A photo at the back, almost hidden from view, then took her attention. It was of a very young Mitchell dressed in a work uniform. He looked barely old enough to be in high school but he was in what appeared to be a large warehouse. He appeared far too young to be working. Perhaps it had been work experience, she thought as she put down the photograph.
She noticed there were a few photographs of Mitchell, resembling Tarzan, on his travels, although none with women, as there had been in the photos he had sent David. Instead, they were all solo shots in the wilderness. He had hidden his array of girlfriends from his mother, which did hint at a level of good taste. She quickly blinked away thoughts of his very active love life and continued admiring the collections of photographs.
There were pictures from the beach wedding of David and Ruby. Jade reached down and picked up one of the silver-framed photographs. The happy couple were beaming and the beach at sunset in the background was spectacular. She ran her finger absent-mindedly over the image of her sister. Her long blonde hair was braided with fresh flowers and the hemline of her stunning white lace wedding gown disappeared into the sand. Ruby was a beautiful bride and they looked such a happy couple. Jade put the frame down with a tear threatening to spill onto her cheek.
She noticed pictures of Amber on the sideboard and the sight of them all lifted her mood. So many of the photographs that Jade had sent to them were on display, and each had its own frame.
Maureen and Arthur were doting grandparents.
Jade’s mobile phone suddenly rang in the pocket of her skirt.
‘Hello, Jade Grant,’ she answered, after pulling it free.
‘Hi, Jade, this is Susy from the ANR agency. We spoke earlier and I wanted to see if you would consider a three-week placement, starting tomorrow.’
‘That’s quick, but, yes, I’m sure it will be fine,’ Jade responded, immediately recognising the acronym for the Australian Nursing Recruitment Agency. She had thought it would be a few days till she heard anything from them.
‘With your experience and your qualifications in neonatal ICU and midwifery, you were snapped up. I only wish you could stay longer. There would never be a shortage of work for you,’ Susy told her. ‘I know you only want to work part time during your stay in Adelaide so this placement is three shifts per week. It’s to cover holidays and I have another temp neonatal nurse who can job-share with you. What do you think?’
‘I think it sounds great. Where will I be working?’
‘You’ll be at the Eastern Memorial right in the heart of Adelaide, working across paediatrics and neonatal as I know you have experience in both. I think you’ll like working there. The nursing staff are second to none, the facilities state of the art.’
‘It sounds wonderful.’
After Jade ended the call she turned away from the photos of the family and breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to admit it, but she had to concede that Mitchell was beyond attractive and he had stirred some feelings she’d forgotten she had ever felt, but now this would not be an issue: she would be busy working three days a week so would not see much of him during her stay.
Despite his obvious masculine appeal, and the way he was making her feel, she tried to convince herself that Mitchell Forrester would not be a threat to her. He was wayward and reckless if his postcards were anything to go by, she told herself just in case her hormones were making their own plans. Reliable, steadfast and sensible would be the prerequisites for any man to be in Amber’s life, just the way Ruby had liked her men. And it wouldn’t happen for a very long time, if ever. She needed to focus on being the best caregiver to Amber. That was the role she had been given and she intended on doing the very best job.
She had sat Amber down a few months before the trip and tried to explain why her life was different.
‘I know that most of your friends at playgroup have mommies and daddies but you have an aunty instead,’ Jade began to explain. ‘Your mommy and daddy look down from heaven and watch over you every day to make sure you are happy and safe. And I think that I am the luckiest aunty in the world to have you.’
Jade had become Amber’s legal guardian with Maureen and Arthur’s blessing as they had wanted what was best for their granddaughter. Mitchell had never contested the role, and Jade wasn’t surprised. Jade had seen from the moment she’d arrived in Adelaide that nothing had changed. Maureen and Arthur were so supportive and Mitchell was just there for the fun times.
‘Ith it my birthday?’ Amber squealed her question when she saw her grandfather blowing up balloons and her grandmother putting out pink and yellow napkins and a small stack of brightly wrapped gifts on the table.
‘Not for a few days, but this is an early birthday party so that Uncle Mitchell can say happy birthday and watch you blow out the candles,’ Maureen told her. ‘He has to go to work for the rest of the week so he will miss your real birthday. So you’ll have two parties.’
Amber’s eyes grew wider. ‘Two parties?’
‘Yes, Amber,’ Jade answered. ‘Grandma is spoiling you and you’ll be having two parties this year.’
Amber was clapping her hands and laughing as she sat beside her grandfather while he blew up the last of the balloons.
‘Don’t tell me I’m doing this again in a few days?’
‘Darling,’ Maureen began, ‘there’s only a handful of balloons so please just tie the ribbons onto each one and we can put them up before Mitchell arrives.’
‘Too late, I’m here.’
Mitchell had initially hesitated to accept the dinner invitation when his mother had called but when he’d discovered it was to celebrate Amber’s birthday he agreed immediately. The vision of Jade by the pool had haunted him all day and was the reason he’d hesitated. Something made him want to stay away from Jade but something stronger made him want to spend time with her.
He wanted to find out more about her, and if he was right about her motives. Did she really think that wearing clothes so dour that they were suited to a retired prison warden would make her a better guardian? A blind man could see her devotion and success raising Amber. She didn’t need to dress in costume to achieve anything. He would never understand why she covered the body he knew for a fact was amazing. And why she seemed so averse to his light-hearted remarks about life.
It was as if she had nominated herself for the position of moral compass of the family, if not the world. But as he looked at her he had to admit something about her was growing on him. She was cute, a good and devoted woman, and now that he had seen so much more she had also become desirable woman in his eyes. Common sense told him to limit his time around her but something else told him the opposite.
Jade turned around to see Mitchell standing in the doorway with a large white bear in a yellow spotted dress and a very small white box with a silver bow. He was wearing black jeans, black boots and a tight plain white T-shirt that didn’t hide his ample chest. She felt her temperature start to rise and her heart flutter. Then she noticed he was avoiding eye contact with her.
She prayed he had not seen her watching him from her balcony as he’d walked to the beach that morning. The swagger in his step and his lean, tanned body barely dressed had had a mind-numbing effect on her the moment she’d seen him and the image was still close to doing the same now. She felt her skin heat up and threaten to flush and she was bewildered by what was happening to her.
Over the past three years on her own she must have seen hundreds of good-looking men walking the streets, having coffee in the hospital cafeteria, in the twenty-four-hour supermarket when she called in after a late shift, but