ER Doc's Forever Gift

‘Do you like fishing?’

Her nose screwed up. ‘As in, getting all stinky and icky?’

‘Yes, that kind of thing.’

‘Not really.’ Hold on. An image of her and Dad in a dinghy with lines over the sides while they talked about anything and everything came to mind. Warmth trickled through her. A good Dad moment. The meal of battered snapper afterwards hadn’t been bad either. ‘Okay, maybe a little bit.’

‘Good, because we’re off to Coromandel, where we have the use of a bach and boat for two days, starting now. Let’s go.’ He was already heading out the door. ‘I’ve thrown some food in a chilly bin and we can stop in Thames township for anything else.’

‘I haven’t said I’m coming.’ But she was already on her feet, heading for a quick shower to wash the sleep out of her eyes. A weekend away with Harry was right up there, was already negating that residual sense of let-down from last night.

Harry turned at the end of her hallway, a grin on his far too handsome face. ‘But you are. Even if I have to toss you over my shoulder and haul you out to the four-wheel drive.’

Oh, yes.

Sinking against the wall, she laughed. ‘Come on, then.’

He stepped towards her.

She beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom. Her body needed a wash, while her head needed time to absorb this sudden change of plan. Not that she’d intended doing more than going to the market this morning.

Amazing how quickly a girl could shower, apply make-up and pack an overnight bag when she put her mind to it. Make that when she was excited about what might lie ahead. Lie, as in bed, and having out-and-out fun without the restraints of having to remember to go to work or clean the kitchen.

Harry must’ve been feeling the same as there was a load of humming going on as he backed down the drive. ‘Five to six. I like your action, woman.’

‘I’ll need a caffeine fix before too long,’ she warned while suppressing a smile. Couldn’t let him think he could charge into her house, take over her weekend, and not have to pay in any way. ‘Probably breakfast as well. Not a pot of yoghurt on the run, either.’

‘Some women are so darned demanding.’ He said that without a trace of annoyance. Further progress, and promising. This weekend was going to be something else.

Laughter bubbled up Sienna’s throat. ‘You wouldn’t want a wimp, would you?’

‘Sometimes they have their advantages. But mostly, no.’ His hand touched her thigh briefly before returning to the steering wheel. ‘So here’s the deal. This bach’s in Coromandel township itself, and there’s a boat ramp near by. The weather’s meant to be perfect for fishing. And if it’s not we have other ways of making the most of our time.’

She could only smile through the images that that conjured up, none of which had anything to do with fishing.

‘I hope you packed shorts and more of that sexy underwear, and little else.’

‘Spoil all my surprises, why don’t you?’ There’d been a lingerie shop in the mall that she hadn’t been able to walk past yesterday, so she’d added to the one decent set of black lace she owned with a red set, a cream one and a black chemise that had her blushing. Probably overkill, but she was making the most of having Harry in her life for this short time.

‘To hell with fishing. Let’s go straight to option two.’

‘It shouldn’t have been second anyway,’ she gave him with a nudge in his ribs with her elbow.

‘Good point.’ Harry drove onto the southern motorway. ‘Do you know the way or should I use the GPS?’

‘I haven’t been to the Coromandel since I was ten, but it’s straightforward. Should be signposted all the way, since the peninsula is popular with locals and tourists alike.’

‘You can recall your age at every place you and your parents stopped?’

‘All part of keeping control over my life.’ Had she always been a control freak? Mostly. It wasn’t an adult habit she’d learned after settling in Auckland. Waking up every morning as a child reciting the name of the latest location they were staying at, reminding herself of her age, the plans for the day: all part of dealing with whatever would come her way over the next twenty-four hours.

‘So when you lived in Thames, did you go fishing?’

‘Down there everyone goes fishing.’

Breakfast in Thames township was long and leisurely. Sienna hadn’t felt so relaxed in for ever. It was as though she and Harrison had always been together, the conversation easy and ordinary with no hidden agendas. She had to keep pinching herself to know it was real, that she wasn’t dreaming. What residual tension still hovering in her system disappeared somewhere between the eggs Benedict and the strong coffee.

Finding their accommodation was straightforward, Coromandel having one main street. The bach was small and simply furnished. ‘It’s got everything we need,’ Harry said as he dumped their overnight bags on the floor of the bedroom, his gaze fixed on the not so large bed. ‘We can make this work.’ He reached for her.

Sienna stepped close, plastering her overheated body to his, her nipples tight and sensitive against his chest, her thighs taking in the heat of his, her core hot and moist as his hardness pressed into her belly. ‘We don’t need a bed,’ she whispered.

‘Not every time,’ Harry whispered back against her ear, his sharp breaths setting the skin on her neck alive with desire.

Sienna closed her eyes and tipped her head back to expose her throat for those lips that could send her into a frenzy with little effort. Harrison was irresistible. When he made love to her it was as though she became a different woman, one who could let go the locks on her self-control; could just enjoy; was able to give and take without questioning herself about everything, about if she was doing the right thing. Desire rocked throughout her as she gave herself over to Harry.

‘So much for an early start to the fishing.’ Harry grinned at her as he pushed the boat off the trailer into the water.

‘Don’t for one moment think I’m ever going to come second to a fishing rod and bait.’ Sienna wagged a finger at him. ‘Just remember there are more lacy pieces to keep your mind off that.’ The simple but creative cream bra and G-string she’d put on back at home had had him agog earlier.

‘Get in, woman,’ he growled. ‘Before I change my mind and haul your sexy butt back to the bach.’

Again she laughed, and clambered aboard the aluminium boat and used the pole tucked in the side panel to hold the boat in place while Harry parked the four-wheel drive and trailer on the roadside. Even going out fishing with Harry was fun. He was making her see everyday life in a totally different light, and that was special, if not a little scary. But she wasn’t going to let the scary encroach today. It would spoil a wonderful time with someone she was caring about maybe a little too much.

Harry headed for the spot marked on a map by a cross that Connor had given him when he’d handed over the keys for everything. ‘A GPS would be handy,’ he muttered as he stared back to shore to line up the points marked in blue on the map.

‘Excuses, excuses. If you don’t catch a fish you’re going to blame the lack of a GPS.’ Sienna laughed as she dropped her baited hook over the edge, let the line out firmly and moved quietly so as not to disturb any cruising snapper, before sitting down on the edge of the boat to wait. ‘Let me show you how it’s done.’

‘I’m told catching snapper takes patience and skill.’ Those wide shoulders lifted and fell back into place.

Even out here in the hot sun, bobbing on the water, holding a rod, she could get distracted far too easily by his physical attributes. ‘You think I don’t have either requirement?’ she asked with her tongue pressing out a cheek. One way of holding some control over the feelings watching Harry engendered.

‘I am so not setting myself up for that fall,’ he chuckled. ‘I’ve never caught one before.’

‘I might have. I don’t remember, but I do recall being told not to drop things on the bottom of the boat as the sound will reverberate through the water and scare them away.’ She also remembered her father catching fish. ‘Dad got a massive eighteen-pounder once. I tried to reel it in but couldn’t hold it.’

A gentle tug at her hook had her sitting up straight. ‘Come on, take the bait.’

‘You got one?’

Sienna grinned. ‘I might have,’ she teased, though it was only an inquisitive fish checking out what was on offer.

Harry was working from the other side of the boat. ‘More than I’ve had so far.’

Sunscreen was smeared roughly on his face and arms while a wide-brimmed hat shadowed his cheeks. Knots formed in her stomach. This was the life. A day on the briny with someone she cared about. Now all they needed was a big, fat snapper.

An hour and a half later Sienna landed her second brim of the day. The fish had finally started biting in earnest on the turn of the tide, resulting in Harry having three in the chilly bin already.

‘Not the big snapper everyone wants to catch, but young ones are juicier,’ she said, now remembering catching a fish with her father. Those were his exact words. ‘Thank you for bringing me here. I’m having fun.’ The past and the present were melding, bringing together both her lives, making her feel a little bit more whole than she had done since she’d become an adult in charge of her life. All because of this man. Which meant he had the power to wreck it too. She shuddered.