Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Gabbi
The scent of fresh coffee filled the kitchen, blending with the faint trace of rain from outside.
The sky was still overcast, the kind of gray that made the world feel slower, softer.
I stood by the window, watching droplets streak down the glass, my fingers wrapped around the warmth of my mug.
Behind me, Bobby flipped through something on his phone at the kitchen table, his brow furrowed in focus.
Liam had already left for school, a routine he was settling into faster than I expected.
He still had moments where I could tell it was hard for him, where the weight of everything sat too heavy on his shoulders.
But he was trying, pushing forward in ways that made me want to cry sometimes.
He didn’t know it, but every morning when he walked through those school doors, he was proving how strong he was.
I took a slow sip of coffee, then turned toward Bobby. "I told them no."
His head lifted at my voice, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. "Told who no?"
"The network," I said, setting my mug down. "I rejected the job offer."
He leaned back in his chair, watching me carefully. "I thought you were considering it."
"I was," I admitted, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t want that life anymore."
Bobby tilted his head slightly, waiting for me to continue.
"I’ve spent years chasing stories," I said, tapping my fingers lightly against the tabletop.
"Running after leads, chasing justice, throwing myself into danger like it was the only thing that mattered.
And for a long time, I thought it was. But after everything with Liam, with you…
I realized something." I looked at him, my voice quieter now.
"I don’t want to chase anymore. I want to be here.
With you. With Liam. I want to stop running and just… live."
Bobby didn’t say anything at first. He just looked at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then, slowly, his lips curved into the kind of smile that made my chest tighten. "I was hoping you’d say that," he murmured.
A breath of laughter escaped me. "Oh, were you?"
"Yeah," he said, his thumb tracing along the rim of his coffee cup. "Because I know you, Gabbi. And I know how much you love what you do. But I also know how much it’s taken from you. You deserve a break. A real one."
I exhaled, the last bit of doubt in my chest unraveling. "I think I finally believe that, too."
He reached across the table, his fingers brushing against mine before curling around them. His grip was warm, solid. "So what now?"
I shrugged, smiling. "I’ll still write. Maybe freelance, maybe something different. But on my terms."
Bobby nodded approvingly. "Good."
I squeezed his hand before pulling back, tilting my head slightly. "What about you? Any big career decisions happening on your end?"
He let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Actually… they offered me the Fire Captain position. Full-time. No more ‘acting’ title."
I blinked, my lips parting in surprise. "Bobby, that’s huge."
"Yeah," he muttered, rubbing at his jaw. "It is."
I frowned slightly, catching something in his tone. "But?"
He exhaled, his gaze dropping for a second before meeting mine again. "I turned it down."
That caught me off guard. "Wait—why?"
"Because the job isn’t just about fighting fires anymore," he said, his voice quieter. "It’s a lot of politics, paperwork, being stuck behind a desk instead of actually being in the field. And that’s not me. I didn’t sign up to sit in an office all day."
I studied him for a moment, searching his face. "Are you sure?"
He smirked slightly. "Yeah. Chief wasn’t happy, but I told him I’d rather keep doing what I love than take a promotion just because it sounds impressive."
A slow smile spread across my face. "Look at us, Norman. Finally choosing what actually makes us happy instead of what looks good on paper."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Took us long enough."
I leaned back in my chair, sipping my coffee. "So we’re just… two overqualified people making choices that confuse our bosses?"
"Pretty much," Bobby said with a smirk. "But at least we’re doing it together."
I met his gaze, warmth spreading through my chest. "Yeah. We are."
And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t scared of what came next.