Chapter 2
Jesse
Laida’s eyes were filled with so much hope when I showed her the rhubarb plant.
That look in her eyes only added to her breathtaking beauty.
A week had passed and I had gone back there as often as I could.
Spending my time at the farm, fixing things was all I wanted to do.
Well, that, and be close to Laida. It seemed like giving her the space she needed was the right thing to do, though, so I tried to focus on work and only visit every other day or so.
She had opened up a little more to me the last time I was there, telling me all about her love of herbalism. The first time I saw her, she was dropping off salves that she had made that would help if any of the guys ever got burned while fighting a fire. It was a sweet gesture and we could use it.
The barn doors were practically finished.
I cleaned and greased the tracks, repaired the parts of the barn doors that were busted, and finished painting them.
They were like new and ready to be hung up.
I worked at the front of the barn while Laida spent much of her time in the back of the barn cleaning and setting up her gardening supplies.
“Laida! Can you help me?” I yelled out to her.
She ran up to the front with her shiny black hair swishing behind her and asked, “What’s up?”
“These doors are ready to go back on. Do you think you can help me lift them up?” It wasn’t a huge barn, so the doors weren’t massive either, but they were made of solid wood, it was still a two-person lift. Even though Laida has a petite frame, I didn’t want to count her out without asking.
She smiled and replied, “Yeah, sure. I can do it.”
“On the count of three, we’re going to lift straight up, and then I’ll drop it onto the track.
” She nodded. “One, two, three…lift.” She was stronger than I realized.
“Whew. Alright. Can you just hold the ladder while I climb up and do some minor adjustments to the tracks so that the doors stay in place?”
“Of course.”
As I worked up on the ladder, I thought I’d try and engage her in more conversation. Learn more about her. I loved having her close. She smelled like all the plants and flowers she was working with. “So, do you want a greenhouse or are you going to store things in the back of the barn there?”
“Well, I do…”
She was talking with her hands, so I interrupted her. “Laida, please don’t let go of the ladder.” I loved saying her name.
“Oh! Right, sorry.” She gripped the ladder with both hands as she went on.
“Um, I just want a small greenhouse, but it’ll take me some time to build.
For now, I have a bunch of stuff in the living room, sitting in front of the sliding glass patio door for sun.
In the back of the barn, I’ve been trying to clean up the shelves and get some of my tools organized.
Those shelves are a mess, and something tells me everything is just going to take so much longer to clean up than I thought it would. ”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get there. Alright, I’m coming down.
” Making my way down the ladder, I stood in front of her.
She was short so I had to look down at her.
We were standing close and neither of us said anything.
My mind was racing. I wondered what it would be like to kiss her, to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into me...
Hell, I didn’t even know if she was attracted to me.
I brushed the thought aside and offered her some encouragement, even though I was feeling a little gloomy, myself, that the doors were finished.
“This place needs work, but you’re doing great. ”
She flashed what looked like the first real smile since we’d met, and it was the prettiest one I’d ever seen. “Thank you. At least I’m enjoying it, right?”
“That’s the most important thing in all of this. Listen, I gotta get to work. My shift starts soon. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Oh, right! Mr., I like to run into burning buildings.”
Letting out a laugh, I said, “Wow, really?”
“Yeah. Clearly, you like fire, otherwise you wouldn’t be a firefighter.”
“Hmmm. At least take me out to dinner first. Get to know me a little. Then you can talk about my love of fire,” I teased her.
She giggled at the idea and said, “I’m sorry. Next time, maybe you can tell me why you chose to be a firefighter?”
Feigning shock, I said, “Next time? You mean, you want me to come back?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re clearly not going away on your own…”
I cupped my hands around my mouth to make a megaphone and yelled, “GOOD PEOPLE OF WHISPERING PINES! SHE WANTS ME TO COME BACK!”
“Oh my god! I’m leaving. Have fun,” she said playfully as she waved her hand in the air and walked toward the house. Feeling like a million bucks, I hopped into my truck. I needed to get home to get ready for work, but staying distracted by Laida was becoming my new favorite activity.
***
“Harrington! Another shift, you ready?” Brady Wilkinson was another firefighter on the team and the buddy I was closest to.
“You know it.”
He sat down next to me. “Whatcha been up to?”
“I’ve been around, man. Not much.” I tend to keep my personal life guarded.
The whole firehouse knows what happened between me, my ex, Mikaila, and my ex-best friend, Jacob.
Jacob was also a firefighter on our team.
When things went down, he left. You can’t come back from that and he knew it.
“Just keeping busy. Working around the apartment.”
We were interrupted when the Chief yelled for me. “Harrington! My office…”
Wilkinson’s eyes went wide and he goes, “Ooooh, you’re in trouble.”
“You wish,” and shoved him in the arm with a laugh.
When I walked into the Chief’s office, he was sitting at his desk, so I sat in the chair in front of him. “What’s up, Chief?”
“I’m putting you on fire prevention and public education next month. You’ll be managing requests for safety teachings in schools and providing station tours to the public when they come in.”
The Prevention and Public Education duties are highly sought after because they give you face time with the community. Anyone who got their turn at this knew they were in line for potential promotion or at least being looked at by leadership. “Thanks, Chief. I’m looking forward to it.”
Just then, the fire alarms went off, and dispatch came over the radios.
Dispatch: "Engine 7. Respond to a reported structure fire at 1015 Pines Ave, cross street, Lake Ave. Report of smoke and flames visible from the front of the residence. Be advised, one dog and one elderly man possibly inside.”
Engine 7: "Dispatch, Engine 7 responding to 1015 Pines Ave.”
It was going to be a long night.
***
When I walked into my apartment, I dropped my clothes in the entryway and dragged myself to shower.
That fire was intense, but we managed to get the old man and his dog out.
They were the only people in the home at the time.
The ambulance took them to the hospital where they were treated and released.
I was relieved when I heard they’d be alright.
Unfortunately, his house was gutted. Fire can take everything from you.
My mother had a house fire when I was young, and I think a part of me always knew I would be in public service somehow because of it.
We lived in the country, and it took too long for the fire trucks to get to our house.
One day, I had the chance to volunteer at the firehouse, and I was reminded of our house fire.
That’s when it all clicked for me that firefighting was what I was supposed to do with my life.
I took the firefighting courses and started volunteering more regularly after a year into my relationship with Mikaila. Finally, Chief Carson asked me to sign on full-time. I did, of course, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a job few people understand, but they’re always grateful that I’m there.
I shut the shower off, reached for a towel, and wrapped it around my waste. Drying myself off, I wondered what Laida was doing. Regretfully, we hadn’t exchanged numbers. Just then, my phone pinged with a text.
Unknown number: Are you ok?
Me: Maybe. Who is this?
Laida: The Herbalist. Is this the Firefighter?
Holy shit, I thought. She was thinking about me, too!
Me: LOL. Hi Laida. Yes, this is ‘The Firefighter.’ How did you get my number?
Laida: …
Me: What does that mean?
Laida: Shame… I called the firehouse and a Brady answered. He sounded overly excited that I was calling for you.
I wasn’t surprised that Brady was so amped up. He’d been trying to get me to go out with someone new for a long time. I wasn’t mad at him for giving Laida my number, but I gave him shit about it the next time I saw him.
Me: Wow. And he just gave a stranger my phone number?
Laida: Oh what…ever. Mr. I’m coming back all week to fix everything.
Me: LOL. Not everything but it’s nice to know I’m appreciated.
Laida: You are. Also, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I just saw the house fire on the news. Sad. Assuming you went to that?
Grinning at my phone like a teenager, she was sweet, too.
Me: I did. It was intense, but the old man and his dog are going to be okay. I got home a bit ago and just got out of the shower.
Laida: Yeah, I kept working after you left, so I just got out of the tub, too.
The tub. I imagined her in the bathtub will bubbles covering her. My dick was throbbing under my towel.
Me: It was a long day.
Laida: Are you coming by tomorrow?
As much as I wanted to, with my new duties, I had to start scheduling some safety classes.
Me: I can’t tomorrow. But I’ll try to stop by this weekend.
Laida: Oh… alright. No biggie. Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Have a good night.
Her “Oh” was full of disappointment and I wanted to drop everything, including my towel, and go over to her place. We’d only just met, but I wanted to be around her all the time.
Me: G’night, Laida. Sleep well.
Laida: G’night, Firefighter.