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Setting Off Sparks (Jupiter Point Book 4) by Jennifer Bernard (22)

22

The next couple of weeks were the happiest of Lisa’s life. Every morning, Finn went to the base to take part in the training drills for the hotshot crew. When he came back, often with a big bouquet of flowers for her, she’d do another therapy session with him. She alternated between working on his scar tissue and massaging his sore muscles.

“This worked out pretty well for you, didn’t it?” she teased him as she worked salve into his scars. “A private masseuse available twenty-four seven. Now I know your true motives.”

“If you want to know my true motives, all you have to do is ask.” And he rolled her under him with a growl.

That was the other thing. Sex. All the time. Amazing sex such as she’d never experienced before.

When they weren’t having sex, they talked. About everything. She told him about the crazy quilt of families she bounced between as a child. “Five total, counting my mother’s four marriages and my father’s two. One to each other, of course.”

“I can beat that. I counted up my father’s girlfriends once. I got up to fifteen and stopped.”

She had to laugh at that. “So why didn’t you end up cynical like me?”

“I have no idea. I always believed in love. All variations. Love at first sight. Love in the afternoon. Love between men, women, whatever.”

“You’re such a sap. It’s embarrassing. You should really join Team Cynic. We can make room for you.”

“Anything for you, my queen.”

She giggled and flicked him on the shoulder. “See, right there’s the problem. You wouldn’t last a week with that romantic attitude of yours.”

“I’ll work on it.”

“No, don’t.” She snuggled her nose into the light scattering of fur on his chest. “I like you just as you are.”

“What a romantic thing to say,” he teased. “I think you’re slipping.”

He told her about becoming a hotshot. At first, he’d wanted to be a structure firefighter, but then a wildfire had come close enough to LA to bring several crews of hotshots to Southern California. The constant TV coverage of the “elite” crews had fired his imagination. After that, nothing could stop him.

They talked about their first kisses. Lisa had cornered the boy next door because she was curious about what a kiss would feel like. Finn had hand-drawn a Valentine’s card for his secret third-grade crush, who surprised him with a kiss.

Lisa explained her “friends with benefits” approach to sex.

“At least it’s honest. Do you know how many times I’ve been asked to show my dad a headshot?”

“What’s a headshot?”

“An actor’s photo—wait, are you serious?”

“I assumed you weren’t talking about a GSW. Gunshot wound,” she translated.

He laughed. “A wound to my ego, that’s all.”

“Poor baby. Don’t worry, your nurse is here to make it all better.”

At first, she thought she’d be bored, since she wasn’t working any shifts at Molly’s. But strangely, she was busier than ever.

First Suzanne called and asked if she would please teach the teenagers at the Star Bright Shelter some basic first-aid techniques. That turned out to be tons of fun, their first lesson being how to properly take care of a new tattoo or piercing. She ended up buying a case of Bactine for the shelter.

She got into the habit of meeting Merry at the Venus and Mars Café every morning after Finn had left. She finally broke down and told Merry about Senator Ruiz and everything that had happened. Merry knew her way around Google. She quickly tracked down a story about his divorce from Maria. It mentioned that Maria was now living in Mexico City. Lisa devoured every word of that story, but didn’t find anything that explained why someone had set her motorhome on fire.

Merry also found an obscure little news item in one of the Houston papers about a bribery investigation at Houston Memorial.

“Hm, I wonder if that’s connected?” Lisa frowned at the laptop. “Should we send that to Deputy Knight?”

“Let him do his own investigation in his own sweet time.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Merry, be nice to the hot cop.”

“Fine. I’ll forward it. But he owes me.” She spent the next half hour cackling at her laptop, firing emails back and forth with Will.

Lisa sent her own batch of emails to her mother, father, stepmother, her ex-stepfather (her favorite of the bunch), and her stepsisters. All her emails said about the same thing. She was still having fun traveling around and didn’t yet know when she’d be back in Houston. She hadn’t told any of them the real story, just in case Senator Ruiz decided to question any of her family members.

Her friends in Jupiter Point knew more about her than her actual family did. Interesting.

The big excitement came the day both Lisa’s and Merry’s phones lit up with texts from Evie at the same moment.

Suzanne had her baby! It’s a girl, 8 pounds 2 ounces. Visitors welcome. Josh is a mess.

“Oh my God!” Merry squealed. They both slammed shut their laptops and dashed over to Josh and Suzanne’s house, which was filled with well-wishers and casseroles and baby gifts. Suzanne wasn’t quite ready to let her baby, Faith, be held by anyone else, but they did get to admire her tiny pink ears and button nose.

“Look at Team Cynic,” Suzanne teased the two of them. “You guys are looking a little mushy over there. Is that a tear I spy, Lisa?”

“I’m cynical about relationships, not babies,” she responded. Although even that was starting to change, if she were totally honest. Just look at Josh and Suzanne. The baby wasn’t even his, but he still teared up whenever he looked at Suzanne and Faith. When Evie said he was a mess, she wasn’t exaggerating. He kept giving everyone big sloppy hugs and bursting into happy laughter at random moments.

It was enough to melt the most cynical heart.

About a week after that, she made a fairly shocking discovery.

It happened when she went to the Moon Glow Salon and Spa to apologize about the tabloid she’d “borrowed.” It had burned up in the fire. No one had even noticed it was missing, but she felt better having apologized.

When she stepped outside, she found Brianna leaning against her Mercedes, arms folded across her chest, as if she was waiting for her. Brianna’s little red Toyota truck was parked right behind her car.

“Hi, Brianna.” Lisa gave her a puzzled smile. “Are you looking for me?”

“Yes. I…uh…are you hungry? I could use some breakfast.”

“I already ate, thanks.”

Brianna didn’t move from her position by the Mercedes. “I could really use a hand at the greenhouse. Do you happen to have some free time today?”

Lisa stared at her in confusion. “Greenhouse? I know nothing about plants. I only deal with plastic plants that I can dust, that’s my policy.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll pick it up in no time.” Brianna gave her a sunny smile. “Come on, breakfast is on me. You can call it brunch if you like. Have you tried the banana-walnut pancakes at the Milky Way? To die for. We can take your car if you like.”

She opened the passenger door of Lisa’s Mercedes and plopped herself onto the seat.

Lisa gaped at her. “What are you doing?”

“Getting into your car. Like we just decided.”

“I don’t exactly remember deciding anything. What’s going on?” Lisa folded her arms across her chest. “No pancakes until you tell me.”

Brianna heaved a long sigh, then tapped her forehead against the glove compartment a few times. “I told him this wouldn’t work.”

“Told who?”

“Finn. He’s nervous about you being alone.”

Lisa’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” She screwed up her bright face in apology. “I told him it would be better if he just told you.”

“Told me what, exactly?” Lisa drilled her with her best Nurse Badass stare. It always worked on obstinate patients. Brianna folded like a cheap suit.

“Have you noticed anything odd over the last couple weeks?”

“Odd?” Lisa shook her head in confusion. “Not especially. I’ve been at the shelter, and helping Evie mount her new exhibit at the gallery and hanging out with Merry at the café and…” Then it hit her. “Oh my God. Did Finn put you all up to this? He’s lining up babysitters for me?”

“No, no, no. It’s not like that. Okay, it’s kind of like that, but we volunteered. Babysitters isn’t the right word. Friend-sitters is better.”

“Friend-sitters,” Lisa repeated. “That’s not a word. And Finn is a dead man.”

Brianna groaned. “Please don’t be mad at Finn. He’s just worried about you and he’s stuck at the base all day. I know the police are on the case, but they can’t be with you all the time. So you’re stuck with us.”

“Us?”

“Me, Rollo, Evie, Merry, Josh when he can tear himself away from the baby. Suzanne can’t really do anything right now, but she’s put all the resources of Stars in Your Eyes at our disposal. So if you need a water escape, there’s a catamaran we can use. If you can ride a horse, there are some lovely trail rides the honeymooners just love. I wish we had air support, but the airstrip isn’t quite open for business yet. I did hear that someone’s buying it, though. Did you hear about that?”

“Brianna,” Lisa interrupted. “I don’t need a sitter. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now.”

“Maybe not, but do you need breakfast?” Brianna’s winning smile could have lit up a city block, and all of a sudden, Lisa wanted to cry again.

What was wrong with her? All these people wanted to help her. They wanted to keep her safe and offer her boats and horses and friendship. And she had to dig in her heels like a stubborn mule? Some things deserved stubbornness—like helping an abused wife escape her husband. But some things didn’t.

“Banana pancakes sound pretty good,” she said weakly.

Brianna grinned in relief. “Thank God. Finn just texted me and I hate to see His Gorgeousness upset.”

“His Gorgeousness? Seriously, that’s what you’re calling him?”

“Only when I really want to piss him off.”

* * *

The banana pancakes truly were out of this world. Between them, Lisa and Brianna devoured three orders. “Okay, so how did Finn explain my situation? It’s not supposed to be common knowledge.”

“He didn’t give any details. He said someone has been harassing you. We’re supposed to be an extra set of eyes and ears.”

“I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me. I couldn’t bear that.”

“Absolutely not. Finn gave us all strict orders. We’re supposed to call Will or nine-one-one if we see anything strange. You’re more vulnerable when you’re alone, that’s all. So you won’t be alone. End of story.”

“And if I want to be alone?”

“You’ll have to suck it up, buttercup.” Brianna winked at her. “Once the situation is resolved, you can ditch us all. Until then, you have your very own entourage.”

Lisa looked down at her pancakes to hide her emotion. Ditch Jupiter Point? That didn’t appeal to her at all. But when—if—the “situation” was resolved, she’d probably go back to Houston. Wouldn’t she? Wasn’t that where her life was? She’d go back to the nonstop madness of the ER, the humidity, her family’s new Porsches, new speedboats, new chemical peels.

She’d say goodbye to this charming little stargazing town. And to Finn.

But not yet. First she had to help Brianna at her greenhouse.

It was a lot more fun than she’d expected. She learned how to repot little seedlings and prune rosebush plants. Brianna told her about Rollo’s family and how hard it was getting used to their upper-crust lifestyle.

“You’d fit in a lot better than I do,” she told Lisa. “I’m always putting my foot in my mouth.”

“If the Warehams don’t love you, they’re crazy. You’re adorable.” She said it a little wistfully.

Brianna picked up another plastic pot and filled it with soil. “I’m a gardener with dirt under my fingernails. I’m a peasant in their world. You, on the other hand, are a classic beauty.”

Lisa felt the burn of a blush sweeping across her cheeks. Brianna put down the bag of potting soil and stared. “Did I embarrass you? See, I put my foot in my mouth again!”

“No, no. It’s not you. I’m just more used to being the kickass night-shift ER nurse, that’s all.”

Brianna twinkled at her. “You’ll just have to be both, that’s all. Do you miss the ER?”

“A little,” she admitted. “It was my entire life for so many years.”

Which was kind of sad, now that she thought about it.

After several hours in the greenhouse, they stopped at Suzanne and Josh’s house for a late lunch. Suzanne opened the door with a finger to her lips.

“I finally got her down for a nap,” she whispered. They tiptoed inside. Suzanne led them to the back patio, where she’d set out jars of peanut butter and jelly, along with bread and a block of cheese and a motley collection of silverware and plates, everything in a jumble.

“Can you believe I’m the most meticulous party planner in town?” she joked in a slightly louder voice now that they were outside. She set the baby monitor on the table and collapsed into a lawn chair. “This motherhood thing is a whole different deal. Babies don’t do what you say, have you noticed that?”

Lisa laughed as she pulled up another chair. “Honestly, this is above and beyond, Suzanne. New moms aren’t expected to do anything but sleep and feed the baby. How are you doing?”

“A lot better than I probably look.” She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at a spot of drool on her t-shirt. “Sorry, I intended to shower before you guys came over but that never quite happened.”

“Where’s Josh? Isn’t he supposed to be waiting on you hand and foot?” Brianna busied herself making peanut butter sandwiches.

“He’s grocery shopping and doing ten million other errands. I thank God for him every day. And every night.” She gave a naughty wink. “Back rubs, my friends. That’s where it’s at these days.”

Lisa gazed around the backyard, which was surrounded by a weathered fence and held a kiddie pool, a plastic tricycle and a colorful jungle gym—all too advanced for a newborn.

“Hand-me-downs,” Suzanne explained, following her gaze. “Either people around here are very generous or they’re anxious to clean out their yards. Maybe a little of both.”

A pang of longing twisted Lisa’s heart. It all felt so normal and tranquil. Would she ever have anything remotely like this? She’d never wanted it before. She’d been so focused on her nursing work. But the past year had changed her. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. Again, the thought of Finn flashed through her mind, along with a rush of happiness.

She wanted him. God, how she wanted him.

“I spy a blush,” Suzanne announced. Lisa put her hands to her treacherous cheeks. “Which leads to my next question. You, Finn, and a cozy little guesthouse. What gives?”

Brianna flicked Suzanne on the arm. “Suzanne, I’ve just spent the entire day with Lisa and didn’t once ask her that. And I’m supposed to be the tactless one!”

“Look, that kid might wake up any second. I have to grab my gossip opportunities while I can.”

“You don’t have to answer.” Brianna turned to Lisa. “She’s easy to distract. All I have to do is tell her about the rumor I heard about the airstrip.”

Suzanne brightened. “Rumor?”

“See?” Brianna laughed as she distributed the sandwiches she’d made. “Works every time. Yes, rumor. It’s a good one, too. I heard two brothers bought the airstrip. I also heard they’re very good-looking and very single. Figures.”

“What do you mean by that?” Suzanne picked up her sandwich.

“All those years with no hot men in Jupiter Point, and now look at us. We have our hotshots, and now we’re getting some flyboys. They’re former Air Force, I heard. Or maybe Navy. I don’t know. Rescue pilots. Something military and very, very hot, that’s all I know.”

“Works for me.” Suzanne’s eyes sparkled. “I see some matchmaking in our future.”

As they continued to joke around about the new pilots, Lisa’s attention wandered. An odd sound caught her attention. It sounded like a gurgling, with an overlay of static.

She jumped to her feet, nearly knocking over the little glass-topped table. “Where’s the baby?” she asked Suzanne urgently.

Suzanne leaped to her feet as well. “In her bassinet…bedroom…” She started toward the house but Lisa ran past her at full speed, through the back door, toward the direction Suzanne had waved.

She burst through the open door and ran to the bassinet. Faith was on her back, spit-up dribbling from her tiny mouth. Choking, her face turning red.

Suzanne ran up behind her. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” she cried.

Lisa didn’t have time to explain. She threw up her arm to block Suzanne. “Hang on,” she barked at her. Reaching into the bassinet, she gently turned the baby on her side and opened her mouth. With a quick swipe of her index finger, she cleared out the spit-up.

Then she waited, holding her breath. Behind her, Suzanne was sobbing softly.

The baby coughed, a strong jolt that shook her whole body. Then came another cough. Lisa reached in and cleared out this new batch of saliva. After a few more strong coughs, the child’s color normalized.

“She’s okay,” she told Suzanne. “A little too much spit-up to handle, but her cough reflex is really strong. She might have been able to clear it all on her own, but sometimes a little help is a good thing.”

Lisa gently picked up the still-shaking child and handed her to Suzanne, whose face was wet with tears. She gathered the baby into her arms, hugged her close, cradling her head on her shoulder, soothing her while tears rolled down her own cheeks.

“I’ve never seen her do that before,” she wailed. “Jesus, I nearly had a stroke when I saw you run in here.”

“If you want to put your mind totally at ease, you can get her checked out for reflux. All babies spit up, as you know. Some babies have a weak esophagus and the spit-up can get stuck. The best thing is to keep her elevated until her digestive system strengthens. Your pediatrician can check for anything more serious than that.”

“What do you mean, elevated?”

“Like so.” Lisa inserted an extra pillow under the mattress to lift it up.

“Okay, I’ll do that from now on and I’ll call the pediatrician right away. I can’t believe I was out there gossiping. What if you hadn’t been here?” Suzanne showered kisses onto her baby’s soft head. “Lisa Peretti, I think you should move in. You can have our bedroom. We’ll sleep on the floor.”

Lisa laughed. “You’ll be fine. She’ll be fine. She coughs like a champ. She probably would have gotten it all out on her own, but it’s the nurse in me. I have to check these things out, I can’t help it.”

Brianna, who’d been hovering by the door, came to Lisa’s side and threw her arms around her in a warm hug. “So we finally got to see Nurse Badass in action. Wait’ll I tell the hotshots.”

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