Page 120 of Firecracker

“Tyler. I don’t help you fight fires.”

He rolled his eyes. “Not the same. Come on, I’m just trying to help.”

“I need to do this on my own.”

He fell silent. He remembered their argument that night at the supper club when he’d been er, jealous, of that other guy and she’d been upset because she could take care of herself. Heknewshe could take care of herself. Yeah, he wanted to look after her, but…hell. She needed to do this on her own, like she said.

He smiled wryly. “Okay. But if you need help, ask. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

She beamed a relieved smile at him that told him he was doing the right thing. “Okay.”

* * *

“Guns versus hoses.”

Arden’s forehead furrowed, then cleared as she laughed. “Oh my God. Seriously?”

Tyler grinned. “Yeah. We play each other every year. Firefighters versus police. Guns versus hoses.”

They were on their way to his baseball game. He pulled into the parking lot near the baseball diamond, and they both jumped out. From the back of his truck, he grabbed the duffel bag holding bats and balls, then led the way to the diamond.

Because she didn’t know anyone there, he took her around and introduced her to the guys (and a couple of women firefighters) already there, who in turn introduced her to their partners who were there to watch the annual event. Everyone was friendly to her, and Arden was soon seated in the bleachers, chatting away.

He greeted his friend Dody, who was one of his partners in FPCF (Firefighters and Policy Charity Foundation), and some of the cops he knew from previous years with some good-natured trash talk about the game.

It was a beautiful evening, the cool air holding hints of autumn.

It was cool having Arden there watching. It made him want to show off a bit. He hadn’t been a bad ballplayer back in high school, and he’d kept playing since, so when it was his first time to bat, he readied his stance and focused on the pitcher for the “Guns” team. The ball whizzed toward him and he swung. The bat met the speeding ball with a satisfying crack, sending it soaring into the clear blue sky. He dropped the bat and sprinted to first, keeping an eye on the ball as the outfielders ran for it…but it was over the fence. Yeah! He pumped a fist in the air and jogged the rest of the bases, arriving at home plate to high fives from his teammates.

Good start to the game.

He caught Arden’s beaming smile and vigorous clapping, and he inhaled a long, satisfied breath.

She was so pretty. The low sunlight gleamed on her long dark hair, and her smile flashed. She leaned over to listen to something Tremon’s wife said to her, nodding her agreement. Then she caught him looking at her and waved.

He couldn’t stop the big grin that tugged at his mouth. Yeah. He liked having her there.

Over the last couple of months, she’d helped him paint her apartment, and she’d made him laugh when she’d swiped her paintbrush on his nose, so he’d had to retaliate, which had turned into an attempt to cover each other in as much paint as possible, followed by a shower together to get it all off. They’d shopped together, cooked together, eaten together, shared a bunch of fun times with their friends together.

He knew she was scared about getting too involved. He got it. He’d been trying so hard not to push things…to let her make her own decisions and lead her life. He’d stopped showing up at Shenanigans every night, because he knew how important it was to her to be independent, even though he worried about her. He didn’t flip out when she went out with the girls, for the same reason, even though he wanted to be there and make sure no assholes said anything offensive or tried anything handsy.

Something had grown between them, something big and powerful, also intimate and beautiful. His crush had deepened, and as he got to know her better, as they became closer and closer both sexually and platonically, and he learned more about her, he was falling for her. Hard.

And it was getting harder and harder not to tell her how he felt.

Playing second base, he made a nice catch to tag one of the “Guns” out and quickly threw the ball to first, so Tremon had Dody out. Three out and they were up to bat again.

It was a close game, ending up six-five for the “Hoses.” After the game, they all went to a nearby tavern for beers and more trash talk.

“You know what they say about cops and firefighters,” one of the cops said to Arden.

“What?”

“The reason they made police is so firefighters could have heroes too.”

“Ha ha.” She smiled as she sipped her beer. “Funny.”

Dody grinned too. “Firefighters are the guys who couldn’t pass the police exam.”

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