9. Sunny
Chapter 9
Sunny
W e arrived back at the firehouse just in time for lunch. I had intended to go into my room and hide for a while, but Blaze dragged me toward the kitchen where Rune was dishing up BLTs.
“Hey, Cher,” he greeted warmly.
A few other firefighters were milling around the kitchen, grabbing food, but they all greeted me with a smile or a nod.
“Go sit down, sunshine. I’ll grab us food,” Blaze said, nodding to one of the smaller tables.
Doing as I was told, I carried Luka over to the table, keeping him in my lap as I sat down. My butt had hardly touched the seat when Rune and Blaze joined me, both of them carrying two plates of food.
I took my plate gratefully off Rune, pleased to find plenty of extra bacon on the side. Handing a bit to Luka, he giddily fisted it and shoved it into his mouth.
“Ahh, good boy likes his bacon!” Blaze laughed.
“Is there a man out there who doesn’t like bacon?” Rune asked.
“You would be hard pressed to find one,” I agreed.
We ate in companionable silence for a moment. We weren’t the only ones in the kitchen, but we were slightly off to the side in our own little bubble.
“I know you just got back,” Rune said between bites, “but how do you feel about another trip out today?”
I frowned at him. “To do what?”
Rune cocked his head to the side. “Well, there happens to be a good clothing store only a ten-minute drive from here. Funnily enough, I got a gift card for that store, quite a big one, last year and there's no way in hell I can use it.” He chuckled as he spoke.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I don't know if you’ve noticed, but I'm not exactly a small guy.” He gestured to his body.
Oh, I had noticed.
Probably a lot more than I should have.
“Really? I had no idea!” I giggled.
Blaze snorted. “He’s basically an optical illusion.”
Rune glowered playfully at us. “Well, for your information, I happen to be rather large. So much so that this store doesn't stock any clothing that will fit me. It's mostly a women's clothing store, anyway. Their men's section is pretty small, so said gift card has been sitting in my desk drawer for months. It's going to expire any day now, so I was thinking maybe we should use it to get you some basics.”
I bit my lip. Could I accept so much from him? I had an idea which store he was talking about, and it was ideal for finding a few basics, like leggings and T-shirts, to get me through the next few weeks.
“Are you sure you wouldn't use it?” I asked.
Rune shook his head. “Nope, honestly. They even have a kids’ section…”
I sighed. He had me there. I wasn't going to say no when it came to getting something for Luka.
“Fine, but I fully intend to pay you back.”
Rune snorted. “I fully intend to not let you.”
“Honestly, sunshine, he has let so many gift cards expire. He’s that kind of idiot.”
I rolled my eyes. Stubborn alpha.
“Are you sure you can leave? Don’t you have work?”
Rune shook his head, looking at his watch. “My shift ends in about thirty minutes. Connor, James, and a few other guys are on the next shift, I believe. They’re the ones who came in and grabbed sandwiches a minute ago. They like to eat and hit the gym before their shift starts.”
My heart stammered. “Does that mean you're leaving?” I asked, trying to avoid showing my panic. It was one thing to stay at the firehouse when the guys who had invited and rescued me were here, but I wasn't sure how I felt about being there with a bunch of complete strangers.
Even though the guys who had rescued me were pretty much strangers still.
Rune’s face broke out into a grin. “Unfortunately, you're stuck with me, Cher. My little pack has an apartment not far from here, but it’s currently getting fumigated, so we are crashing at the fire station even when we aren't working.”
Blaze chuckled, but broke into a cough. “Yeah, those pesky roaches!”
“Oh, that’s good, that you have somewhere to stay…”
Rune nodded. “Why would we bother getting a temporary apartment when we have beds, showers, and a kitchen here? It's also useful since, if one of the other guys gets sick, one of us can jump in. There are some perks to being in a pack with the captain.”
Handing Luka a few leftover slices of strawberry, I turned back to Rune. “So, how does it work, being a firefighter? How often are you on duty?”
“Most firefighters work a forty-eight-hour shift, followed by four days off. Well, that’s how it is for beta firefighters, at least. Alphas apparently have a quicker recovery time, so our schedule is a bit more strenuous. Two days on, followed by two days off.”
“That sounds like a lot!” I exclaimed.
“It keeps us busy.” Rune shrugged. “We don't mind it. Half the time, when we aren’t supposed to be working, we are here because Walker has paperwork or a meeting with the higher-ups. This place is a home for us.”
“So, your two days on is about to end? What happens then?”
“Nothing much changes, except the other guys will be going on the calls. We’ll just be hanging out around the firehouse, maybe doing some cooking or doing our own things. It also means we're free to leave, making today the perfect opportunity to take you to the store.”
I nodded. “Thank you, by the way. You guys are being too good to me.”
Rune smiled. “It’s our pleasure, Cher.”
When Rune had told me about the gift card, I assumed it had fifty dollars on it, at most. He handed it to me as we walked into the store, Luka on my hip. The first thing I did was ask one of the sweet girls behind the register to let me know how much was on the card.
When she told me the number, I nearly fainted.
“How the hell do you have a gift card just laying around with a thousand dollars on it?” I asked in a panicked whisper as Rune dragged me deeper into the store.
“I have wealthy family members that don't understand the meaning of a decent gift. They just throw money at the situation.”
A laugh bubbled out of my chest. “You are aware this is insane, right?”
“It is, but I've tried to return the cards before. I only offended the family members, so usually, I just re-gift their gifts. Last year, they gave me a gift card to an alcohol store—I gave it to one of the young firefighters when they turned twenty-one, and they had the time of their life—this looks like a good place to start!” Rune beamed, looking around.
We were smack-dab in the middle of the women's section.
With a huff, I turned to face him. “This is incredibly generous, but I can't spend that much money.”
Rune shrugged again. “Just get whatever you need. I'll let the rest of the balance expire.”
I gaped at him. How could he let it just go to waste? He simply grinned at me.
Butthead.
Well-intentioned, sweet butthead.
“Fine!” I grumbled, and started rummaging through the racks. After a moment, the baby in my arms started getting wiggly. Luka was starting to toddle and wanted to be constantly moving.
“Come on, baby boy,” I muttered, bouncing him lightly.
It was hard to keep my focus on the racks of leggings when he was doing his best to throw his body weight in every direction.
I was about to take a step back and focus on him when a strong set of hands plucked Luka out of my arms.
Next to Rune, my son looked tiny. Even though he had been wriggling in my grip only seconds before, the minute he was in Rune’s arms, he settled down and entertained himself by running his hands over Rune’s face.
“Go do your shopping. I can keep him entertained. In fact, we will follow you so he's never out of your sight. Is that okay?”
I bit my lip. Part of me wanted to take my son back because I didn't want to burden him, but shopping would be a lot easier without a wriggling baby in my arms.
“I'll be ten minutes, at most,” I assured him.
Rune beamed at my son as he spoke. “Take as long as you need. I'm sure we'll manage.”
Now that I had a time limit, because I didn't want to saddle Rune with my baby for too long, I quickly went through the aisles, picking up several pairs of leggings, T-shirts, a few simple slip dresses, and some underwear.
The entire time, Rune followed me and didn't say anything. He did keep up a steady stream of conversation with Luka, though. Even though my boy’s vocabulary was limited, they spent a long time talking about a T-shirt with a duck on it.
That T-shirt swiftly went in the basket.
For Luka, I gathered a few basics as well, mainly shorts, T-shirts, and a few warmer onesies. It was getting cold at night, and I didn't want him to catch a chill.
“This is ? —”
“Needed.” Rune cut me off with a smile before I could insist it was too much.
“Really?” I huffed, hands on my hips.
My disgruntled tone only made him smile and nod. “Really,” he agreed. “Now, let’s go get checked out and grab some ice cream on the way back…”