Leap of Faith by Fiona McCallum Page B

floor.
    â€˜No idea,’ Steve and Jessica said at once, and then broke into laughter.
    â€˜They took pity on Jess,’ Steve said.
    â€˜And advantage of Steve while he was looking after me.’
    â€˜Well, aren’t you just full of surprises?’ Tiffany smiled warmly at Steve and then Jessica. Jessica winced, recognising the pain behind the smile. She really hoped it wouldn’t be too long before a nice man would arrive and sweep their kind and generous friend off her feet.
    They enjoyed a meal filled with light small talk and compliments to Steve for the lovely food, and then Tiffany for the scrumptious apple pie. And after Tiffany and Steve had cleared the table and stacked the dishwasher, Tiffany announced she had better go home and get an early night. When Jessica’s eyes glanced at the kitchen clock she was both surprised and pleased to see it was only eight thirty – it felt more like ten thirty. She was relieved – she was fading fast and still had to have a shower and deal with keeping the cast dry while doing so.
    Jessica loved showering at night to unwind, and then climbing into bed feeling fresh, relaxed and warm. But not tonight, thanks to having to wrap her leg with a garbage bag sealed with gaffer tape and sit on a cold plastic chair under the water. Peeling off the wet tape and plastic bag afterwards and carefully getting back to bed on her crutches was a struggle and she got into bed feeling clean, but certainly not relaxed.
    She snuggled up to Steve for a moment, feeling the urge to take it further. They kissed passionately, adopted a closer position so the lengths of their bodies were touching. She felt him harden against her, but, as he tried to pull her on top of him, the weight and rigidity of her cast reminded her that things were far from normal. She did not feel sexy with the foreign object that was her purple fibreglass cast between them.
    And now the moment was lost. Steve seemed to sense it too, because he stopped manhandling her, held her tightly for a moment, and then kissed her on the nose.
    â€˜Sorry,’ she murmured into his chest.
    â€˜Don’t be. It’s not your fault.’
    â€˜It’s not exactly sexy,’ she said, rolling off of him.
    â€˜No, it’s not, but you are. Anyway, I am pretty knackered. Not sure what I did all day, but I’m exhausted.’
    â€˜Hmm. Thanks for everything.’
    â€˜My pleasure, sweetie. I’ll be doing it all again tomorrow and the day after that,’ he said, rolling over to face her and smiling warmly.
    The thought that she could be possibly the luckiest woman in the world brought on a rush of emotion.
    â€˜Well, goodnight then,’ she said, giving him a quick kiss and rolling over to turn off her bedside lamp.
    â€˜Goodnight, you two,’ she said, peering over at Laurel and Hardy, who were on the floor at the end of the bed where Steve had laid out a few old but clean saddle cloths for them. Softy , she thought, smiling to herself. The dogs looked up at her with hearty grins and flapped their tails a few times before settling back down again. She clicked off the light and lay down. They had plugged a nightlight into the power point by the bathroom door so there was a soft glow lighting Jessica’s side of the room.
    It seemed to take an age for her to get comfortable. She was normally a side sleeper, but with the cast neither side was comfortable. She lay on her back for a while so as not to disturb Steve. He’d never grumble about her keeping him awake with her thrashing about, but she knew if she didn’t lie still he would be disturbed. She felt bad enough about all he had to do now she was incapacitated, without ruining his sleep as well.
    She was exhausted and desperate for sleep, but didn’t at all feel actually sleepy. The little snooze that afternoon had probably ruined her sleep pattern, though that should have made up for the sleepless night before in