In every color
Chapter 8. Stormy sea

On the way back, Jubal watched Isobel chat in Spanish with Abi. There was something very comforting about the relaxed way they treated each other.

Ty waited for his father and caught up with him.

"Hey, Dad. Yesterday... It's been a long time since I've heard you play guitar," Tyler commented. "You should get back to it more often, like you used to. It's really cool."

Jubal put his arm around him and lightly squeezed Ty's shoulders in contentment.

"Thank you, son."

"You know?" Tyler added. "I think... I think I'd like to learn. Would you teach me?"

"Really?" replied Jubal, somewhat surprised. "Of course!" He jumped at the chance to share something more with his son. "As much as I can... The basics, sure. But, hey, it's not enough that I teach you. You have to practice a lot, huh? Otherwise, you won't get anywhere."

"Sure," Ty agreed determined.

As they continued walking together, Jubal thought Ty looked very excited, but he doubted his son knew how happy he had made his father by asking him that.

"I've decided..." Tyler muttered after a while. "I've decided I'm not going to tell her... Not this weekend or later. Not for a while."

Evidently, he was talking about Tali. It surprised Jubal. Ty's face was very serious. What would have deterred him? Jubal hadn't sensed that the girl did not enjoy his company.

"Oh. No? Why, are you chickening out?" Jubal teased him a little, not wanting him to turn shy.

"No. I just put myself in her place. If I tell her, it will be when all this is over," he didn't need to clarify that he was talking about his leukemia, "not before. Tali already lost her mother. I'd love to be with her," his face flushed saying it. "But it would be very selfish of me to do that... to be together and... Well, if things wouldn't go well. She's worried enough about me. I can tell."

Jubal's heart just broke. He stopped and looked at his son, struggling to find what to say to him. He put his hand on Ty's shoulder affectionately.

"What did we say about positive thinking? You're going to be fine, Ty. You shouldn't think otherwise..."

"I know, Dad," Tyler replied with a slightly impatient smile. "Besides, now I have a reason to want to get well as soon as possible," he added with bright eyes.

With a lump in his throat, Jubal scrutinized those young dark blue-green eyes. He grabbed Tyler by the back of the neck and pulled his head close to his chest, hugging him tightly. How was it possible that this fourteen-year-old boy had grown so much inside so quickly? It was dizzying. Jubal knew it was due in large part to his illness, and it terrified him to think that his son had accelerated so much because he had so little time left. It took an enormous effort to overcome that irrational fear.

When Jubal broke away, he felt tears had come to his eyes. He blinked and nodded vehemently.

"That's the spirit," he celebrated and held out his fist. "You'll be taking her to the movies in no time."

Ty bumped it with his own, grinning. They continued walking down the trail.

"Aam... Dad. Maybe it would be better if you do tell her.

At first Jubal thought his kid meant Tali. An instant later, knew he wasn't. He played dumb out of pure reflex. "What are you talking about?"

Tyler was not fooled. "I know it's not that simple. I'm sure that when you're an adult everything becomes more complicated. Moreover, she being your boss and all... But maybe it's better anyway."

Jubal stopped walking, not sure of what to say, and Tyler turned to him. "I don't know, just think about it, Dad," he said, giving him an encouraging pat on his arm. "You never know what might happen... By the way, I'm glad you broke up with Rina, you know?" He wrinkled his nose and lowered his voice. "I didn't like her too much." He shrugged. "Sorry."

And he set off to join Tali, leaving Jubal there, dumbfounded.

·~·~

Jubal's fingers brushed her arm, above the elbow, and Isobel got goose bumps all over her skin, her pulse quickened. Again. While they were preparing to lunch, Jubal had already come into contact with her several times: a gentle touch on the shoulder, a brief pressure on the back, a light rub on the wrist... The touches were respectful and did not seem deliberate, but they were... unusual. They brought vividly to the present the caresses they had shared by the pool and that had been indelibly etched in Isobel's sensory memory. With everyone else around her, she tried to conceal it, but the agitation she felt every time Jubal touched her made it impossible to find a way to avoid him. It kept her on edge and was definitely sabotaging the resolve she had made only a short while ago.

For his part Jubal, well aware that they were not alone, was struggling not to do it again, but he was having trouble controlling himself. The fact she had actively and delightfully responded to his touch that morning had reduced any doubts he might have had to a manageable size. As a consequence, he was now suffering from a constant craving to be able to feel her again. He rubbed his palm against the side seam of his pant leg. Besides, he was afraid of becoming a creep.

But despite his efforts, and to the torment of them both, the fortuitous touches continued to occur.

The only time Jubal gave them respite was when he put on padded gloves to take his famous homemade lasagna out of the oven. Then Isobel was assailed by a different concern: she kept a close eye on him in the meantime, making sure he didn't hurt himself again, which made Jubal both amused and pleased. Once out of danger, when he put the lasagna on the table, Isobel was tempted to ask him to keep his gloves on.

During the meal, Jubal sat next to her for the first time. It was exasperating for Isobel that, although he behaved like a perfect gentleman, his closeness, his furtive glances and his smile achieved the same effect as before without needing to touch her at all. She had to do something, and she had to do it ASAP.

·~·~·

After the resounding success of Jubal's lasagna and a light dessert, the adults made coffee for themselves and everyone went outside for table talk.

Abi, Tyler and Tali lay down on the jarapas to take a nap, while the adults sat on the porch.

When Jubal went into the house to put some milk in his coffee, Isobel followed him half a minute later, slyly, with every intention of clearing up the situation between them and tackling it before it really became a problem.

In the kitchen, Jubal was finishing off a carton of milk into his cup. Isobel approached decisively, when she saw him flexing his left hand with his arm a little shrugged. That distracted her

"Does it hurt?" she asked him, clearly concerned.

"From time to time I got pangs, but that's all," he dismissed it. "It must be healing."

Isobel nodded, relieved, and exhaled quietly to regain her momentum. "We need to talk," she said assertively, and nodded toward the pantry. Jubal raised his eyebrows, intrigued by the sudden change in tone. Isobel entered and he left the milk and his coffee on the table to follow her.

The atmosphere between them changed suddenly as soon as the two of them were inside. It had not occurred to Isobel what effect it would have on her to be with Jubal in a small space in which, the last time, they had touched each other so closely, even if it had been by accident. A wave of warmth surged within her and surged up her torso and neck, toward her face. Although Jubal kept a respectful distance, the intensity his gaze had taken on did not help at all. Isobel barely managed to control it. She cleared her throat.

"Jubal," she addressed him in a low voice, with sternness and some exasperation, "we work together every day."

"I think I noticed that, yes." The half-smile and twinkle in Jubal's eyes were almost irresistible.

Isobel blinked. Almost. "What are we doing?" she asked with a rhetorical and disapproving inflection.

"Talking on the sly in a pantry" he joked without a trace of remorse.

Isobel's gaze flashed like storm clouds on the high seas. "We have to behave like adults," she said reproachfully.

Jubal managed to bite his tongue to keep from saying the first thing that popped into his head -that he would be more than happy to do with her adult-rated things- but he couldn't help but smile mischievously.

"Actually, I wasn't aware that we weren't doing it," he replied nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow in a somewhat suggestive gesture. He had no intention of make things easy for her in the conversation, the way she was approaching it.

Isobel's cheeks finally flushed, but she controlled her agitation. "You know this is... inappropriate and, most likely, inopportune," she stated with an inflexible expression that left no room for negotiation.

That wiped the smugness off Jubal's face. He didn't need her to explain herself any further. Doubts crawled inside him like nasty insects. He clenched his jaws.

"I don't care," he said flatly.

Isobel opened and closed her mouth several times until she managed to say something. "W-what do you mean you don't care?" she asked not understanding. She was convinced that by confronting him openly, Jubal would deny it and they could both pretend that nothing had happened. Or at least, that he would come to his senses and back down.

Isobel's disbelief made Jubal to hesitate. It was obvious that she was worried about how it might affect their working relationship and, even worse, if for Jubal it was nothing more than a passing fling to get his mind off Rina. Was it a bad idea to pursue another relationship with someone from work? And so soon besides? Was it really serious madness? Being Isobel? No. No. And hell no, he answered himself, casting off those parasitic misgivings with a blaze of determination. If there was one thing that was clear to Jubal, it was how serious and profound it was what he felt. It was not something that had been born yesterday.

"I said I don't care," Jubal insisted firmly. He took a step toward her, who backed away, still puzzled. Jubal took another step closer, his eyes fixed on Isobel's. "I don't care if it's inappropriate or if it seems inopportune. Not in the least," he insisted, his breathing ragged.

Having him so close flustered her gravely, but Isobel resisted the cowardly reflex to back off again. Jubal's words had come dangerously close to hitting a vulnerable spot. Sheltering behind the sturdy emotional barriers that always served as her defense, she gave him a steady gaze. "Be reasonable, Jubal-" Isobel began to say.

"What matters to me is..." he interrupted, dropping his tone an octave "...what you do want."

Isobel didn't know which overwhelmed her more, the vibration in his voice or his words, but she completely lost the thread of what she wanted to say. Jubal reached up, hesitated for a second, and gently cupped her face. His hand was so large that, as he rested palm on her cheek, his fingertips almost reached the nape of Isobel's neck. She wanted to pull back, but it was too late. That subtle touch made her shudder from head to toe. Jubal's eyes became impossibly warm and eager.

"What do you want?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Isobel's heart pounded inside her chest like a fist insistently knocking on a door, demanding that it would be opened. She tried to resist, but in the end, couldn't help but lean her face against the palm of his hand, almost closing her eyelids and parting her lips with a sigh.

That absolutely deprived Jubal of his self-control. Haunted by the all-too-brief sip of the night before, he leaned over and impulsively caught Isobel's mouth with his own.

For a few moments, the sensation was so overwhelmingly electrifying for both of them that they froze.

To Jubal's pleasant surprise, far from rejecting him as a certain part of him still feared, it was Isobel who reacted first. Letting out a faint moan of surrender, she slid one hand to the back of Jubal's head, entwining her fingers in his hair, and eagerly pressed her body against his. Feeling an exhilarated, unstoppable din thundering inside him, Jubal wrapped an arm around her waist, attracting her sensuously against him even more. The firmness of his body caused Isobel to be enveloped by a searing heat that banished her last thought of opposition from her mind.

Pulse raging, Jubal slid his lips over Isobel's, thirsty to explore them, to learn them, avidly drinking the sighs from her mouth. Meanwhile, Isobel could barely keep up with him. She felt more and more overwhelmed every moment. Soon she would not be able to breathe.

When he gently nibbled her lower lip, fierce flames erupted freely within her. She had to pull away a bit, gasping for air and before it got completely out of her hands. Jubal pursued her for a moment, but then looked at her with tense anticipation, not releasing her from the embrace with which he held her, waiting for what she would do next. Isobel was just trying to regain her rational thinking. It had to be around there, somewhere...

At her silence, Jubal delicately traced the line of Isobel's jaw with his thumb, from chin to earlobe; he gazed at her absolutely captivated. Isobel's knees almost gave way. No one, not even Josh had ever looked at her with such devotion. Her ever-reliable defenses didn't seem so consistent at that moment.

Jubal blinked, suddenly afraid he was embarrassing himself in front of her. "You take my breath away," he apologized in a low murmur.

Isobel, still panting, had to smile. "I take your breath away?" she sighed.

Jubal frowned for a second, uncomprehending, and then smiled in return, flattered. Much to Isobel's delight, the look from earlier returned to his eyes.

"Jubal, are you there?" Jess called, apparently coming from the hallway toward the kitchen.

The two looked at each other in alarm, but this time it was Jubal who was the first to react. "I will get out," he whispered, releasing her and taking over. He looked around and grabbed a carton of milk from a shelf. He cast a longing glance at Isobel, which left her trembling, before getting out the pantry.

Outside, Jess was just walking into the kitchen.

"What were you doing there?" he asked, only slightly suspicious.

Jubal held up the carton of milk, and pointed to the empty one on the table.

"Find milk to replenish in the fridge," he explained with ease as he opened it and put the new one in, to keep pretending.

Inside the pantry, Isobel could only admire his quick thinking and poise. In those moments, she doubted she would have been able to say anything more than monosyllables herself.

"Ah, thank you," Jess replied quite matter-of-factly, but he tilted his head to one side, looking alternately at Jubal and the pantry entrance.

The burning that Jubal had found on Isobel's lips had left his head light and he felt slightly dizzy. It had been years since he'd had a drink, but it felt terribly like having two drinks too many on him. He hadn't even tried to control the stupid grin he must had on his face right now.

Jess's expression became knowing and sly. Jubal ran his hand over his face, half embarrassed, half amused.

"Abi is asking for you," Jess informed him, still as if nothing had happened.

Picking up his coffee cup, Jubal nodded. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at the pantry, and followed his friend.

~.~.~.~