Chapter 43
43
Grayson Hawk
“Baby, are you joking right now?” I ask Skye as I spin in a complete circle taking in the place. “This can’t be real.”
I don’t want to mock her, but shit this place is a shit hole.
I grab the curtain and pull it back only to find it’s hiding a hole in the wall. “A curtain in the middle of a fucking wall with no window,” I say this more to myself because I’m at a loss. I’m thinking aloud, utterly confused at what these people are thinking. “So hanging a curtain the middle of a wall in the center of the house, with no access to the outside made more sense than patching the hole?”
“I think it adds character.” I turn around to find Tori and Skye both looking at me like I’m being ridiculous.
“Cute?” I ask. I want to tell them both they are insane, certifiably, but I know that’s probably the worse thing I can do. So instead I stare at them. The longer we do this, the harder it is to keep my shit together.
“What about the fact that the toilet is randomly sitting in the center of the bathroom?”
“It’s like sitting on a throne.” Tori shrugs and Skye nods. “We could add a little wall behind it if it bothers you that much.”
“Or the fact that all the doors swing outward into the halls instead of the correct way into the rooms?”
“Who says that is the correct way?”
They have got to be screwing with me.
“Every person that has ever built a house.” I throw my hands up in the air.
“They’ve run screws through the cabinets to hold them on, which means you’ll never be able to use those cabinets. And since they’ve done this on more than half the doors, that cuts the storage completely in half.” They both still remain where they are, staring at me.
“Then there’s the bathroom window that has been concreted over, literal concrete blocks, covering the entire thing from the outside. Yet they’ve left the blind in the window, a curtain up, and the fucking trim surrounding it like you have a freakin’ view.”
I’m aware my voice has risen a bit, but how can they not think this is all a huge problem.
“I’m not living here.” I shake my head. “I’d give the two of you anything, truly I would walk over hot coals, but this,” holding my hand out I spin in a circle, “this is where I draw the line. I will not let the two of you live here, I’m not doing it!”
The sounds of their laughter grab my full attention and I find both of them doubled over holding onto their sides.
“I’d call both of you assholes, but it seems too harsh because you’re my girls, but honestly that was a douche move.” I narrow my eyes at the both of them, trying to appear annoyed. Truth is they make it a habit of ganging up on me, hassling me at every possible turn and I love every minute of it.
Skye and Tori have rerouted my way of thinking. I no longer believe that love can’t last. I’ve let go of the notion that no one person is meant for another and accept that the path I’ve led was meant to lead me right to them. I adore every single moment, the good and even the bad, because it means the three of us our living and building a life.
I hold on to every memory, tucking it safely inside for me to love.
“We hate it,” Tori finally says as she once again stands tall and reins in her laughter. “It’s awful but it was very fun watching you squirm and whine like a girl.”
“I did not whine.” She should be careful since she can’t run from me. She’ll have her cast on for weeks and physical therapy will take months.
“You whine,” she rolls her eyes, “I’d say like a little bitch but I’d get into trouble.”
I chuckle when Skye glares at her.
This is my life, and I love it! Every single second!
“How’s the hunting going?” Fed asks, leaning against the counter next to me with a cup of coffee in his hand.
Brax and Coop join him gathering on the opposite side.
As I turn around I find the rest of the guys hovering behind me, all watching and waiting for the answer.
“Hunting?” I knew they were referring to Skye and I moving in together, but why makes things easy? They never do.
“House hunting.” Myles takes a seat at the table and digs into the most recent treat Rose dropped off for us. “Apartment,” he adds around a mouth full of what looks like a muffin. “Whatever you’re looking for?”
“I still can’t believe you of all people are looking for a place to share with a woman,” Hollywood adds.
“This look is good for him.” Hayes slaps me on the back and moves toward the refrigerator. “Skye and Tori keep you in line.”
“Can’t argue with that,” I reply without pause. I never thought I’d be standing anywhere admitting that a woman has changed me, but here I am. “They got me considering things I never thought I would. Marriage, kids,” I shrug, “who knows.”
“Dude, it’s like seeing a unicorn,” Hollywood mumbles and I move forward, swinging out my hand to slap his head but he moves away too quickly. “I’m playing,” he says, holding his hands up smiling. “I’m happy for you.”
I know they all love Skye and Tori too. I saw it firsthand after Tori’s accident and still now. The concern, the compassion, and devotion, all of it only proved exactly why these men are my brothers.
“We found a place, but it won’t be ready for a few weeks.” It took a while and I’m happy the search is over. “Only about three minutes from the station, walking distance to Rose, and it’s got a yard. Tori’s already looking at the shelter’s website for a dog to adopt.”
They all stare at me in silence, but Hayes is grinning because he and I had a heart to heart a few weeks back and he gets it.
“It’s weird for me too, the house, one woman that I’m content and ready to spend the rest of my life with. Tori,” my smile grows wider, “I’ve got an almost fifteen-year-old girl as one of my best friends.”
A few of the guys chuckle.
“I ran from anything that resembled commitment, for years avoiding any connections. But here I am excited and ready to start my life with an amazing girl and Tori as a bonus. I love them.” It no longer feels weird having those words falling from my lips. “They make everything better.”
Fully aware that some will hassle me for my confession, I smile anyway, not regretting a single word.
The sound of the bell ringing has us all jumping into action, interrupting the moment. Dropping what we are doing, leaving behind food half eaten, coffee sloshing from cups, our feet stomping the ground beneath our boots.
We are called to the scene of a single car flipped upside down, half submerged on Old Hickory Lake.
Dispatch has confirmed the sounds of a crying child can be heard echoing through the darkness of the night.
Most of us are silent, tense with the idea of what we may find. I know I am, terrified that we may be too late. With each passing second my heart beats faster and faster, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
As a firefighter you get into the zone, everything around you fades away. You forget about the argument you had over someone putting an empty gallon of milk back in the refrigerator. Or the pile of bills you have on the kitchen table. You ignore the ache in your back from sleeping at a weird angle because Oscar decided to take over more than half the bunk. You stop worrying about what you’ll do on your day off and instead you start running through the steps of a water rescue. You start checking off all the boxes, trying to get ahead of all the possibilities of what may go wrong so you’re prepared.
But nothing and I do mean nothing ever prepares you for the bad outcomes. Those, they never fade away but hang in your heart every single time you open your eyes.
We each put on the uniform, we vow to serve and to protect, but when the lights go out and we are left alone with our thoughts, those demons, they haunt us.
The goal is to never let it destroy us.
Our rig slows to a stop and we all jump out. Cooper is immediately suited up for a water rescue so we can get him closer to access the situation then we’ll formulate our plan.
I swear the moment his words ring out into the night, my heart stops.
“Hurry up, Gray! She’s bleeding out, and there’s a kid still trapped!”