firefighter. I’ve trained and worked my ass off to get to where I am today. It’s one of the hardest yet most satisfying things I could have ever done. But then, there are moments like this, moments where you sacrifice your own life for the sake of others. I didn’t even get her name and believe me, there’s just so much more I need to know about her.
How much of my personal life do I need to sacrifice before I simply don’t have one anymore? Maybe I should have listened to Mom and married Courtney Lukas right out of school. I could have had the big fancy-ass wedding and babies, but then, I found Courtney fucking around with my best friend and that idea went down the drain.
I step away from my angel before reaching up into the shelf. “Here,” I tell her, handing her the brush she’d likely need. Her fingers graze mine as she takes it from me, and my skin is left burning from her touch. Maybe she’s not an angel after all. Someone with the power to burn me like that must be some sort of devil. I wink and grin down at her. “You can thank me later.”
With that, I turn on the beauty before me and haul ass to the register.
I hurry past Sarah at the checkout and hand over the paint for Mom’s porch. She puts it with the rope under her counter, and I hurry on past. Avalon Lake isn’t exactly a small town, but the fire department is well known around here. We might get just a little special treatment here and there, which naturally, my boys soak up.
I hurry out to my truck and climb up into it before peeling out of the parking lot. It’s been a while since the last massive emergency. I'd like to think the town is finally learning how to avoid blowing themselves up, but there's always a calm before every storm, and I'm guessing our calm is over.
I haul ass to the station with my mind still on the girl. I missed my fucking shot. I’ve never seen her around here before, and the chances of running into her again are pretty damn low. If only I’d had another minute or two. I could have gotten her name and number, or at least some sort of information that could help me track her down.
But nothing.
Chances are I’ll never see her again and that knowledge really isn’t sitting well with me.
I pull into the station parking lot and slid into my usual place, crooked as hell at that. Leaving the keys in the ignition, I jump from my truck, not wanting to waste a single second. My pager didn’t exactly say it was an emergency, but I don’t take any chances. Sometimes, one minute can be the difference between life and death.
I’d never forgive myself if the loss of life was on my hands because I was too worried about a truck or a girl at the hardware store. Don’t get me wrong; I fucking love my truck. I would have loved taking that girl home too, but it’s not worth someone's life.
I haul ass into the station, bypassing the trucks that don’t look like they’re about to head out for a run. There’s no one rushing around, no tones dropped, no fucking chaos, only the sound of the boys laughing like fucking hyenas coming from the break room.
“Sup, fucker?” Ax booms as he sees me walking through the door, looking less than impressed. Today was my first day off in nearly two weeks, and it’s quickly becoming clear they called me in here just to join in on their riveting conversation.
Not my idea of fun.
Don’t get me wrong, I love these guys. I’d take a bullet for each one of them, but after two weeks of double shifts and being on call, I need a fucking break.
Today was that break, and now here I am, staring down the faces of the fuckers who just called my ass in. To give them credit, they didn’t say it was an emergency, but hell, I fucking acted like it was one.
And to think I could have stayed at the fucking hardware store, getting that angel’s digits.
I glare at the three fuckers before me. Ax, Jet, and Chief. My three best friends. Though right now, they’re damn lucky they’re still offered that title.
“Shit, I didn’t think you’d actually come,” Chief says as I drop down on the couch