Chapter 48 Preston
Preston
“Hey, Walker!” I greeted as I walked into Station Sixteen, Nolan by my side.
“Are you guys looking for Merrick? He should be done with his shift soon,” Walker said from where he was checking the equipment in the back of one of the trucks.
I nodded. “We are all going to check out some offices for rent in town now that Nolan is thinking about opening his own practice down here.”
“It’ll be good to have a lawyer for a friend.” Walker laughed, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank you for keeping this dumbass safe,” Nolan said, jerking his head in my direction.
“It wasn’t too hard. How’s Hailey?”
“Complaining a lot, but I would be as well if I were in her position.” Nolan grimaced.
“Sunny nearly lost her mind in the final months, and she had experienced it all before, so you guys are in for a treat,” Walker explained.
I hated that Hailey wasn’t feeling great, but I was going to do whatever I could to help.
When we had left, she had been working away in her little sewing room, happily humming to herself.
Now the nursery was built, she was feeling a lot more settled.
While I appreciated that she’d waited for me to do those things, I hated that it made her feel unprepared.
She was only a month or two away from giving birth, so we were on a mission to ensure that everything was just right.
From up the stairs, Merrick appeared. “Hey guys, I’m just going to grab a quick shower, then I’ll be ready to go. Wilder with Hails?”
“He was her sewing helper, which meant he’s sitting on the floor of the sewing room and repeatedly telling Hailey how pretty and perfect she is. I'm sure they'll move on to their movie marathon soon enough.”
The snort that left my throat wasn’t dignified, but Wilder was utterly besotted with Hailey, and not afraid to act like a dope to keep her happy.
“Have you thought much about what you plan to do after Hailey gives birth? Are you thinking about going back to work?” Walker asked me as we walked through to the kitchen.
Rune was standing in the kitchen, stirring a large pot of something that smelled delicious. “Hey! Looking better without the prison garb.” He spoke in that thick Cajun accent.
“I feel so much better without it,” I said, spreading my arms to show off my casual jeans and T-shirt combination. I never thought I would miss jeans as much as I had, but I was loving having them back.
“You hungry?” he asked. “I’ve made enough gumbo to feed the whole firehouse three times over.”
“There’s no way you’ll ever find me saying no to gumbo,” I said, and Nolan hummed in agreement next to me.
“Sit, we can chat while you wait for Merrick,” Walker said, taking a seat at the large table that fit twelve. The sheer size of the table made sense, considering the firehouse had so many members.
Plopping my ass onto the bench, I thanked Rune as he passed me the bowl of gumbo. I didn't even hesitate digging in as soon as the bowl was in my hands.
“This is phenomenal.” I moaned around a mouthful of food.
“We are lucky that he cooks for us. We would be living on microwave meals without him.” Walker chuckled.
“If you want, I can put some in a takeout container for Hailey.”
“Please. She wants to eat anything and everything she lays her eyes on at the minute. For three weeks straight, she had an unhealthy obsession with pickles, but now they are giving her the ick, apparently.”
“Ahh, I remember those days.” Rune laughed, turning to Walker. “Do you remember all the packets of sour candy we had left?”
Walker shuddered before explaining. “Sunny had a real thing for sour candy during her pregnancy, so we thought we would do the smart thing and bulk buy loads of it. Well, two days after a load of candy was delivered, and I do mean a load, she decided she didn't like it anymore.”
“So, no matter how obsessed she is with the food, don't buy too much of it,” Rune warned.
“Noted. Thanks!” Nolan said as he chewed.
“Back to what I was saying, though.” Walker turned to me. “Have you thought about going back to work? Now that Edward is being arrested, a new warden will be taking over Camp Bower—I think it’s going to be one of the sergeants from Station Fourteen.”
“I’m glad the fucker will pay for what he did.”
Walker nodded. “The fucker was meant to be helping them on their rehabilitation journeys and instead was using them to buy drugs. There's a special place in hell for people like him.”
“Is he behind bars yet?”
Walker shook his head. “No. He is currently on administrative leave while the investigation is officially being done, but I expect the arrest will come any day now.”
“I, for one, will feel a lot more comfortable once he's no longer in town.”
Walker nodded. “So will I.”
“As for what you are saying about a job, honestly, I haven't thought past the baby arriving. I'm definitely not going to take any jobs that involve me leaving home regularly.”
“I'm only asking because I know for a fact you're a good firefighter, and if you want a job at a firehouse, I'll get you a position.”
“You'd really do that for me?”
Walker chuckled. “I would be doing myself a favor considering how much we need good firefighters, but the offer is there for whenever you want it.”
Did I want it?
In addition to my time at Camp Bower, I had spent six months when I was in the military helping fight wildfires and had done enough training to qualify as a civilian firefighter.
The work had been grueling but rewarding.
This way, I would be working with another member of my pack and Hailey would know where I was every day.
The one thing I loved about my work was that it helped people. It was a personality trait that connected me to all of my pack mates. We all wanted to help in our own way.
Nolan helped people fight their legal battles to make the right choices for their family and children. Wilder helped heal people. And I just went where I was needed. As a soldier, I helped people in many different ways, but fighting fires seemed like the perfect option now.
“I may take you up on that—after the baby is born, of course. I plan to be there for Hailey now.”
“If you weren’t, she would make you suffer. I think you’ve used up all her goodwill,” Nolan said.
As annoying as it was to hear, he was right. Hailey had been patient with me, and there was no way in hell I was going to test her patience going forward.
“Why did I have a feeling you guys would have found your way to the kitchen?” Merrick entered the room, water still dripping from his hair.
I laughed. “Because the kitchen is the place where food magically appears?”
“Rune is amazing,” Nolan agreed.
Whatever I was about to say next was cut short by the shrill, blaring noise coming from the speakers that could only mean one thing.
Fire.
The alarm rang through the firehouse, and every firefighter paused, looking up as the dispatcher read the address of the fire over the speakers.
Thirty-four Walnut Road.
“Fuck,” Walker hissed. He was half out of his seat, like he was preparing to run and get into his gear, but his eyes landed on Merrick. “Isn't that your house?” he asked.
My stomach dropped so violently, I was surprised I was still standing.
Then Merrick said the two words that made me want to vomit.
“It is.”