rang, he reached forward and snatched it up.
‘Kane Marshall.’
‘Kane, I have a problem.’
Kane snapped forward in his chair. It was Jessie, sounding worried.
‘What is it? I thought you were here, at work.’
‘I am. The day-care centre has just rung me. Emily has come down with conjunctivitis. Apparently, one of the other children had it on Friday. Anyway, because it’s so contagious, they want me to go and pick her up.’
‘That’s fine, Jessie. You go. No problem. I’ll square it with Michele.’
‘That’s just it. Michele’s not here. She had an appointment with her obstetrician this morning, and she’s relying on me to do this magazine layout by the time she gets back. I would really hate to let her down, Kane. I’ve tried to ring Dora but she’s out, too. Lord knows where. She’s usually home on a Monday. I can leave Emily at the centre but they’ll put her in a room on her own. It’s a kind of quarantine rule they have. They did this to her once before when I was working at the restaurant and she got very upset. She thought she was being punished. I…’
‘I’ll go get her, Jessie,’ Kane immediately offered. ‘Just ring them and let them know who I am and that you’re giving me permission to pick Emily up. I’ll take her to the doctor, too. Get her some drops for her eyes.’
‘Would you, Kane? Would you really?’
Kane was amazed at the surprise in her voice. ‘Yes, of course. It would be my pleasure. Poor Emily. There’s nothing worse than having sore eyes. Does she have a regular doctor you take her to?’
‘Not exactly. I always go to a nearby twenty-four-hour clinic. They bulk bill, but you have to be seen by whatever doctors are on call that day.’
Privately Kane resolved that little arrangement would change, once he was responsible for Jessie and Emily. And he aimed to be, one day. Still, that clinic would do for today.
‘Right. I’ll come and get her medicare card from you. Jot down the address of the clinic and I’ll be on my way.’
Kane jumped to his feet and reached for his suit jacket straight away. It could only have been thirty seconds before he’d made it to Jessie’s desk, where he was stunned to find her with tears running down her face.
‘Jessie. Darling. What’s up?’ he said as he hunched down beside her chair. ‘Why are you crying?’
She could not seem to speak, just buried her face in her hands.
‘Jessie, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.’ He took her hands in his and lifted them to his lips.
She stared at him through soggy lashes. ‘I’ve never known anyone like you,’ she choked out. ‘You can’t be real.’
Relief zoomed through Kane, as well as the most ego-boosting pleasure. She wasn’t unhappy. She was actually complimenting him with her tears.
But how sad that she would feel disbelief that a man would do something nice for her and her daughter.
‘I’m real, all right,’ he said with a soft smile. ‘Just ask my mum. Now, stop being a silly billy, give me what I came for, then get back to work. You don’t want everyone saying I hired a nincompoop just because I fancied her, do you?’
He liked it when a smile broke through her tears. God, but she was beautiful when she smiled. Her eyes glittered and her whole face came alive.
‘We couldn’t have that, could we?’ she said, dashing the tears away with her fingers.
‘Absolutely not.’
‘OK. Here’s the medicare card and the clinic’s address. Now, what are you going to do with Emily after you’ve been to the doctor? They didn’t say she was actually sick, but perhaps she should go home. I could give you the keys to the granny flat if you wouldn’t mind staying with her. There’s plenty of food in the fridge and the cupboards. She usually has a sleep after lunch. If she gets bored or stroppy, she likes to watch videos. She has a whole pile of them in the cabinet under the TV.’
‘Sounds good to me. I’ll give you a call when I get there, and I’ll wait with her till you come home.’
‘I don’t know what to say, Kane,’ she said as she drew her keys out of her handbag. ‘Are you sure you can manage? I mean…you haven’t much experience looking after kids on your own.’
‘I happen to be an extremely devoted uncle, so you’re wrong there. What do you think I did on Saturday night when you wouldn’t let me come over? I minded the two terrors so that their parents could go out and relax together. Actually, I don’t know what their mother complains about. They were as good as gold. Of course, I plied them with junk food and lollies till they fell asleep on the sofa in front of the TV. Then I carried them up to bed. Works every time,’ he said with a quick grin.
‘Now, don’t you worry,’ he added. ‘I’m more than capable of looking after Emily. And I won’t feed her junk food, or lollies. To be honest, it’ll be a pleasant change from sitting at that damned desk, pretending to work. Things wind down leading up to Christmas. My entire workload this week is choosing what grog to buy for the Christmas party. Very challenging.’
He stood up, pocketing her keys and picking up the medicare card and piece of paper with the address. ‘I’ll call, OK? And don’t worry.’
‘I won’t,’ she said, looking much more composed. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’
Kane threw her one last smile and whirled on his heels.
Nothing made a man feel better, he decided as he strode manfully away, than being able to help the woman he loved.
Jessie worked hard and fast for the next few hours, not leaving her desk till the magazine layout looked perfect. To her, anyway.
Michele returned shortly after she’d finished, and only minutes after Kane had rung saying he was at the flat with Emily and that her conjunctivitis wasn’t too bad. He’d already put one lot of drops in, they’d shared Vegemite toast and a glass of milk, followed by a banana each. Now they were settling down to watch The Lion King.
With her worries about her daughter waylaid, Jessie could focus on Michele’s reaction to her work. When Michele started frowning, Jessie’s alarm grew. Maybe the layout wasn’t as good as she thought it was.
‘I would never have imagined doing it this way at all,’ Michele said at last, tipping her head from side to side as she studied the computer screen. ‘But yes, I like it! You are very creative, Jessie. Kane’s found a real gem in you. Harry’s going to be delighted at your joining his staff.’
Jessie sighed her relief. ‘Thank you. But…would you mind if I left now?’ she asked hurriedly. ‘I know it’s only two o’clock, but my little girl has conjunctivitis. The day-care centre rang and wanted me to go get her straight away, but I didn’t feel I could without finishing the layout first.’
‘That was very professional of you, Jessie. But honestly, I would have understood. That kind of thing happens to me all the time. And yes, of
