Page 38 of Under Control
His eyes lit up and he started talking about his dad and watching the games together. Olivia loved the way his face softened when he talked about people and things he loved, and she was content to sit back and listen until an alarm sounded and he stood abruptly.
“I have to run,” he said, but he took the time to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll call you when I can.”
Before she could even tell him to be safe—the alarm was so loud she could barely think—he was gone. By the time she stood and gathered up their trash, the sirens were wailing and the two trucks pulled out of their bays, swinging wide onto the street.
She couldn’t imagine what it was like to spend every workday without structure. There were rules and set hours, of course, but that alarm could sound at any time and they had to drop whatever they were doing and run. There could be a fire while they were trying to eat lunch or somebody stuck on a roof or in a car accident while they were doing some task or another.
Olivia couldn’t wrap her head around not knowing what each day would bring. She’d been young when she learned that deliberate planning of each day, week and beyond kept her focused and working toward her goals. Her parents had drilled the discipline of working intelligently and efficiently into her and it had worked. She not only accepted but embraced it, and now it was literally her life’s work.
Which she should get back to, she thought as she looked at the time. She was going to be lucky to make it home before Kelsey wrapped up for the day, and that didn’t make her happy. Either Kelsey would wait for her and Olivia would feel guilty, or Kelsey would leave and their end-of-day routine would get tacked onto tomorrow’s start-of-day routine. Olivia didn’t like their core workflow being interrupted, and she especially didn’t like when it was her own fault.
I’m on my way back,she messaged Kelsey.40 mins to an hour, probably.
You can stay if you want. You know I can handle the end-of-day review.
She knew Kelsey could handle it. While she hadn’t been lying when she told Derek she didn’t really believe in luck, Kelsey applying when Olivia finally took the huge step of hiring an assistant had been the best unplanned thing to happen to McGovern Consulting. But if Olivia started sliding and dumping things off on her, she was not only straying from her own plan, but she’d mess up Kelsey’s workflow, as well.
I know, but he’s gone anyway. The alarm went off, so I don’t know how long he’ll be.
I’ll wait. And I’ll probably eat all your grapes, just FYI.
Olivia smiled and left the fire station to walk back to where she’d parked her car. According to the navigation app, she should be back in time so Kelsey only stayed an extra fifteen minutes or so. That wasn’t bad, but she needed to do better from now on.
Once she’d put on her seat belt and started the engine, she glanced at the leather journal sitting on the passenger seat, where it usually did. She’d had a planner with her at all times since middle school, when she’d struggled both academically and personally until her parents decided she needed structure. The first one was a simple composition notebook she’d kept track of goals and tasks in. This particular leather cover had been a gift from her father when she officially opened McGovern Consulting.
It had always been her anchor. And while sometimes an anchor could feel like it was dragging you down, it was really the thing that kept you from being adrift at sea. Right now, she felt as if the feelings Derek elicited in her—excitement and anxiety and doubts and passion and what-ifs—were tugging at her, like choppy seas.
But just looking at the book that held a plan to keep her on track comforted her. As long as she was anchored, she could weather any storm.
* * *
It was a beautiful day for a ball game. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot and they were enjoying a rare break from the humidity.
They’d taken all six tickets they could get—Derek, Aidan, Scott, Danny, Gavin and Grant, who’d decided he could sneak enough out of his ring fund to spring for a ticket. And they spent the time before the game started hunched around Grant’s phone while he showed them the rings he’d narrowed it down to.
“Has she dropped any hints about what kind of ring she likes?” Danny asked after they’d seen three.
“No. She’s not... I don’t know if she knows I’m thinking about this.”
“I didn’t have to guess what kind of ring Ashley wanted. Every time we walked by a jewelry store, she’d stop and pick one out. Every commercial. Every flyer in the mail. She wasn’t shy about it.” He smiled. “And she still cried when I proposed to her. I think no matter how much ring shopping they do, they love the ring you give them.”
Derek nodded. “I didn’t have a lot of money back when Amber and I got married, and I was half afraid she’d reject me because the ring was...let’s just say it was more of a chip than a rock. But she loved that ring.”
“I don’t think Wren would want a big, flashy ring.” Grant frowned, and flipped through the pictures again. “But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she doesn’t wear big, flashy jewelry because she doesn’t have any. I want it to be perfect for her.”
“It will be,” Danny said. “Because you’re going to know it when you see it. You’re going to see a ring and think,Wren would love that, and that’ll be the one.”
“I can’t believe we’re at a ball game talking about women’s jewelry,” Gavin grumbled, and they all gave him a hard stare. After a few seconds, he laughed.
“Yeah,” Aidan said. “Thatwasyou who interrupted a Bruinsplayoffgame to ask us what we thought of the ring you picked out for Cait.”
The game started, which put an end to the ring talk. They’d wait until a few innings had passed and then splurge on nachos and a beer. It was how they always did it.
Derek tried to get to a few games during the season. One or two with the guys and, if he was lucky, a couple with the kids. They were old enough now to sit through an entire game without getting bored and asking to leave in the third inning. It was still a little tough for Isaac because he was younger and he wasn’t as interested in baseball as he was in hockey and football. It was Julia who’d curl up on the couch with her dad and watch the Red Sox on TV.
He wouldn’t mind bringing Olivia to a game. Usually he didn’t like watching games with people who didn’t know sports because they asked a thousand questions and he spent more time explaining the game than actually watching it. But with Olivia, he bet it would be different. Teaching somebody about a game he loved so they could enjoy it together in the future was appealing. And she was smart. She’d pick it up quickly and probably enjoy the strategic elements of baseball.
He dug his phone out of his pocket and sent her a text message.Busy?
