Page 63 of The Bosun

“Good morning, ma’am, I—” He stopped talking the moment our eyes landed on each other.

Standing before me was Remy. Remy from Seas the Day in a...firefighter uniform. Was I dreaming?

“Stella?” he asked in disbelief.

“This has to be a dream,” I muttered as I turned to look around. The sky outside my living room windows was a darker orange than it was yesterday.

“It’s not a dream, Stella. This is real. You need to leave.”

“Leave? Why? What happened?” My brain was trying to catch up to what was going on around me and how Remy was now standing just inside my front door.

“The fire shifted and is headed this way. I’m part of the team trying to get residents to vacate from the area.”

“But I didn’t pack a bag yet. I didn’t…”

He moved quickly. One second, he was a few feet away, and the next, Remy was toe to boot with me cupping my cheeks in his warm, calloused hands. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. You have time to pack a few things if you need to, but then you have to leave. Do you have any place to go?”

“Um...Pen has a place in LA where I can stay. I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you doing here? I thought you were on a yacht in Spain.”

Smiling down at me, he shook his head. “Not for about six months now. I needed a change.” He shook his head, and a big smile grew across his face. “Damn, it’s good to see you. I never thought I’d see you again.”

“Same.” I giggled. “I thought about trying to get your number somehow after I read your letter, but—”

“You read it?”

“Four months later, Pen found it in her purse. After I read it, I had no way of contacting you. I even thought about flying to Spain to find you.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” Knowing my feelings were only one-sided, my face dropped, and pain shot through my chest. “Hey, look at me and let me finish.” Slowly tipping my chin up with his index finger, Remy didn’t speak until our eyes locked. “I’m glad you didn’t try to find me because I was in Florida. I would have hated for you to spend all that money for nothing.”

“Oh,” was my simple response.

“Yeah, oh. I’ve thought a lot about you. Make no mistake thinking otherwise. Now, why don’t you go pack a bag?”

“Can you stay? While I pack,” I amended. He obviously had more important things to do than sit around with me.

“Yeah, sure, but you need to make it quick. Do you know if your neighbor is home?” he asked as we climbed the stairs. “I tried the house, and no one answered.”

“They’re out of town, but I’ll let them know what’s happening. What is happening?” I turned around at the entrance to my bedroom.

“We’re trying to get as many people out as we can in case the fire reaches here. I only got here yesterday, so I don’t know much, and I haven’t been on the front line to know much more.”

Shakily I went to my closet, changed my clothes, and pulled out a suitcase. “Do you think my house is going to burn down?”

“I can’t say, but I hope not.” He looked around the room as I threw anything I thought of into my suitcase. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone or if anything would be here when I came back. “So, this is your house.”

“It is. I haven’t even been here a year, and now this,” I laughed without humor. It would be just my luck that I’d finally move on with my life only to have my house burn down.

“Is there anything else you need?”

Looking up from my bag, I answered. “My laptop and all the cards on the wall in my office.”

“I’ll be right back.” He turned on his heel and was out of the room quicker than I could blink.

I was packing my toothbrush when he came into the bathroom. “We really should be going. I have a long list of houses to go to. Um...I…” I stopped what I was packing and looked up at him. It was strange seeing him in his firefighter garb, but I liked it. “I don’t want this to be the last time I see you. I mean, I know where you live now, but this is coming out wrong. I still can’t believe I’m standing in your house. In your bathroom. Can I get your phone number? Maybe I can call you tonight when I get back to the firehouse.”

Warmth filled my belly and up through my chest and arms. “I’d like that. Maybe if you’re not too tired, I can take you to dinner or something like that.”

“Sounds good. I don’t know when I’ll be free, but I promise to call.” He held out his phone, and I promptly snagged it and put in my number.

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