Page 9 of Instant Heat
Me phone buzzed obnoxiously from me bedside table, instantly replacing me thoughts of Rae with something else entirely. Something a lot less enticing.
I loved me job, I really did, but I wasn't looking forward to today. At all. Being the new guy anywhere was daunting.
Being the new lieutenant at a fire station, even more so.
I'd known when I'd asked Donald to help me with this position I was going to piss a few people off. Firehouses were like families and right now, I was the unwanted stepchild.
With a rough swipe of me thumb, I silenced me alarm before climbing out of bed and making me way to the shower. I waited until steam coated the ceiling before stepping under the warm spray.
Hands braced on the tiles in front of me, I hung me head, enjoying the feel of the water rolling down me back. The only thing that would've made this even better was if Rae had been in here with me.
Shite, the wicked things I could've done to her hot little body.
Not the best train of thought to follow since the temperature inside the stall wasn't the only thing rising. I looked down and cocked a brow."Not happening."
Yanking on the faucet, I shoved it to the coldest setting, hissing out a breath when the water pelting down on me felt like ice striking me skin. With any luck that would be enough to keep me mind from wondering to Rae long enough to actually clean up and get ready.
It wasn't.
Honestly, I didn't think there existed anything strong enough to make me forget her for even a second. It was crazy as all hell but after one night, she'd gone and burrowed her way under me damn skin.
Maybe this was what me da was referring to all those times he went on and on about the day he met me ma. I hated to even think it but there might've been something to the old man's ramblings after all.
And that thought alone almost had me laughing me arse off. I didn't believe in fate or destiny or whatever fancy word people liked to call it. It was all just a big steaming pile of shite.
And yet… this feeling strumming behind me breastbone begged to differ.
Shaking me head, I tucked me shirt into me pants and stalked toward the kitchen. With every step I took, me mind furiously searching for ways to find me sexy little brunette. Because Ihadto find her.
Once I entered the kitchen, I opened three different cupboards before I found the coffee grounds and then two more when I went in search of the cups. It probably would have been easier if instead of going to a bar, I'd stayed in and familiarized myself with me new sleeping quarters.
But when I'd arrived in town yesterday, I'd felt a restlessness in me bones that led me straight to the nearest bar.
To Rae.
Shite, I was bloody losing it.
Dragging one hand over the back of me neck, I filled me mug with coffee and almost immediately lifted it to me lips. That first taste of caffeine buzzing through me veins like an electric current. I hummed in approval before going back for another taste.
After swallowing down almost half of me black liquid, I set the mug on the counter so I could scavenge the fridge. With me hand on the handle, I paused. Stuck beneath a magnet that looked like a cupcake was a shockingly pink note. The three words and scribbled digits on it making me damn day.
Call me.
Rae
xoxo
I reached into me pocket to retrieve me phone, fully intending to do just that. As I wrapped me fingers around the device, it buzzed to life. One look at the name flashing on the screen and I dropped the thing as if it had burned me.
Mildred was as much a ma to me as me own, but I couldn't talk to her right now. Couldn't explain why I left without even saying goodbye. Me heart squeezed tightly inside me chest. They didn't deserve this. Not from me. And especially not with how things were going with their son, Adam.
We were as close as brothers, him and I. We'd met a couple of years after I'd first moved to the States. Funny enough, we'd both been hitting on the same girl that night. Four years later, I'd been the best man at their wedding. Two months after that we'd started training together and eventually, we were stationed at the same house.
Everything had been good. Great even. Until it wasn't. And life reminded us how cruel it could be. I'd lost me best friends in the blink of an eye. And as desperately as his parents needed me, I needed space even more.
Seeing them day in and day out only reminded me of how miserably I'd failed when it really mattered. Shoving me fingers through me hair, I grabbed the mug from the counter and emptied what was left of the coffee. Me movements were jerky when I rinsed it under cold water and set it on the dry rack next to the sink.
Appetite lost too, I grabbed me keys from where they were hanging, climbed into me truck, and made the fifteen-minute drive to Station Sixty-Three.
