He looked up and grinned. “I didn’t want our food to burn, and I figured you would need something to hold to keep your hands off of me.”
Stunned by the audacity of the man, all she could do was sputter. He laughed aloud and took the plate she was holding, setting it on a nearby table.
“You have real staying power, Jessie Leigh. I’d just come to the conclusion that you would have held it all night.”
She arched an eyebrow and leaned against the railing in her sexiest pose. “There are some things I might do all night, but holding platters isn’t one of them.”
This time, she had the pleasure of seeing him dumbstruck. Finally, he turned back to his cooking, shaking his head and muttering something beneath his breath about needing his head examined.
Pleased that she’d gotten in the last word, she turned and gazed out across the courtyard and to the pool beyond. The apartment complex was a grouping of four separate buildings, but they shared the spacious area in between.
Flowering shrubs bordered the base of the buildings, while pebbled walkways linked them together in a maze of winding paths. Tables with colorful umbrellas dotted the grassy areas between the paths, and just beyond, the sparkling blue waters of the pool beckoned.
A couple walked hand in hand toward the building directly opposite, and as they opened the door to enter, a small boy, who appeared no more than three years old, darted out between them, making a break for the outside like a puppy gone wild.
Jessica grinned as the child rolled and tumbled around on the grass, jumping and hopping and waving his arms. Even though she was high above him, she could see that he was talking to himself. As the moments passed, she kept expecting a parent to join him. Although the courtyard itself was enclosed, there were far too many hazards awaiting a toddler alone.
When he darted toward their building, she leaned over the balcony, somehow convinced that she must keep him in sight.
Stone was taking up the last of the steaks and happened to look up as she leaned. Almost dropping the platter, he grabbed her arm half in jest, half in earnest.
“Easy, honey. You’ve already had one nasty bump on your head. You don’t want to fall from up here.”
“Stone, look.” She pointed to the toddler who was dawdling toward the fenced-in area around the pool.
He followed her direction and frowned. He’d seen the child and the mother before, but had no idea who they were, or where they lived. And while he was debating with himself about what he should do, Jessica suddenly gasped.
“He’s going to fall in the pool.”
Stone looked again. The child had turned away from the fence and was digging under some shrubs with a stick.
“No, honey. Look, he’s playing by that bush.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and started to shake. “No, no, no. Not there,” she moaned.
In that instant, Stone realized what was happening. Jessica was seeing something that had yet to happen. Without looking back, he bolted through his apartment and out of the door, running down the stairs as if his life, and not the child’s, depended on it.
When the door slammed behind Stone, Jessica jerked in shock, realizing he was gone. She gripped the balcony rail until her knuckles turned white. And even though she knew Stone must be on his way to the rescue, she feared it would not be in time. Already the child had made his way through an unlocked gate and was circling the pool with absent fascination.
When he drew back and tossed his stick in the water, she unconsciously reached out, wanting to stop the inevitable and knowing it was an impossible feat.
The stick hit the water with a splash, and the child shrieked with delight. But when it began to float out toward the middle of the pool, Jessica saw a frown creasing the little boy’s forehead. She held her breath, counting the seconds between the time the child leaned over, and when he tumbled headfirst into the deep end of the pool. At that point, her scream pierced the silence, and then she ran for the phone.
Jessica’s scream was the first thing Stone heard as he burst out of the building. All he could think was, Don’t let me be too late.
The child didn’t even float, and was already sinking when Stone hit the water headfirst. Down, down, he dove, reaching out, stretching his arm to lengthen his grasp. And when he caught fabric—and then the tiny, limp arm—he encircled it fiercely, locking his fingers in a grip that only death would have freed, and began swimming up toward the lights dancing on the water above.
He broke the surface of the water with the child held high in his arms. Afraid to take time to look down, he made for the edge of the pool with the child in tow, and as he reached the side, the child was torn from his grasp.
Breathless and shaking, he pulled himself out of the pool just as Jessica initiated the first sequences of CPR. Her hands were shaking and her face was ghost white, but she wasn’t missing a beat. It was just what Stone needed in order to catch his breath before he could help.
“Did you call 911?”
She nodded and continued to work.
Moments later, when he could breathe without gasping, Stone crawled to his knees and bent to the child.
“I’m okay,” he said quickly, taking over the motions from Jessie without breaking the rhythm. Already the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, and then soon, another, much sweeter sound came. The sound of a child choking, then coughing, then crying.
Jessica dropped to her knees and covered her face with her hands, knowing if she never did another important thing during her lifetime, this would be enough to carry her through.
Suddenly, paramedics burst on the scene. When they got to the child, Stone gladly relinquished his role of rescuer and leaned back on his knees, still shaking from an onslaught of emotions.
And even as Stone was drawing in deep draughts of much-needed air into his lungs, the little boy was breathing on his own and asking for his mother.
Stone groaned beneath his breath as he got up. He would like to have a talk with her himself. What the hell kind of a woman would let a toddler out unattended in a place like this?
Someone touched his shoulder and he turned. It was Jessica. He grabbed her hand, and in that moment, the connection they had was as strong as when they made love.
“My God, Jessie.” For the moment, it was all he could say.
“Mommy. Want my mommy,” the child cried.
Stone squatted beside him, gently smoothing the wet mat of hair from his forehead while the paramedics began strapping him on the gurney.
“Where is your mommy, son?”
The little boy’s gaze was frantic, his motions jerky as he tried to pull free of the restraints. “Sleepin’. Mommy sleepin’,” he cried, and tugged at the strap across his chest. “Want my mommy!”
“He came out of that door,” Jessica said, pointing to the back of the nearest building.
“He’s plenty stable, and we’ll be a couple of more minutes,” one of the paramedics said. “If you could find her, it would speed up the process a lot when we take him in.”
Stone got to his feet. “I’ll find her.”
Jessica was right behind him when he went inside. He started down the hallway, shouting aloud.
“Police! Open up!”
Doors opened and people peeked out, curious as to what was going on. Before he could explain what he was about, Jessica suddenly grabbed his arm and started running toward the stairwell. By now, he knew better than to ask why.
They exited on the third level. Jessica was out of breath and there was