Page 47 of No Take Backs

Except my phone starts to ring.

"Oh no," Nia groans. "Freaking work."

That is the pitfall of not working shift anymore with her or the rest of the firehouse. I am on call for any and everything that they deem suspicious. It sucks, but I am nowhere near figuring out what is going on with the arsons that have seemed to plague our county in the last six months.

"You gotta go?" She finishes her dessert and waits for me to listen to the voicemail since I don't answer in time.

"Yeah," I tell her. "You want me to drop you at home on my way?"

Nia nods, and I stand there watching her as she says goodbye to my family, marveling at how perfectly she fits.

"You're gonna need Grandma's ring, when you're ready." Kyle stands next to me while we watch Mom load Nia down with leftovers.

"Nope." I shake my head. "I'm not gonna give her the same ring you gave your ex."

"Ha." Kyle laughs bitterly. "I never actually gave it to her. Mom gave it to me and told me to only give it to her if she really was the one. I guess that should have been my first red flag, right? The fact that I couldn't bring myself to give her Mom's most precious heirloom."

With a cringe, I look at my brother. Really look at him, for the first time since his divorce. "Are you okay, Kyle?"

He shrugs. "Not really. But I'm getting better every day. Working in labor and delivery at the hospital is helping, if I'm honest. Seeing new life and mourning those that are lost with new parents. There's nothing that I'd rather be doing, at least for now."

"Plus, you get to see all the vaginas in the world." Nia pops up under Kyle's arm, elbowing him. "Don't lie, you know you like it."

Kyle shoves her away like she is his little sister and not just my girlfriend. "That's disgusting. No one wants to see a vagina that's ten centimeters dilated, Nia. Don't even make me think about it. I'm not working."

Nia snickers. "Just make sure if I ever have kids, you're not the one delivering them."

I don't yell and shout and demand that my brother walk away from her. And I don't snarl at the fact that Nia and Kyle are joking about him seeing her give birth one day. See? I’m making progress.

"Come on, Nia." I pull her away from Kyle. "Let's get you home, so I can go to the scene."

She blows Kyle a kiss over her shoulder and links her arm in mine. "Take me home, lover." She rests her head against me. "I'm actually pretty tired. Your family is amazing, Josh."

"I'm glad you think so." I kiss her forehead before opening her door for her. "They really like you, too."

"I know." Nia winks as I shut her door and then waits for me to get in. "Your dad made sure to tell me that repeatedly. Kyle and Drew, on the other hand, kept trying to get me to run for the hills before you do something to screw it up." She laughs. "Didn't you tell them that I'm the one who's more likely to bomb it? That I’ll throw a fit and kick you out because I don’t know how to handle my own emotions?”

"Never," I tell her seriously. "You couldn't do anything that would scare me away, Nia."

The gravity in my words, the emotion that I can't hide even if I want to, leaves a void in the cab between us.

When I pull into Nia’s driveway, she turns to me with a bright smile. “You gonna come over after you finish with whatever’s going on?”

“Of course.” I spend more time at her house than I do my apartment, and I’ve honestly thought about asking her if she wants to move in together, but I feel like it is too soon.

It isn’t really that, but the thought that I’ll scare her away that keeps me from asking her to find a new place with me.

After leaning over the center console and meeting her more than halfway, Nia kisses me like it is the last time we’ll see each other. “Stay safe, Josh.”

Then she’s gone, and I’m watching her ass until she is safely in the house.

Only then do I take my phone out of my pocket and call into dispatch.

“Birch County Sheriff’s Department,” the dispatcher says.

“Hey, Kennedy,” I greet the woman I’ve gotten to know since starting to work as a cop years ago. “Can you tell me what’s up?”

“Yeah.” Kennedy sighs, and I can practically see the smile leaving her face. “The little girl involved in your arson was involved in another fire. They don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

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