St Piran's: The Fireman and Nurse Loveday

Just to prove it, when Joey squeaked the bone, Banjo bounced into the middle of the room, bowing down and wagging his tail to signal that he was ready to play.

Be practical, Flora told herself. Don’t make an idiot of yourself. ‘I’ll put these lovely flowers in water,’ she said. ‘Would you like a coffee?’

‘I’d love one.’ Tom smiled at her, and she felt her toes curl. Which was crazy. She didn’t react to people like that. Anyway, he wasn’t here to see her…was he?

To cover her confusion, she turned to the little boy. ‘Joey, would you like some milk or some juice? ‘

Joey shook his head and continued playing with the dog.

Tom glanced at the vacuum cleaner. ‘Sorry, you were busy.’

‘It’s OK. I was only vacuuming. And you brought me those gorgeous flowers.’

‘It was the least we could do. You were a total star yesterday. We wanted to say thank you.’

He’d brought her flowers to say thanks for helping with Joey. No other reason. She squished the ridiculous hope that he’d bought them for the usual reason a man bought a woman flowers. Of course not. She already knew she wasn’t the kind of woman who could make men look twice; she was way too short, thirty pounds too heavy, and on the rare occasion she wore a skirt it was usually six inches below the knee rather than six inches above. Plus she spent most of her time with a red face, tongue-tied. No way would someone like Tom be interested in her.

As always when faced with a social situation involving adults, she took refuge in practicalities, gesturing to Tom to sit at the scrubbed pine table in the centre of the kitchen, then busying herself arranging the flowers in a vase. Once she’d put them on the table, she made two mugs of coffee, took the remaining brownies from the tin and put them on a plate, then sat down with Tom and slid the plate across to him. ‘Help yourself.’

‘Thanks…’ he smiled at her ‘… but, lovely as those brownies are, I’d better pass. We’ve just had breakfast. Chef Joey there makes a mean bacon sandwich.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘I assume you grilled the bacon.’

‘But he did the important bit—he buttered the bread and added the tomato sauce.’

Joey clearly wasn’t paying attention to anyone else except Banjo, but then Tom lowered his voice. ‘I’m sorry we turned up unannounced. He told me this morning that he wanted to come and play with Banjo—and it’s the longest sentence he’s said in a month. I feel bad about taking up your spare time, but this was a chance to get through to him. I just couldn’t turn it down.’

‘It’s not a problem,’ Flora said, keeping her voice equally low. ‘I wasn’t doing anything in particular, just the usual Saturday chores.’

‘I don’t want to make things awkward with your boyfriend.’

She felt the betraying colour heat her cheeks again. ‘I don’t have a boyfriend.’ The boys at school had never looked twice at her, she’d never been the partying type as a student nurse, and she knew that she wouldn’t even be on the radar of a gorgeous firefighter like Tom Nicholson. Then a really nasty thought hit her. ‘Is it going to be a problem for your girlfriend, Joey coming here to play with Banjo?’

‘There’s nobody serious in my life—just Joey.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Let’s just say my last girlfriend found it a bit hard to share my time. The way she saw it, I should’ve made my parents come back to England to look after him.’

‘How selfish of h—’ Flora clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Sorry, it’s not my place to judge.’

‘No, you got it right first time. And she told me that the day after the accident.’ For a moment, he looked grim. ‘Apart from the fact that we hadn’t been dating for very long, it wasn’t a hard choice to make. Joey comes first.’

‘Well, of course he does.’

Tom gave her an approving smile that made her feel as if she were glowing from the inside.

‘I’ve been thinking about your childminder issue. I could help out, if you like.’ The words tumbled out before Flora could stop them. ‘I finish at five, the same time as the after-school club—so I could meet him from there if you like. There’s only me and Banjo to please ourselves, and it’s as easy to cook for two as it is for one, so if you’re out on a shout or something he can have his tea here with me—if you think he’d like that,’ she added swiftly.

Tom looked surprised at her offer. ‘That’s really kind of you,’ he said carefully.

Oh, no. He’d obviously taken it the wrong way. She’d better explain. ‘Look, I just know what it’s like to lose both parents,’ she said. ‘And that wasn’t me trying to—well, you know.’ She blushed again.

Trying to come on to him? From another woman, Tom wouldn’t have been so sure. But with Flora, he knew she was genuine; he hadn’t known her long, but it was obvious that she was the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. She was offering to help because she was kind, because she cared, because she’d lost her own parents and she could understand exactly how Joey felt—and she wasn’t emotionally hopeless with the boy, the way he was.

‘I know it was a genuine offer,’ he said softly, ‘and I’m not trying to come on to you, either.’ Though he knew that wasn’t strictly true. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about Flora Loveday drew him. And it was completely unexpected because she was nothing like the women he usually dated. She wasn’t sophisticated, fashionable or glamorous. But there really was something about her that made him—well, just want her.

Though, right now, he knew he couldn’t think about dating anyone. His life was too complicated. He pulled himself together. ‘It’s always good to make a new friend. Especially one as kind as you.’

She blushed even more, and Tom couldn’t help smiling. Flora was so sweet. And there was a vulnerability about her that made him feel protective. Strong.

‘And it’s really all right for you to help me with Joey?’

‘I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.’

Tom closed his eyes for a moment. It seemed as if his prayers had all been answered. ‘Flora, thank you. I have no idea what I would’ve done if you hadn’t offered to help.’

Looking embarrassed, she glanced away. ‘It’s not a big deal. Joey’s a nice little boy. But he might not want to come here.’

Tom smiled. ‘Considering that he was up before I was, this morning—and I always wake at six—and he’d got himself dressed, with odd socks and his shirt on back to front, ready to come and see you and play with Banjo… I think he’s going to say yes. But you’re right—we do need to ask him first.’ He looked over to where his nephew was busy making a fuss of Banjo, rubbing the dog’s tummy while the spaniel had his eyes closed in bliss.

‘Joey—can you come here a moment, sweetheart, please?’

Joey eyed the dog, clearly torn between making a fuss of him and doing what his uncle had asked, but eventually trotted over.

‘How would you feel about Flora picking you up from after-school club in future?’ Tom asked.

Joey frowned. ‘Carol picks me up from school.’

‘I know, but Carol has to go to live in London very soon,’ Tom said gently. ‘It’s a big change for you, I know, but I’ve been trying to find someone you’d like to stay with while I’m at work.’

Joey’s hazel eyes turned thoughtful. ‘Would Banjo come, too?’

‘Banjo’s normally here during the day,’ Flora said. ‘But he’d be here to meet you when we got back from school. You could help me take him for a walk. Would you like that?’

Joey considered it, then nodded shyly.

‘And then I’ll come and fetch you as soon as I’ve finished work,’ Tom said.

‘Can I play with Banjo again now?’

Tom smiled. ‘Sure.’

Joey raced back to the dog and found the squeaky bone.

‘When do you want me to start picking him up?’ Flora asked.

Tom thought about it. ‘Carol’s right in the middle of packing everything now. It’s pretty disruptive for Joey, and I’m trying to keep things as calm as I can.’ Calm and relaxed, like it was here at the farmhouse, Tom thought. Everything was neat and tidy, though it wasn’t the kind of house where you’d be scared to move a cushion out of place. It was more that everything felt right just where it was, warm and welcoming and organised and comfortable. Just what Joey needed.

As for what Tom himself needed…he wasn’t going to examine that too closely.

‘I’ve got a day off on Monday. I don’t have anything planned, so I could start then, if you like?’ Flora suggested.