A Fighting Chance (16 page)

THREE

J
AMIE
WAS
RELIEVED
when the word came through that the second-floor residents were trying to strip the varnish from their old wooden floors without proper ventilation, which caused the chemical smell throughout the building. Everything was under control and the fire companies could return to quarters.

She liked having the opportunity to respond to a call with them and
see how they did things outside of a critical life-or-death situation. Not that she was worried about being able to handle that. Her training and experience would get her though. But it was nice to get a feel for the company in action first.

Once the trucks were backed into the bays, Jamie quietly stowed her turnout gear while keeping an eye on the guys. There was obviously a strong sense
of camaraderie, and a lot of banter and laugher went on, but she didn’t see any of them slacking or trying to take shortcuts. She could see that they took the care of the trucks and their gear very seriously, which was a relief. It was hard enough being in charge when you were the “new guy” without having to crack down on lax procedures right off the bat.

She and Rick went into their shared
office and went through some paperwork. Luckily it was all standardized stuff, which didn’t vary much from station to station, and Walsh had been good about staying on top of it, so Jamie didn’t have to do much in the way of catching up.

After glancing at the clock, she pulled out her cell phone and called her dad. Every time she moved to a new station, he worried about her having a new group
of guys in her life, so she usually called to fill him in.

“Hi, Dad,” she said when he answered.

“Hey, honey. How are you? I have a client coming in about five minutes, so I’ll take the abridged version now and you can have a nice long chat with Mom later.”

She laughed, leaning back in her chair. Her dad had always worked out of a home office, so his daughters had grown up having
access to him all the time, but in quick bursts in between appointments. “I’m good. I’m working with great guys here, and it’s probably been one of the smoothest transitions I’ve had.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I know you haven’t had many problems—that you’ve told me about, at least—but I always worry. How’s your apartment? You haven’t had any problems with the neighborhood, have you?”

If he had his way, she’d live in a place with security and a doorman, but those weren’t easy to come by in that part of the city, especially if you didn’t want roommates to help float the extra cost. “No problems. And there are two locked doors and three flights of stairs between me and the street, so I’m not worried.”

“Your mom showed me the pictures you sent. You’ll definitely get your exercise.”
She heard papers shuffling in the background, since he’d put her on speakerphone. “Tell me about your new coworkers.”

She filled him in, giving him a very brief character sketch of each of the guys. He seemed impressed when she told him about the chore list, maybe because he remembered the long venting session she’d subjected him to when she’d been a rookie and got assigned to a company that
assumed, because there was a woman on hand, they didn’t have to make coffee or scrub toilets anymore.

“You sound happy,” he said.

“I am.” She chuckled. “Tentatively, of course. It’s still early, but I have a good feeling about this company.”

“You’re a good judge of character, so I’m happy for you.”

“It must be time for your client, so I’ll let you go. Give my love to Mom and
tell her I’ll chat with her soon. Maybe tomorrow. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, honey. Talk to you soon.”

Once the call ended, she went upstairs to find the guys scattered around the third floor, ticking things off the day’s to-do list.

When she went into the kitchen, Gavin and Chris were in there. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey,” they said in unison.

She opened the pantry door and
scanned for Walsh’s name on the list. “Food purge duty, huh? That sounds fun.”

“You and I can do the fridge and Chris has the pantry,” Gavin told her. “It doesn’t take long, since we try to do it every week.”

They started by putting a fresh trash bag in the garbage can, while Chris took a second bag into the pantry. Then Gavin, who had a better idea of how long things had been in there,
opened the fridge and started on the top shelf.

“I’ll hand off to you,” he said. “Anything disposable, you can toss the whole thing. If something’s in a dish or whatever, dump the contents and we’ll wash the dishes after.”

“I guess if you try to do it every week, there shouldn’t be anything too bad in there.”

“Are you married?” Gavin asked, handing her a plastic bag of fruit definitely
past its prime to toss. “Have any kids?”

“Nope. You?”

“No. Jeff and Chris are both married. Aidan and Rick are both engaged, and Grant and I are single, so we date and stuff. He’s been seeing this girl for like a month, so it might get serious.” He paused. “And Scotty’s on a break right now.”

“A break?”

“Yeah, from dating. He’s not seeing anybody right now, and hasn’t for at
least a couple of months, I think.”

“Wow, a couple of months.” He was practically a monk, she thought, though she chose to keep that bit of sarcasm to herself.

“He’s dated some real winners, let me tell ya. I guess now he’s looking for somebody to marry, so he’s not dating until he finds the right woman.”

“How do you find out if you want to marry a woman if you don’t date her first?”

Grant looked confused for a minute, and then he laughed. “No, if he meets a woman he thinks he might want to marry in the future, he’d probably date her a couple of times to see. But he’s not dating women he knows he won’t marry just to have a girlfriend anymore because then he might miss out on the right woman.”

“I guess people reach a point in their lives when they know what they want
and what they don’t want and their priorities shift.”

“Scotty definitely knows what he
doesn’t
want now,” Chris said, his deep voice startling Jamie. He was so quiet, she’d almost forgotten he was in the pantry. “Now he’s looking for a TV wife.”

She laughed. “He wants a wife on television? Like an actress?”

“No, like a wife from one of those old shows, with the wife in the apron
and pearls, making dinner while helping the kids do their homework. Meeting him at the door with his slippers and all that.”

“Probably going to be a long break for him, then.” If Scott was holding out for some idealized Suzy Homemaker version of a wife, he’d be spending a lot of time alone.

“He’s exaggerating,” Gavin said. “A little. And I think that’s everything from the fridge and
freezer.”

“Not much,” Chris responded, pulling the full trash bag out of the can and tying it off.

“Are you guys making food?” Aidan asked, walking in with Scott and Jeff on his heels.

“No, we’re throwing food away,” Jamie said, gesturing to the garbage can.

“I was thinking about eating that leftover American chop suey,” Scott said, peering over her shoulder.

He was close
enough so she could smell his shampoo, and she tried to ignore the goose bumps that tickled her skin. “I opened the container and smelled it. Trust me when I tell you tossing it was for the best.”

His laughter was almost a physical touch, and she picked up the garbage can so she had an excuse to step away from him. After putting it in its place, she pulled the bag out and shoved the contents
down so she could tie it off.

“I’ll take that for you,” Scott said, reaching for it. His hand brushed hers and it took all of her willpower to simply let go and move her hand instead of yanking it back as though she’d been burned.

“Thanks.”

“Nobody’s making more dirty dishes until we’re done in here,” Gavin said, making a shooing motion back toward the living room.

Jamie was
surprised when the other guys listened to him. He and Grant were not only the youngest, but the lowest on the seniority totem pole, so it was clear to her that everybody in both companies respected the chore list.

Scott was the last one to leave the kitchen, and he turned back as he reached the door, giving her a grin that threatened to short-circuit her common sense. “Thanks for saving me
from the American chop suey.”

She felt herself smiling back at him and could only hope the heat flooding her body didn’t show on her face. “Can’t be going a man down on my first tour.”

Once he was gone, she started filling the sink with hot, soapy water to give herself a moment. She’d never been attracted to a guy she worked with before, and she had no coping skills for the way her pulse
quickened every time she saw Scott.

Dumping the dishes they’d taken from the fridge into the sink, she turned the water off, wishing she could turn the attraction off just as easily. It was time to start exploring the neighborhood and finding good hangout places. Maybe she’d get lucky and feel that same zing for a guy she
didn’t
work with.

“You okay?” Gavin asked, and she realized she’d
been standing there, gripping the edge of the sink and staring at the soap bubbles.

“Yeah, I just got lost in thought. You drying?”

She’d just pulled the plug after washing the last dish when the alarm sounded.

* * *

S
COTT
RANG
THE
doorbell of his sister’s house and then waited, zipping his sweatshirt against the chill in the air. When Ashley opened the door, he couldn’t help
grinning at her. It had become a habit—almost an involuntary reflex—since she and Danny had told him she was pregnant.

That had been mere days before the fire they almost lost Danny to, and Scott would never forget the gut-wrenching fear that he was going to have to tell his sister her husband and the father of her unborn child had died.

That was behind them now, though, and every time
he saw his sister, Scott had a
holy crap, she’s having a baby
moment. She wasn’t showing yet, and wouldn’t for a while, but she was already glowing.

“Hey, you. Come on in.”

He stepped into the house the couple had bought cheap and then remodeled over time. They’d planned ahead and now, while their first child was still just a speck of a thing, they had a nice home in a great neighborhood
for a lot less than most of their neighbors had paid.

“Hey, Danny, Scotty’s here,” she called, and Scott heard what sounded like a recliner being folded back into a sitting position.

Danny was almost on his feet by the time Scott walked into the living room, and he was glad to see him moving with less than pain than the last time he’d stopped by. His leg was in a cast, and he tucked
crutches under his arm as he stood up on his good leg.

“You didn’t have to get up.”

“Yes, he did,” Ashley said. “He’s supposed to get up and move around a lot, actually. He just can’t put weight on the leg yet.”

Danny rolled his eyes, but the warm smile he gave his wife made it more affectionate than annoying. “I have to stop taking her to my appointments.”

“Good luck with
that,” Scott said. “How you doing?”

“Better.”

“Want to get out of the house?”

Danny’s face brightened, but then he looked at Ashley. “Is that okay with you? Just for a little while, maybe?”

She chuckled. “Who do you think called Scotty and told him to get you the hell out of the house before I smother you with a pillow?”

“We’ll just go to the bar for a bit and hang out,
since you can’t wear real clothes,” Scott told him.

Danny looked down at the sweatpants with one leg cut off above the cast. “Sounds good to me.”

“No beer, though,” Ashley said. “Decaf or soda or something. I know you haven’t been taking the painkillers they gave you if you can help it, but going out and sitting in those chairs might be a lot and you’ll want a pill to help you sleep.”

“Yes, dear.”

Scott found a fascinating spot on the wall to stare at, bracing himself for an awkward family moment. Their communication issues had been one of the biggest reasons their marriage had hit the skids and, while Ashley didn’t have as hot a temper as he and Lydia did, that was exactly the kind of platitude that would make her pop off.

But then Danny slapped Ashley on the
ass and they both laughed when the action made him wobble, almost falling off his crutches. Scott kept staring at that spot on the wall, though, because then there was kissing. He was happier for his sister than he’d been about almost anything in his life, but that didn’t mean he wanted to watch the reconciliation in action.

“You’re presentable enough for a bar,” she said. “But you should
at least brush your hair.”

Scott chuckled when Danny ran his hands through his hair and grinned at his wife. “How’s that?”

She gave him an affectionate eye roll, and then she smiled when Danny rested his hand on her stomach for a second. “I won’t be too late.”

Scott felt a pang of something—yearning, maybe—at the gesture and went back to the foyer to grab Danny’s sweatshirt off
the hook. There was a lot of love going on around him, what with Danny and Ashley making up, Aidan and Lydia falling in love, and then Rick Gullotti falling for his landlords’ granddaughter.

He wanted it. All of it. The love, the having a person to go home to at the end of the day. The holding hands and secret glances. The babies. Not just because the people around him had it, but because
when he lay down at night, he felt the emptiness. He felt incomplete.

“You’re going to have to take my car,” Ashley said, taking her keys out of a dish on a side table near the door. “Unless you think you can catch him when he falls out of your truck.”

“I could just drop the tailgate and hoist him into the bed. It’s not far.”

“The seat’s all the way back on the passenger side, so
he can get in okay. He’ll need a hand getting out, though. The crutches fit if you wedge them between the front seats and...you’ll figure it out.”

Scott figured it out without putting the end of the sticks through the car’s display console, which he considered a win. Then, after locking his truck, he slid into his sister’s car and started the engine.