All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,101
rope another day.”
They all surrounded him, shook his hand, patted him on the shoulder, then made their exit.
“Kal, wait,” Dean said.
Kal stayed behind.
“Thank you for what you did out there today. You showed amazing skill and you were damn brave. I was wrong about you. I’m sorry.”
Kal laid his hand on his shoulder. “Apology accepted. I’m just really glad you’re okay. Get well so we can see you back on the team.”
“Thanks, brother.”
As he left the room, Kal felt as if a boulder had been lifted off of his shoulders. All he’d ever wanted was to feel a part of the TRT. And he’d only felt partly on the team, because not all the members had accepted him. Now they all did. And it felt great. Out-fucking-standing, actually.
All he had to do was straighten out the rest of his life. And that part wasn’t going to be as easy as dangling off of a forty-six-story skyscraper.
Because you couldn’t make someone love you who didn’t.
And he didn’t know how to change that.
CHAPTER 33
HANNAH HAD SPENT THE ENTIRE NIGHT PACING. WORRYING. Thinking.
She’d seen the TRT rescue on the news, had seen the way Kal had rappelled over to rescue his fellow firefighter while dangling forty-something stories above the ground. Her heart had leaped into her throat when they’d interviewed Kal and she realized it had been him up there.
All she’d wanted to do was drive over to the fire station, fling herself into his arms and pour her heart out to him, but she couldn’t do that. She had to wait and hope that when she went over to his house this morning that he’d be there, that he’d open the door to her. That he’d open his heart to her and listen to what she had to say.
She’d rearranged her appointments so she didn’t have to be at work. She dropped Oliver off at school and asked her mom to pick him up today. She needed the entire day, even though she might end up having the door slammed in her face. If that happened, she’d just come home and . . . and . . .
Cry, she supposed. But she’d have no one to blame but herself if that happened.
She pulled into the driveway and her breathing quickened. Kal’s truck was parked there. The garage door was open.
Okay, Step One taken care of. He was home.
No other cars were there, so she wasn’t sure if Jackson and Becks were home, but she’d deal with that if and when he let her in.
Now all she had to do was actually get out of the car and make her way to the door.
But for some reason her body was frozen and she couldn’t seem to make it move.
Grow some courage, Hannah. You got yourself into this mess. Now get yourself out of it.
Nodding to herself, she turned off the ignition, grabbed her keys and got out of the car, forcing herself to walk each step to the door.
When she got there, she sucked in a breath and rang the bell. The sound of the doorbell rang so loud it almost made her turn around and run to the car. But she straightened her spine and threw her shoulders back.
Whatever happened, she’d face it.
The door opened and there was Kal, looking freshly showered and damp and gorgeous in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
“Hannah. What are you doing here?”
“I . . . I saw you on TV. That rescue. It was . . . wow, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You want to come in?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
She stepped inside and he closed the door.
“I was making breakfast,” he said as he led her through the living room and into the kitchen. A Christmas tree stood by the windows in the living room, and adorable holiday decorations and stockings adorned the mantel. She could see Becks’s touch all over. If she hadn’t felt so miserable she would have smiled about that.
“You hungry?” he asked.
Her stomach gnawed at her, but it was nerves, not hunger. “A little.”
“You can eat with me, then.”
He was mixing together eggs and as he laid bacon into another pan, she asked, “Can I help?”
“No, I’ve got this. So what brings you by?”
She could tell he was tense. So was she.
“I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to talk to you. About that day that we . . . that I said some things to you and then I walked away from you.”