Chapter 19
CADE
Istarted calling Brooke each night when I wasn’t at the station house, and we kept up a steady stream of texts throughout each day. Bolstered with confidence on how well things were progressing, I bought my plane ticket for her birthday weekend in May.
She picked me up from the airport, and I was relieved to see she had filled back out since winter. Her clothes no longer hung shapelessly from her body.
She looked good. Happy.
I slung my arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, birthday girl.”
We walked arm in arm and she smiled up at me, almost shyly. “Hey yourself. Thanks for coming.” She bumped my hip with hers.
We exited the airport and climbed into her old Honda. As she drove, I scanned her face for clues it would be safe to broach the tough topic we hadn’t discussed in our text exchanges and phone calls.
“So you’re doing good?” I asked to start.
She hit me with a wide Brooke smile. “I’m doing really great. I’m all—healed,” she explained.
“Everything is resolved with the whole Brock situation?” I ventured.
“One hundred percent. You being there for me meant the world to me, Cade. I’m so grateful.”
“Are we going to talk about—the kiss?”
She stiffened slightly, but didn’t shake her head. “We can,” she said tentatively.
I tried to lighten the mood. “Well I was into it,” I told her, catching the shy smile that spread back across her face and the sweet blush that covered her cheeks and trailed down her neck.
Little by little, I hoped to drop a few bread crumbs this weekend to see if she’d pick them up. Being friends with her was great, but my pathetic heart still hoped there was a chance for more with Brooke.
The party was a small gathering in the tiny backyard of her and Whit’s duplex.
I recognized Brooke’s mom, Deborah, and gave her a wave.
I gave a genuine hug to Owen and met his new girlfriend, Meg.
There were a couple nurses from Brooke’s new unit there as well, and I made my introductions.
And of course I met the infamous Loretta, who was every bit the character I knew she’d be from our phone interactions.
Maple ran from person to person, sniffing and hoping for treats.
I rubbed her fur affectionately, allowing her to sniff my jeans thoroughly.
I wondered if she could smell essence of Echo.
After I made the rounds I sidled up beside Whitney, who was standing a bit to the side of the group and rocking slightly back and forth. On her chest was some kind of intricately wrapped baby carrier.
“Ah, the famous Whit. We meet again. And who’s this beauty?” I motioned to the dark-haired bundle sleeping peacefully.
“Cade, meet Ivy Jane Clayton. Fresh off her debut. First party,” she told me conspiratorially.
“First of many, I’m sure. She’s beautiful,” I told Whit sincerely. “How’s the nurse life?”
Whit shifted and looked slightly uncomfortable. “I actually left Boston General.” She noted my surprise. “I’m working on a new venture now—contract graphic design. It allows me to stay home with Ivy, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to pursue.”
“No way! That’s awesome,” I said encouragingly. “Kudos to you.”
Brooke came up to me and tucked her arm through the crook of my elbow.
“Come here.” She pulled me into her small kitchen, eyes twinkling. “I have a surprise for you.”
She opened the freezer. On the top shelf sat a box of popsicles. I grinned so hard my face hurt. That was so Brooke, going out of her way to make everyone else happy, even on her own birthday.
“I have a surprise, too,” I told her.
She turned to meet my gaze, a question in her eyes.
“I’m moving back to Vermont.”
Her jaw dropped, and I grinned at the reaction.
“Just for the summer for now. My parents found a place in Florida. They’re staying there until the end of July.
I’m going to stay at their place while I do some wilderness training during June and July.
Search and Rescue,” I finished, smiling at her still-agape face.
“I’m shifting my focus from traditional firefighting to that. ”
“Cade, I—but won’t you miss the beach?”
I laughed. “Sure, but change can be good. And I was thinking—we’ll be closer. Same time zone. A three-hour drive is a lot better than a flight across the country.”
“True,” she beamed at me. I couldn’t get enough of this girl’s smiles, especially pointed at me.
Brooke stood with her back to the freezer, and I had to lean past her to reach the popsicles.
As my body shifted closer to her, the air crackled with tension.
The mood between us had shifted from the playful hip-check from the airport, and now we were alone in an empty kitchen, eye to eye, breaths mingling.
Her pupils dilated, encouraging me forward. I tucked a loose hair behind her ear.
“I hear the birthday girl gets to make a wish,” I leaned in and whispered, reveling at the goosebumps I saw erupt across her skin.
“So I was thinking . . . maybe if this birthday girl wishes hard enough, I can take her out a few times this summer. Maybe revisit that kiss I’ve been playing on repeat since winter. ”
I grabbed a popsicle and left the kitchen with her eyes on my back.
When we rejoined the outdoor party, I caught the heat of Brooke’s gaze across the yard. Was she considering my offer? I sure hoped so.
All afternoon and evening, I made a point to make gentle physical contact with Brooke as much as was possible, still testing the waters.
A gentle brush of my hand against her shoulder as I walked past her, sitting and talking to her mom.
My hand against the small of her back as we shifted around each other, cleaning up after the party.
As I walked towards the bathroom in the narrow hallway, our chests brushed as we both turned to make space for the other to pass. I thought I heard a slight intake of breath from her, but maybe I’d just imagined it.
Once all the party guests departed, Brooke, Whit, and I ordered pizza for an easy dinner.
After she got Ivy to bed, Whit plopped down in their broken-in comfy chair in front of the TV.
Brooke and I sprawled comfortably on separate ends of the couch and the three of us began watching Parks and Recreation, Whit and Brooke’s current favorite show.
I wasn’t much of a sitcom guy, but even I had to admit it was really funny.
I couldn’t stop marveling at how much lighter and happier Brooke seemed. While the show played I nudged my socked foot against her thigh, and she gave me a wink.
Approximately four to ten episodes later, Whit turned the TV off and sauntered off to bed. Brooke stood up from the couch and stretched, her joints popping.
“Bedtime for me, too,” she informed me sleepily.
“Can I walk you to your door?” I asked.
She turned back to me and laughed. “The door to my bedroom? Down the hall from here?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Sure,” she said with a chuckle.
I stopped at the doorway to her bedroom and leaned against the doorframe. “Can I—give the birthday girl a kiss?”
I searched her eyes.
“You may,” she said, a small smile on her face.
I invaded her space, caging her against the door frame.
I paused with my lips less than an inch from hers, then slid my mouth down to her neck, gently brushing her hair out of my way.
I placed a gentle kiss on her neck, then gave a soft suck.
This time I knew I heard a shuddery intake of breath, and it spurred me on.
I pulled away and met her eyes again. Grabbing the side of her face, I met her lips with mine, teasing them open for me with my tongue. My heart battered in my chest as my lips explored hers.
I invaded her mouth, catching every groan—it was hard to tell where hers stopped and mine began. She rubbed her hands up and down my chest like she had on the couch at my parents’.
We kissed until we were panting and breathless, her shoulders heaving against the door frame, my body thrumming with need.
“Goodnight, beautiful. Happy birthday.” I gave her one more soft kiss to the lips, then reluctantly pulled away and headed back to the couch. She stayed in the doorway for a moment, looking dazed, then I heard the soft click of her door closing.
I groaned, flopping down onto the couch that would be my bed for the night before my flight out the next day—but after that kiss, I doubted I’d get much sleep.
Only two weeks until I moved to Vermont, and so much closer to Brooke.
“But you didn’t sleep with her.” Val shook her head in disbelief, staring at me as if I had sprouted three heads.
“Brooke isn’t the kind of girl you just fall into bed with,” I explained. “She’s a ‘handle with care’ kind of girl.”
“Um, excuse me, dipshit, are you calling women fragile?”
“No!” I’m sure my face was panic-stricken. “No, of course not. And Brooke is the last thing from fragile. God, she’s unbelievably strong. She’s been through so much and she still keeps fighting. I think even you would be impressed by her.”
Val’s serious face suddenly broke. “I’m messing with you, you lovesick doofus. I know you aren’t the kind of dude that thinks women are breakable—despite your White Knight syndrome issues. And now you have the whole summer to woo the princess, Cade-Adler style.”
“Yeah . . .” I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “I just hope this is really what she wants. It’s so much harder for me to read her than it was in high school.”
“She’s the kind of girl with walls.” Val nodded sagely. “Trust me, I get it. But you know the thing about walls? They can be climbed. You just need a ladder. And you, my friend . . . are a firefighter. Ladders are kind of your whole thing. And hoses. But that doesn’t really fit the metaphor.”
I couldn’t control my laughter.
“Can’t wait to hear how it all plays out,” she finished, and I realized we were nearing our goodbye for now.
“I’ll miss you too, Val.”
“Pft, I’ll miss Echo. You? We’ll see.”
From our spot at the cafe, I looked out to the crashing waves.
It was a perfect day in early June, the day before I was set to leave for Vermont. I had taken my board out early for one last surf. My small apartment was packed up.
Per our tradition, I met up with Val after my surf.
Val’s friend Aaron from the tattoo shop was looking for a place to sublet, so he was moving into my place until the first of August. All in all, it had come together seamlessly.
Val and I said our goodbyes, and I swear she got a little misty-eyed. She, of course, blamed it on the Santa Anas blowing dust in her eyes, the vicious California winds we firefighters called “devil winds.”
I wrapped Val in a hug. “Sure—we can blame the Santa Anas. I wouldn’t expect you to get emotional over me.” I dabbed at the corner of her eye, careful not to smudge the dark makeup there. “I’ll text you. See you in a couple months.”