Chapter Eleven
Aiden stayed in the shower until the water turned frigid and his skin was shriveled. He needed Hazel to be gone when he got out. He’d rubbed himself raw with the soap and wash cloth, trying to eliminate the tantalizing scent of her. He could still smell her as if she was standing next to him. Just the thought of her was making him hard. Last night had been…mind-blowing in so many ways. Hazel was amazing, and the sex was the best he’d ever had by far. They just fit together perfectly.
He’d thought when they’d drifted off to sleep after round four, that life was finally really going his way. He had a job he loved, good friends, and now a woman he loved that loved him back. Instead, he woke up this morning to a disaster.
Giving up, he turned off the water and toweled himself dry. They should have told Jory. No, he should have told Jory. Hell, if he’d known what was going to happen, he would have. He’d honestly thought he could survive Hazel being in the house without giving in. Looking back now, it was stupid. He should have known better. He should have been honest from the beginning. Now Jory hated his guts and, apparently, so did Hazel.
Maybe not hated him, but she certainly regretted what had happened between them. Her words had cut him deeply. Icy fingers had shredded his heart. Maybe to her they were just fucking, but to him, it had been the culmination of him lusting after her and then falling for her over the last few years. It had been the beginning of something awesome.
Unfortunately, Hazel did not feel the same. She’d called their time together a “mistake.” He plucked a black sweater from his chest of drawers and then pulled on his jeans. He had to go to work. Fuck . It was going to suck. Jory was on for this shift as well. He looked at his reflection in the mirror above his dresser. He’d fucked up. He’d let his friend down and lost the woman he’d been falling in love with all in one fell swoop. Now he was going to have to face the music and apologize to Jory. He owed his friend that.
He cautiously opened the bedroom door and listened. The house was empty. He knew it instinctively. He went down the stairs and rounded the corner into the kitchen. He came to an abrupt halt. Shit. No wonder Jory had come up looking for him.
There was a half-eaten bowl of chili on the table with the blueberry grunt. The chili pot was still on the stove. His T-shirt was on the floor, and there was still that large branch on his back deck. His friend had come up looking for him because he thought Aiden was in trouble. But, instead, he found his best friend in bed with his sister.
His gut roiled at the thought of what he’d just done to his friend. He leaned into his hands on the back of the chair and hung his head. Knowing Jory, he would never forgive Aiden. Family and loyalty were everything. Aiden’s shoulders sagged under the weight of his guilt.
He straightened and started the mindless task of cleaning up the kitchen.
Forty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot at the back of the firehouse. He parked and sat in the truck for a few moments, trying to get his brain to function. He had to go apologize to his best friend, but he also had to admit some hard truths to himself. One, he fucked up big time. Two, Hazel wasn’t his. Three, he didn’t regret one fucking minute of the time he’d spent with Hazel. Not one second. He was just going to have to live with the consequences.
Aiden walked into the firehouse and immediately went to the locker room. He dropped his stuff inside and then turned to find Jory standing next to him. “Jory, I want to apologize—"
Jory leaned in and snarled, “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear one word from you about my sister or anything else. If you tell anyone what happened between you two, I will kill you. I swear it.”
He frowned. “I would never say anything to anyone about it. You know that, man.”
“I used to think I knew you, but I guess I got it all wrong. I want to make sure you don’t damage Hazel’s reputation. She deserves better.” He poked a finger into Aiden’s chest. "I don’t want you anywhere near her!”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Your sister doesn’t want to see me anymore either. I guess I made a mistake with her.”
“You’re goddamn right you did!” Jory struggled to keep his voice down. “You shouldn’t have been anywhere near her.” Jory pushed him again.
Aiden knew he was getting dangerously close to losing his temper. He didn’t want to continue to fight with Jory. The last twenty-four hours had been a roller-coaster of emotions. He was running on little sleep and no food. “Like I said, she doesn’t want to see me. She’s at your mother’s. I’ll take her stuff over to her tomorrow after we’re done with the shift.”
“No! I’ll come get it. You won’t be anywhere near her.”
“Whatever,” Aiden said.
“You asshole. I still can’t believe you would betray me like this. My own sister!”
Aiden snapped. “I told you it was a bad idea. I told you her moving in wasn’t gonna work, but you didn’t listen. I’ve given you enough hints over the last few years that I wanted to date your sister, but you just ignored them all. I wasn’t the only one involved. Your sister wanted to be with me, right up until you screamed at her about it.” He leaned into Jory’s face and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry. I should have told you flat-out that I wanted to date your sister, but I knew you’d freak out. You don’t want her to have a life. You don’t trust her. I know all this because she came to me to complain about you all the time.” He pointed to his own chest. “Me. She came to me, Jory, to get help with you, to be able to relax and just hang out like a normal human without you watching her every move. She spent time with me .”
Jory took a swing, but Aiden stepped back and caught Jory’s arm. “You can hit me all you want, but you drove your sister towards me, and I held out as long as I could but, goddammit, Jory, I’m only human. I think your sister is amazing, and I’m half in love with her. I don’t regret being with her, not for one second, but I regret that I didn’t tell you first. For that, I’m deeply sorry. But get this through your head—that’s all I’m sorry for. That’s it. Hazel is an amazing woman, and any man who has her in his life is damn lucky, including you, so stop fucking it up. Stop being overprotective of her and let her run her own life.”
He let Jory’s arm go and stepped back. Jory looked like he was about to take another swing when the station alarm went off. They were being called to a fire. Jory backed up and walked out of the locker room. Aiden took a breath to settle himself and then headed out as well.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of activity. Aiden made sure he stayed busy and out of Jory’s way. He cleaned all the equipment on the rig and then started cleaning the rig itself. The guys all gave him a wide berth, but he knew they were aware there was a problem between him and Jory.
“A genie isn’t going to pop out if you keep rubbing that bumper, son,” Captain Hastings said as he came over to stand next to Aiden.
Aiden straightened. “Yes, sir.”
“Look, son, as a rule, I stay out of people’s lives, but you two are making us all uncomfortable. I’m guessing it has to do with Jory’s sister, Hazel.”
Aiden gave a curt nod.
“I figured her living with you was gonna go south sooner or later.” He shook his head. “Two weeks was quicker than I thought. You owe me the fifty bucks that I had in the pool. I figured at least a month.”
“I’m sorry what? There’s a pool?”
The captain nodded. “Every one of us knew this was gonna go bad. We figured we might as well take bets on it.”
Aiden was shocked. Fucking assholes . He blinked and then the reality of it hit him. If it had been anyone else, he would have been the first to bet in the pool. He let out a long breath. “Assholes,” he muttered.
“Uh-huh. Now, what are you gonna do to rectify the situation?”
He shrugged and then glared at his boss. “Is this a pool, too? Are you trying to get the inside line, Cap?”
Hastings tried to look hurt but failed. Then he grinned. “I didn’t think of it, but that’s not a bad idea.”
“Funny.”
Hastings got serious. “We depend on each other in this job. It’s a matter of life and death. You and Jory not only have to work with all of us, but you have to work together. We need to know we can depend on you both.”
Aiden ground his teeth. “Are you accusing me of being unprofessional? Are you saying I will let this interfere with my job?”
Hastings raised his hands and waved him off. “Simmer down, son. I’m just saying we all depend on each other, and you and Jory can’t let your personal feelings get in the way. I don’t think either of you will, but in the heat of anger, sometimes stupid mistakes can happen. Those kinds of mistakes cost lives in our world. I need you both on your game, especially now.”
Aiden felt some of his anger ebb. His boss was right. It was life and death what they did. He didn’t blame the man for reminding him. “Wait, why especially now?”
“This arsonist.” He shook his head. “That asshole has me spooked, and I’m not the only one.”
Aiden nodded, his thoughts immediately going to what Hazel had told him. Had she gone to see Phoenix this morning like she promised? He gave himself a mental shake. He needed to get Hazel out of his head. “The fire at the apartment complex… Was it arson?”
The captain grimaced. “It’s a possibility. The investigators aren’t sure just yet. It looks like it started in the grass and then, with the wind, jumped to the wooden fence that the owner had just built around the dumpsters. It was untreated wood, so it went up pretty quickly, and then, of course, the garbage went up, taking the side of the building with it.”
“And Mrs. Josephs got caught in it.”
He nodded. “Yes. She’s going to be fine, but she had to move in with her daughter. But between you and me, that will last about as long as you and Hazel.” He sighed. “Anyway, it’s been quiet for the last few days, which has us all on edge. I need to know you’re on your game in case all hell breaks loose.”
“Count on it, Cap.”
He nodded. “Good man.” He started to walk away but turned back. “Don’t worry about Jory. He’ll get over it. He needed to let his little sister get a life at some point. In the end, he’ll realize that you are the best choice for his sister.”
“No, it’s not like that,” he said, but Hastings had already walked away. Aiden stood staring after him. So, the whole firehouse had betted on how long he and Hazel would last living together. That was comforting. Not. It also meant they all knew, or at least suspected, what had happened. Shit . Jory was going to blame him for talking when he hadn’t said a word. He let out a long sigh. Life just wasn’t getting better.