31. Chapter Thirty-One ~ Brayden
Chapter Thirty-One ~ Brayden
The air in Beck’s office was so stiff I had to loosen my tie before I could speak. Nate was there, and as always, wearing that smug smirk he knew I hated. I was under the impression that he and Beck had had some prior engagements about me before I got there, and it slightly triggered me.
Mia and my therapist's voice kept replaying in my head as I sat next to him, waiting to hear the tales he sold Beck. Stay calm. Think rationally. Don't jump the gun. Allow others to express their emotions. You'll be fine. The longer we sat next to each other, the more I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
“Knight,” Beck nodded in my direction as he sat down. “Nate.”
His old man grunts were funny and would have normally made me laugh and crack a joke or two, but the air was much too tense to crack anything other than a whip.
“Morning,” I said.
Beck was a stern older gentleman who gave very little leeway. He'd always treated me like a son of his own and rerouted my attitude countless times, but he never shied away from putting me in my place. That was one of the things I respected about him the most.
“Good morning, Captain Beck,” Nate chimed in.
“Good morning gentleman.”
After shuffling through a stack of papers in front of him, Beck pushed them aside and glared at each of us. I knew a strong lecture would follow his gaze because it was the look he gave me any time I crossed the line.
“You two have been a thorn in my side since the day you met,” he said. “I don’t know what the problem seems to be and frankly, I don’t care. All I care about is getting the station back to the way it was.”
Nate straightened up in his chair, putting on his ‘team player’ front. While I slouched lower and waited for the bunt of Beck’s lecture.
“Knight, you’ve been with this department for years. We love you here and we respect what you do, but we’re not tolerating anything more like what happened at the start of summer. That was a stupid move that should have landed you on the block list.”
“Yes sir,” I said, owning my negligence. “It won’t happen again.”
After another long glare, Beck replied, “good. Because your doctor has cleared you to come back to work.”
I was surprised to know that he got the news before I did. Before therapy, I would have found any reason to be angry about that, but when I saw the smile across Beck’s face, I couldn’t find a single reason.
“Whew!” I blurted out with excitement. “Thanks, Captain. I was losing my mind wondering when I'd be let back.”
“Yeah, well, make sure you keep your head out of your own ass and not make the same mistakes.”
I glanced over at Nate during my excitement. He looked confused as to why he was called to the meeting with Beck and me. To be honest, so was I. Beck didn’t give us some long drawn out lecture about getting along and being firehouse brother’s or anything. So, I thought he just wanted to rub the fact that I was going back to work in Nate’s face.
Beck cleared his throat and lifted the stack of papers he read through earlier. After a moment of silence, he tossed them over to Nate. Nate took a few seconds to read through the first page and I witnessed the color wash from his face completely.
“Wh-what’s this?” he stuttered.
“I was hoping you'd be able to tell me,” Beck said. “Before we sign anyone on, we allow them to bring their own background check. That's what integrity means to me. However, I decided to do some digging in my free time and this is what I found.”
Nate looked like he’d seen a ghost. He tossed the papers back on Beck’s desk and lowered his head. Whatever there was to read in his file, I knew there had to be something that would get him released because Beck was a man who thrived on integrity.
“I think you and I both know what this means, son,” Beck said. “I won’t ask any questions about your past or make you have to relive anything, but I run a tight ship around here. I think it’d do us all a favor if you cleaned out your locker and moved on to the next stop in your life.”
There was a lot of contention on Nate’s face. A lot of sadness and worry too. I was curious to know what he and Beck knew, but I didn’t pry. Whatever it was, it was something he knew would come back to haunt him at some point.
Beck walked him to the door and thanked him for his services. Even through all the trouble Nate caused with me and whatever secrets he hid from Beck, he was still treated with respect and dignity.
“What was that all about?” I asked once Beck and I were alone.
“Kid had some priors that I'm not fond of,” Beck said. “He was a great ranger, but with his history, I knew he’d only end up being more trouble in the long run. I always knew there was something off about him. I should have done that background check a long time ago.”
After I was officially declared back to work and my locker was refilled with all of my belongings, I rushed home to tell Mia the good news. I was surprised to learn that she had a flight planned and would be heading home a few days later. The thought of her leaving made the good news I had to share feel like it meant nothing.
“Aww, babe, don’t make that face,” she cooed.
"I wasn’t expecting you to leave so soon.”
I knew the summer would end and Mia would eventually have to fly home, but it came faster than I was ready for. She had book promo and book clubs to attend. I was going back to work and was sure to be busy in the gym, but I wasn’t ready for her to leave. Not so soon.
“Life comes at you fast when everything’s going good, huh?”
She draped her arms around my neck and kissed me. It was the only thing that made me feel slightly okay with her departure. She won't be gone forever, is what I told myself. But even still, I missed her before she even left.
“I’ll be back in time for the first doctor's appointment,” she said. “That’s almost a month from now. You'll be busy getting back into work, so you won’t even realize I'm gone.”
“I realized you’ll be gone and you’re still with me,” I said. “Nothing can make me forget that you’re not here.”
Instead of moping around and sulking in my feelings, Mia and I made the best of her last two nights at the cabin. We went out for long drives and fine dining. Did some much needed hiking since my legs are much better, we even went to the beach and did some wave catching.
All the fun we had shielded my mind from the thoughts of her leaving for the time being. But, when we were back home the night before her plane took off, the thoughts swarmed in after good sex and lots of cuddling.
“I’ll miss you while you’re gone,” she said. “Probably a lot more than I think I will right now. I keep telling myself I'll only be gone for a month, but it seems so far away.”
“I know right,” I said. “A month isn’t really a long time when you’re doing things to keep busy, but it sure seems like it’ll pass slowly.”
The following morning, I took Mia to the airport to see her off. She cried so hard before boarding, I thought she’d say to hell with going home and stay in Big Bear with me. However, that was wishful thinking. We both had previous lives to sort through before we made any sudden changes.
“Call me as soon as you land,” I said. “And no crying on the flight. You've already cried enough.”
“I’ll try not to cry,” she laughed. “I won’t make any promises because whatever this little bug is in my belly sure does make me a lot more emotional than normal.”
I waited until her plane was no longer visible before I left the airport. It didn’t hit me as hard as it could until I was home alone, and the silence took control. I thought I heard her voice a few times, or that she would call me hours before her flight was set to land, but it was only my mind playing tricks on me.
Three hours passed and I decided to crack open a beer while I waited for the next two hours to creep along. My mom called me during my wait, and I almost didn’t answer her call. I finally said what they hey, and gave her a shot at ruining my day, but surprisingly, she called with great news.
“I finished 30 days of rehab! Isn't that something!”
My heart fluttered in my chest with excitement for my mom. To hear that she’d actually stuck out an entire 30 days in treatment program, was fantastic news. I hadn’t told her about the baby because I feared she’d make a mockery out of it, but after hearing her news, I broke some news of my own.
“That’s great, Mom,” I said. “I guess that means you’ll be ready to be a grandparent when Mia has the baby, right?”
The phone grew so silent I thought she hung up. I could hear the excitement in her breathing, but she couldn’t form the words because she didn’t know what to say. Neither did I, but I was overjoyed to have something great to share with her.
“I’m going to be a grandma?” she finally said. “That’s so precious. I'm so proud and happy for you, Brayden. And I'm happy that it’s with Mia. You belong to her even after all these years.”
It always made me laugh when my mom told me that Mia was my owner. She said she never saw me dating or marrying anyone but Mia. I thought she was crazy the first time she said it, but she proved to be right. I didn’t want to be with anyone but Mia.
“I’ve got myself together now, son. I haven’t left treatment just yet but in another thirty days, I'll trust myself to come home, and we’ll go out for dinner to celebrate the baby and all of your success.”
Normally, I would have brushed away the thought of going to dinner with my mom. But since getting sober and having her thoughts cleared, I realized that she was only human, and she deserved a second chance to be in my life.
“I’d like that,” I said. “I’m not sure what I'm doing with this whole relationship thing, but I know I love Mia and I want to do right by her. Maybe you can help me pick out a ring to surprise her with when she comes back to Big Bear.”
“A ring?” Mom gasped. “That’s wonderful! I know Mia will be so happy. Oh! I'm so happy and proud of everything you’re doing in life, and I can’t wait to meet my grandchild.”
Mom and I talked for a while longer before Mia’s call came through. Luckily, Mom was on her way to an AA meeting, so I didn’t feel bad for rushing her off the phone. Before hanging up, she told me she loved me and for the first time in a long time, I felt like she really meant it.
“I love you too, Mom.”