Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liam
At six thirty, I hurried to call Jenna. We’d texted a few times throughout the day, but I’d been anxiously waiting for her to finish work so I could call.
In just a few short days, her voice, and especially her laugh, had become my favorite sounds.
Or maybe I was only admitting it to myself now that I finally got to enjoy them more often.
“Hi, Liam!” She answered on the first ring, her warm greeting settling into my chest.
“Hey, Jenna. How was your day?”
“It was great! How about you?”
“Busy, but nothing too wild. What made your day so great?”
“A mom came in with her son who was struggling to read, and he was obviously frustrated, but I got them set up in a quiet spot with an early reader on motorcycles, because he said he loves them. His face lit up when he saw the book, so I’m pretty sure he’s been stuck with Dick and Jane-ish books.
He obviously didn’t learn to read in one shot, but they were there with the book for a while and they checked it out, along with two others.
Simply being interested in books is a huge step toward reading. ”
Her excited rambling was adorable, and fuck, she was so good and pure. A ray of light. “That’s amazing,” I said. “You changed that boy’s life.”
“Thank you! It’s the best part of the job! So, what about you? Anything interesting today?”
“Two medical calls, a suspicious odor, and a car accident. The best part was Dylan and Juliette came to visit. It’ll be good to have him back.” That was true, but trite. I wanted to give Jenna more. “It just...it hasn't felt right here without him.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. You guys are so close, it’s like a member of your family is missing. And to have gone so long not knowing whether or not he’d be able to come back, that must’ve been hard.”
“That’s it, the not knowing. He’s like a brother and he was hurting. In one moment, he lost his health, his job, and almost his girlfriend. And we had to just go on without him. It sucked when we needed him and he wasn’t there, but it also felt wrong when we were fine without him.”
“When you...”
I waited, but she didn’t continue. “What, Jenna? You can ask me anything.”
“I was just thinking about when you were in the Army. Was your team or unit, or whatever you call it, close?”
Ah, fuck. I didn’t mind telling Jenna, but I hated to make her sad.
There was no gentle way to say that I was the only one who’d made it out.
That I’d waltzed out of there the minute I could, and on their next deployment, what would’ve been my next deployment, my brothers were ambushed—while I was relaxing at the beach with my family.
“Yes. There were six of us. We’d been together since the beginning of our training, so we were already close; then shit hit the fan within minutes of our first mission, and that sealed the deal. Hardest thing I’d ever done was leave them behind when I chose to walk away.”
Jenna was quiet for a moment, and I could practically hear her trying to read between the lines. Finally, she said, “I have so many questions, but not over the phone. I need to be able to see you.”
“How about a video call?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
I switched it over, and Jenna’s beautiful face filled my screen.
“Hi. It’s good to see you.”
“Same.” She studied me through the screen before she smiled gently. “Can I have a tour of the station?”
“Of course.” I had no problem putting off the conversation about my team. Did she know that? “This is the bunk room where I sleep.” I turned the phone around to show her the small bed, nightstand, and closet.
“That bed looks way too small for you.”
A vision of Jenna in my bed popped into my head, along with things too inappropriate to say to her. I hadn’t thought this through when I started showing Jenna the room. “I manage,” I choked out.
“Is that always your room?”
“Technically, no. But, yes. They aren’t assigned, but we all know whose is whose.”
“Can I see more?”
I walked her down the hall, through the gym, and into the common room, with her asking thoughtful questions about our day-to-day life and rescue operations.
“Hey, Jenna,” Ethan called from the couch. The other guys all looked over and added their greetings, and Cole gave me a fist bump.
“Hey, guys,” Jenna said, her cheeks pink.
I quickly escaped into the empty kitchen.
“Sorry. Was that weird?” she asked after I confirmed we were alone.
“Nope. They didn’t seem surprised, did they?”
“No?”
“I’ve liked you for a long time, Jenna. They’ve all seen it, and they’re happy for us.”
Doubt flickered across her face, and my chest squeezed. “Us,” she repeated slowly.
“Us,” I confirmed, wishing I could reach through the screen to hold her hand. “If you’re okay with it, I want us to be an us.”
I held my breath watching a hundred emotions swirl in the depths of her blue-green eyes. Then she smiled, her eyes shimmering like sunshine across a tropical sea. “Yeah, I’m okay with that.”
Thank fuck. My breath whooshed out and I grinned at her. “Want to see the trucks?”
“Of course!”
“You got it, but first, this is the kitchen. I cook most of the meals. No one else can cook for shit.” Damn, I didn’t mean to cuss to her. She never did. “I mean, no one else can cook.”
“You can say whatever you want. I don’t mind cursing. I just don’t because it wouldn’t be right if it slipped out at work. Or even if I was out in public talking to friends, and a kid from the library overheard.”
“That’s really sweet—” The alarm cut me off.
“Be safe! Let me know when you’re back, please.”
I braced my feet against the smoldering roof, raised the axe overhead, and brought it down, ripping through the wood, sending embers flying.
Sparing a quick glance at the flames dancing through the thick smoke, I raised the axe again and again, Jenna’s words setting the rhythm…
be safe, crack…be safe, crack…be safe, crack.
Brady’s chainsaw roared to life, and he finished cutting through the hole I started until smoke poured out like the fire-breathing dragon below had raised its head to exhale into the night sky.
“Got it. Let’s get the fuck outta here,” he said through the comms. He wasn’t wrong. It was a good vent.
It was a million fucking degrees up here, and the fire and roof were crackling around us. Still, I held up a staying hand and watched the smoke billow out for a few more seconds until I was satisfied it was enough to relieve my brothers inside.
“Thank fuck they all came home,” Ryan muttered a while later as we packed up the hose.
I grunted in agreement, rolling my aching shoulders.
The neighbors had told us the parents were out, and the lack of cars corroborated that, but there was a teenage son who might’ve been home.
We were still searching the house, praying it hadn’t turned from a rescue to a recovery when the family of three came running up the street.
“Let’s move it, boys. No need to be here all night.” Battalion Chief Pratt, the incident commander, criticized with his typical disdain but made no move to help.
Ryan spun to face him, and I sent a sharp elbow into his ribs. “Don’t,” I warned quietly. “He’s not worth it.”
Pratt gave us plenty of reasons to dislike him, but the one thing we’d never forgive was his disgusting rant when Dylan was injured, which had sent Juliette into such a spiral we’d almost lost her too.
Any other night, I might’ve let Ryan loose on him, but there was no time to argue tonight.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the station to call Jenna.
Her words had echoed in my mind. My family told me to be safe all the time, but it hit differently from Jenna. Getting myself and everyone home safely was always top priority, but it felt even more urgent tonight knowing she was waiting for me.
We climbed back into the truck, and a different kind of adrenaline flowed through my veins as I opened her messages.