Her Unyielding Protector (Piper Falls: Paramedics #9)

Chapter One

Ω Bronx Ω

I lean back in the seat of my car in front of the coffee shop. I need a pick me up. Frankly I need sleep. I should just go home, but something was telling me to come and get a coffee first. Maybe something to eat.

I get out of my car and lock my Supra. I look at it and smile. This is my baby. I’ve been working on it on my off time for a while now. I want to get it wrapped, but I don’t know where I would even get that done. I don’t think there’s a wrap shop in town.

I pull out my phone and type in to Google to see where the closest wrap shop is. I look up only long enough to open the door and walk in before I look back at my phone.

My phone pops up with wrap shops that are hours away. I would never be able to find the time to drive it all the way there. And who would come with me? I have a few friends… Most of them are firefighters who work very similar shifts to me.

I groan. Maybe I could wrap it myself. I do have my 4Runner that I could daily for a while. It’s not as fun, but it would work. I step forward and bump into a smaller figure.

“Crap,” a woman says right as I hear her cup drop to the ground.

I’m quick to put my phone back in my pocket.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” the woman and I say at the same time.

Wait. I take a step back and look at her. Why does she look so familiar? She’s about five-nine and dressed in a hoodie, shorts, and sneakers. She reminds me so much of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it.

The woman waves me off. “No, it’s my fault. I should’ve been paying more attention,” the woman tells me with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen right before her eyes widen. “Bronx?” Her saying my name makes me remember exactly who she is.

“Blakely?” It can’t be Blakely. I thought she was moving to Louisiana.

“I haven’t seen you since high school! I didn’t know that you were still in town! How have you been!?” she asks me excitedly.

I smile at her. My body feels more energetic now just being in her presence. She’s always been able to fix my mood without even trying. I still want to know how she has that effect on me.

“Oh yeah… I don’t think I’ll ever actually leave.” I chuckle.

I don’t want to admit that I messed up my knee and didn’t make it pro. No amount of PT or regular strength training would ever get me back to how I used to be. My friend helped me decide on being a paramedic. I do really enjoy it, but it’s not what I originally wanted to do with my life.

“I’ve been alright. How have you been? You moved back to town, right?” I ask.

She always said she wanted to leave and never look back. I guess the town sucked us both back in.

Blakely laughs. “I never moved out of town. My family is here. I thought that I could, but I love them all too much to ever leave. I’ve been great. I actually have my own business, so I’ve been having fun with that.” She moves out of someone's way.

I place my hand gently on her arm and move us towards one of the tables in the back.

I don’t want her getting run into again.

Which reminds me that I need to get her a different coffee.

“Your family has always loved you a lot. It’s a good thing.

What coffee did you have? I’ll buy you a new one.

” I should probably tell someone that a mess was made, but I don’t want to move away from her.

I’m afraid that this is all a fever dream.

That she’ll be gone if I move a muscle to be away from her.

“Oh, you don’t need to get me a new coffee. It was an accident. Do you want to get in line? We could go order together, or I could leave you to the rest of your day. What’s your plans for the day?” “I plan to go to sleep for the whole day.” The shift yesterday sucked.

I didn’t get a chance to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time before I had to get up for a call. I’m exhausted. I’m starving. All I want is my bed and a movie.

“You plan to sleep for the rest of the day?” Blakely asks with this adorable look of confusion on her face.

I guess she wouldn’t know that I’m a paramedic.

“I’m a paramedic. I work forty-eight hour shifts,” I explain. “I typically sleep a lot when I get off.”

Blakely nods slowly. “That makes sense. I thought you were going to go into the NFL?”

I rub the back of my neck awkwardly. She always wanted to go to a football game with me. It never happened before we graduated,but we promised that when I went pro that I would get her tickets to watch me play.

I laugh awkwardly. “Yeah… I wanted to…” I trail off. “Life had other plans for me. But it’s okay. I save people's lives. That’s the best job I could ever ask for, right?” I don’t know if I’m asking her or me.

“As long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters.” Blakely looks down at her phone before looking back up at me. “I have to get to this meeting. How about you put your number in my phone, and we can catch up sometime?”

Here I thought I was supposed to ask for her number.

“You always knew what I was thinking right before I said it,” I tell her with a smirk. “I was just about to ask you if you’d give me your number. I want to hear all about how you’ve been lately.”

I take her phone and put in my number before texting myself. “We’ll have to set something up tomorrow.”

Blakely winks at me before heading to the door. “Maybe you’ll beat me to it this time and make the first move. Have a good rest of your day, Superstar.” She waves.

I’m left dumbfounded. I had no idea she was in town. I thought she would’ve been married with children by now living the rest of her happy life in Louisiana.

I shake that thought out of my head.

Just because I used to be obsessed with her and never had the balls to do anything about it doesn’t mean that she’s single or that she even has feelings for me.

I’m delusional. I need to go to bed.