St Piran's: The Fireman and Nurse Loveday

‘Actually, I’m off myself on Monday and Tuesday—I work four days on and then four days off,’ he said. ‘But if you can do Wednesday to Friday this week, that’d be brilliant.’

‘What time does your shift start?’

‘I work seven until seven.’

‘So what happens in the mornings,’ she asked, ‘if you have to be at work at seven and school doesn’t start until a quarter to nine?’

‘I’m still working on that,’ Tom admitted. ‘I’ve been dropping him at Carol’s at half past six.’

She shrugged. ‘Well—I don’t start work until nine, so you can do that with me, too. I’ll have plenty of time to take him to school on the days you’re at work.’

Tom stared at her. ‘Really?’ Usually, if something was too good to be true, it usually was. It couldn’t be possible to sort out his hours and Joey’s so easily—could it? ‘Half past six is really OK with you? ‘

She smiled. ‘I’m used to being up with the chickens, even though I don’t have to feed them myself any more. And it’ll be nice to have breakfast with someone in the mornings.’

She was so calm about it, so serene. Did she know what an angel she was? Tom wanted to hug her, but he had a feeling that she’d find it as awkward as Joey did. Something told him that Flora wasn’t used to people hugging her. Except maybe some of her younger patients—he’d already noticed that she had children’s drawings stuck to the door of her fridge with magnets.

‘I’ll need your contact numbers. And you’ll also need to tell the school,’ Flora added.

‘Sure. If you have a piece of paper and a pen, I’ll write my numbers down for you.’

Flora handed him her mobile phone. ‘Better still, you could put them straight in there.’

Her fingers brushed against his and a wave of awareness swept down his spine. Not that he’d dare act on that awareness. Apart from the fact that she was shy—with him, not with Joey—if he messed this up, he’d lose a friend as well as help that he badly needed right now. He needed to keep a lid on this. Trying not to think about how soft her skin was and wondering how it would feel against his mouth, he keyed in his home number, his mobile and the number of the fire station. ‘I’ve already got your numbers. I assume if I need to get you at work I should ring the surgery?’

‘Yes, or try my mobile—I don’t answer if I’m driving, though, so it’ll go through to voicemail,’ she warned.

‘Good—that’s sensible. I’ve had to cut too many people out of cars when they’ve been trying to talk on the phone and drive at the same time. Why they couldn’t just pull over and make the call safely, or use a headset…’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Sorry. Preaching to the converted. And, as a medic, you know all that already.’

Flora smiled. ‘Yes.’

She went quiet and shy on him again once they’d finished with the practicalities, but Tom was aware that he was eking out his coffee, putting off the moment when he’d have to leave here. Scared of being on his own with his nephew and failing to connect with him yet again? Or something else? He didn’t want to analyse that too closely. And this really wasn’t fair to Flora, taking up her day. ‘Come on, Joey. Remember we said we’d go and play football in the park?’

‘Can Banjo come?’ Joey asked.

‘No, Flora has things to do,’ Tom said, before Joey could suggest taking up even more of Flora’s time.

‘Can we come back tomorrow?’

Tom was searching for an excuse when Flora said, ‘I don’t mind. I don’t have anything much planned.’

‘Tell you what, maybe Joey and I can take you out to lunch.’ The words were out before he could stop them and he could see the surprise on her face—and the wariness. Help. He needed to take this down a notch. Make it clear that he was inviting her out with both of them, not on a proper date.

Though he was horribly aware that he’d like to have lunch with Flora on her own and get to know her better—a lot better.

‘I mean, you fed us on Friday so it’s our turn to feed you—right, Jojo?’

Joey nodded.

‘And I know a place that does a really good Sunday roast, just down the road from here.’ Tom smiled at her. ‘So, can we take you to lunch tomorrow?’

‘That’d be lovely. Thank you.’

‘Great. We’ll pick you up at half past eleven.’

It wasn’t a proper date, Flora told herself as she stood in the doorway, waving as Tom’s car headed down the driveway. They were just acquaintances who were on their way to becoming friends. Nothing more than that.

And she’d better not let herself forget it.

CHAPTER FOUR

DESPITE her resolutions to be calm and sensible, Flora found herself changing her outfit three times the next morning. She really should’ve asked Tom whether she needed to dress up for lunch.

Then again, they were going out with Joey, so the restaurant was more likely to be a family-friendly place. Which meant smart-casual rather than trendy—and besides, she didn’t do trendy clothes. In the end, cross with herself for minding, she opted for a pair of smart black trousers, a long-sleeved cerise T-shirt and low-heeled sensible shoes. Hopefully this would strike the right balance.

She was relieved when Tom turned up wearing black chinos and a light sweater. And she suppressed the thought that he looked utterly gorgeous, like a model. He was her friend. Right?

Joey’s seat was in the back of the car, but she noticed that Tom included Joey in the conversation, even though the little boy barely answered much above yes, no and—from what she could see in the rear-view mirror—a shrug.

Lunch was as excellent as Tom had promised. Flora noted that Tom helped Joey cut up his meat without making a big deal about it, just a soft, ‘Can I give you a hand with that, sweetheart?’ Tom really was a natural father figure, even though he clearly didn’t think he was good enough. And they all had fun with the ice-cream machine; Tom helped Joey make a huge mountain in his bowl, and the little boy looked really happy as he added sprinkles and sauces from the toppings bar. He decorated Flora’s and Tom’s ice cream, too.