N. Walters - Jackson’s Jewel

“Yeah, the nurse gave you a sponge bath earlier. You were mostly out of it at the time.” Emerald nodded as a vague memory flitted through her brain. “I brushed your hair, but we didn’t wash it. That’s why you still smell some of the smoke. The nurse gave me some dry shampoo, she called it, to brush through your hair. It helped some.”

Conversation lagged as they both enjoyed the pleasure of simply touching one another. Emerald rubbed her hand over his chest, wishing it were his bare skin instead of a soft cotton T-shirt. Jackson ran his hand up and down her arm. The only sound in the room was the gentle inhalation and exhalation of their breaths, punctuated by the background noises of the hospital.

“You should sleep.” The low rumble of his voice made her smile.

“So should you,” she countered.

He gave a short bark of laughter and she felt his lips brush the top of her head. Maybe it was the dark of the night. Maybe it was the intimacy of the situation, but she found herself wanting to talk about Jackson, to find out as much as she could about the man she loved. Finally, she asked a question that had been troubling her since her arrival at the farm. “Why don’t you have any animals on your farm?”

Jackson gave a huge sigh. “If I answer, will you promise to sleep?”

“As long as I’m satisfied with your answer,” she retorted.

He snorted and then rested his head back against the chair. “When I was a kid, my grandfather had a couple of horses. When he died, my father sold all but the oldest one. Nobody wanted him. I loved old Elvis.”

“Elvis?” she laughed. She could sense more than see Jackson’s smile as she tilted up her head to look at him. The light from the window outlined his features, making them appear blunter and more rugged than usual.

“Yeah, Granddad was a big Elvis Presley fan. Anyway, Elvis the horse died the next winter and that was the end of all the horses. We had a couple of dogs when we were kids, a few cats. But that was mostly Mom’s doing and not my father’s.”

“He didn’t like animals?”

Jackson lowered his head until he was looking straight at her. “My father didn’t like anyone or anything. At least not back then. I have no idea what he’s like with his new wife.”

“You don’t know?” It was appalling to her that he and his siblings seemed to have no relationship with their father. Her family was so close.

“Never met her. The old man moved away just after I turned eighteen and bought the farm from him. He landed in Florida, met a woman and remarried. I’m not even sure where he lives now. We lost contact several years ago.”

“That’s sad.” Her heart ached for Jackson. He’d been so young to be abandoned by the only parent he’d had.

“That’s life,” he countered. “Now go to sleep.”

“But what about now? Why don’t you have a dog or a cat?”

His arms tightened slightly around her before they relaxed. “Habit, I suppose. The old barn cat died a couple years back and then when Erin and Nathan moved out, there didn’t seem to be much point.”

That struck Emerald like a punch to the gut. Jackson had learned the hard way that animals die and people don’t stay. He kept to himself so that no one or nothing could hurt him. Emerald swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure that she was any different to him.

Would he send her on her way when this was over or would he ask her to stay? Was Jackson even capable of loving her or had he closed himself off to that deep emotion? Oh, she knew he cared about her. She was his lover and he was a decent and responsible man. She cringed at the thought. She didn’t want to be just another responsibility to him.

Too much to think about right now. Her temples were throbbing and her lungs ached. As if he knew she was hurting, Jackson began to stroke her hair, occasionally rubbing her temple. “Sleep. Everything will seem better in the morning.”

She wasn’t sure of that, but she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him, absorbing his caring and his heat. The air-conditioning in the hospital made her shiver. Jackson pulled her closer and the steady beat of his heart lulled her to sleep.

“I need to leave today.” She said the words for at least the tenth time since she was released from hospital. Jackson ignored her this time as he had the other nine times. “You know I’m right,” she continued.

He turned and pinned her to the seat with a hot blue gaze. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the fluttering in her heart and in her womb. “You’re not going anywhere. Not until this stalker is caught. If you leave now,” he continued reasonably, “you might draw the threat back to your sisters in New York.”

That was a deep concern. She’d called her sisters this morning and had spent a half-hour on the phone convincing them that she was fine. Topaz had taken it upon herself to call their parents in London and now they were on their way back to New York. Emerald didn’t have it in her heart to be angry at her sister, although at this point, she’d have preferred to have her parents as far away from her as possible. At least that way she’d know they were safe.

“No arguments?” Jackson was staring at her with concern now as they drove down the highway toward the farm. Abel or Nathan, she wasn’t sure who, had driven his truck to town this morning and delivered it and a change of clothing for both of them to the hospital. Emerald appreciated the loose cotton shorts and oversized T-shirt that Erin had packed for her. She wouldn’t be wearing a bra for a while, although her back was much better today.

“No. I know I can’t go back to New York, but I can’t stay here either.” She was a danger to whomever she was around.

“You can’t run forever, Emerald. Now that we know that he knows you’re here, we can take steps to protect you.”

She swallowed hard as she stared out the window. Jackson would protect her, but at what cost to himself and his property? “It’s not just you who might be at risk. Have you thought about that?” She turned as far as the seat belt would allow and faced him. “Your family might be at risk as well.”

“Abel and Nathan will take care of themselves and the women.” He sounded so confident and so chauvinistic she wanted to smack him.

“They can’t stop a bomb, Jackson.” She’d done everything to get him to understand, but he was being stubborn. Well, she was stubborn too and as soon as she felt up to it, she was packing her bags and leaving. She ignored the pain deep in her chest and the churning in her gut. She had to leave to protect him.

He didn’t answer her, but she hadn’t expected him to. There was nothing more to be said as far as she was concerned. Jackson kept his eyes on the road, but his fingers tightened perceptibly around the steering wheel. Sighing, Emerald turned to peer out the side window. She was going to miss the unspoiled countryside around her. For a city girl, she’d gotten used to the peace and quiet real quick.

Jackson turned up the road to the driveway. They were here to pick up some clothing before heading over to Erin’s place. Trucks and a few cars lined the road, with more parked around the back of the house.

“What the heck…” Jackson pulled to a stop, turned off the ignition and sat back and stared. The house was a beehive of activity. A slow smile turned up the edges of his mouth, softening the harsh planes of his face.

“What’s going on?” Men were talking as they sawed and painted. Women were trooping to and fro, carrying buckets of dirty water outside and dumping them before turning around and marching back inside.

“Looks like the neighbors have come to call.” Jackson opened his door and climbed out as Abel strode toward him. Not wanting to miss anything, Emerald pushed open her door and slid out of her seat, ignoring her aches and pains.

“Glad you’re here.” Abel slapped Jackson on the back. The blow would have felled a lesser man. Abel’s hands were the largest she’d ever seen. Jackson never even flinched.

“What’s all this?” Jackson sounded more bemused than concerned.

“Everyone heard what happened.” Abel turned to her with regret on his face. “The entire town knows about you, the stalker and the bomb.”

“How?”

Abel gave a chuckle. “Nothing works quite like the country grapevine. Folks monitoring the police band heard about the bombing. The firefighters and paramedics knew about you. The hospital staff knew you were brought in because of your injuries in the blast.”

Abel arched his eyebrow, making her laugh. “Okay. I get the picture.” She watched the beehive of activity with growing interest.

“Nathan decided the best thing to do was to set things straight. So he went to the diner yesterday afternoon and laid things out for folks. Carly’s been doing the same all day today. We figured a stranger would be easier to spot if everyone in town and the surrounding area was looking for him.”

Emerald was uncomfortable with the idea that everyone knew her business, but it did make sense. “But what does that have to do with all these people?”

“Heck, darlin’. Folks started arriving as soon as the police gave the okay. The actual fire damage was minimal. Most of it came from smoke and water. People have been cleaning and scrubbing throughout the night. This is the second shift.”

“Wow.” Emerald didn’t quite know what else to say. The community of Meadows was unlike any she’d ever experienced. It also said a lot about Jackson that all these people would leave their busy lives to come and help.

“We had to put in a couple new windows in the kitchen, but everything in the room has been cleaned and floor has been hauled up. We also decided it was better to just haul out the walls and redo the drywall. The bottom cabinets were a write-off, so we tore them out and replaced them. Paul Werner at the hardware store sent out some that will match the existing ones.”