now he’d only seen Janessa wearing tailored suits. Her skirts had all come to mid-calf and on the days when she’d worn trousers, she’d looked even more crisp and efficient.
He’d idly wondered if she wore the power suits in order to make herself look older and now, seeing her dressed casually in a pair of denim jeans and a knit top, her feet enclosed in brown leather boots, her hair still pulled back into a ponytail, he
knew
that was the reason for the stiff and starched suits because right at this moment she really did look about nineteen. All fresh faced and brimming with nervous energy.
Even when he’d tucked her into bed very early yesterday morning, he’d been mesmerised by her youthful appearance. Thirty-six? She looked anything but that old, and as she came towards him, a white scarf around her neck and a backpack slung casually over one shoulder, he was once again struck by how incredibly beautiful she was.
‘OK. Let’s go.’ They exited her office, Janessa closing the door behind them, feeling the warmth of Miles’s presence close to her.
‘Can I take that for you?’ he asked, holding his hand out towards the backpack.
She smiled politely. ‘It’s fine. It’s not that heavy.’ She felt so self-conscious, standing here in the unit, on her day off, feeling as though she was about to head out on a date with her new colleague. It wasn’t a date. They both knew it wasn’t. Didn’t they? Her eyes widened imperceptibly as she wondered whether Miles thought that today was a date. It wasn’t but she had no idea how to make that clear to him without running the risk of making a fool out of herself.
‘Right. I guess we’ll take my car.’ She felt strange walking out of the unit with him, conscious of all eyes upon them. Why did it feel as though the two of them were getting ready to embark on something that would take their relationship from professional to personal?
At the door, she stopped and looked at Ray. ‘You’ll call me if—?’
‘Yes, yes,’ he muttered, shooing her away. ‘Go. Fly. Relax. That goes for you, too, Miles. The two of you need a break, and with Sheena’s due date creeping up on us, this might be the last free day either of you have in quite some time.’
‘Good point.’
‘Now, scoot. Some of us have got work to do.’
‘Quite the instiller of confidence,’ Miles remarked as they headed out of the hospital. The day was big and bright and the sky had barely a cloud. Perfect April day and perfect flying weather. As they walked to the rear of the residential wing, passing several staff car parks along the way, Miles couldn’t contain his confusion. ‘You did say we were taking your car, not walking to this airfield, right?’
‘It’s just in here,’ Janessa remarked, a slight smile tugging at her lips. ‘Charisma gave me permission to use one of the old ambulance sheds to store my car. Here we are.’ She took a set of keys from her pocket and opened the side door to what looked like an old work shed. As they headed inside, she flicked on a light, illuminating the work benches, which were covered with various bits of machinery and all kinds of tools. The scent of oil and grease hung in the air as well as dust.
‘Who does all of this belong to?’ Miles asked.
‘Hospital Maintenance. This is sort of a storage shed-cum-workshop for them. Through there.’ she pointed to the closed door on their left ‘… is where the bigger machines, such as the lathe and the bandsaw, are kept.’ Janessa walked to another door, waiting for Miles to catch up as he looked around at the paraphernalia.
‘Do you like this sort of thing?’ she asked, her lips twitching at the way he was taking in the equipment. ‘Are you a handyman as well as a surgeon?’
Miles smiled. ‘I used to spend a lot of time in the shed with my dad when I was growing up. He was always inventing and making and building.’ He nodded. ‘They were good times.’
Janessa was surprised to hear him talk so openly of his father. ‘That sounds nice. Memories like that are wonderful.’
‘They are,’ he agreed as he followed her through to another room.
‘I used to help my dad out a lot, too. He was a mechanic,’ she remarked as she flicked on the next light. With a flourish she’d practised a lot as a teenager, she whisked the protective cover off the car, then watched as Miles’s eyes almost bugged out of his head at what he saw.
‘That’s a Jaguar E-Cabriolet.’
‘I know.’ Janessa set about opening the old wooden doors in order to get the car out. Miles, however, walked around the car, running his hand lovingly over the paintwork, peering inside at the wooden dashboard and making the same appreciative noises Janessa’s father used to make. It made her smile.
‘This is
your
car?’ Miles slowly shook his head. ‘You are a constant source of surprise, Janessa Austen.’
‘Thank you … I think. You obviously appreciate cars.’
‘I do. I race them.’
‘What? And you call me a constant source of surprise. You said you liked to drive fast but race? As a doctor, I would have thought you’d understand the inherent dangers involved in car racing and—’
He held up a hand to silence her as the daylight flooded into the room. ‘Controlled track race days. That’s all. Nice and controlled. Emergency crews on standby just in case. I know the risks involved, Janessa, and I’m not so stupid as to ignore taking the necessary precautions. But this baby …’ he stroked the car again ‘… is magnificent.’ He looked up at her. ‘Who did it belong to?’
‘Why would you think it wouldn’t belong to me?’
‘Because it’s a guy’s car.’
‘That’s such a stereotype, Miles Trevellion.’
‘I know. Sorry, but—’
‘It belonged to my father. As I said, I used to help him.’
Again Miles stared at her with a new and enlightening appreciation. ‘You really are a constant source of surprise.’ He also hadn’t missed the past tense in her words when she’d referred to her father.
She opened the car door and climbed behind the wheel. ‘Do you mind switching off the light and closing the shed doors behind me?’
‘Sure.’ After that was done and when he was settled in the car, seat belt on, sunglasses covering his eyes, wind in his hair, Miles grinned and nodded. ‘It purrs like the most contented of cats. Good to see you keep it in top-notch working order.’ As he spoke, he again ran his hand over the leather seats. ‘So nice.’
‘Would you like to drive it?’
‘Yes.’ The answer was immediate. ‘Will you let me?’
‘So long as you realise that we’re not on a race track.’
He gave her a look that said he wasn’t that stupid.
‘All right,’ she relented. ‘You can drive home.’
‘Excellent.’ Miles grinned and eased back into the leather, and as they drove through the city traffic, making their way south, he felt for the first time, in a very long time, mildly content. Was it the car? Was it the chance to get out of a hospital into the fresh air, to do something completely different? Or was it the woman beside him who was proving that he should never judge a book by its cover?
B
Y THE
time they arrived at the airfield, almost an hour later, Janessa felt the weight of the past few days lift from her shoulders. When she’d checked on Sheena that morning, she’d discovered her friend had had a great night’s sleep. She had listened to the twins’ heartbeats and checked Sheena’s vital signs, pleased with the results.
‘Go. Have a day away from this place,’ Sheena had encouraged. ‘I promise to be good and do exactly as I’m told so that nothing goes wrong and you don’t have to come back early.’
‘Thanks. I’d appreciate it.’
‘You and Miles deserve some time away from this place to figure out what on earth is going on between the two of you.’
‘Wh …? Huh?’ Janessa was robbed of speech and stared at Sheena.
‘I lie here, in this bed, all day, all night. People come. People go. People talk—not about hospital cases,’ she added quickly just in case Janessa thought that someone had broken the gag order.
‘I see you. I see Miles. I see you and Miles. Both of you are dancing and it’s the same dance. Both of you are moving in time with each other to the same beat. That’s a good thing, Nessa. Good for him and good for you.’
‘But he’s going to leave,’ Janessa blurted out.
‘Maybe. You don’t know that for sure.’
‘Of course I do. Look at his life. Ever since his wife and son died, he’s been an emotional nomad.’
Sheena’s eyebrows hit her hairline. ‘He had a son? Uh … he told me he’d been married when he first arrived here but he didn’t say anything about a son.’
Janessa instantly paled. ‘Oh. I thought you knew. I mean … The two of you were friends. You knew each other.’
‘I worked with Miles ten years ago and he was as personable back then as he is now, although I do have to say that now that I think about it he’s definitely more subdued but, then, most people seem to settle a bit more with age,’ she’d pondered. ‘But the fact that you know that about him, the fact that he’s obviously felt he can confide in you, is huge, Ness.’ She paused. ‘Have you told him about …?’
‘Bradley and Connor?’ Janessa nodded and Sheena sighed a deep sigh.
‘Well, well, well. In that case, the two of you
really
need to get away from this hospital. Head out to the airfield, whisk away the cobwebs of the past and look forward to the future.’
‘What
future? I don’t know what this thing is that exists between Miles and myself and neither does he.’
‘Then it’s time to find out. Go. Go, go.’ Sheena shooed her away, but as she headed out the door of her friend’s room Sheena called, ‘Oh, and take some photos for me. Perhaps just looking at them will help keep my blood pressure under control.’
Now, at the airfield, the warm, fresh air filling her lungs, Janessa climbed from the driver’s side of the car and retrieved her backpack from just behind the seat.
‘This is an airfield?’ He lifted his glasses from his eyes and gazed out at the flat, wide open space, which had a backdrop of yellowy-brown hills and clear blue sky. There were large sheet-metal-clad hangars and about twenty cars in the car park. An old fire engine stood ready to do its job and about ten small aircraft peppered the immediate landscape.
‘Doesn’t it look like one? I thought the planes would have been a dead give-away,’ she teased, feeling more like herself than she’d felt in a long time. She loved this place, so very much.
‘I … well, yes, you have a point.’ Miles smiled at her, intrigued with this new Janessa he was seeing. From the instant they’d entered that old shed, revealing her incredible car, she’d been one surprise after the other. He was thoroughly enjoying it. ‘It’s just not what I expected.’
Janessa called a greeting to a young man of about eighteen years old who was walking by, a pair of large headphones in his hand. He waved back and Miles followed Janessa into what appeared to be a small café.
‘Hello, Nessa,’ a woman with silvery-blonde hair said from behind a large wooden counter, coming around to envelop her in a warm motherly hug. ‘How are all your babies? And Sheena? Should be soon, shouldn’t it?’
‘Sheena is doing well,’ Janessa replied, not even wanting to think about the past few work days and the way they’d all fought so valiantly to save little Philip. She stepped away from the embrace and indicated Miles, who was standing just behind her. ‘Myrna, this is my new colleague, Miles Trevellion.’
‘Hi. It’s nice to—’ Miles had been about to say more when he found himself enveloped in a warm maternal hug, which took him completely by surprise.
‘Welcome. Welcome. Any friend of our Nessa’s is very welcome here.’ Myrna looked at Janessa and winked, saying in a stage whisper, ‘Ooh, he’s a right looker, this one.’
Janessa looked at Miles then back at Myrna, and couldn’t help the blush that tinged her cheeks. ‘Um … yes.’ She walked round to the other side of the counter and picked up some papers, reading them. She did it in an effort to hide the way Myrna had embarrassed her, needing just a few moments to pull herself back together.
Miles leaned onto the top of the wooden counter and she could feel him watching her closely. ‘Do you work here?’ he asked. ‘Is this what you do on your days off? Come and work here?’
‘Work here?’ Myrna laughed. ‘Good heavens, no. Janessa’s one of the shareholders who keeps this place open and functioning.’ Myrna returned to the other side of the counter. ‘Davie’s been over
Ruby
and she’s all ready to go, love. I know how eager you are to get on up.’
‘Thanks, Myrna.’ Janessa went to the shelf and pulled out a hardcover book, opening it up and beginning to write. Miles watched her, intrigued by this new facet of her personality. He saw the writing on the front of the book, which said ‘Flight-plan/Logbook—Janessa R Austen’.
When she was finished, she left the book with Myrna, Miles still watching closely. She met his gaze. ‘I’ll be back in a moment.’ But before she moved she tipped her head on the side and looked at his broad shoulders, his firm torso and then nodded. ‘Yes. I think it’ll fit,’ she rasped, her voice sounding a little husky, or was that just his imagination? The impromptu visual caress only increased his awareness of the undercurrents of emotions coursing between the two of them.
‘What? What will fit?’ he asked, but she’d disappeared into a back room. ‘What’s she talking about?’ he asked Myrna, feeling a little dazed and confused. Janessa had invited him here for a bit of a joyride but he was yet to be introduced to his pilot. Janessa was obviously going up with someone called Davie. Perhaps he would be going up with Ruby? It was all very cryptic at the moment.
Myrna smiled at him. ‘Ever been flying before?’
‘Of course. I flew from the US to Australia last week.’
‘Not like that, ya daft one.’
Miles raised his eyebrows. Daft? The last time he’d been called daft he’d been a teenager. Janessa returned before he could question Myrna further. She held out a leather bomber jacket to him. It was old, a bit frayed around the edges here and there, but it held a lot of character. ‘Here. Put this on.’
‘On? Why?’
She looked at him as though he was indeed daft. ‘So you don’t get cold. I doubt Sheena or anyone at the hospital will thank me if you return to work with a cold because you weren’t adequately prepared for your flight,’ she remarked as she pulled on a similar jacket, which she took from her backpack. She repositioned the white scarf around her neck then inclined her head towards the door, repressed excitement in her eyes. ‘Come and meet Ruby,’ she said with a cheeky grin, before walking out of the sliding glass door, across the wooden veranda and out the small gate that led to the planes.
‘Ruby?’ Miles followed Janessa and was astonished to see her walking over to a yellow Tiger Moth biplane with the words ‘Ruby’ painted in cursive on the side.
‘This
is Ruby?’
‘Who else would it be?’ Janessa stroked the plane lovingly, much in the same way he’d stroked her car.
‘In love with the old plane? Again, you are so full of surprises.’
She smiled. ‘In love with my dad’s old plane.’ The look on her face was wistful with a hint of sadness.
‘You really miss him.’ It was a statement, not a question.
‘I do. It was just the two of us for so long and now that he’s gone …’ She let her sentence trail off. She stroked the name ‘Ruby’, which had been painted on with a loving hand many years previously. ‘Ruby was my mother. This plane was my dad’s saving grace after my mother died. He bought it, restored it, spent so much time talking to the plane, as though he was still having conversations with my mother.’ Tears of happiness and regret came into her eyes as she smiled sadly. ‘He loved this plane. We both did.’
Both parents gone. Bad marriage. Stillborn baby. All alone. Miles pieced together everything he’d learned about this amazing woman and his heart turned over with yet another wave of deeper caring. ‘You really are all alone?’
Her answering smile was tight-lipped as she moved around the plane, stroking it, checking it, making sure everything was in working order. ‘Not really. I have close friends both at the hospital and here.’
‘But no blood relatives?’
‘No.’ The word was small but audible. ‘But I have memories.’ When she spoke, there was a slight wobble in her tone and Miles watched her closely for a bit longer.
‘Like flying in his plane? Or driving his car?’
Her smile instantly brightened. ‘Exactly. He loved classic things, my dad.’ She headed to the front of Ruby and spun the propeller around a few times, checking. ‘Well, Miles,’ she said with a heavy sigh, ‘I think we’re about ready.’ She walked to the side panel and opened it, handing him a leather flying helmet, large goggles and a pair of large aviator headphones, with microphone attached.
He held the items in his hands for a moment, watching as she pulled out one for herself. First, though, she took out the band from her hair, the blonde tresses falling loosely around her shoulders, framing her face, the wind blowing them slightly, making her look like something out of a hair commercial.
His gut tightened with need and longing. He clenched his jaw in an effort to control himself against the absolutely stunning woman before him. She looked so young, so beautiful, so … untouchable.
‘Problem, Trevellion?’
‘Huh?’ He blinked as though he’d just been dazzled by the sun. Instead, he knew he’d been dazzled by Janessa.
‘Put them on,’ she said, indicating the helmet, goggles and headphones he still held in his hands. ‘Come on. I’m itching to get going.’
He stared at her for another long moment, her words slowly registering.
‘You’re
the pilot?’
‘I thought that was obvious. I do remember saying I wanted to take you flying.’ She shook her head. ‘Here. Let me show you how to get in.’ She started to give him instructions and Miles knew he had to click his brain back into gear otherwise they wouldn’t be doing any sort of flying today.
He followed her directions, making sure he only stepped where she’d indicated, and all too soon he was sitting in the front seat of
Ruby,
Janessa standing on the wing beside him. She knew how to fly? First the Jaguar and now the Tiger Moth? When he’d walked into Adelaide Mercy last week, he’d never, in his wildest dreams, thought he’d be going flying with his neonate colleague.
So much had happened in such a short time and as Janessa leaned over him, reaching for the five different straps that would secure his body and buckle him into the seat, keeping him safe, all Miles seemed to be conscious of was the way her hair floated around her face, the way her scent enveloped him and the way her hand brushed his arm.
He was highly conscious of this woman and being this close to her yet again was not helping him to understand such a feeling. After Wendy’s death, he’d vowed to concentrate on work, to help save the lives of others, as he’d been unable to save his wife and baby.
Now here he was, interested in another woman, a woman who had experienced pain and loss herself. Janessa was a woman who seemed to understand him, who seemed able to gauge his moods, to know what to say and what not to say. Ever since the other day, when they’d discovered just how much they had in common, their discussions about the conjoined twins had taken on a new level of power. It was as though now they understood each other’s pasts, their drive to ensure everything went smoothly for the twins increasing.
‘Miles?’ Janessa’s sweet voice penetrated his thoughts. There she was … beautiful Janessa with her flowing blonde locks and her sunshiny scent, the woman who was pulling him from the past into the present.
‘Sorry,’ he murmured, and shook his head. ‘I missed that last bit.’
Janessa eased back, tilting her head to the side as she regarded him more closely. ‘Is something wrong? You don’t have to come up if you don’t want to. I don’t want to pressure you. I didn’t tell you what we’d be doing in case you decided not to come at all.’ And, she realised now, she’d
really
wanted him to come. Bringing him here, sharing this part of her life with him seemed the right thing to do … the next step in becoming friends.
‘I’m fine with the flying. I just … zoned out for a moment. I’m fine, really. I’m already starting to relax.’ He forced a smile and gave her his full attention.
He was enjoying all the wonderful new things he was learning about Janessa—the way she was not only extremely good looking but also incredibly intelligent; she also knew how to fly a Tiger Moth—that showed him how closed off his world had become. Since the death of his wife and child, Miles had brought in the boundaries his world, only letting in touches of light when it was needed most, just enough to keep him from tipping over into complete darkness.
Now, when he looked at Janessa, when he realised how smart and funny she was, it was as though she’d walked into his life and yanked open the curtains. Heavy, powerful sunlight seemed to flood into his life … opening the locked door to his heart.
‘OK. What I need you to do is to put your hands either here on the side of the plane or up here above the instruments, but other than that, don’t touch anything.’
‘You’ll be doing all of the flying behind me?’