Page 50 of Never Forget
"Biscuit." He nodded like this was the most important information he'd received all day. "He looks like a very good boy."
Rosie beamed and carried the picture to the refrigerator, where she stuck it under a magnet next to a photo of Jack in his uniform.
I started washing the dishes just to have something to do with my hands.
Sam appeared beside me, grabbing a towel to dry.
"Won't Amber be looking for you?" I asked without thinking.
"We broke up."
I glanced at him. "I thought you just said that to get Bryce to back off."
"No." He took a plate from my hands and dried it slowly. "That was real."
"Oh." I handed him another plate. "I'm sorry, Sam."
"Don't be." He set the plate down and reached for another. "She wanted me to stop firefighting. I told her I didn't want to, and she couldn't accept it. I can't be with someone like that."
"Right."
The kitchen was quiet except for the clink of dishes and the sound of Rosie talking to herself in the living room. Sam was close enough that his shoulder brushed mine when he reached for the next dish.
I was aware of him in a way I hadn't let myself be before. Or maybe I had been, and I was just letting myself feel it now.
I looked away and focused on scrubbing a pot that was already clean.
CHAPTER 12
Sam
The station was quiet in that particular way it got between calls.
Tyler and I were in the kitchen, nursing coffee that had gone cold an hour ago. He was staring at the mug in his hands like it held answers to questions he hadn't asked yet.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why'd you become a firefighter?"
I leaned back in my chair and considered the question. Most guys had a story. A fire they'd witnessed as a kid. A family member they'd lost. Some defining moment that pointed them toward the job like a compass finding north.
My story was simpler than that.
"Jack." I turned the mug in my hands. "He joined first, then told me I should too."
Tyler was quiet for a moment. "I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Why I joined." He set his mug down. "It just made sense, you know? My father's a firefighter. So was my grandfather. And his father before that."
"Do you regret it?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if I would have chosen something else." He shrugged. "But then we go to a call that goes well, and I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
Before I could respond, the kitchen door swung open.
Sean dropped into the chair across from us and kicked his feet up on the table. "God, waiting for a call is so damn boring."
A lot of guys joined for the rush. The glory. The adrenaline of running toward danger. Sean was one of them.
