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‘Yeah.’
Jack swallowed the temptation to say that if she’d told him he would have gone with her. ‘What’s it like down there?’
She sat down, clearly trying not to look at him. ‘Wet. Pretty dismal.’
‘And how are you feeling?’
Cass gave a grim smile. ‘Pretty dismal too.’
He leaned across, handing her the packet of biscuits. ‘Chocolate digestive?’ It was little enough, but at least she took them.
She unwrapped the packet, her fingers clumsy, as if she were numb. ‘What are these for?’
‘I want to talk to you. I reckoned that offering you food might keep you in one place for a minute.’
She pulled a biscuit out of the packet, the ghost of a smile playing around her lips. ‘You have my undivided attention.’ She waved the biscuit. ‘Almost.’
Jack smiled at her. It wasn’t much of a joke, but then she must be feeling pretty horrible right now. ‘You’re going back to work tomorrow? Your fire station’s the one in town, isn’t it?’
She nodded. ‘Yeah. Early start. I’m trying not to think about it.’
She was going to have to think about it tomorrow. Trying to use the showers without waking everyone else up. Getting across the water, alone and in the chill darkness of an early morning. Arriving at work already exhausted. Jack tried one last gambit before he suggested the only other solution he could think of. ‘You don’t have anywhere you can stay in town? A friend?’
‘Normally I would. But there are so many people flooded out that no one’s got any room at the moment.’
‘I live pretty close to town. You could stay with me and Ellie.’ Including Ellie in the invitation might make it sound a little less as if he was trying to make a pass at her. ‘I have a spare room so you’d have your own space.’
She stared at him blankly. ‘My own space?’
‘Yeah.’ Saying that the kiss had meant nothing was far too big a lie to even contemplate. ‘La
st night is...then. And today is...’
‘Now...?’ Tension hovered in the air between them and clearly Cass knew exactly what he was talking about. Perhaps she’d been thinking about it too.
‘Yeah. Then and now. Concentrate on now.’
She shook her head slowly. ‘I appreciate the offer. But I should stay here.’
‘Cass, you know that’s not going to work. Goodness only knows how long it’ll take you to get to work from here. You’ll do a demanding job, then come back here and find there are a load of other problems to deal with. It’s too much and you know it.’
‘I can manage.’ Her voice was flat, measured. Jack knew that she was close to breaking point and if pushing her a little further was what it took to make her see sense...
‘No, actually, you can’t manage. This village owes you a great deal. But no one wants you here now. You need a break, and if you don’t take it then you’ll make a mistake. You and I can’t afford to make mistakes, not in our jobs.’
Shock registered in her eyes and then she twisted her mouth in a parody of a grin. ‘Kick a girl when she’s down, why don’t you.’
‘If that’s what it takes.’ He’d resolved that he wouldn’t touch her, that he’d demonstrate that he could keep his distance. But even a friend would offer comfort. Jack shifted over to sit next to her and wrapped one arm tightly around her shoulder. He might not have managed to persuade Cass, but he’d persuaded himself. Leaving her behind was totally out of the question.
* * *
He always seemed so warm. So solid. And she still felt as if the ground had been whipped out from under her feet, after the shock of wading through the dirty water that was almost a foot deep in the ground floor of her house.
‘I suppose...’ She shifted a little, wondering if he’d let her go, and gratifyingly he didn’t take the hint. ‘I suppose you’re going to say that I don’t have any other choice.’
‘Nah.’ He rested his chin lightly on the top of her head. ‘I’m not going to waste my breath by telling you what you already know.’
Even now, he made her smile. If close proximity to Jack was hard, then continuing on here without him would be harder still. And since he seemed so intent on disregarding the kiss, then she could too. She could turn a blind eye to the clutter of Ellie’s things around her and resist the temptation to pick the little girl up and hold her to her heart.
