Rejected Broken Mate (Honeyville Firefighter Shifters #3)

Chapter 1 - Laura

"Mom, look!" Michael squealed as I pulled the car up in front of the little green house. It looked even better in person than in the photos. All the windows had white shutters, and the front door was a light maroon. The yard was big, and I knew there was a small patio out back with a large tree and a tire swing.

The house was tiny, only a little under a thousand square feet. But it had two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the price was in my comfort zone.

I heard Michael unbuckle, and the car door opened. I turned back, but he was already out of the car, hurrying towards the house. I watched his brown hair dance in the wind as he ran, his sneakers kicking up grass as he moved.

I softly smiled at him. Even in the car, I could still hear his words.

"Mom! Look at this house! It's huge!"

I thought back to our apartment in Nevada. It was tiny, with small bedrooms and a little patio space. Of course, this place looked huge when we were practically living on top of each other in our old place.

I knew this move was a good idea, but I was still nervous. Leaving behind my home and everyone was hard, but I knew he needed this. We couldn't keep living the way we were.

"Mom, are you coming?"

His words snapped me back to reality, and I nodded, pulling myself out of the car. I took a deep breath of the fall air and felt a chill run up my spine. I was going to need to get some winter clothes for us.

"Come on, mom." Michael stood at the door now, peering in through one of the windows. "This place looks amazing. And it's ours?"

I smiled at him, giving him a nod. "It's all ours."

It was all so strange how everything fell together. I was talking with Michael about moving several months ago. We discussed everything together, as a step like this was huge. To my surprise, he loved the idea.

I had been unhappy at work and wasn't finding myself happy in general with our life. I could tell Michael needed a change as well. He had difficulty fitting in school and didn't have many friends.

I asked Michael what he wanted. And he said he wanted to be somewhere with mountains and snow. I couldn't blame him, having never really been able to enjoy snow as we didn't get snowstorms often.

We had landed in the state of Minnesota because they had everything he wanted. I’d found him staring at pictures and talking about it nonstop once I brought it up.

One evening, I was scrolling on my computer, with Michael sitting next to me watching cartoons. I had paused over a job opening at a fire station. They were looking for a coordinator and building manager. The job included taking care of billing, planning events, and helping the crew with whatever else they needed. It was a large jump in my income, and it was five days a week, which meant I would have my weekends with Michael again.

"Oh," Michael said, leaning over and looking at the screen. "What's that?"

"It's a job opportunity," I said, giving him a soft smile. "I would need a new job if we moved."

"At a fire station?"

"It's one of the jobs," I explained, scrolling through other options. "It's one of many."

I had landed in a small town called Honeyville. It seemed to have everything I was looking for. There was a good school system that had a lot of extracurricular activities. Michael was in baseball and football and part of a science club that I knew he loved.

When I looked at the town's housing, it seemed reasonable. There weren't many houses, but the little green one immediately caught my attention. I had enough to make a substantial down payment.

I had been on the fence, but Michael was more than eager for both of us. He wanted to move to Honeyville, so we did.

I slipped the key into the lock and unlocked the door. I pushed the door open, and we both stood in the doorway, taking it in.

The house opened into a living room with a fireplace on the opposite wall. A large arch led into the kitchen, which had seating on the island. Down a small hallway was the bathroom and the first bedroom. A door from the kitchen led up to the second floor, which held the attic and second bathroom.

Michael moved, hurrying into the kitchen. "Mom! This place is amazing."

I felt proud, knowing that, as hard as this was, I had made the right decision. This move was what we both needed.

We both walked around, taking in the space together, and as we headed up the stairs towards the attic, Michael's eyes widened. I gave him the bigger bedroom, knowing he always wanted one.

The attic was finished, making the entire space a bedroom with windows that flooded the room. Michael looked at me. "This is my room?"

I nodded. "Yep, and there is enough space up here for you to have a couch and a TV as long as you promise you will turn it off before bed."

He nodded his head, hugging me quickly.

The rest of the morning was full of moving everything into the house as the movers arrived. We unpacked and started to decorate the house how we wanted. I bought Michael new stuff for the house and was unboxing it as he put up his space posters.

"Those aren't mine," he said as he turned back to me.

I smiled at him. "Actually, they are. I bought them. I figured you would like this new bedspread, and I got twinkle lights for you to string up.

Michael's eyes widened. "When did you buy this? I never saw it."

"I bought it a while ago and just had it dropped off. The post office was holding it for me."

I started putting Michael's bed together as he began to unbox his desk. After a couple of hours, his bedroom was ready. Michael was lying on his rug, staring at the ceiling in amazement.

"I'm going to order a pizza and try to get everything where I want it. Call me if you need me."

I kissed him quickly on the forehead and headed down the stairs to finish unboxing everything else. We didn't have much left to do, and by the time I got to the living room, I was exhausted.

I closed my eyes, thinking back to this morning. We woke up in our bare apartment—just our beds were there. We had packed everything up the entire week before. I took my shower, and by the time I got out, our neighbor, Dusty, came over with some coffee. His dog ran into our place, going straight for Michael's bedroom.

"I still can't believe you guys are moving," he said as he handed me my coffee.

"It's good for us," I said, smiling at him. "We've been here a long time."

"I know, but still," he said, shaking his head. "It's going to be hard to get used to you guys not being around."

I had always liked Dusty, but being a single mom meant there were lines I couldn't cross. One of them was dating. The minute Michael was born, I promised that he would always be my top priority. Giving us a better life was always going to be my job.

"I know," I said, looking at my coffee. "It's going to be weird waking up somewhere it isn't blistering hot all the time."

Dusty laughed.

Saying goodbye to everyone was hard, and I cried a little. We had been there since Michael was little; everyone treated us like family. Dusty had been there when Michael first spoke. Paul, on the first floor, had been there when he got mono and helped me take him to the ER.

Michael had his first steps in that apartment. I had been folding laundry in the living room when he came walking down the hallway. I remember screaming because I was so excited when he fell backward and started to cry because I scared him.

He learned to rollerblade on the sidewalk, scraping every part of his body. He drew outside on the sidewalk with Luke and Carmen, who were just a year younger than him.

I wiped at my eyes, feeling tears build up again. As much as I was going to miss it, I knew this would be just as great. It had more space and a massive yard for us.

Michael came down the stairs, his brown hair flopping with each step. He looked at me and then leaned onto the couch. "When is the pizza going to get here?"

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. We both turned towards the glass door, and I could see the person behind it holding the pizza.

"Now," I said, "You can give him the twenty from my purse."

Michael was moving, and I smirked, grabbing another box to open. I ripped the top off, and my hands paused as I took in all my college stuff. My stomach dipped, looking at what I never finished.

I heard the door open and shut, and Michael walked by with the pizza. "You coming, Mom?"

"One second," I said, quickly shutting the box. I glanced at Michael as he popped the pizza onto the counter, grabbed a chair, and seated himself on the island. We were only in the house for half a day, and he was already feeling at home.

I turned and went into my bedroom, taking the box with me. I opened the closet and stuffed the box down before shutting the door.

I turned and walked back out, ruffling Michael's hair as I sat next to him, grabbing a slice.

"So, you like the house?" I asked as I grabbed a napkin and handed it to him.

He nodded, looking outside the windows towards the backyard. I knew he was looking at the tire swing.

"You can go swing on it," I said, finishing my slice.

Michael was up and out before I could grab myself another slice. I watched from the window, chuckling as I did.

I put the pizza away and wandered back into my bedroom. After a moment, I stared at the closet and pulled it open. I grabbed the box and sat down on the bed with it.

I grabbed my school jersey and a stray photo, and my stomach twisted up violently. I felt tears build up, remembering Miles.

Miles was sitting at the beach shirtless with his fresh ink on his chest from his tattoo that matched with a bunch of his friends. He had been growing his hair out and had a fresh tan from all the sun. His brown eyes sparkled in the photo since I was only standing a few feet away with the camera.

My mind instantly snapped to our fight and then our break up.

I rubbed my thumb over the fabric, remembering watching him play. He played football and baseball just like Michael did. Michael had taken after him in so many ways. Sometimes, I felt he was more his child than my own.

I quickly shook my head, reminding myself that it was in the past and that I had moved on. I needed to focus on the future and give Michael everything he deserved.