6. Huntley
Chapter Six
HUNTLEY
I jumped into action as the alarm sounded.
Shortly after I talked to River and had set up a special delivery to her work, we headed off to a grueling three alarm fire at an apartment complex.
I’d been shocked when she called me and I found myself not wanting the conversation to end. Sometimes I had to keep asking her questions to get her to talk, but I didn’t mind, I was just happy to hear her voice.
And I found it endearing when she’d say something silly and I could hear the nerves in her voice.
I felt a bit like a teenage boy who just found out the girl he’d been crushing on might like him back. It was silly though, her texting or calling didn’t mean anything like that.
It hadn’t been easy to shove my thoughts of her aside but that was what my profession required. I had to be on my game or not only myself, but fellow firefighters and others involved could pay the price. And there were times when I was focused and things still didn’t turn out the way I hoped.
Things could change on a dime.
One minute I’d been on cloud nine from my call with River and the next I was battling a fire where a small boy was in bad shape and was on his way to the hospital. Someone getting hurt always sat heavy on my heart. It also brought back memories of the night at River’s when her house was set on fire causing harm to her and her niece, Stormi. Lucky for the boy, he was going to be okay just like the girls had been.
Once back at the station, the others and I began to take care of the truck, our gear etc. When we finished, I finally headed toward the showers to clean up and remove the head-to-toe soot covering me.
I felt marginally better after I was cleaned up, but I was starving. It just so happens it was my night to cook. Grabbing my cell, I headed toward the kitchen. Glancing down at the screen as I walked, I saw I had a text.
When I opened up the message, a huge smile stretched across my face. River had gotten my surprise. She’d sent a thank you message, but not without calling me crazy which made me smile even bigger.
It had been hours since she texted and I hoped she didn’t think I was blowing her off. Sending a simple message back didn’t seem like enough after so much time had passed and I wanted to hear her voice again.
Once I’d hit her number, I pressed the phone to my ear just as I stepped into the kitchen. My pulse picked up as her voice came through the line. “Hello.”
Her shy, wondrous tone had my tired and battered body surging to life.
“Hey, Warrior.”
I stopped in my tracks and took in the room.
Several sets of eyes sparked with a mixture of curiosity and humor watched me but it was one in particular that had me almost retreating.
Lake stood by the counter, a water bottle halfway to her mouth and wide eyes staring at me. When I made the call, I hadn’t even thought about her hearing my conversation. I slanted my head waiting to see what her response would be to me on the phone with her sister because it was clear she caught on to who I was speaking to.
When Lake’s face split into a shit-eating grin, I returned the smile and headed toward the fridge, blocking out everyone else but the woman on the phone.
“Should I hang up?” River asked, hesitantly.
Shit, I stalled too long.
“Don’t you dare. I want to talk to you,” I replied, hearing a small intake of air on the other end of the line at my confession. “I just got back from a fire which is why it took me so long to get back to you and now I have to make all these dumbasses dinner before they starve.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the group of guys sitting around the table, still watching me with morbid curiosity. Shaking my head at the shitheads, I turned back and started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.
A door slammed on the other end of the line. “You cook?”
Throwing my head back, a deep burst of laughter rumbled from my chest. “Don’t sound so surprised, sweetheart.”
I winced at the flirty tone and term of endearment that had spilled out without thinking. They just might be enough to scare her off. Luckily she didn’t hang up or run for the hills but from her voice I had a pretty good idea that a blush lined her beautiful face.
“Oh… Well… Umm, I just didn’t know.”
I chuckled. “It’s okay, I understand.” Then I remembered the door I’d heard. “Hey, where are you?”
“I just got off work and to my car. I’m sitting in the… ”
Everything was quiet for a second, her words having just dropped off mid-sentence. And then I heard, “Someone is just standing there.”
Trepidation raced through me and my body went rigid in the midst of dicing up the onion I’d placed on the cutting board. Knife raised in the air, I asked, “What do you mean someone is standing there?” I felt Lake ease close to my side as I waited for her response.
When River didn’t say anything, I set down the knife and prepared myself to go get in my rig in order to race to where she was at.
Her voice came through the line hesitant and filled with worry. “I’m not sure who it was. There was someone standing on the corner of my building where I work and it seemed like they were just watching me. But they’re gone now.”
The engine of her car roared to life and her phone connected to Bluetooth. I was thankful she was getting the hell out of there. Maybe it was nothing, but I didn’t like the feeling her words provoked inside of me. I glanced at my friends and co-workers, all of them now watching me with scowls on their faces.
They’d have my back if I needed them, I could see it in their eyes.
Lake rested her hand on my arm, a worried look on her face. I knew then that there was also a whole other group of men and women that I’d been getting to know that would move heaven and earth to help River too.
“I can meet you somewhere and come take a look or Lake is right here, she can send Bronson over.” I shook my head. “No, I’m coming myself.”
In a frantic voice, River said, “No!” She blew out a breath that rushed to my ear through the phone. “It was probably nothing. I’m on my way home now and everything is fine.”
I heard what she was saying but there was a waver in her voice and a slight undercurrent that said she was unsure or that something else was on her mind.
“What else is going through your head, River? I can tell you’re holding something back.”
She huffed but remained quiet.
“Tell me… please.”
Another huff and then, “It’s just that I thought someone was in the building when I was waiting for the elevator but then I couldn’t see anyone. It’s stupid, everything is fine.”
“It’s not stupid. Always go with your gut when you get a bad feeling. It’s helped me more times than I can count when I was in the military or fighting a fire. Trust yourself and your instincts.” I ran my hand through my still damp hair. “I’m glad you got out of there and are headed home.”
Nodding to Lake, she pulled out her phone in understanding and within a second was on the line with Bronson who was home with Stormi—something she mentioned earlier. I knew that she’d make sure that he checked on River when she got to her house. It was nice they lived within a minute of one another.
“Huntley, did you say Lake was right there?”
“Yup.”
She groaned. “Great, she is gonna give me the third degree for talking to you and she’s going to get the gossip mill going. That includes all the ladies if you didn’t know.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, she was adorable.
In what seemed like perfect timing to escalate another long groan from River, Lake leaned into me and yelled into the phone. “Hey, sis, Bronson is going to meet you at your place so he can make sure everything is good and report back to me.”
“What is she, my parole officer?” River asked.
The woman was pretty funny in her own sarcastic way. It was something I really liked about her. I didn’t think she even realized how cute she was—inside or out.
“She just cares about you. Lots of people do.”
The thick silence between us could be cut with a knife.
Yeah, I meant myself included, but didn’t want to come right out and say it. In the short time I’d known her it was abundantly clear that she’d sparked something inside of me that I’d never felt before. I was doing my damnedest to show her she could trust me, so I had to tread slowly.
We talked as she drove to her house and during that time, I had an unmistakable sense that something was still off and she was downplaying the worry that was clear in her voice.
“I just pulled in and Bronson is right behind me, so I guess I’ll let you go and deal with him.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “The bright spot in all of this is that Stormi is with him.”
Stormi was a cutie. She could draw a smile from someone in the worst mood. All the kids in our circle could. Me being part of the group was a bit new, having been drawn in since I worked with Lake and also pulled River out of the fire.
“Will you text me later?” I couldn’t help myself, I wanted to hear from her again but now I sounded like a needy human.
“Sure, but can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” I told her.
“Why are you being so nice to me when I wasn’t exactly pleasant to you the few times we were around each other?”
Earlier she had apologized for that. I could tell it was bothering her, but it shouldn’t. She had her coping mechanisms. I’d witnessed the same thing with my mother as she dealt with life after my father and her feelings.
I tried to hold back a moment ago, but decided she needed to hear what I was thinking.
“Because I’m one of the ones who care about you. ”
River sucked in so much air that if she released it all she could probably blow up a dozen balloons at one time.
“I d-don’t know w-what to say,” she stammered.
“You don’t have to say anything, just know it’s true.”
“Umm, okay. Bye, Huntley. I’ll text you later.”
“Bye, Warrior.”
When the line went dead, I looked around the room and knew the interrogation was about to start.