Chapter 7
The next morning, Chloe left for LA before Jack and Josh were up, a welcome break from the tension she felt whenever she was around him. She’d be gone for several days to choose plumbing fixtures, paint, and tile for the clinic, and she’d be staying with Michelle while she was there, a bonus. She dreaded telling Michelle about the kiss, and her melting heart, knowing that her friend would advise jumping in with both feet. She’d probably even suggest that Chloe seduce Jack, she smiled at that thought, a welcome respite from the heavy thoughts that had been swimming in her head since she’d driven away from the cabin this morning.
When she got to Michelle’s, all it took was one look from her friend and she let the whole story pour out of her, which made her feel better but didn’t do anything to fix the situation. By the time she left Michelle’s several days later, she felt once again able to face Jack, but her heart was still beating a staccato in her chest as she pulled into the yard late that night. There was no way she was going to see to him this late at night she reasoned, but then she noticed that all the lights were on in Jack’s cabin.
Puzzled she got out of the car, then decided it was none of her business what Jack was doing up in the middle of the night. It wasn’t until she got closer to the cabins that she heard Josh screaming and understood why Jack was still up, shocked to realize that she’d automatically assumed that he had a woman in his cabin. She started toward the cabin to see if he needed any help, Josh was at the right age to be cutting teeth and his cries sounded just like those of a teething baby to her, but she changed her mind at the last minute, retreating back to her car.
As tired as she was, she knew that she wouldn’t sleep until Josh stopped crying so she unloaded the car, unpacked her suitcase and started a load of laundry. She thought about making herself something to eat but found that she wasn’t hungry, the truth was Josh’s cries were all she could think about. After another ten minutes of pacing the floor, she stomped to the door unable to help herself.
She had to knock on Jack’s door three times before he opened it up, he looked like he’d been through a war and Josh was still screaming. “I’m sorry if we woke you up, he’s cutting a tooth and I’m completely out of ideas.” Jack said, as vulnerable as she’d ever seen him.
“I got home from LA a little while ago so you didn’t wake me. Can I help?”
“If you have any ideas that will help I’d welcome them.” Jack said, clearly worn out from struggling with Josh by himself.
Without a word, Chloe grabbed a flashlight off the counter and went out the door, Jack followed her to the porch and outside, Josh screaming in his arms. He could see the flashlight as Chloe made her way through the undergrowth, every so often the light would stop then continue on. Finally, she emerged from the trees with an armload of green plants, plants Jack recognized from back home.
He followed Chloe into the cabin and watched as she pounded a couple of the stems to break the skin, when she handed them to him, he only looked at her not sure what she wanted him to do. “Put them on his gums where the tooth is coming in, it will numb it and take the pain away.” She ordered, the Chloe from the dock taking over.
Jack looked at her skeptically, then did what she’d asked when she gave him a look that said don’t argue. Josh began to quiet immediately, his crying slowing until he was only shuttering occasionally. Jack was so relieved he sank into a chair off his feet for the first time in hours. As he watched Chloe began digging around in his cabinets, pulling out sugar and flour, then a bowl. He wanted to ask her what she was doing but he was just too tired, instead he watched as she made cookies, which seemed like a strange thing to do in the middle of the night.
Once she’d put the first tray in the oven, she grabbed the rest of the plants she’d gathered and crushed them up and put them in a pan on the stove. At that point, Jack’s eyes drifted shut and both he and Josh were sound asleep. Chloe left them where they were until she’d finished in the kitchen. When she was done, she left the salve she’d made from the plants and a plate of teething biscuits on the counter with a note and crept over to the sleeping boys.
She gently took Josh from Jack’s arms and put him in his crib in Jack’s room, taking just a minute to smile at the fact that it was more like Josh’s room and Jack was sharing. Once Josh was tucked into bed, she gently shook Jack awake and led him back to the bedroom where he flopped face down on the bed and began to snore. Chloe slid his boots off, thinking that something so innocent had suddenly taken on a more intimate feel, blushing she put his boots by the door and slipped out of the cabin.
Exhausted herself, she fell into bed still in her clothes and fell asleep, awakening hours later to hear Josh crying. But after only a few minutes the crying began to fade and she knew that Jack had found the salve. Stripping out of her filthy clothes, she used the bathroom then collapsed back into bed glad that she’d given herself the day off. When she awoke just before noon, it was to hear Josh laughing on her front porch.
When the knock on the front door came, as she knew it would, she was trying to flatten down her hair which was a curly mess around her face. She’d grabbed the first thing she could find, a man’s shirt that she liked to wear around the house, and while all the important parts were covered, it still left a lot of skin showing. When Jack saw her in the shirt, he stepped back a step and the smile disappeared from his face.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you had company.” He said, with a smirk on his face.
Chloe just looked at him, still half a sleep. “What are you talking about?” she asked confused.
Jack just looked down at the shirt then back up at her and wiggled his eyebrows. Chloe didn’t know whether to be insulted by the suggestion or flattered by the jealousy she saw in his eyes. “You mean this?”
Jack only nodded his head and looked at her accusingly. “I’m not awake enough to be insulted this morning, if you must know I like to wear this around the house when I’m alone.”
When Jack only looked at her, not saying anything, she stammered. “It was an old boyfriend’s, but he’s long gone.” Then wondered why she’d told him that, like it mattered if she had a man in her cabin, she was grown woman free to live her life as she wanted.
Jack took a deep breath, “Look I’m sorry, I didn’t come over here to judge your personal life. Josh and I wanted to thank you for last night. I was at the end of my rope, I didn’t know what to do.”
It was then that she noticed Josh smiling at her, “Hey little man, glad I could help, cutting teeth is no easy business.” She said, tickling the baby.
Josh laughed and she could see the new white shiny tooth poking through his gums. “It came through this morning, now he seems just fine. I can’t say the same for me. Any way, we just wanted to come over and say thank you.” Jack said, backing off the porch.
“It was my pleasure. We have to stick together up here. I’d be happy to teach you how to make the salve and the biscuits.” Chloe said, her annoyance at Jack draining away.
She didn’t see Jack for the rest of the day, but the next morning she found him back at work with the sheep. It was time to move them to a higher pasture in preparation for the next boat from Australia, a much bigger load this time, nearly 50 sheep. That night she was exhausted, since she’d been gone for a few days there was a pile up of cases that needed to be seen, so when she got home all she wanted to do was take a shower and put on her favorite shirt.
It probably wasn’t healthy to keep the shirt since it belonged to Brandon, but she’d long ago stopped thinking about him when she wore it and she couldn’t bear to part with it. Freshly showered and feeling better, she wandered to the kitchen wondering if she had enough energy to make herself something to eat. She had her head stuck in the refrigerator looking for something quick when a loud knock on the door made her jump and hit her head.
Knowing that it had to be Jack, she strode to the door, rubbing her head where she was sure she’d have a lump in the morning. She threw open the door and said, “You don’t have to break it down.” But then she saw the casserole dish in his hands.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He said, letting his eyes rove over her body in the loose, nearly see-through shirt.
Suddenly Chloe remembered how she was dressed and blushed. “I...ah...was....just looking for something to eat.” She finally stammered, her body flaring with desire at the sight of Jack, freshly showered.
“Well then, you’re in luck.” He said, giving her one of his rare smiles. “I’ve got a lasagna here just waiting for you to share it with me.”
Jack was being so nice it threw her off balance for a second and before she could stop herself she opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in. She pointed in the direction of the kitchen, then followed him. “I have some bread and a bottle of wine at the cabin, I’ll just put this in the oven and go get them.” He said, amused that she hadn’t said a word yet.
“Umm, okay. I could get some plates.” She finally managed to say, sure that she’d just made a huge mistake.
Jack slid the lasagna into the oven, then turned to her, “It’ll take about 30 minutes to heat. I’ll just go over to the cabin and get the bread and wine.” He turned to walk away, but then turned back, a mischievous look on his face. “Nice shirt by the way. Is it the same one from the other day?”
When Jack was finally out of the door, Chloe raced back to her bedroom and looked in the mirror. Her hair was a tangle of curls, and the shirt barely covered what it should, there was no way she was going to have dinner with him looking like this. Quickly choosing a skirt and summer top, she dressed and pulled her hair back in a ponytail, the best she could do on short notice. She dismissed the idea of putting on makeup, not wanting Jack to think she’d tried, and slipped into her favorite sandals, making back to the kitchen just as Jack came through the door.
The first thing he said when he saw her was, “That looks nice, but I liked the shirt better.” Then he handed her a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread.
Hands trembling, she opened the wine and poured them both a glass, then sliced the bread, the wonderful aroma of yeast tickling her nose. “Did you make this?” She asked, sure that the bread was home made.
“You don’t think a man can bake? That’s pretty sexist of you Dr. Barton.” Jack said, a teasing tone in his voice, something Chloe had rarely heard and found she liked.
“There’s nothing sexist about it when it’s true. How many men do you know who can bake bread?” She challenged, but her voice let him know she was teasing him back.
“Okay, you win that one.” Jack said shrugging his shoulders. “The ranch back in Australia is a long way from much of anything and after Josh was born, I needed something to fill the time.”
Chloe suddenly felt terrible that she hadn’t even thought about Josh. “Where is Josh? How’s the teething going?”
“He’s with Marissa for a sleep over, she insisted that I needed a break tonight.”
“And she’s right. It’s hard enough to raise kids, but even harder by yourself.” Chloe said, bringing the bread to the table.
Jack got the lasagna out of the oven and served them both a piece, Chloe’s mouth began watering at the delicious smell and the sight of the dripping cheese made her stomach growl loudly. Embarrassed, she laughed and said, “It smells so good. How did you learn to make lasagna?”
“My mother loved Italian food and her lasagna was the best. Mine is pretty good, but hers was even better.” Jack explained, then watched as Chloe took her first bite.
All Chloe could do was moan as the flavors came alive in her mouth, she savored the bite as if it was the only one she would get, then looked up at Jack a bit embarrassed by her reaction. “That’s the best lasagna I’ve ever had.” She finally said.
When Chloe moaned it was all Jack could do not to jump across the table and kiss her, the desire that had been simmering since she’d opened the door threatening to overcome him. Instead though, he said, “Told you so.” And began to eat his own dinner.
When the worst of her hunger was satisfied, Chloe began to feel uncomfortable with the silence in the room, searching for a topic of conversation, she finally said, “You must miss your mother, it’s a long way home.”
Jack was quiet for a second, then said, “We lost both our parents a few years ago, a car crash.”
Chloe knew exactly how he was feeling, “Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry to hear that, I’ve been there myself and not that long ago. It’s hard to have them one minute and the next their gone, no goodbyes, no chance to say all the things you’ve always wanted to.”
Jack had done some research one night when Josh kept him up and although he’d been able to find a lot about her professional life, there was little about her personal life. He knew that she’d grown up in South Dakota but not much else, so he waited her out hoping she’d tell him more.
“Both sets of my parents were killed in accidents.” Chloe said, her voice very quiet, she hated to talk about the tragedy in her life, it always made people treat her differently.
Jack tried to make sense of Chloe’s words, which at first didn’t make any sense. “Both sets of parents?”
“My birth parents were killed in a car accident when I was five. We were on our way to Seattle and it happened in South Dakota, I didn’t have any other family so the Barton’s adopted me.” Chloe explained.
“I didn’t know you were adopted.” Jack said, thinking about that for a second. “It must have been hard to be so young and all alone.”
“It was but the Barton’s treated me like their own, even though they took lots of kids in over the years, I was the only one they ever adopted.”
“What happened to them?” Jack asked, his heart going out to Chloe who suddenly seemed so fragile, the need to comfort her so great he almost got up from the table.
“A freak rain storm trapped them in the mountains and it was too late by the time they found them. Believe it or not, they basically starved to death.” Chloe said, actually saying the words for the first time.
This time Jack couldn’t stay in his chair, he was around the table in seconds pulling Chloe to her feet and circling her with his arms before he even thought about it. He knew that the story had to be more complicated than that, but knew that Chloe had said as much as she was capable of when he felt her trembling. A small sob escaped her lips, but then she managed to get herself under control, her breathing slowing back to normal.
Chloe knew that the last place she should be was in Jack’s arms, but it felt so good to be held that she didn’t fight it. When she finally managed to get her voice back she said, “I’m sorry, I don’t usually lose it like that.” And tried to pull out of his arms.
Instead of letting her go, he held her firmly with one arm and brought his thumb up to stroke her cheek, “It sounds like you need a willing ear, if you ever want to talk about what happened I’m here to listen.” Then he bent his head down and brushed his lips softly across her, before pulling her up against him again.
Since dinner was clearly over, then cleaned up in silence, both a bit shocked by the intimacy they’d just shared. Until now, they’d both been so preoccupied by the physical attraction that it had come as a surprise to both of them. Chloe had seen a tenderness in Jack that melted another little piece of her heart, it was becoming more and more clear to her that there was more to Jack Montgomery than he let the world see. She suddenly wanted very badly to know why he was hiding the real man from the world and if it involved a woman.
When the kitchen was sparkling, they looked at each other not sure where to go from there. Jack was still reeling from the rush of protective instincts that had washed over him when Chloe got upset, he wasn’t sorry that he’d comforted her, he was sorry that he’d kissed her. Not because he hadn’t wanted to, but because it had only made him want more. It was becoming more and more impossible to resist her, especially when she trusted him enough to open up to him. The last thing he needed was to get involved with another woman, he’d been there and done that, the end wasn’t worth the beginning.
Deciding that the best choice would be to go home, he said, “I guess I better go home. Thanks for sharing the lasagna with me.”
“I’ll walk you out.” Chloe said, not wanting Jack to leave but knowing that it was for the best. What she really wanted was another kiss, but she knew where that would lead and she was done with men for a long time.
When they got onto the porch they both stopped, the moon was full and the sky was full of stars. “Oh, it’s beautiful.” Chloe said, leaning back against one of the porch supports to raise her eyes to the sky.
Jack looked at the sky and then over at Chloe not sure which one was more breath taking, with her head tipped back and her mouth slightly open she looked ready to be kissed. Without even thinking, operating on pure primal instinct, he pulled her into his arms and brought his mouth down on hers muffling her cry of surprise. Chloe was stiff in his arms for only a second before her body took over and shut her mind down, the feeling of Jack’s tongue in her mouth sending wave after wave of pleasure through her, making her knees weak and forcing her to wrap her arms around him for support.
When Jack felt Chloe’s luscious body pressed up against his, he was just as lost as she was, the only thing he wanted was to hear her moan the way she had at dinner. Deepening the kiss, he ravaged her mouth, each thrust of his tongue more demanding as his hands roamed over her body. Chloe had long ago stopped thinking about how wrong this was and given in to the demands of her body, the moan escaping her lips proof of that.
She’d never been kissed the way Jack was kissing her now, both tender and demanding, with the promise of much more to come, so when his hands began edging her skirt up her thighs she didn’t protest. Her body throbbing with both pleasure and desire, she let him slide his hand between her legs until his hand cupped her throbbing mons. Unable to breathe when the rush of pleasure exploded deep inside her, she threw her head back, panting with need.
Jack backed Chloe up against the support, his hand never moving, then slid her panties to the side, his mouth nibbling on her neck. Chloe was holding onto Jack, her hands gripping his shoulders, waves of pleasure rippling through her, the throbbing deep inside her growing until she thought she would burst. When Jack’s finger found her clit, it only took seconds before she climaxed in his arms, her moans of pleasure almost undoing him right then.
Jack pulled her into his arms and held her tight, afraid that he’d gone too far, but not the least bit sorry. Tomorrow he’d deal with the repercussions of what had just happened, for tonight he’d just enjoy the fact that he’d brought this very passionate woman pleasure. But that passion only lasted as long as it took Chloe to come back to her senses and realize what she’d just let Jack do.
With a gasp she pulled away from him and backed up several steps. She wanted to just run back into the cabin and shut the door, but she couldn’t leave things that way. Raising her chin, she said, “That shouldn’t have happened.” Then went back in the cabin and shut the door firmly.