In every color
Chapter 7. Bright sky

The rest of the night Jubal slept wonderfully, and when he woke up he was in a great mood, better than he had been in a long time. Ty and Tali were still asleep, so after taking a quick shower, he headed the main house alone.

He found Sarah and Jess kissing in the kitchen. Nothing too scandalous, but he didn't want to interrupt. He waited outside for a bit, watching the clouds pass slowly across the pale blue of the early sky. When he peeked out again, Sarah saw him and she and Jess parted. Jubal came in, bidding them good morning, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

"Good morning," Jess replied, as Sarah collected herself, perhaps a little embarrassed. He, however, looked rather smug. "Have you rested well?"

Jubal told them what happened last night with Tali and Ty. From his expression, Jubal saw Jess didn't like the two kids running off alone in the middle of the night, but he also seemed very relieved and grateful Jubal had controlled the situation.

"So you and Isobel were chatting on the porch when you saw Tali come out," Jess said, intrigued. Jubal had had to mention it, although he had kept quiet about what was most important to him. He had the confidence with Jess to talk about it, but not with Sarah. Not to mention that Isobel might come down at any moment...

"Yes, that's right," said Jubal, managing not to smile.

Jess gave a sly smile of his own. Trying to change the subject, Jubal told them about the excursion plan and they both thought it was a very good idea.

Although Jess set about preparing breakfast, Jubal saw that he was watching him carefully; it was clear he wasn't going to let it go. His friend was one of the best profilers in the business, so he resigned to the vivisection.

"You seem..." Jess assessed Jubal, "pleased," he concluded. "Does it have something to do with Isobel?"

Damn, he's good, Jubal thought. Or maybe it just was more obvious than he thought. Jubal couldn't help but let the smile slip this time. But he did not reply. Jess shot him a questioning look, demanding an answer. Sarah seemed downright amused.

As if summoned, Isobel entered the kitchen, unknowingly saving him. Jubal restrained himself from letting out a sigh.

·~·~·

Isobel hadn't slept very well, her subconscious plaguing her with haunting but fuzzy combinations of what had happened in the pantry and the night before. She had woken up, however, with every intention of putting that aside and enjoying the day to the fullest. The shower she took really helped her a lot to reorient her mood.

"Good morning," said Sarah and Jess, practically at the same time, as they saw her enter.

"Good morning," replied Isobel, cheerfully. "Can I help?"

"Hello," Jubal greeted with a disarming half-smile. "Beautiful."

Isobel's heart skipped a beat. "What?" was all she could come of, bewildered.

"Your shirt." Jubal pointed to the garment she was wearing with a slight gesture. "I love it."

Isobel's T-shirt showed a print of a sunrise imitating a brightly colored watercolor. The simultaneous relief and disappointment she felt puzzled her even more. But one part of her mind didn't miss that Jubal had not actually looked at the shirt. Isobel managed to keep control and not blush as if she were thirteen years old. She raised her eyebrows with a self-confident gesture. "Thank you."

Between the four of them, they started getting everything ready for breakfast. Sarah and Jess set about making pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon; Isobel and Jubal were in charge of setting the table.

When she opened the cupboard where the dishes were, she noticed Jubal's shoulder lightly bumping hers. Isobel pulled away slightly, thinking he was trying to reach for something too, but he hit her with his shoulder again, as he looked at her, eyes laughing, preventing her from reaching for the dishes. Repressing a smile, Isobel countered by pushing with her own shoulder, and pulled the plates out. She placed them on the kitchen table. Jubal kept an eye on her, with a mischievous expression.

When Isobel went to get glasses, Jubal made a swift move, beat her to it and snatched the one she was going to grab just before Isobel touched it. She tried to grab another, but he took it from her as well.

Isobel peppered him with an indignant but amused look. She lunged for a third. Jubal shoved one glass into the other quickly so he had a free hand to snatch what she was reaching for once again. But this time he didn't make it in time. Isobel took out two glasses and put them on the table. Jubal did the same with the ones he had, watching intently to see what Isobel's next move would be.

And suddenly it became a game. Isobel was trying to reach the rest of the glasses, the silverware, the napkins, the cereal. Jubal followed her around the kitchen, trying to intercept and anticipate her. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes not. And in the meantime, they made each other laugh.

Jess and Sarah exchanged knowing looks.

Attempting to pick up the maple syrup, Isobel jabbed Jubal's fingers into his side to push him away. He shrank back sharply with a characteristic gesture.

"Are you ticklish?" she asked, delighted, although already knowing the answer.

"No," he denied the undeniable. "What makes you think that?"

Isobel's eyes flashed and she approached Jubal with a threatening wave of her fingers. He backed away raising his hands defensively, but his smile said, 'Come and get me'.

It was almost irresistible, and it was what made Isobel, all of a sudden, realize she had been flirting with him for quite a while. It was like missing a step going down the stairs. This time she didn't make it in time to stop her cheeks from burning. She swallowed. "All right. I'll let you go this time," said Isobel, feigning indifference to cover it up. "But don't forget I have that information," she warned.

Still smiling, he gave her a long look. "Yes, ma'am," Jubal finally replied with a cadence and a caressing tone to his deep voice that almost melted her.

Isobel doubted that she could ever hear those same words from him again and remain indifferent. A little voice inside her pointed out that in the past she often hadn't been either. In any case, it was clear to her that from now on she was going to make her job much more difficult. Isobel spun on her heels, and found Jess and Sarah watching them in amusement as they prepared breakfast.

Just then Ty and Abi walked in, providing a convenient and welcome distraction.

·~·~·

"Jubal," Jess called to him. Take care of this, please," he said, referring to the bacon, which was cooking in a frying pan. "I'm going to get Tali."

"Sure," said Jubal taking the skimmer from Jess.

Jess's tense shoulders and slightly furrowed brow told Jubal that he didn't just intend to wake his daughter, and that he was probably about to have a talk with her about last night.

Abi was grumbling because they hadn't woken her up to stargaze with them last night. Ty rolled his eyes, but Jubal patiently explained to his daughter that it would have been inconsiderate to drag her out of bed in the middle of the night.

"Apart from impossible," he said quietly to Sarah and Isobel, making them smile. "This is almost done- OUCH!" Jubal suddenly exclaimed, jerking his hand away from the handle of the pan.

"What's wrong?" Isobel was startled.

"Son of a b-!" Jubal closed his mouth in time to avoid saying the swear word.

"What happened? Are you all right?" Isobel rushed to his side.

"Dad!" Abi called out to him, frightened.

A wince of pain twisted Jubal's face for a few seconds.

"The grease jumped out," he said through clenched teeth, struggling to recover and shaking his hand.

Isobel was trying to hold it to see what had happened.

"Someone please take the frying pan off the fire," Jubal asked.

Sarah took care of extinguishing the flame.

Jubal dodged Isobel and darted to the sink, his face contorted, his eyes bloodshot. He turned on the faucet to put his hand under the stream. Isobel tugged at his arm just in time to avoid it. "Nonononono."

"Hey," he protested.

"That can do you more harm than good, believe me," she warned with alarmed eyes.

In one fluid motion, Isobel picked up a salad bowl from the dish drainer and put it under the faucet to fill it. She reached for Jubal's hand and examined it for a couple of seconds. The others also gathered around them, but Isobel was already carefully dipping it into the cold water. Jubal let out a grunt of relief, though the pain was still very bad.

"Better this way," Isobel nodded. "The force of the spray can hurt you more," she explained, turning off the faucet and taking the salad bowl out of the sink. "Come," she took him gently by the elbow and moved him and the bowl to the kitchen table. "Sit down," she asked solicitously.

Still with a grimace on his face, Jubal obeyed. Distressed by his pain, Isobel lightly rubbed his back in a gesture of comfort not devoid of affection that definitely distracted him and made him let out a shaky sigh.

"Leave it in the cold water for at least five minutes," Isobel asked without noticing the agitation her touch had provoked in Jubal. "Do you have gauze and aloe vera gel?" she asked Sarah.

"I'll look for it," she replied at once and went off to get what Isobel had asked for.

"Are you all right, Dad?" Ty asked anxious. Abi looked scared.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," Jubal replied, trying to reassure them, but somehow his hoarse voice had the opposite effect, especially on Abi.

Perceptive, Isobel made an effort to show poise and slipped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "It's not serious. We'll cure your father in no time, you'll see," she said with a reassuring smile, and Abi seemed to calm down quite a bit.

Jubal was looking at them simply pleased, when he caught in Isobel's eyes as she looked at Abi a veil of melancholy? Sadness?

Before he could interpret her expression, Sarah returned, carrying a first aid kit and a jar of aloe. Isobel thanked her and proceeded to thoroughly wash her hands. Then she sat down next to Jubal, and again examined his hand. He had the burn on the back near the knuckles of the index finger and thumb, an elongated, amorphous patch a couple of and a half inches across at its widest part.

"It's large and second degree but I do not see blisters," Isobel said, relieved; the enormous concern she had been feeling about him finally somewhat more under control.

When the five minutes were up, Isobel dried his hand, disinfected the burn and applied the aloe gel, all with extreme gentleness. Jubal studied the deep focus on her features as she healed him. It still hurt like hell, but the truth was that he enjoyed how Isobel tended to him with that utmost care that was somehow a measure of her appreciation. Without having recovered from the caress earlier, Jubal felt he could not control the intensity of what was overflowing his chest at that moment. It pushed him in such a way that he stopped fighting it... and let himself be swept away.

Noticing him very quiet, Isobel raised her eyes to check if Jubal was okay; the tenderness she found in his face caught her, taking her breath away.

"What happened to you, Jubal?"

The arrival of Jess and Tali, made Jubal turn his head to answer and the moment was lost.

-The bacon grease has come off," Jubal explained to Jess with resignation.

As she put gauze over the burn and fastened it with a piece of bandage, Isobel was left wondering, still with her pulse racing, whether she had imagined what had just happened a moment ago.

Meanwhile, it seemed to Jubal that both Tali and Jess seemed upset, and he feared that the conversation with his daughter had not gone too well. Jess was a good father, but Jubal had occasionally seen him go from permissive to rigid too abruptly. That could be off-putting for a child and decidedly counterproductive with a teenage girl. Tali had a stubborn expression, as if she thought an injustice had been done to her.

Despite the accident and that onset of a bad mood, spirits improved quickly as they sat down at the table to breakfast and began to talk about the plan for that morning.

·~·~·

Climbing the gently steep and winding path between black birch trees, the seven of them reveled in the magnificent day. The sun in the clear, bright summer sky was biting, but the trees provided just enough shade to be comfortable.

Birdsong and cicadas enlivened the effort; grasshoppers, butterflies and small lizards accompanied them along the way, much to the delight of the three kids, who often stopped to observe them closely. Tali's grandparents had taught her the names of all of them and she would announce them when she recognized them.

Stepping out into a fragrant little meadow covered with flowers, a striking striped butterfly passed before Isobel's eyes. It was very large, five inches in wingspan. She held out her hand, pointing at it in admiration.

"Look!"

"A tiger swallowtail butterfly," said Tali enthusiastically.

The butterfly fluttered around Isobel and, without warning, landed on her outstretched index finger.

"Oh." Isobel stood very still.

"Do you see the blue spots on the underside of the wings?" Tali explained. "It means it's a female."

The dots were as bright as the sky, in stark contrast to the black trim and warm yellow of the rest of its drawing. The butterfly remained on Isobel's finger, slowly flapping its wings, while she admired it in awe. In turn, Jubal gazed breathlessly at the beauty of her surprise and wonder. It was fascinating to see that woman, who usually only showed her most sensible and determined side, be so moved by something so beautiful and delicate. Jubal rejoiced once again to have the chance to further explore this unknown Isobel. He imagined himself wearing a pith helmet on his head and going into the thicket in search of some new mystery.

When the butterfly took flight, Jess discreetly nudged Jubal with his elbow, who came out of his stupor with a grateful, slightly embarrassed smile, much to Jess' obvious amusement.

Oblivious to all this, Isobel followed the butterfly with her eyes as it flew away.

"Wow ..." sighed Isobel. "That was pretty magical, wasn't it?"

"Indeed," Jubal murmured.

·~·~·

The sun was just shy of being at its highest point when they reached the pools to which the trail led. Its waters were so crystal clear that the rocks at the bottom could be seen in detail.

Overheated from the last unshaded stretch of the hike, Abi, Ty and Tali excitedly prepared to take a swim. Now they were glad they had brought their swimsuits with them under their clothes.

As the kids waded into the water amidst exhilarated shouts and exclamations of 'How cold!' the four adults sat on a wide flat rock on the shore. Sarah between Jess' legs, lying relaxed on his chest; he leaned his back against another rock and wrapped his arms around her.

Isobel slipped off her shoes and dipped her feet in the water. To her left, Jubal smilingly rolled up the sleeves of his pants and followed suit. All of them watched Abi struggle against the feeling of cold to make it into the water.

"What's the matter? Don't you dare?" Jubal stung her pride.

Ty and Tali were already playing and splashing in the pool. With a frown of determination, Abi climbed onto a nearby rock and jumped into the water with a big splash. She was not one to give up easily.

Her expression and her fearlessness again brought memories to Isobel's mind; it took her usual conscious effort to transcend the grief they carried.

With a sigh that restored her balance, Isobel rested her hands behind her with her arms outstretched, and closed her eyes basking in the sunlight on her face, the coolness of the water on her feet.

As Jubal tried to do the same, his hand accidentally bumped into Isobel's. He was about to withdraw it immediately but suddenly stopped; he decided to take a chance to find out what might happen.

Isobel did not put hers away.

Controlling his anxiety and being careful not to look at her, Jubal dared to run his knuckles over the back of her hand, with the slightest touch.

And Isobel didn't budge either.

The absence of rejection gave rise to a rather daring impulse that Jubal did not fight. Slowly he turned his hand over and stroked her fingers very delicately with his fingertips, fearing every second that he had crossed the line.

At first, Isobel had been paralyzed by these perhaps fortuitous contacts. But now that they were obviously deliberate, her pulse redoubled and a tingle ran up and down her spine. She could not help it. Her fingers reached up gently to his like the leaves of a plant seeking sunlight.

Jubal was unable to control his elation as Isobel's fingers began to loosely, hesitantly but unmistakably intertwine with his own. His heart sang inside his chest and he felt his whole body hum as if he were only fourteen years old.

Neither of them dared to look at each other but, taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching them, they prolonged those subtle caresses for a while, provoking inside each other an intoxicating trepidation.

With water halfway up her thigh, Abi was shivering violently. Sighing, Jubal reluctantly stopped what he was doing and called out to his daughter. In the absence of his touch, Isobel almost trembled as much as Abi.

"Abi, you're going to freeze. Get out of the water and into the sun."

"I'm fine!" protested the girl between chattering teeth.

And with a leap she jumped back into the pool. Jubal's quiet laughter reverberated inside Isobel. She fought desperately against the hope that he would touch her again. What on earth had possessed her to let herself be carried away like that? Hadn't she decided it was better to pretend last night hadn't happened? She had to bite her lips because they tingled anxiously.

She didn't want to go into the implications of the interest Jubal had shown: Isobel directly admonished herself sternly about the inconvenience of becoming involved like this for someone she worked with who had just left a relationship. She had to do something to regain control of what was going on between her and Jubal.

To begin with, she bent her legs and rested her forearms on her knees so as not to lose sight of her treacherous hands and not fall back into temptation.

The motion didn't go unnoticed by Jubal, but it didn't discourage him either. At that moment, few things could have brought him down from the stratosphere.

~.~.~.~