herself to put one foot in front of the other until she was once again by Jess.
The luminous numbers of the car clock were coming up to 2.00am as Jem pulled into the garage. She felt completely drained after the events earlier that night. Although Jess hadn’t flatlined again there had still been the odd erratic bleep on the heart monitor which kept Jem on edge.
Dumping her shoulder bag on the breakfast bar in the dim glow coming from a table lamp in the family room, she tiredly realised she still had that report to prepare and email to Mark before going to bed. With a groan she reminded herself that she had to be up to get the kids ready for school and kindy in the morning. Mentally estimating how long the report would take she hoped that fewer than four hours sleep would be sufficient.
Jem noticed the pocket doors to the lounge were closed as she walked as quietly as she could through the largely cleared family room. Eben must have spent hours tidying while she was at the hospital.
She switched off the lamp and slipped into the empty guest room, grateful that Eben had allowed her to have it alone despite his threat of sharing. After closing the door she pulled her old laptop out of her suitcase. It was something she had wanted to upgrade for a while but she kept forgetting to ask Jason for his recommendation since she seldom needed to work remotely seeing as she was no longer a sales rep.
Jason had several computers in his home office she knew he would be happy for her to use but she didn’t want to waste any time finding out whether she would be able to log on or not. She considered going back into the family room to work but she assumed Eben was sleeping on the couch in the lounge and didn’t want to make any noise which might wake him.
Instead she plugged the laptop into a nearby outlet and sat near the head of the bed with the laptop on her knees and pillows supporting her back. As she worked she repeatedly drummed her fingers against the edge of the laptop every time she had to wait for the computer to execute an instruction which was unfortunately often.
When she finally finished she set the alarm clock, changed into her nightshirt and wearily slid into bed. She reached over and turned out the bed light feeling exhausted but she had so many things running through her head she thought she’d never sleep.
The radio on the alarm clock switched on and the room filled with the banter between the DJ and a caller. Jem stifled a groan. Surely it couldn’t be morning already? The blankets pulled at her side and the radio abruptly cut off. Had Drongo got on the bed last night and knocked the clock?
Stretching an arm out from beneath the covers she reached across the bed and came up against a large warm object. The contact woke her far more effectively than the clock had. Startled, she looked at Eben who was tucking his bare arms behind his head. The motion knocked the blankets down and she saw his bare shoulders.
Is he wearing anything?
Pulling back she looked at him. He looked as tired as she felt.
“What are you doing in this bed?” she demanded.
“I told you this was my room,” he answered as he absently ran his fingers through his hair.
Her scowl told him she wasn’t satisfied with his explanation.
“I’m not about to sleep in Jase and Jess’s bed and the couch is too short. Besides the kids make too much racket in the morning and this room is warmer than the lounge and the door can be locked.”
Eben sleepily grinned at her. “I figured that we can both be adult about this and share.”
Jem silently fumed as she reached for her dressing gown and tied it across her short nightshirt. She wasn’t sure what annoyed her most, the fact his argument was reasonable under the circumstances or that his eyes were drifting shut and he didn’t appear interested in ogling her.
Her mood wasn’t much better when she got out of the shower and dressed in the ensuite to find Eben had sprawled in
The luminous numbers of the car clock were coming up to 2.00am as Jem pulled into the garage. She felt completely drained after the events earlier that night. Although Jess hadn’t flatlined again there had still been the odd erratic bleep on the heart monitor which kept Jem on edge.
Dumping her shoulder bag on the breakfast bar in the dim glow coming from a table lamp in the family room, she tiredly realised she still had that report to prepare and email to Mark before going to bed. With a groan she reminded herself that she had to be up to get the kids ready for school and kindy in the morning. Mentally estimating how long the report would take she hoped that fewer than four hours sleep would be sufficient.
Jem noticed the pocket doors to the lounge were closed as she walked as quietly as she could through the largely cleared family room. Eben must have spent hours tidying while she was at the hospital.
She switched off the lamp and slipped into the empty guest room, grateful that Eben had allowed her to have it alone despite his threat of sharing. After closing the door she pulled her old laptop out of her suitcase. It was something she had wanted to upgrade for a while but she kept forgetting to ask Jason for his recommendation since she seldom needed to work remotely seeing as she was no longer a sales rep.
Jason had several computers in his home office she knew he would be happy for her to use but she didn’t want to waste any time finding out whether she would be able to log on or not. She considered going back into the family room to work but she assumed Eben was sleeping on the couch in the lounge and didn’t want to make any noise which might wake him.
Instead she plugged the laptop into a nearby outlet and sat near the head of the bed with the laptop on her knees and pillows supporting her back. As she worked she repeatedly drummed her fingers against the edge of the laptop every time she had to wait for the computer to execute an instruction which was unfortunately often.
When she finally finished she set the alarm clock, changed into her nightshirt and wearily slid into bed. She reached over and turned out the bed light feeling exhausted but she had so many things running through her head she thought she’d never sleep.
The radio on the alarm clock switched on and the room filled with the banter between the DJ and a caller. Jem stifled a groan. Surely it couldn’t be morning already? The blankets pulled at her side and the radio abruptly cut off. Had Drongo got on the bed last night and knocked the clock?
Stretching an arm out from beneath the covers she reached across the bed and came up against a large warm object. The contact woke her far more effectively than the clock had. Startled, she looked at Eben who was tucking his bare arms behind his head. The motion knocked the blankets down and she saw his bare shoulders.
Is he wearing anything?
Pulling back she looked at him. He looked as tired as she felt.
“What are you doing in this bed?” she demanded.
“I told you this was my room,” he answered as he absently ran his fingers through his hair.
Her scowl told him she wasn’t satisfied with his explanation.
“I’m not about to sleep in Jase and Jess’s bed and the couch is too short. Besides the kids make too much racket in the morning and this room is warmer than the lounge and the door can be locked.”
Eben sleepily grinned at her. “I figured that we can both be adult about this and share.”
Jem silently fumed as she reached for her dressing gown and tied it across her short nightshirt. She wasn’t sure what annoyed her most, the fact his argument was reasonable under the circumstances or that his eyes were drifting shut and he didn’t appear interested in ogling her.
Her mood wasn’t much better when she got out of the shower and dressed in the ensuite to find Eben had sprawled in
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