Nate intercepted her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he stood. “No, let me get it. You rest. Let that drink sit. We don’t want to risk it coming back up. Too much clean up involved,” he said, a half serious, half teasing tone to his voice.
“I might get used to having a man wait on me,” she teased back, leaning back in her chair.
“Don’t get too used to it.” He busied himself in the kitchen, finding a loaf of bread Jess didn’t know they had, toasting and buttering it lightly. She pictured him doing this for his wife. Being there for her in hard times. Doting on his family. Trying to make life go smoothly. What had his ex been thinking, messingit up with this guy? Jess still wasn’t convinced love was in her future, but if it was, Nate would be the kind of man who could convince her it was possible.
Kissing him had been a mistake, but she didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to spend the day next to him, holding onto the sense of calm and safety she felt when he was around.
“Nate,” she said to his turned back.
“Yes?” He faced her expectantly.
“Do you want to stay and watch a movie with me?”
17
NATE STAYED WITH JESSfor the afternoon—she introduced him to a classic kiwi film:The Frighteners,and he’d introduced her toPsycho, keeping her supplied with a steady stream of buttered toast and instant soup—and then returned to his new accommodation for a decent night’s sleep.
The next morning, he arrived on set to find a skeleton crew. Two camera operators, looking pale, moved slowly among the equipment in the main room. He couldn’t see a single actor or their director Laney.
“Where is everyone?”
“Norovirus mate,” mumbled Jeff, a usually extroverted camera guy from Australia who Nate had shared a couple of beers with when he’d arrived. “Just sorting this out, then I’m heading back to bed. My guts are still crook as.”
Nate remembered Norovirus going through the staff, and some of the patients, at his hospital last year. It was highly contagious. Jess hadn’t had food poisoning or a hangover then.
“That’s no good. Rest up. Who else is sick?”
“More like whoisn’tsick, mate. The whole box and dice.”
“Right.” A full outbreak then. That would slow filming down.
Nate knew some of the crew were at a budget hotel nearby, but had no idea where the rest were staying. Perhaps heshould get a list and check in on them? His doctoring instincts were hard to shake. People could get dehydrated quickly with gastrointestinal disease, sometimes dangerously so. Jess had been incredibly unwell. What about the crew who were alone?
In the hallway, he found Tom, the finance and accommodation guy, sitting in his usual spot.
“You all good, Tom?” he asked.
“Fine. Don’t know what everyone’s complaining about. Time is money and stomach bug or not, we should be filming today.”
Tough as nails, these old guys. He’d met more than a few of them in his job back home. “Do you have the accommodation list? I’d like to check on the crew. Make sure they’re all okay.”
Tom grumbled again about weak stomachs and fished out the list from a folder.
“Tell them to stop being so soft and get back to work,” Tom said, handing the list over.
“Will do,” Nate said with a smile, knowing he’d be doing no such thing.
He scanned the list. Could he get to them all in a day? It would go faster with two. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and messaged Jess.
By the time he’d left her last night, after their classic horror movie marathonand a light meal, she’d perked up. She might be okay to come help. They were a pretty good team.
She replied quickly with “yes” in all caps and, because her car was still in town from her night out, he drove back to the cottage to pick her up.
They decided to visit the holiday park first, where several of the cast were staying in cute A-framed rainbow coloured cabins,presumably shaped to look like tents. Nate and Jess moved between them, updating each other as they crossed paths.
“I’ve checked on Michael. He’s managed to eat something and keep it down,” Nate said as they met up near the end of the line of huts. “How’s Frankie?”
A curious labrador puppy approached them, sniffing at their shoes. Nate reached down to pat its head and it stood soaking in the attention for a moment. Then, deciding they had nothing edible or interesting, moved on to explore the rest of the park.
