Page 39 of Summer of Fire
‘There’s a pickup scheduled tomorrow, in a field not too far from here. It’s where I came in yesterday. We couldn’t risk using the place we dropped you. What happened that night, by the way?’
Lizzie told him about the soldiers and the shooting, and how she hid nearby.
‘You’ve had quite an adventure,’ he said. ‘It’s time to get you back home to London. Drake will not be happy with me, losing track of you like that.’
There was something about the tone of his voice that told her he had no intention of coming back to London with her. ‘You’re staying here,’ she said, her voice flat.
‘Yes, for a little while. I must find Hannah. It’s the least I can do after she risked her life for us.’
Lizzie nodded, but fear for Jack rose in her throat. ‘Let me stay with you. I can help,’ she implored.
He shook his head. ‘I appreciate it. But you’ve been through enough. And besides, we need you to deliver the envelope to SOE. It’s crucial they get the film. You’ve completed your first mission successfully.’
It all made perfect sense, but Lizzie’s heart hurt. She couldn’t think of a reason for him to let her stay, so she sat on a bale of hay and prepared herself for what was to come.
Night descended quickly on Reims, and Lizzie stood at the entrance to the barn staring up at the dark sky, wistful about what tonight would be like if there were no Nazis on the prowl and no war.
‘I’m going to wash,’ said Jack. ‘May I borrow your soap? I didn’t bring much in the way of supplies with me.’
Lizzie opened her case and extracted the small soap from the kit SOE had given her. She was in awe of how Jack operated fearlessly, without even a change of clothes.
He opened his hand, and she dropped the soap into his palm.
‘Thank you. There’s a well in the yard just over there,’ he said, pointing. ‘I’ll keep watch and then we can have something to eat.’
They had been eking out the supplies from Jeanne, but Lizzie’s stomach rumbled loudly to show her eagerness.
Jack’s wide mouth curved into an indulgent smile. ‘Message received loud and clear.’
Lizzie watched as he crossed the yard and stripped off his vest. He drew a bucket of water from the well as if he did it every day in London and rubbed the soap over his muscular arms and across his broad chest.
Her pulse raced as she swallowed, watching his every move. She’d seen young men bare chested at the beach in Jersey, but she’d never seen a man like Jack, naked to the waist. His chest had a smattering of fine dark hair, and his hard, flat stomach made her mouth dry when she saw how it tapered into the waist of his trousers.
Lizzie made herself look away and scan the area rather than fixate on Jack’s body, which evoked all kinds of feelings in her. Whatever must he think of her gloating like a starving animal eyeing its prey?
She shook her head and took a deep breath to calm her treacherous heart. What a day it had been. One manpossessed by lust and desperate to have her at any cost, and another she couldn’t keep her eyes off who didn’t show the slightest bit of interest in her romantically.
Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone. Soon her eyes drifted back to Jack, and she watched him finish washing his torso. He was a large, beautiful man, and his movements were measured as if he didn’t intend to waste any energy on unnecessary actions. From what she knew of him, she thought his mind operated in much the same way.
He ambled over to her side, letting his skin dry off in the warm breeze. ‘Want to cool yourself down? I can draw some fresh water for you if you like,’ he offered. ‘It’s brought me back to life after the heat of today.’
‘That’s kind,’ she said, thinking that the sight of him semi-naked had brought her back to life in ways she didn’t know were possible. ‘I had a quick wash at Jeanne’s, but I am hot after all that running.’
Jack organised fresh water for her to wash, but unlike her, he averted his eyes whilst she cooled her sticky skin. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Getting involved with him would be complex, so maybe his disinterest was for the best.
Was he not attracted to her at all? There had been the occasional moment when she felt the fire smouldering between them, like earlier when she thought he was going to kiss her. But maybe she was just imagining it because she wanted it to be so. Her mother always said she had an overactive imagination.
They sat on the bales in the barn and shared the cheese sandwiches Jeanne had hurriedly prepared for them. Lizzie’s emotions were in a whirl, and she didn’t know what to say, so she sat eating in silence.
‘You’re very quiet,’ Jack said. ‘Are you alright?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘Yes, just tired.’
‘I’m so sorry you had to go through that today. I should have been there in time to stop it from happening.’ Jack cursed under his breath. ‘I couldn’t keep up with you on the bicycle once you left the city, without attracting attention to myself.’
‘It wasn’t your fault. Thank you for watching over me like that, or things would have been a lot worse.’
Lizzie shuddered at the memory of the soldier’s sweaty palms on her skin, his fingers tearing at her clothing.
