Page 80 of Rescued Heart

She’d tugged on the hem of the same navy shirt she’d been locked behind bars wearing almost twelve months before.

“I can’t hold on to what’s weighing me down. No more. I deserve happiness. It’s right within my reach. I can feel it. I’ve got to make some hard decisions for both of us. That’s what this book says. You’ll understand one day.”

“What book?” was all his young mind managed to ask.

With a glance over Eddie’s shoulder, she lifted her hand to a taxi idling in the jail parking lot. “I have to get rid of everything I’ve been holding on to. It weighs me down, and it’ll all send me right back in that jail. I can’t keep surviving that. So I signed the paperwork.”

She gave Eddie a pat on his shoulder. “You’ll be okay without me. It’s better this way.”

She walked away from her son. No hug. No apology. Not even a backward glance over her shoulder.

Eddie rubbed at the spot on his shoulder where his mother’s hand had rested. During the past twelve months in foster care, he’d grown taller than his mother. And apparently, she had grown out of being a mother to her only son.

Eddie blinked away that old jail parking lot in time to notice a puddle in the fire station driveway. He widened his stride, hurdling over the water. The heel of his boot slipped against the wet pavement. The next thing Eddie knew, his foot went out from under him. His left side hit the ground. Hard.

Amelia leaped over his rescue dummy, which now lay on the ground behind him.

Eddie rolled onto his back and groaned. He’d blown his lead. And worse, lost Rescue’s victory.

Bianca’s face popped into his mind.So sorry.

Bryce bent down over him, sending Bianca’s memory away. “You hurt?”

“All my fingers and toes are moveable.” Eddie stared up at the purple-and-pink-painted clouds. “Sorry, Lieutenant. Not sure what happened.”

Bryce squinted as if he knew exactly what had tripped his focus. “Give yourself a breather, and then I want to retime your leg in the relay.”

Eddie sat and unsnapped his helmet. “Yes, sir.”

Amelia strolled back over with her rescue dummy. “I’ll race you again, Rice. I want to earn our victory fair and square.”

Ridge came over next to Amelia and crossed his arms. “You only want a chance to rub it in our faces. Twice. It’s not going to happen.”

Amelia squared up to Ridge, practically nose to nose. “Bragging’s not what a team player does. Why don’t you and Collins go place the dummies on the roof for round two between Rice and me.”

Ridge inhaled deeply but grabbed rescue squad’s dummy.

Zack squatted beside Eddie on the ground. “I’m not sure you could duplicate those moves even if it meant you could win enough money for the youth center. You got some air, man.”

“My body agrees with you.” More bruises to go along with what he’d already earned. Eddie placed his helmet on his knee and raked his fingers through his hair. “But I think you need to work on your encouraging speeches.”

Zack didn’t crack a grin. “I think I need to work on my friend’s-girlfriend-led-his-birthmother-right-to-him-and-we-need-to-talk-about-it speech.”

“I’m certain that’s not on today’s training agenda.” Eddie pushed himself to his feet.

Both Ridge and Bryce came and stood on the opposite side of Zack. Three against one.

Fine. Eddie popped his knuckles. “Just make it quick.”

Ridge shook his head. “We’re not going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Zack adjusted the hem of his turnout gear. “Since Mary showed up, it might be good to see…”

Eddie lifted his brow. “You think I should meet with Mary? You were supposed to understand the most why that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Except Zack’s foster-care placement hadn’t been because his mother had stopped being a parent by her own selfish choice. Zack’s parents had actually loved their son.

Zack tilted his head. “It could be exactly what you both need.”

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