Page 6 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
No kittens. One damsel in distress, though.
I shake the sleep from my eyes, wondering what he knows. I need a cup of coffee before I can consider the possibility that he might be a key to my current problem.
“I know it’s last-minute, but I’m getting married next week,” he says awkwardly. “The station is coming. You should, too.”
I don’tdocrowds. But I don’t know how to tell him that, so I keep it to myself. “Thanks for thinking of me. I’d love to come.”
The relief in his smile is palpable. “Good. I wasn’t sure if you would be up for coming, but I’m glad you are. Summer burnt coffee at our house this morning. You want to grab some?”
A glance at the clock tells me I’m supposed to be off soon, but I still have paperwork to fill out.
“It’s just the café around the corner,” Zachary adds. “They make a mean cup of caffeine. And it’s on the house for us on shift. Bring cash for a tip.”
And just like that, he teaches me the first secret of Crown Hill.
I wonder what else I don’t know. I wonderwhoelse I don’t know.
But maybe Zachary can tell me.
* * *
Paige
Noah toddles over to the playpen set up in the corner of the shelter floor, his little fingers lacing into the plastic weave. The puppies jump toward him excitedly—a little human their size.
“It’s good to see you here today,” Megan says as she thumbs through the adoption paperwork for the puppies.
“Nowhere else I would rather be on a day off. Noah loves the shelter.”
It’s true. I’ve been coming here for years, volunteering often when I can get time off from the hospital. Especially after James died and I was alone with Noah, I needed somewhere outside our home where I could relax.
Holding a wriggling puppy in my arms was the balm I needed. The puppies never asked much of me beyond what I could give: love, hugs, and a little bit of kibble. And as Noah got older, he started to love it, too.
It’s hard to go anywhere I can’t take Noah. Levi and Summer both have jobs, and I don’t want to ask my mom to watch him all the time. But he enjoys coming here and visiting Mr. Oakley, the old man I’ve helped since his wife passed, and I’m grateful for that.
“Heard the station got called to the hotel last night,” Megan says. “Did you hear anything about that?”
My face flushes, and I quickly busy myself with lifting the most rambunctious puppy out of the pen. Nothing ever stays secret in this town for long. I don’t say anything, letting Megan navigate the conversation alone.
“Hope it wasn’t anything too serious. My cousin is coming to stay in town soon, and I have him set up there,” she says.
Relief sweeps over me. Aaron was true to his word; he hadn’t told anyone about what really happened in that hotel room. If everyone else in town thought it was a fire, let them think it. I’d never tell the truth.
“Doubtful,” I tell her. “I’m sure we would have heard about it.”
Megan goes on to talk about the dogs going to the adoption floor this week and the ones that will remain behind for training first. I listen with only half of my attention, the other half focused on the fireman who saved me.
Aaron Evans isn’t like the guys at Station 59—definitely not like my brother. If it were up to them, my humiliation would be all over town by now, my reputation be damned. Gossip is currency in Crown Hill.
Instead, Aaron is quiet and reserved. He was gentle with me, even though I can still feel the tenderness around my wrists.
What Ireallystill feel, even days later, is his eyes skating over my body. My date thought my body was disgusting, a marker of everything I have been through without him. Everything he is clear he doesn’t want.
Aaron, on the other hand, seemed interested. As much as his job would allow him to be, anyway. His attention had lit a fire in my belly, a yearning for something I didn’t realize still existed, buried deep.
How long had it been since I felt that spark?
I would have to see him again; that much is a given. The sky is blue. Levi will invite me to the station. Zachary and Summer are getting married. I will set yet another kitchen fire when I try to cook for Noah.
