if that had been deemed the best option during her surgery.
He’d been so determinedly cheerful, she remembered. He’d brought a brand of chocolate she’d once announced was her all-time favourite and some magazines, but the choice had been unfortunate, including the latest edition of an emergency medicine journal. And, okay, maybe that publication had also previously been favourite reading material but it had been the last thing she’d wanted to see then.
The visit had been awkward. What did they have in common other than the team callouts, training sessions and rare social occasions? Jack was a good six years younger than Harriet. Just a mate.
At least he hadn’t been around to see her limping return to work at Bondi Bayside. If he was with the helicopter crew he wouldn’t even be spending time in the emergency department, although he might still make an occasional visit to the intensive care unit if he wanted to follow up on a patient. Not that Harriet was working there any more—not when that environment needed people who could be quick on their feet when needed and in no danger from being distracted by pain or fatigue.
An echo of the awkwardness that had only increased between them until Jack didn’t come to visit her any more reared its head as he arrived back on the ledge and helped Harriet into the ‘nappy’ harness that would hold her close to his body as they were winched back into the helicopter. Maybe it was a good thing that it was noisy and scary and there was no need to say anything other than to confirm she understood all the instructions.
The scariest part was when her feet lost contact with the relative safety of that ledge and she was dangling in mid-air, with the rocks of the cliff looking alarmingly close and the roiling surf a terrifying drop below.
Oddly, she felt safe at the same time.
Jack was big. Tall and muscly. Not with the kind of muscles that her ex-boyfriend Pete had nurtured in his gym sessions, though. Just like his looks were a complete contrast to the sun-streaked, surfer vibe that had attracted her to Pete in the first place. It felt like Jack had just been born that way, and maybe he had. The young paramedic had island heritage—Maori or Samoan—with the dark eyes and black hair that went with his olive skin. He had the gentleness that could come as such a pleasant surprise in a big man but he also had strength and that was what Harriet could feel surrounding her now as they rose slowly in this vast sky.
How long had it been since she’d felt a man’s arms around her like this? Making her feeling safe. Cherished, almost.
Maybe that foolhardy challenge of climbing down that cliff had been worth it.
Just for this...
FUNNY HOW MANY thoughts could flash through your brain when you were dangling in mid-air. Even when most of your concentration was so focused on keeping both yourself and the person you were holding safe.
But the thoughts were there. Drifting past like fragments of a half-forgotten dream.
Because he had dreamed of this. Once upon a time.
Holding Harriet Collins in his arms...
Part of his soul had recognised her as the perfect woman the first time he’d met her, back when they had both been new and on their very first training session for the SDR team. Everything about her had been fascinating. Those shiny, auburn curls that bounced when she moved her head. The cute freckles that dusted her milky skin. Hazel eyes with the sparkle of sheer joie de vivre. That easy smile and the contagious gurgle of her laughter. How nice she was. Warm and open and friendly.
It had taken a long time to screw up the courage to ask her out on a date. He’d had to fight the doubts about how unlikely it was that she could be as interested in him. She was years older than he was. Older and wiser and with a circle of friends that were part of a very different world but the attraction was so strong, he’d had to try.
The sheer delight that she seemed to think it was a great idea had been short-lived. She’d seen it as no more than a mate suggesting a team outing, in fact, because she’d shared the invitation with those around them, including the new guy who’d just joined the team—a good-looking firie by the name of Pete Thompson.
And it had been that very night—that had been supposed to be his first date with Harriet—that the spark had been ignited between her and Pete. Jack had felt every jolt of electricity that had passed between them and every one of them had been tipped with the flame of rejection. Of not being good enough. Of not having the kind of charisma that blokes like Pete Thompson had. He knew that that charisma often came with a price. That they were often shallow, egotistical people.
But there’d been nothing that he could do, other than watch it happen. And accelerate. And he’d got over it. So Harriet wasn’t for him? It didn’t matter. They were still friends and he’d find someone else who made him feel this way—without those doubts that he’d made the mistake of ignoring. One of these days, he would experience that ‘falling in love’ business. Preferably with someone that he knew he would want to spend the rest of his life with.
Someone like Harriet Collins maybe, but with some island blood so that she could embrace being part of an extended family that could sometimes smother you with the responsibilities of belonging but would never tolerate being shut out of any dark times in your life.
The way Harriet had shut him out.
It still hurt, Jack realised, as they got close enough to where his crewmate, Matt, was leaning out of the chopper door, ready to pull Harriet to safety and unclip the nappy harness. It was almost a relief when he couldn’t feel the shape of her body against his any longer.
He’d wanted to hold her in his arms so much, that day, when he’d gone to see her after the accident, still reeling from the shock of witnessing that rockfall on their team day out in the Blue Mountains with a day of abseiling training underway. He’d seen that rock hit Harriet and the fear that she’d been killed had made it seem like the ground had been opening up beneath him. A world without Harriet Collins could never be quite the same. He’d had to swipe tears of relief from his face when he’d heard that she’d come through the surgery and still had her leg but he’d known the moment he’d walked into her room for that first visit that even getting close enough to touch her wasn’t going to be welcomed.
She’d put up a barrier that might have been transparent but it was impenetrable. And, from what Jack had heard over the last months, he hadn’t been the only person who’d been relegated to the other side of that barrier. Harriet’s life had fallen apart after the accident but it had been deemed none of his business, however much he might have wanted to try and help.
But she had needed his help today.
Welcomed it, in fact.
And it almost felt like that barrier had somehow evaporated—on her side, anyway. Perhaps he’d put up one of his own, to protect himself from having his friendship rejected again. From the reminders of that even more painful rejection of something that he’d believed could have been a whole lot more than simply friendship.
She was watching him now, as he and Matt made sure that Eddie was as comfortable as possible, monitored his vital signs and tried to check him out for any significant injuries that might have been missed. It was only a short flight to the nearest hospital so it was a busy time but Jack’s glance caught Harriet’s on more than one occasion—like when
