So much for keeping everything on a boss to crew member basis. Should he hug every member? For a brief moment with Ruby in his arms he’d felt as though they’d never been apart. As if all that pain hadn’t happened, hadn’t torn him into shreds.

Jack turned and deliberately began studying the interior of the aircraft that would become a big part of his life for the next few months. ‘It’s a bit of a squeeze.’

Dave grinned. ‘Takes some getting used to.’

‘And I’m always at the front,’ a man drawled from the other side of the bulkhead. ‘Along with Slats. He’s ducked into the hangar for a minute.’

Dave grinned. ‘Chris, get through here and meet Jack.’ To Jack he said, ‘This guy is one hell of a pilot. You want him with you when the sky’s full of bumps.’

Jack shook hands with the man who didn’t look old enough to have left school let alone know how to fly one of these massive helicopters. ‘Good to meet you. How many hours have you done on this bird?’

Chris laughed. ‘More than you’d ever believe. For the record, I stopped drinking milk thirty years ago.’

The man had to be pulling his leg. The same age as him? Nah, couldn’t be. But Chris looked like he meant it. ‘Bet you have to produce your ID every time you buy a beer.’

‘Damned pain at times,’ Dave muttered. ‘But that innocent face pulls the girls, make no mistake.’

Jack could believe it. What about Ruby? Was she a fan of the pilot? As in had she been out with him, been to bed with him? A cold knot formed in Jack’s belly. There had to be a man in her life. A very attractive, sexy woman always had a man, and Red was both. But it wasn’t his place to comment, despite the chill creeping over his skin. Red was a free agent. Like him. The fact that they were going to work together again didn’t give him any rights over who she went out with. So behave, Jacko.

Jack dragged his hand down his cheek. As her boss, he had to learn about her situation, as he did for all the staff. If anyone’s private life was out of sync over anything at all he’d want to know about it. Happy staff meant a happy work environment, which in turn meant everyone pulled together to give an exceptionally good service to the public.

Just remember her name was Ruby, not Red, and he should be able to keep everything in perspective. Haa!

JULIE, the part-time office lady, stood in the middle of the hangar, staring over at the helicopter. ‘So who’s the hottie?’

Ruby grinned at her. ‘Jack Forbes.’

‘As in Dave’s replacement? No way. He’s got a body to die for. And that face, that grin …’ Julie spluttered to a halt, her eyes enormous.

Ruby shook her head. ‘Too hot to handle?’

Flapping her hands at her cheeks, Julie replied, ‘Remind me to bring my oven mitts to work tomorrow.’

‘Got two pairs?’ There was no point denying Jack’s good looks. That would only make people question her ability to see.

‘Guess you’ll need them more than me, since you’ll be working alongside him. Wonder what he’s like behind those looks?’

‘Imperturbable,’ she muttered. Gorgeous, funny, trustworthy, lovable Jack.

‘You already know him?’ Julie’s perfectly styled eyebrows rose as she continued to stare in the direction of the helicopter.

‘From the days when I was training to be a nurse.’ She’d spent seven months in Wellington, on her way from Nelson to somewhere else, which, on the death of her mother, had turned out to be Seattle. Her training had spread over four cities, and had to be the most erratic on record.

‘You weren’t an item? You know, had a doctors-and-nurses thing going on?’

They’d certainly had something going on, something very hot. Don’t forget the love. There’d been plenty of that too. But not enough to keep them together. What if she was incapable of loving someone enough to get through all the things that got tossed up along the way?

She shuddered, shoved that idea out of the way and said to Julie, ‘If I didn’t know how happily married you were, I’d be arranging a date for you with Jack.’ If he wasn’t already in a relationship with the stunning, lithe blonde Ruby had seen him with in a café four weeks ago. Blondie had been as close to Jack as sticking plaster, and he hadn’t been objecting. Ruby tripped on an uneven piece of concrete. Her knee jagged. She sucked air through her teeth and swore to be more careful.

Julie chuckled. ‘Looking’s fine. It’s the touching that gets people into trouble.’

Ruby winced. Didn’t she know it? Touching Jack had always led to a lot of up-close involvement, a conflagration, so there’d be absolutely no touching this time round. Huge problems lurked there that she wasn’t ready to face. Jack was her past, no matter how much she suddenly wished otherwise. She’d hurt him once, she wouldn’t do that to him again. Or to herself. She headed the subject to safer ground. ‘How come you’re here on a Sunday?’

Julie told her, ‘I’m taking tomorrow morning off so I can go on a school trip with my girls. There’s a pile of reports that need filing with the health department before Wednesday so here I am.’

‘I’d better get these bags sorted.’ Ruby reached the storeroom, exhaling the breath she’d been holding while studying Jack. The sight of him made her giddy, while being near him, being held in that embrace, had made her feel somehow complete. As only Jack had ever made her feel. Damn him. If she’d stayed in Wellington way back then she’d have saved herself a lot of anguish with her father. And she’d still be in a relationship with Jack.

Or would she? They’d both had a lot of personal issues to sort out that might’ve strained their relationship to the point it couldn’t survive. Could be they’d both needed to grow up. Ruby blinked. Definitely true of her. Not so sure about Jack. Did he still resent his father for leaning too hard on him for support? How strange that set-up had been. Parents were supposed to look out for their kids, not the other way round. But of course Jack had never gone into any detail about his family so she only had half the story.

Grabbing at airway tubes, she quickly topped up the bags, while musing on the past. Staying put in one place had been an alien concept for her. That she’d even considered stopping here three years ago spoke volumes about her feelings for Jack. But in the end the forces that had driven her relentlessly onward all her life had won out. Not even for the love of her life, Jack, could she have given up something that had eaten at her as far back as she could recall.

Julie stood in the doorway. ‘You planning on smashing those vials or what?’

Ruby looked at the replacement drugs she’d just rammed into their slots. ‘Guess not.’

‘Mr Gorgeous has got to you already, hasn’t he?’

Unfortunately, yes. ‘I’ll get over it. You wanted me for something?’

‘Can you translate Jason’s writing for me?’ Julie held a report form out to her. ‘Sometimes I wonder if medical staff do a 101 course in Scribble.’

‘Doctors say it’s because they’re always frantically busy.’ At least that was what Jack used to tell her.

Jack. Jack. Jack. Suddenly everything came back to him. Already there was no avoiding him. It was so unfair. She’d come here first, this was her job, her sanctuary. There were plenty of places out there for an emergency specialist to work. Why pick this one, Jack? Despair crunched inside her. It was hard enough getting her life on track and keeping it there, without the added difficulty of having to spend twelve hours a day with a man who knew the old Ruby. And who was going to struggle to believe the new version she’d made herself into—if he’d even take the time to get to know her again. And suddenly she really, really wanted him to.

Julie laughed. ‘That’s a cop-out. But, then, most people blame texting for their appalling spelling too. Lazy, I reckon.’ She turned for her office. ‘I’ve put the kettle on.’