It Had To Be You (25 page)

Felicia’s eyes twinkled. “
And
you’ve
only got twelve hours left of being a probie.” The probationary
time for a new hire was a year, though he knew he’d be watched
carefully and would still get the crap jobs for a while.

“
Then, thanks. Is there anything to
eat?” He added the latter to lighten the moment. In truth, he was
touched by the sentiments.

“
Rachel baked you something.” Gabe
nodded to the table, where a huge cake with a flag in the middle
sat. “She can’t see her toes and the kid’s huge, but she still
manages to whip up these things.”

“
It was nice of her, Gabe, but she’s
gotta stop doing this.” He patted his belly. “I need to go on a
diet already.”

Amidst some joking about his physical
fitness, they cut the cake and settled to eat it. Before he picked
up his fork, Beck noticed a small package and a scroll of some kind
by his plate. “What are these?”

“
Tokens of our appreciation for having
you on the squad and a one-year anniversary present.” Felicia
donned her sternest lieutenant’s voice. “Now shut up with the
you-shouldn’t-haves and open your gifts. Start with the
scroll.”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

He opened the paper. It was titled, “Our Own
War Hero.”

When he must have looked confused, Felicia
explained. “Our firefighter website did a special blog for the
Fourth of July.”

“
Tell me it’s not on me.”

“
Yeah, it is, Beck. We try to feature
at least
some
good things about the men in our unit.” She
scanned the guys. “Not an easy task.”

O’Malley snorted. “What are we, White?
Chopped liver?”

His joking eased the tightness in Beck’s
chest.

Beck had heard about
Fire Belles
, the
blog set up by women firefighters initially to combat Parker
Allen’s criticism of the department. Even though the woman had
married the chief, and was now in PR for the department, the girls
kept up the blog.

Beck scanned the document.

“
Once in a while a good guy comes along
in our personal lives, and professional ones, too. The women of the
HCFD are thrilled to have a new firefighter who is a war veteran.
If you think our job is hard, imagine his. Imagine the heat
over
there
. Imagine fighting blind
over there,
where
sandstorms are common.”

Beck swallowed hard at the comparison of army
life with the elements of firefighting—and acknowledging he had it
harder in war. These people could be really magnanimous.

What followed that statement were a list of
his war achievements and the people he’d saved in fires.

He stared down at the writing for a minute
before he could compose himself enough to look up. “Thanks
guys.”

Sydney said, “Open the present.”

Beck tore off the red-white-and-blue paper
and found a small jeweler’s box. It was heavy. What the hell?

Inside, nestled in a bed of red velvet, was a
silver key chain with a good-sized circular medallion hooked to it.
He ran his finger over the bright red background with the raised
Maltese Cross. The traditional symbols of firefighting—a set of
axes, a ladder and a fire hydrant—were engraved on the top and two
sides of the cross. The bottom had been scripted with
Firefighter Beckett Sloan.

Beck swallowed hard. Once again, he was
moved. “Very nice. Thanks.”

“
Turn it over,” Sydney told
him.

On the opposite side was another shield—the
medallion for the US army, with a bald eagle in the middle. The
background was deep blue, with
United States
scrawled across
the top,
Army
on the bottom. His heart started to beat fast
with emotion.

Sydney added, “It’s so you know we’ll never
forget what you did over there.”

Again, he couldn’t speak for a few moments.
“How, um, where did you find this? It’s unique.”

“
We had it custom made.” This from the
chief, who’d walked in at some point and spoke from behind him.
“Sorry I’m late. I got caught up at home.” His face was flushed,
but he looked young and happy.

“
Yeah, we don’t wanna know what you
were doing at home, Chief,” Brody teased. “Pregnancy hormones and
all that.”

Erikson laughed and joined them at the table.
“Seriously, Beck, we wanted to celebrate your time with us. Your
service to us.”

“
Thanks, everybody.
I’m…moved.”

Gabe slapped his hand on the table. “Enough
mushy stuff. We always have a big Fourth of July party at our
condo. House 7’s crew, some of our family and friends. Tonight,
right after work.” He added, “Be there, probie.”

“
I won’t be a probie by then. But, yes,
sir.” He reiterated the rookie response.

And felt a little better about life in
general. Some socializing might take his mind off all that wasn’t
right with his world.

o0o

Memorial Hospital threw a Fourth of July
party for the kids in the children’s ward every year. Lela usually
worked at it and brought Josh along with her. He enjoyed the
company of the sick kids and she always wondered why. Since his
father’s death two days ago, he’d hardly said three words to her.
Which was why on the morning of the holiday, she was surprised to
see him come downstairs dressed in red, white and blue and ask,
“What time are we going to the party?”

Lela was still in her pajamas, sipping coffee
by the window, keeping the sadness at bay as best she could. “Oh,
honey, I’m not working at the party today. I, um, assumed you
wouldn’t want to visit with the kids, because of your dad.”

“
They have a clown. I like how he ties
balloons into animals.”

“
I know you do, sweetie.” She patted
the chair next to her. “Come over here a minute.”

He joined her at the breakfast nook. His eyes
weren’t red from crying as they’d been all day yesterday. “Do you
want
to go?”

“
Uh-huh. Can we still?”

The last thing
Lela
wanted was to be
around people, but as usual, good mothering won out. She brushed
his hair back from his eyes and said, “All right. It’s at lunch
time. We can leave about eleven thirty.”

Three hours later, dressed in jeans and a
simple, black T-shirt, Lela held Josh’s hand as they walked into
the pediatric ward’s common area. The sight made her smile and Josh
say, “Oh, cool. A dinosaur theme.”

The ancient animals prowled the room—posters
on all the windows, cardboard cut-outs bigger than the kids
scattered on the floor, along with a myriad of stuffed animals all
the children would be allowed to keep. The clown hadn’t set up
yet.

“
Mom, look. Even the food’s made out of
dinosaurs.” Josh pointed to the table right next to the entrance.
Sure enough, sandwiches made with bread cut into the shapes of
tyrannosaurus rexes were the mainstay for lunch. The cookies were
shaped like pterodactyls. Even the punch was labeled Dinosaur
Brew.

“
That is so cool, Josh.”

Nodding, he sipped some punch and watched the
room. “Look, there’s a boy from last year. Jimmy. Mom, is he still
sick?”

Lela knew some of the kids would never leave
here or had been released only to come back again. “Must be. Do you
want to go talk to him?”

“
Okay.” He looked up at her. “You won’t
leave, will you?”

“
Of course not. I’ll just get some
punch.”

As she turned to the table and reached for
the ladle, someone else went for it at the same time. “Oh, sorry,”
the woman said.

Lela looked at the gorgeous blonde in scrubs.
She thought she’d seen her around the hospital. “No, go ahead.”

“
I’ll pour you some, too.”

Lela accepted the glass and smiled. The woman
smiled back. She had beautiful, hazel eyes, which seemed tired but
held warmth and friendliness.

“
I’m Lela Allen. Trauma nurse
downstairs.”

“
Oh, I thought you looked familiar. I’m
Lexie Wellington, pediatrics.” She studied Lela’s outfit. “Come in
on your day off?”

“
Uh-huh.” It felt good to be talking
about something other than Len. “My son attends every year.” She
pointed across the room. “He’s talking to the little one in the
wheelchair.”

Lexie’s expression turned sad. “Jimmy. He’s
back here every few months. Leukemia that keeps recurring.”

“
I’m sorry to hear that.”

“
Makes you want to live your life
better, doesn’t it? My sister and I were just talking about
that.”

“
Sister?” Now she recognized the woman.
“Would that be Rachel?”

Lexie grinned ear to ear. “Yep. You know
her?”

“
I’ve met her at some fire department
gatherings. I’m friends with a nurse whose husband works
there.”

“
Sophia, right? I adore
her.”

“
Huh. Funny having so much in common
with a stranger.”

“
Yeah, it is. I’m glad we met up,
Lela.”

“
Me, too.” Her pager beeped. “Oh, damn,
that’s me.” She took it out. “Gotta go.”

“
And miss the party? Too
bad.”

“
Take care, Lela. Hope to see you
around.”

“
Yes, me, too.”

After a few minutes, Josh came over. “Can I
eat lunch with Jimmy, Mom?”

“
Of course.”

“
Alone?”

“
Sure, if you want.”

“
Will you get our food?”

“
Uh-huh. Find a table. Be sure there’s
room to wheel him up.”

She was filling plates when someone touched
her shoulder. Christian’s blue eyes smiled at her when she turned
around. He wore his white coat, with some kind of T-shirt beneath
it. He looked good. “Hungry?”

“
What? Oh, no. This is for Josh and his
new friend.” She nodded across the room where the boys sat at a
round table.

“
I’m surprised to see you here.” His
voice pitched lower. Intimately. “How are you?”

“
Better being out of the house.” She
nodded to Josh. “Him, too. He wants to eat with Jimmy. Just the two
of them. I guess he’s had enough of me.”

“
Ah, my lucky day.” Christian squeezed
her arm. “Join me for lunch, Nurse Allen.
I’ll
never get
enough of you.”

Lexie’s words echoed in her head.
Makes
you want to live your life better, doesn’t it?

“
Why yes, Dr. Singer. I’d love
to.”

o0o

Beck slouched back in the chaise, drinking a
beer, staring out at Hidden Lake. The moon kissed the water, making
the surface glimmer like a halo. Next to him, Lexie Wellington
sipped from a glass of wine. Rachel, who seemed more tired tonight
than usual, had gone to bed halfway through the evening. Gabe
joined her when the rest of the partygoers left, and Beck had
stayed behind to have a drink with Lexie.

“
It’s beautiful out here at night,
isn’t it?” he commented.

“
Yeah. Romantic.”

Beck shot her a glance. Her blond hair was
fluffy and fell softly down to her shoulders. She’d worn a
sage-green outfit that…he noticed. “How come nobody’s scooped you
up yet, Lexie Wellington? You’re beautiful, smart, fun.”

“
Why thank you. Back at ya, by the
way.” She was quiet for a minute. Had he said too much?

Finally, she answered. “I made a big mistake
in my life that’s left me a spinster.”

He snorted. “I highly doubt you’ll ever be a
spinster.”

Pivoting in the chaise, she looked at him
squarely. “Seriously, you want to know?”

“
Sure.”

Even in the half-light, he could see her brow
furrow. “I had an affair with a married man for years. A doctor.
Truthfully, I wasn’t looking for a commitment because I’d just
started my residency. So I was okay with his circumstances. I felt
guilty in some ways, especially when I had contact with his wife
and kids, but I was young and self-absorbed, so I did it, anyway.”
She shook her head. “Jesus, it sounds like an episode of
Grey’s
Anatomy.”

“
You mean the show where the docs spend
most of their time in the on-call room?”

Her laughter was sultry. “I’m surprised a guy
like you ever watched that.”

“
My wife Patty liked it.”

Again, Alexis waited. “Is she the one who has
you tied up in knots?”

Beck stilled. “Excuse me?”

“
I asked if she was the one who has you
pretty wrecked.”

He waited a beat. “It shows?”

“
I knew when I first met
you.”

“
Not my ex. Someone else.”

“
That you can’t have?”

“
That’s right. I really can’t have her.
Not married, but the situation is out of our control.”

Reaching over, she grasped his arm. “Then I’m
sorry.”

They sat in companionable silence for a
while. At one point, Lexie said quietly, “Maybe we should
date.”

“
You think that’s a good
idea?”

“
Well, my misadventure with the married
guy has been over for years. You’re obviously still hurting. Maybe
hooking up with someone else will help both of us. No strings or
expectations.”

“
Hooking up?” He knew one meaning of
the term.

Lexie laughed. “Yeah, Beck, some recreational
sex might take the edge off for us both. After we get to know each
other, of course.”