Clint gave her a bone-melting look. “Be safe on the road.”
Jensen felt her cheeks grow hot at his meaningful gaze. “You, too. Tell Rose goodbye for me.”
Clint bent to look through her window. He wanted to kiss her goodbye so bad he could taste it. “I will. Take care.”
Jensen lifted her hand in farewell as she drove away.
Clint watched her until she was out of sight.
* * *
Tuesday morning found Jensen pulling the last of her luggage to the door to wait for Clint. Needing to take a breath, she sat down on the bench in the foyer where she could see him when he arrived. She’d been busy since she last saw him. Yesterday, she’d spent a few hours going over the information Tanner had given them. After pouring over the map and looking up information online about Glacier National Park, Jensen felt like she had some idea of the terrain. Dense forests, alpine meadows, and deep blue lakes. Truly, the scope of the area was intimidating. Seven hundred miles of trails and over a million acres. She’d visited Yosemite and Yellowstone, but never Glacier. There was really no way to specifically prepare, the park was too vast and there were far too many possibilities to cover every eventuality. Remembering what Tanner told them about the temps, she’d called up the local weather for the area and packed accordingly.
After packing, she’d spent the remainder of the day at the clinic taking care of a couple of patients who needed her attention before taking off for a week. While she was there, good news came from the FDA. The results of the last drug trial had been accepted. One more session of trials and the capton protein would be approved for production. Jensen couldn’t help but be pleased. At the end of her days, this would most certainly be her biggest accomplishment.
Instead of feeling satisfaction at the thought, Jensen felt sad. She’d read an article recently detailing interviews of people in the last stage of their life. On the whole, they all cited their families as their greatest joy. Their regrets were never about things they did, but about things they’d been too afraid to do. This thought hit home with Jensen. Once upon a time, she’d hoped to have a husband and children. Now, that possibility seemed farfetched. Since her cancer diagnosis, she’d been living in fear. Fear of judgment. Fear of rejection. Fear of a reoccurrence.
For a period of time, she’d thought she had everything figured out. Her career was on track. Her bucket list was made, and she’d set out to cross off as many things as possible. The cards of her life had been dealt and Jensen was determined to make the best of things. What she hadn’t anticipated was Clint. He’d reappeared in her life and turned things upside down. Last evening, Nicky had come buzzing over to show her the finished video of his interview with Clint. She’d watched with interest as he answered the young man’s questions. While she’d heard his responses, she hadn’t been able to read the emotions on his face. She could also tell he’d stolen glances to where she’d been sitting. Undoubtedly, some of the things he’d said had been directed at her.
“God, what am I going to do with you, Clint Wilder?” she mused out loud.
From the moment she’d met him, he’d forged a place in her life. No matter how she tried to discourage him, he couldn’t seem to let go of his hope they’d be together. There was really no doubt his feelings were sincere. He was a fine man and Jensen was finding it harder and harder to resist his advances – which was why she’d paid a visit after work to a lingerie shop that carried a brand she’d been meaning to try. Courage Couture featured various sexy styles created by a plastic surgeon especially for women who’d had mastectomies. The New York based surgeon, Dr. Sharon McLaughlin-Weber, had undergone a mastectomy herself after a lymphoma diagnosis. Jensen chose a black lace baby-doll pajama with an adjustable bust designed to accommodate a prosthesis as well cover her scarring sufficiently. If she played her cards right and set the scene correctly, she might be able to make love to Clint without him ever realizing what she’d been through. Reviews for the garment claimed that women with mastectomies could be every bit as sexy as any other woman.