Page 97 of The Boss Omega
“They try to not keep anyone on shift for the full two days. If they need someone to cover the whole day, they usually ask someone from the next shift to come in early. That way neither firefighter is there for more than thirty-six hours.”
I chew over the rules of Saint’s firefighter schedule for a bit. It’s so different than mine. I mostly work normal daytime hours, but as a business owner, I sometimes log on to meetings, check emails, and crunch numbers at all hours of the day, including weekends.
The silence is broken when Silas’ phone rings. He looks at the screen. “I have to take this.”
He lifts the device to his ear. “Hey, Lucy. Everything good?”
He listens for a while, then says, “But she’s fifty-eight,” he says, frowning.
Then later, “I can do it. See you in a bit.”
“Is everything okay with your sister?”
He grimaces. “My mom’s in heat. It was unexpected. I didn’t think…”
I giggle. “When omegas get a little older, heats can get irregular.”
“But she’s so…”
“Do not say ‘old’,” I warn. That will be me someday.
He laughs. “It’s just weird when it’s your mom, you know?”
I giggle again. No kid, even when they are in their late-thirties, wants to think about their mom like that.
“So what did Lucy need?”
“She has a treatment today and now my parents can’t take her.” He turns to face me fully and takes my free hand in his, thumb brushing slow circles over my wrist. A purr slips from my throat.
“I know you have work, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone. Can you come along?”
I mentally catalog my calendar. There’s nothing I can’t put off or hand over to someone else. “I can come. Will Lucy be good with it?”
His smile is full of relief. “She’s been dying to meet you. She’ll be thrilled to have you with us.”
“You’ve talked to her about me?” The idea pleases me.
He gives me a look that says the answer is obvious. It is, I suppose. Still.
Silas’ parents’ home is only two blocks away, so it takes no time to get there. Lucy lives in a small apartment above the garage.
“She moved back when she got her diagnosis. I think she misses having her own place. No one bothers her when she’s in the apartment, but it’s not the same.”
I understand. I’ve always been so independent, even before I had to be after my parents died. I would have hated to give up my freedom and move back home with my dad and moms.
“I’ll be right back,” he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. I do the same.
“I’ll hop in the back.”
He places a hand on the metal buckle. “No, she won’t mind sitting in the back seat.”
I lean forward, brushing my lips against his. “Absolutely not. She deserves the front seat today. Besides, I don’t mind.”
His eyes go soft. “Thank you.”
He leans across me, reaching into the glove box and taking out two medical masks. He hands me one. “Do you mind?”
I put the mask on over my nose and mouth. “Of course not.”
