Page 26 of Healing Hope

“And your ribs?”

“Burn like fire.”

She made a cute little grimace and nodded. “I figured. Ribs are no fun. I broke a couple a few years ago. It took them a while to heal.”

He didn’t like the thought of her hurt. “How did you break them?”

Jess got a strange look in her eye, and her mouth quirked. “I was jumping off a bridge…”

Paul stared at her for a long minute. “Seriously?”

She nodded, grinning. “We were at this local spot outside Madeira, Spain, and a group of us were playing around. Well, I’d jumped in a couple of times already. It was only about a thirty-foot drop. But that last time I got knocked in by one of the other jumpers and I landed wrong. Two broken ribs, punctured lung, then an infection from the river water. I was in the hospital for about two weeks there.”

Was she serious? He thought she was. There was no hesitation in the story, and her eyes were direct. She wasn’t telling him to show off or anything. “Damn. I hope you found decent medical care.”

Jess nodded. “I did. They’d just opened a new trauma center in Madeira.”

“How did you happen to be in Spain?”

She shrugged her bare shoulders. “A friend invited me over. And we were already hiking through Europe anyway, so…”

Paul stared at her, wondering at the life she’d led. “Where are you from?”

Jess grinned. “Well, I was born in Germany on an air base, but I’ve lived, literally, all over the world. My father was a colonel in the Air Force, my mother a homemaker.”

“What an incredible childhood,” he said.

Jess shrugged, dropping her gaze to her lap. “It had its good points and bad points. It was hard settling into one place, making friends, then having to relocate when he was assigned a new project base. I was determined to keep my friends when we left, though, so I kept in touch with everyone. And I still do to this day. It’s much easier now with social media.”

“What’s that?” Hope asked.

Jess turned to her with a smile. “It’s a way people keep in touch on computers and phones.”

Hope’s nose scrunched up as she considered that. “Aren’t you already in touch if you’re on your phone?”

Jess laughed, nodding her head. “Yes, you’re right about that, dear. Is Sophie okay?”

Hope nodded. “Her eyes are half closed. I think she’s going to take another nap.”

“Well, that’s good. It means she’s healing.”

Hope nodded and looked at Paul. “Do you need another nap, Daddy?”

Paul’s throat tightened at the concern in his daughter’s voice. For so long, he had worried about building a connection with her. If he had to go through a little pain to show her how much he cared, he would do it over and over again. “I’m okay for now, sprite. I have a feeling I need to return some calls.”

Jess gave him a chagrined look. “Your phone is on the charger on the island, and it’s been ringing a good bit. If you want to look at it, I’ll bring you a plate of something easy to eat.”

“Okay. Thank you, Jess.”

When she stood to head toward the kitchen, he reached out his prosthetic hand to her. She took it automatically, and didn’t seem to mind it wasn’t his real hand. “I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you did for us last night and today. If you hadn’t been here, we would be in a very different position right now. None of us would be as good off as we are. Yeah, we’re a little dinged up, but we’ll be okay in a few days.”

Incredibly, tears came to her eyes and she nodded. Without saying a word, she released his hand and walked into the house. Paul sat there for a long minute, wondering how on earth she’d made such a big impact on their lives.

“I really like Jess, Daddy,” Hope whispered.

Paul looked at his daughter, really looked at her, and he could see the change in her demeanor. It was obvious. For months she’d been moping around, barely saying anything at all, barely eating, not connecting. But that had all changed. Granted, it had started with Erin and that damned little foster dog, but Hope had continued to bloom. In the past week, since Jess had been here, he’d seen a massive difference in Hope’s behavior. Or maybe it was her self-confidence. Now she was stating her preferences, when she hadn’t before, and fighting for her space, and fighting for those she loved. Hell, she wastalking.

He looked down into his daughter’s eyes, so like his own, and grinned at her. “I really like Jess, too, sprite.”