Page 45 of Second Act
“There’s big excitement upstairs.” Powell tilted his head toward the staircase. “We got us a real, live movie star visiting.” He gave Jessica a quizzical smile. “Your friend.”
Diego stopped. “You mean Hugh Baker? For real?” Then he looked at Jessica with a hint of embarrassment. “Carla told us you know him.”
Jessica was still dealing with how just hearing that Hugh was in the same building as she was sent an electric shock of nerves through her. She fumbled her phone out of her pocket. Maybe that’s why Hugh had texted her.
Are you free this Wednesday? I’d like to talk. Just talk.
Sexual heat prickled over her skin and soaked deep down into her belly as his words evoked memories of the last Wednesday they’d spent together. She hadn’t intended to do more than talk the last time, and look where she’d ended up.
“Doc? Doc?” Diego’s voice finally penetrated the Hugh-induced cloud of lust wrapped around her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just got an unexpected text.” She held up her phone. “You go on upstairs to meet Mr. Baker. I’ll take a look at Pari.”
Diego hesitated for a split second before he shook his head. “I’ll go with you.”
Jessica saw the longing on his face as he glanced up the stairs. “Let’s go up first, then. We’ll check out Pari after you meet the movie star.”
The boy’s dazzling smile was a gift in itself. “That’d be dope.”
“Leave the doc’s bag here,” Powell said. “I’ll look after it.”
Preceding Diego up the stairs, Jessica lifted one hand to push at her bun, wondering how mussed it was after she had yanked off her knitted cap. Then she dropped it to her side. She refused to pander to her annoying obsession with her former fiancé. However, she did give a tug to the hem of her scrub top, feeling an unwelcome spurt of relief that she’d worn her favorite purple one with the flattering pin tucks.
With each step, she felt her heart beat faster. Was it because she wanted to see Hugh or because she was afraid to?
As she neared the top of the steps, she could hear his beautifully modulated voice rising and falling. He was telling a story about a movie stunt that had gone wrong, and she found herself caught up in the tale before she could even see him.
When she reached the first floor, she dodged sideways to join the row of staff members leaning against the wall, their rapt attention on the man sitting in one of the mismatched armchairs in the lounge. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, which should have made him blend right in, but his ineffable charisma made him practically glow, drawing every eye to the flash of his turquoise eyes, the glossy ebony of his hair, and the starkly beautiful planes of his face.
One of the dogs sat beside him, its expression blissful as Hugh absently stroked its head with his long, elegant fingers. He gestured with his other hand, demonstrating how he’d leaped from a third-story window, only to discover that his safety harness hadn’t been properly fastened.
She thought she’d escaped his notice, but he swept his gaze around his audience like the pro he was and it snagged on her. The fingers stroking the dog went still for a long moment, and there was the tiniest break in the flow of his words. But only she noticed before the show went on.
Diego joined a group of older kids who were propped against the back of a sofa, and Jessica could see him fall under Hugh’s spell. She should slip downstairs to take care of Pari now, but she found herself ensnared as well. The movements of Hugh’s hands, the stretch ofhis T-shirt over the muscles of his chest and shoulders, and the long, denim-clad legs wound their fascination around her like a silken net.
She caught her breath as he described how when he fell, he could feel the safety harness slipping off his chest and away from his shoulders while he tried to grasp one of the straps as he heard the screams and shouts of the film crew. Just when he thought he had lost the harness and was going to crash into the ground at full speed, his watch snagged on a buckle, giving him enough time to grab the strap and break his fall, although he nearly wrenched his shoulder out of its socket. He lifted his wrist as he described the bruise that wrapped around where the watchband had been mashed against his skin. “But I’ve worn that watch for every stunt since then. It saved my life.”
He looked around. “Know what I learned from that experience?”
“Use a stunt double,” one kid called out.
“Don’t jump outta third-floor windows,” another one said.
“Weartwosafety harnesses” was the final suggestion.
Hugh laughed, a deep, rich rumble of amusement. “All excellent advice. But I can’t always take it.” He leaned forward to make sure he had their attention. “I learned to check the safety harness myself and to do it twice. Because no one cares about your fate as much as you do. Your future is always in your own hands.”
Jessica felt her heart twist. No one had cared about Hugh as a child. Not to mention that there had been no safety harness for his younger self.
A chorus of “yeahs” and “amens” rose in agreement with his words.
“They care here.” It was Diego, his voice booming out. “They got our backs here.”
Jessica saw Emily stand up straighter and smile at the boy’s words.
This time the sound of agreement was louder and longer. All the staff members were grinning by the end of it, and some wiped at their eyes.
Hugh nodded as the room quieted. “You’re right, and you’re lucky to have this place. But your life is still your responsibility. You have value, every one of you, and you should always act that way.”
