Embracing Juliette (Texas Heroes: Station 9 #1)

Chapter 1

1

Dylan

T he inferno roared around me, and the house groaned in protest of its final moments. Warning tones blasted through the radio, and the captain’s voice crackled in my ear. “Sixty seconds to get out. Be on that ladder, with or without him.”

Fuck that. We weren’t leaving without him.

There. The last door on the left.

I reached back through the thick smoke, making sure Ryan was with me, and then we were in. Sheetrock crashed down behind us, sending up a cloud of debris, obliterating any chance of easily finding the man. I fumbled through the smoke and dust until my hand finally landed on a leg.

“Got him!”

Ryan and I grabbed the unconscious man and dragged him to the window, seconds ahead of the surging flames. We passed him into Liam’s waiting arms, then slid down the ladder after them. Back on the ground, I pulled off my mask and sucked in fresh air while Liam carried the man to the waiting paramedics. I watched as his wife and kids chased after them.

Someone handed me a bottle of water, and I nodded my thanks, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the family. Desperation and hope and love were living, breathing beasts as they ran to him. The wife clambered into the ambulance behind the stretcher, shouting instructions to a neighbor who herded the crying kids into her car. Then she turned to her husband with the most devastatingly hopeful smile, and that’s the last thing I saw before the ambulance door slammed shut.

I downed my bottle of water, the pressure in my chest easing as I jogged over to grab a hose and join my brothers on the ground. Our job was far from over, but we’d accomplished the most important part. Hopefully.

Long hours later, we were back at the station, finally wolfing down dinner after we’d cleaned up ourselves and our rigs.

“This is good,” Ethan said around a huge mouthful. “What is it?”

“Grilled chicken Florentine,” Liam, our resident chef, answered.

“Che buono.” Cole butchered the phrase with an exaggerated Italian accent, blowing a chef’s kiss to him.

Liam smiled at Ethan, then wadded up his napkin and threw it at Cole.

“I’m ready to crash,” Brady said, stretching as he stood and collected his dishes. He clapped Ryan and me on the shoulders as he passed us on his way to the sink. “You did good. Sleep well.”

“You too,” I returned.

“Wait,” Cole said.

Brady paused in the doorway.

“Nolan’s tomorrow?” Cole asked with an easy grin, looking like he’d just spent hours at the beach instead of in a fire.

Brady rolled his eyes and walked out, but called back over his shoulder. “Fine. Whatever.”

“I’m in,” I said. I loved these guys like brothers, and though we spent half of our days and nights working together, I was still up for a night at our favorite bar.

The rest of the guys agreed, then Cole and Ethan shuffled out, leaving only Liam, Ryan, and me at the table.

Ryan turned to me, a rare smile softening his glower. “You’re a crazy son of a bitch.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Not sure that’s a compliment.”

“It is from you. You were right there with me, as always.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

I lifted my chin in acknowledgement, then nodded to Liam. “And thank goodness we have muscles here.”

Liam chuckled. At six foot five and built like a tank, there was no doubt he was the strongest, but we all knew if he’d been inside, he’d have done the same. Then the big, tough soldier started cleaning up the kitchen, even though it was already clean, because this was his domain.

I stood too and dropped my dishes into the dishwasher before Liam did it. “G’night boys. Good work tonight,” I said as I headed for the bunk rooms.

I lay down, but the thoughts running through my head wouldn’t let me sleep. I kept picturing the woman’s face as she watched Liam carry her husband safely away from their burning house. Like he had her entire world in his arms. I should’ve been filled with satisfaction that I’d helped give them that, and I was, but for some reason, it also left me unsettled.

This job, saving lives, the good men I worked with…it was everything I’d always dreamed of. All I’d ever wanted. In the magical kind of way that you always hope for but rarely get, being a firefighter was everything I imagined it would be.

But I’d left more than enough destruction and other people’s shattered dreams in my wake. I’d upended my entire life to be a firefighter; even ended my marriage over it. The least I could do was be satisfied with what I had, and I usually was. It was selfish of me to want more, but I couldn’t help it.

Lying in bed with the sounds of the station muted in the background, I couldn’t help but wonder…would I ever find love like that?