Long Gone Girl (12 page)

Jett cocked an eyebrow. “You do? But it’s
Sunday.” His mouth kicked into a wicked grin. “If you’re going to
church to confess your sins, I guess I should come along too.”

“No…” Ginny pressed her lips together to
stop herself smiling back. Or crying. She blinked rapidly and
glanced toward the window. The white curtains were growing brighter
by the minute.
Why was he making this so difficult? Isn’t he
supposed to love me and leave me? Wham, bam and thank you,
ma’am?

Jett grasped both her hands and linked his
fingers through hers. “Look. How about I make tracks back to The
Beacon and then we could meet up for coffee there in an hour or two
before hitting the beach again? The sun’s out and I don’t have to
head back to Fort Dix until late this afternoon. And after that”
–he smiled and his hands slid to her waist— “both Fort Dix and
LaGuardia aren’t that far from Ridgewood. If you were free on
weekends—”

“No, Jett…” Ginny closed her eyes for a
moment in an attempt to control the frustration and confusion
rising inside her, constricting her throat. She swallowed, then
drew in a steadying breath and met Jett’s gaze. “I’m serious. There
are things I have to attend to. And the way I see it…” She sighed
heavily, hating herself for the words she was going to say, but her
self-preservation was paramount. “Look, we’re both grown-ups. And
last night was terrific. More than terrific. But I think it would
be best if we said good-bye now.”

Jett ran a hand down his face. Although
she’d always thought of him as a Lothario, there was no denying the
look of hurt confusion in his eyes.

“You’re giving me the brush off,” he said at
last, his voice flat with disappointment.

Ginny winced.
Ouch.
“Jett, you’re a
great guy, but I don’t see any point in prolonging...this…us…
You’re at Fort Dix, soon to be moving onto bigger and better things
and I’m… Well, I’m trying to get out of Ridgewood. I have a job
interview for a surgical nursing position tomorrow at Mount Sinai
and I don’t want to screw it up. I need to go over my resume and
some medical journals today, and aside from that…I’m not ready to
rush headlong into a relationship with anyone, casual or otherwise
at the moment. I need to be Ginny Williams for a while. No
commitments. No obligations except for my work.”

Jett released her and rubbed the back of his
neck—an almost awkward gesture. It wasn’t like him at all. “Yeah,
sure, Ginny. I understand.” His mouth twisted into a small rueful
looking smile. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way. I’ll get
dressed and go.”

Ginny nodded, not trusting herself to say
anything as Jett moved over to the radiator where his clothes hung.
When his hands moved to his hips to loosen the towel, she skittered
over to the door. “Just going to the bathroom,” she mumbled.

Standing in the hallway, on the other side
of the closed bedroom door
,
Ginny bit her lip and clenched
her hands into fists, willing herself not to cry.
Crap, crap,
crap
. Had she got Jett all wrong?

But even if she had, even if he’d changed,
it didn’t matter. She had to be strong. She couldn’t afford the
distraction he represented. And she wouldn’t give up her dreams of
a stellar nursing career, not even for him.

When she returned to the room a few minutes
later—she trusted that the cold water she’d splashed onto her face
had removed the traces of any tears, if not her red-rimmed eyes—it
was to find Jett, fully dressed, standing by the window and looking
out at the beach.

“Still all quiet out there?” he asked,
dropping the curtain back into place. When he smiled it was so
smooth and practiced, her heart twisted. The cool, confident,
disarming version of Jett was back. Absurdly, she wanted to smack
him.

But she didn’t. She simply nodded. “Yes.
Except for the cat, it’s deserted.”

“So.” He took a few steps toward her then
caught her hand and raised it to his lips, his gaze capturing hers.
“I guess this is good-bye.”

“Yes,” Ginny said faintly. Her skin still
tingled where his lips had brushed and for one wild moment she
contemplated taking everything back. “Thank you…I…I wish you all
the very best with your new career as an airline pilot.”

Jett shrugged. “It’s a living. Good luck
with your interview tomorrow too.”

“Thanks.” Impulsively she leaned forward and
kissed Jett’s stubbled cheek, then took a step back toward the door
before she could do anything else she might later regret. Like
throw herself into his arms and beg him to stay. “Who knows, maybe
I might see you around some day.”

Jett flashed her a bright grin as he opened
the door. “You bet.”

And then he was gone.

Shit.
Ginny bit her hand to stop a
sob from escaping. She was doing the right thing wasn’t she? She
had to be.
Suck it up, Williams. No time for tears
.

Which was easier said then done when she
felt like her foolish heart was breaking into a thousand
pieces.

***

You bet I’ll be seeing you again, Ginny
Williams
.

His gut might be full of leaden
disappointment, but as Jett strode down the boardwalk toward
Jenkinson’s Pavilion in the direction of his hotel, his heart was
full of steely determination. Ginny might have pushed him away this
morning, but he knew she cared about him. He’d seen it in her eyes
last night when they’d made love. And the reluctant attraction in
her eyes this morning even as she’d shied away from him like a
cornered deer. She didn’t trust him yet. He got that. And along
with that, there was probably a good dose of fear—of being hurt by
him again.

Then there was her desire to be her own
woman attaining fulfillment from her career. He got that
too—admired her for it in fact. But having a career and a loving
relationship weren’t mutually exclusive, for him at any rate. He
just had to get her to see that too.

The rising sun over the Atlantic peered out
from behind a distant bank of clouds, as if reminding him there was
always hope. Smiling, he pulled out his sunglasses from his still
damp jeans’ pocket then put them on to shield his eyes from the
glare off the water. Plan A of Operation Ginny might not have
panned out exactly as he’d wanted, but there was always Plan B.

Six days later,
Ridgewood, New Jersey

“So when do you think you’ll move to Manhattan,
dear?”

Ginny took a sip of her steaming cup of
coffee before responding to her grandma’s question. She so needed
coffee after pulling an unexpected all-nighter at the county
hospital. It also gave her time to consider her answer. The
telephone call heralding the good news that she’d been the
successful applicant for the surgical nursing position had come
late yesterday afternoon, just as she was getting ready for her
shift. Given the crazy night she’d had, she’d barely had time to
get her head around that fact, let alone consider her plans—her
plans to start a new life afresh, and be her own person
.
A career woman
.

She should be over the moon happy but for
some reason, she felt a little like a deflated balloon the day
after the party. And she really didn’t want to think about why that
should be so. Maybe she just needed more coffee. And sleep. Sleep
would be good.

“Well the job at Mount Sinai starts in a
month,” she said eventually, summoning a smile for her grandmother
who’d been toying with the handle of her own cup of tea with one
gnarled finger while she’d patiently waited for Ginny’s response.
“So I figure I’ll spend the next few weeks finding an apartment to
rent in Greenwich Village. Hopefully I’ll be moving in the week
before, but if not, there’s always the nurses’ quarters.”

“I’ll be sorry to see you leaving again so
soon.” Grandma reached out across the scrubbed, oak kitchen table
and one of her wizened, arthritic hands clasped Ginny’s. “But I
understand you need to follow your heart. Lord knows, there’s
nothing much here for you in Ridgewood. Career-wise or man-wise for
that matter. All the good ones have been taken or have moved away.
Men that is.”

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She loved her grandma, despite the fact she was always dead set on
finding her a man. And sadness tugged at her heart at the thought
of leaving her too. Her grandma might be near eighty but she had a
kind soul and a zest for life that was infectious. Ginny put down
her coffee and squeezed her hand back. “Now, now, Grandma. I don’t
need another man.”

Her incorrigible grandma gave her a knowing
smile. “I know dear, but it’s awful nice to have one all the
same.”

Unbidden images of Jett sprang into Ginny’s
mind. Flashing his brighter-than-the-Fourth-of July-fireworks grin
at her as he emerged from the surf. Standing smoking-hot in nothing
but wet jeans in her room. Hovering over her in bed as he searched
her eyes for…something. Something she hadn’t been prepared to give.
Not then at any rate.
Damn.
Ginny bit her lip and glanced
out the window to the back garden and blinked away sudden
tears.

Grandma touched her arm. “Are you all right,
dear?”

Ginny faked a smile. “Yes. I guess I’m just
exhausted—”

“Virginia there you are. Thank goodness.”
Her mother burst into the kitchen in a flurry of chartreuse green
sateen. Another Suzy Perette creation no doubt. “Your father’s
playing a round of golf with his new big accountancy client at the
Country Club this morning, and I’m going to get my hair done. I
trust you aren’t shooting off this weekend. I have a list of
errands a mile long for you. First off, you need to take your
grandmother down the street to pick up her new spectacles from the
optometrist before he closes, then take her to the drugstore—”

“Ellen-May, you know very well your daughter
only just got back from work after a twelve hour shift,”
interjected Grandma. “She needs sleep for heaven’s sake. Why can’t
you do those things after your hair appointment?”

Ginny’s mom raised a perfectly plucked
eyebrow. “Because, dear Mother, then I’m getting my nails done and
after that I need to get a couple of extra things from the grocery
store that Esme forgot. You know we’re having company tonight. I
can’t do every—”

The faint sound of knocking on the front
door drifted down the hall way toward the kitchen.

Ginny’s mom frowned. “For pity’s sake, who
could that be at this hour? It’s Saturday.”

Ginny glanced at the clock. Ten past nine.
“Company?”

Grandma smiled into her tea but her mother
scowled.

“Now don’t get smart with me, young lady,”
her mother scolded. “And why hasn’t Esme answered the door? I’m
going to have to have a word with her again.” She marched from the
kitchen, high heels tapping sharply on the polished wood floor and
sateen skirts hissing. “Esme!”

Poor Esme. The middle-aged housekeeper could
never quite seem to meet her mother’s exacting standards. But no
one really could when it came down to it. Ginny sighed and took
another sip of coffee. She’d finish this, then ditch her nurse’s
uniform that stank of carbolic and take a nice, long hot shower.
Maybe catch a nap before she had to take Grandma—

“Virginia.” Her mother burst back into
kitchen. Her mouth was set in a tight line, but her cheeks were
flushed bright red. “It’s for you.”

“Who?” Ginny put down her cup and stood. She
frowned as she fully absorbed the fact of her mother’s flustered
appearance. Her mother never blushed. Ever.

“That…that good-for-nothing Casanova,
Jefferson Kelly. He says he has something for you.”

Sweet Holy Mary.
Ginny’s heart
crashed against her ribs and her mouth grew dry. Heat flooded her
own cheeks.
He has something for me?
What on earth did that
mean?

Her mother’s gaze narrowed with suspicion.
“What did you get up to last weekend? I heard that boy had been
down at the Shore too.”

Irritation prickled along Ginny’s spine,
along with a sudden tingle of nervous anticipation. “He’s not a boy
and what I did last weekend is none of your business, Mother.”

Grandma reached for Ginny’s hand and caught
her eye. “I know you have this fancy new job starting soon, but
don’t let him be the one that got away, dear.” She winked. “Now go.
Don’t keep him waiting. It’s not every day a man as fine as Jett
comes a-knockin.”

Ginny nodded, her stomach feeling a lot like
Grandma’s old butter churner in action. She smoothed her starched
skirts and pushed a stray wisp of hair back behind her ear, then
headed for the front door.

Bring it on, Kelly
. She was a big
girl. Whatever he had brought to her door, she could deal with
it.

Trouble was, if she was honest with herself
for once, the only thing her foolish, madly beating heart really
wanted—
had ever wanted
—was him.