The Firefighter to Heal Her Heart Page 17

  Poppies are red, cornflowers are blue, chocolate milk shakes mean nothing when I’m not with you.

  I love you,

  Jack

  She tried to squelch the smile slipping to her lips and scrunched her fingers along her temple. Cassie would make a brilliant agony aunt. Of course she was still in love with Jack. Days were better knowing he’d be part of them. As things stood, days weren’t very good right now.

  Yes, she’d picked up the phone a dozen times and then hung up just as many after each bouquet had arrived. But she had her son to think about. He needed someone reliable in his life. Besides, she’d set the wheels in motion to move on. And that’s what she was going to try and do. It wasn’t running away—it was progress. At least that’s what she’d keep telling herself. Maybe one day she’d actually believe it.

  * * *

  “She’ll love it.”

  “You sure?” Jack grinned at his sister, a woman blessed with brains and good taste.

  “Positive.” She fiddled with his uniform collar for a minute then leaned back and returned the grin. “Who could resist my handsome big brother?”

  “Liesel, apparently. I’m running out of silly rhymes!” He offered her a wry smile as he slipped the small box back into his pocket. He was on a mission. A long-term one if need be. Patience was something he was good at and he was determined to win Liesel back. If it took until he was as craggy and aged as some of their finest cellared wines, then so be it. After hearing through the town’s very short grapevine that she’d handed in notice at the school and was accepting a job at the hospital, he needed to let her know he was in this for the long haul. He couldn’t let her move on without trying again.

  If he was really honest with himself, he knew she had every right to be angry. If he’d been in her shoes, he’d definitely need some cooling-down time. And a good old-fashioned apology.

  So far he had sent a dozen bouquets. That made it twelve days since The Dark Night, including a Sunday when the florist had been closed and he’d had to improvise. He hadn’t realized how difficult it was to make a bouquet. Thank God Becca had been around to help him. Being able to go to his family for help was incredible. They had his back—and he would need their support as he sorted out the cataclysmically large mess he’d made of things.

  “So. Is that next on the agenda?” Becca tipped her head in the direction of his pocket.

  “No, I’ve got something I hope will be a bit more persuasive in mind.”

  “More persuasive than Mum’s vintage diamond-and-emerald ring?”

  Jack rocked back on his heels and looked out of the tasting room toward the river. “Mmm...on a par, on a par.”

  * * *

  Her office couldn’t have sparkled more if it had been brand-new. Liesel popped the box of personal effects onto her immaculately clear desk, ready for her replacement. She’d already met the young woman, an Adelaide native like herself, and thought she’d be great. She would miss the children, but knew her new job at the hospital was a better fit. Leaving Engleton, that was going to be harder than she’d thought.

  “Miss! Miss!” Kev appeared round the corner, urgently gesturing for her to join him.

  She fell into a jog beside the teen, who had fully recovered from his collapsed lung. “What is it? Has someone been hurt?”

  “You’ve got to come quickly, to the car park.”

  “What’s going on, Kev?” Her brow crinkled with worry. A serious incident was not the way she was hoping to say goodbye to everyone on her last day at the school. She was hoping to leave everyone in good health. Then sneak away like the coward she was beginning to feel like. Dodging her problems wasn’t usually her style. Oh, well. People changed.

  “Just hurry!” Kev furrowed his brow in frustration, then broke into a run toward the double doors leading out to the back of the school.

  She raced after him, heart pounding. There must be something really wrong.

  The moment she burst through the doors she turned to go back in. Kev got there before her, blocking her entrance. “Miss,” he cautioned with all of the gravitas a teen could muster, “my brigade captain needs to have a word.”

  And there he was, chocolate milk shakes in hand, as knee-weakeningly gorgeous as ever. Her dream come true, her worst nightmare. Jack Granville Keller III.

  At least she knew what the G stood for now.

  “Care for a ride in the country?” His too-kissable lips tipped up into a slow grin.

  “I can’t. I’ve got Liam.”

  “I’ve got Liam, actually.” Cassie appeared beside her. “Kev and I are going to take him to the pictures.”

  “He’s two.” Liesel was grateful for the fleeting distraction from Jack’s blue eyes. She’d missed them so much, the additional spark of life they seemed to give her.

  “Going on three and he likes a good cartoon as much as the next person.” Cassie dropped her a sassy wink before turning on her heel. “It starts any minute so we’d better get a move on.”

  “C’mon.” She felt Jack’s fingers thread through her own and give them a light squeeze before she’d realised he was beside her. She had to fight the instinct to return the squeeze. “Let’s go for a ride.”

  “Jack, I really don’t want to. It’s my last day and I—”

  He lifted a finger to her lips. “If you give me a chance, today could also be a day of firsts.”

  She resisted the urge to swat his hand away. She might be angry with him, but there was no need to be nasty. Besides, his finger against her lips was a teasing reminder of the sensual pleasures Jack had once released in her. Not that she wanted those anymore. Well, she did. But she shouldn’t and that was going to have to be enough.

  “On you go!” She felt Cassie give her a little shove. Looked as if she wasn’t going to have much choice in the matter.

  “A short one.” She arched what she hoped was an assertive brow up at Jack. He gave her one of his crooked grins and all at once she was back in the barnyard, her body turning into a butterfly-filled lava lamp all over again. She retrieved her hand from Jack’s and reluctantly followed him to the truck, where he’d placed the milk shakes in the beverage holders. For a man who thought of everything, he certainly had a knack for not explaining anything! Which was precisely the problem.

  She chewed on her lips as he climbed into the cab and pulled the truck out of the school’s car park just as they’d done dozens of times before over the course of their—whatever it had been. Friends didn’t hide friends from their families. And she needed to remember that.

  “Do you mind a little music?”

  “Not at all.” It would cover up the fact she couldn’t think of a single lucid thing to say to him.

  She watched as Jack flicked on the CD player then took in a sharp breath of surprise as the first song came on.

  “This is—”

  “Your favourite hippie music.”

  She couldn’t help releasing a hint of a smile.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’d thought of making it a secret, but figured we’d had enough of those.” Liesel shot him a sharp look. Was he taking a dig at her or himself?

  “River’s Bend,” he continued, his eyes trained on the road. “We’re headed to River’s Bend. I want you to see why I love it there and explain, if I can, what happened in the lead-up to the Harvest Festival.

  “Jack, I just don’t know. A lot has changed in my life.”

  “If you’re talking about taking the job at the hospital, I heard.” He saw her eyes widen in surprise.

  “I have my sources!” Her cat eyes narrowed.

  No more secrets.

  “Cassie. Cassie told me. And I can’t even tell you how proud I am of you. The hospital is lucky to have you. Truly.” He placed a hand over hers and gave i
t a little squeeze.

  “I know you don’t owe me a thing, but I would do anything to win back your trust.”

  “It’s not just my trust you need to earn, it’s Liam’s.” A surge of emotion shot through her like a lightning bolt. “I can’t bring someone into his life who changes his mind on a whim about who he is and whether or not he wants us around.” It was difficult to keep the hurt out of her voice, not to mention the anger, but she tried her best. Despite herself, she loved this man.

  “Believe me, I know.”

  “But how could you?”

  “Because I didn’t think I had my father’s trust all these years. And that hurt. A lot.”

  “You two seemed pretty chummy the other night.” This time she knew she sounded unkind. And it felt wrong. Hurting Jack was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “That’s thanks to you, you know.”

  Uh, what was that? I thought I was being a jerk.

  “Meeting you changed my life in ways I’d never imagined possible. At the very least, I owe you an enormous thank-you.” He slapped the steering wheel gleefully. “Maybe you having a right old go at me. Blow off some steam. What do you say?” He was chuckling now, obviously delighted with the idea. “Do you fancy giving me a good old-fashioned telling off?”

  “I don’t really think that’s necessary,” she answered primly, before taking a sip of her chocolate milk shake. Delicious. A ten. Or was that Jack?

  Quit softening my resolve, you...you picture of perfection!

  He waggled his brows at her and spun out a toothy grin. “C’mon, darlin’, you know you want to.”

  “Hardly. I’m more mature than you.”

  “That’s what they say about girlies.”

  It was hard to stop the giggles from burbling forth. “Well, it’s true.” She pointed a decisive finger at him. “And I’m hardly a girlie.”

  Jack took his eyes off the road for a moment to appraise her. “No, darlin’. You are definitely all woman.”

  And whoooosh! There went the butterflies.

  Jack turned the truck into the impressive entry gates of River’s Bend. Her eyes scanned the seemingly endless rows of fruit-laden vines, the various winery buildings dotted along the left side of the drive and, as they wended their way along the dirt track, the classic country farmhouse sitting among a grove of gums. It was breathtaking. And off-limits. Right?

  Jack clicked off the ignition and tipped his head in the direction of the trees. “C’mon. Let’s take a walk.”

  Her resolve was softening by the second. And the seconds were flying past.

  “Jack, I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

  In a flash he was on the other side of the car, taking her hand in his. “I think you’ll find it is. The future mistress of River’s Bend really should know her way around the property, don’t you think?”

  Her fluttery tummy turned into a hard twist.

  “No, Jack. I can’t.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Both. Not if you think compartmentalizing your life is a way to live. I’ve been through too much already. I’m not going to beg you to find out more secrets—nor am I going to sit around waiting for you to surprise me with another mind-blowingly huge plan for the future you ‘forgot’ to tell me.”

  “C’mon.” He gave her hand another gentle tug, succeeding, this time, in guiding her round the side of the house into the sun-dappled woodland. They strolled for a few moments in silence, Liesel’s head busy fighting the urge to turn into a pinball machine. When the thoughts settled a little, she still reached the same conclusion.

  “Jack, I am so sorry for all you have been through, but you didn’t trust that I would have been there for you.”

  “The way you trusted me with your history with Eric?”

  Ouch. That hurt.

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Nor is keeping me in your bad books forever for the same mistake.”

  “It wasn’t a mistake. It was...” Liesel hesitated, knowing Jack had made a legitimate point. “It was a tactical omission.”

  “Tactical omission?” Jack’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Seriously?”

  No. It was more than that.

  “I thought I was waiting until I was ready to say goodbye to Eric.”

  Jack’s expression softened. “Oh, darlin’, you’ll never say goodbye to him. He’s the father of that great kid of yours. I was just hoping there was room in your heart for you to say hello to me.”

  Liesel felt tears prick at her eyes. She’d already said hello. Quite some time ago. And saying goodbye to Jack? It was proving near on impossible. Still. Her heels had been dug in, she might as well hash the whole thing out with him.

  “It still would have been nice to find out you were a local boy and heir to a...to all of this before the Harvest Festival.” She gestured at the beautiful woodland and expanse of riverfront that peeked through the bushes at the end of the path they’d been walking along.

  “So you’re telling me you would’ve gone for Jack the winery heir more than Jack the brigade captain?” His tone had turned brusque. He’d obviously had a lot of that growing up and it wasn’t at all what she’d meant.

  “No! Not in the slightest. I just felt like an idiot—everyone there knew who you were except me, the supposed object of your affection.” She glared at him then felt her willpower weakening at the memory of him in his dress uniform. “Besides, I quite like Jack the fireman.”

  “Quite?” Jack’s lips parted in a slow, sexy grin.

  “A bit,” she replied coyly, a finger working its way round one of her curls.

  Obviously sensing he had some emotional purchase, she saw his confidence grow as he continued. It wasn’t helping her resolve that a confident Jack was about as sexy as they made ’em.

  “It would be an understatement to say the way things panned out at the Harvest Festival was the total opposite of how I wanted them to be.”

  “So I wasn’t meant to find out anything at all?” Liesel stopped in her tracks, hands flying to her hips, chin quirked to the side. Sparks may actually have been shooting out of her eyes but she was too astonished to be sure. This was one heck of an apology! Resolve? Back into set-cement land.

  “No, you noodle, the total opposite. I wanted you to know everything about me, but with the crash and all, everything went pear-shaped. It was meant to be a Liesel dream night! There was supposed to be wine, delicious food, formal introductions to my family and me on a bended knee in front of the entire town with a beautiful ring and an accordion serenade.”

  Liesel couldn’t help herself. She burst into hysterical laughter. “An accordion serenade?”

  “Okay, maybe not the accordion serenade but everything else was true.” Jack opened his arms wide, beckoning with his fingers that she should come in for one of his bear hugs. She wanted to, every pore in her body wanted to. But they still weren’t quite there yet. She folded her arms as if they would help protect her from the answer to the next question.

  “Are there more? More big things I need to know?”

  “I once ate a worm on a dare from my sister then threw up in my dad’s combine. It took him a week to clean it.”

  Liesel laughed softly, but kept her arms folded tightly across her chest. God, he made her laugh. She loved that about him.

  Who was she kidding? She loved him. But she needed to know who the real “him” was. “Jack—be serious. I don’t need a blow-by-blow account but a nice round nutshell version of the man I love would do before—”

  “Before what? Wait!” His eyes went another notch up on the sky-blue barometer. “You love me?”

  “Of course I do, you dill. Why do you think I was so upset?”

  “Hang on. You said you needed a nutshell version of
my life before—before what?”

  “Before you can think about bending that knee of yours again.” Uh-oh. She’d softened. And we’re back to putty!

  “Well, that, my darlin’ redhead, is fair enough.” He took a big breath and as he began to speak, ever so slowly began to lower one knee to the ground. “Nutshell version—I was born John Granville Keller the Third to Ava and Granville Keller. Lived an idyllic childhood here at River’s Bend Winery with my sister, Becca. A fire, the details of which I have hashed over for the past twenty-odd years, took the life of my beloved mother and my father’s true love. I blamed myself and, subsequently, thought my father hated me so I threw myself into a life of wild-child silliness that didn’t really suit me until I eventually came to roost in the barracks of the CFS training HQ in Adelaide, where I found focus. Drive.”

  He took her hand in his and continued, his knee hovering inches above the ground. “I led a life of purposeful improvement with the fire service and active avoidance of my family and then one day—pow!—I met the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. She was smart, funny, has a cute-as-can-be kid who melts my heart every time I give him an airplane ride. She—her name is Liesel, by the way—gave me the strength to heal old wounds with my family and, more than anything...”

  Liesel watched silently as Jack’s knee met the ground and his hand slipped into his trouser pocket. He withdrew a small black box and flipped open the lid. “More than anything I wish she would agree to be my wife.”

  Her eyes widened at the sight of the glittering diamond flanked by two beautiful emeralds. It was the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen.

  “Liesel Elizabeth Adler, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  If someone had told her your heart could actually get lodged in your throat, Liesel would’ve believed them at that moment. The man of her dreams was down on one knee, asking her to marry him, and she couldn’t speak!

  “Liesel?”

  “There’s just so much to process!” She knew she was just buying time—and she also knew what her heart was telling her.

  “I’ll do you one better, then. Would you agree to be my fiancée? I will give you a one-year warranty on any faults or problems you find with me.” She raised a dubious eyebrow. “Within reason, of course.”