Mr. February (6 page)

Tough love, Rafe had advised. Although she bristled at the very idea, she had to do
something
.

She would ask him to leave by a certain date. Nothing in the too-immediate future, but she would set a definite date. She would tell him in a gentle, loving voice, rather than using the harsh, rigid tones her father favored.

No matter how she said it, JR wouldn’t like it. But he’d brought this on himself. The next time she saw him, she would tell him.

Chapter Seven

‡

A
t the Guff’s Lake Fire Department Rafe wore many hats, including teaching fire safety classes around town, conducting building inspections, and a host of other tasks. He divided most of his time between two main jobs—firefighter and paramedic. This was his month to serve as a paramedic. With two cardiac arrests, a concussion, and several additional medical calls, it had been a long day. Tonight could be equally busy or slow enough to grab some much-needed Zs.

Evenings, each firefighter took a turn cooking dinner for the whole crew, while someone else cleaned up. Having fulfilled his food duties the previous month, Rafe could do other things. Taking advantage of the momentary lull in activity after the massive spaghetti dinner Max had cooked and served up, he descended the stairs to the apparatus bay, aka the garage. Near the aid car, he laid out a clean, pressed paramedic shirt, his paramedic windbreaker, and shoes. When the next call came, he could quickly climb into them.

He checked his watch and thought about Jillian. By now, her pottery class was in full swing. He wondered how that was going, caught himself, and frowned.

She wanted to get married and have a baby, and he wasn’t going to think about her anymore, period.

Yet, here he was, doing exactly that.

Kissing her behind Rosemary’s had done a real number on him. He shouldn’t have done it, but there was something about her that drove him wild. Her long-limbed, slender body, for one. Slender, but not skinny, with curves that were all woman. And her mouth…

His body woke up, and he started to get hard.

Hell.

Setting his jaw, he strode into the garage, where several of the guys were prepping for future calls and doing other stuff.

Adam was finishing up with a call on his cell phone. “Love you, babe,” he said, with the goofy smile he got when he talked to Sam.

They had a good thing going on, might even make it long term.

For both their and little William’s sakes, Rafe hoped so. While he was happy for them, he didn’t understand love and for sure didn’t want it. Watching his mother ruin numerous relationships and reel in the aftermath, witnessing his father suffer when his marriage to Lori had soured had been awful. Rafe would never set himself up for that kind of pain.

“Up for a game of hearts?” he asked when Adam had finished his call and laid out his stuff.

They had an unwritten rule to not play poker at the station. That they reserved for Friday nights, with a standing game at a different coworker’s house each week and everyone from the station welcome. Sometimes ten people showed, sometimes two or three. Lately, Rafe hadn’t played at all.

“Okay.” Adam nodded to Hank. “You in?”

“Sure. Hey, Liam, how about a game of hearts?”

Wearing the trademark scowl guaranteed to intimidate people who didn’t know him, the giant of a man shrugged. “Sure, if you suckers don’t mind getting your asses trounced.”

With the usual blustering, the four of them climbed the stairs to the kitchen/dining area, which doubled as a place for group relaxation.

Rafe grabbed a worn deck of cards from the game shelf, and they sat down at one end of the big, rectangular dinner table. After shuffling, he dealt the cards.

“Seen Jillian lately?” Hank asked as he collected his hand.

“I’ve been hearing about her,” Liam commented. “She lives on the property next to yours. She’s supposed to be hot.” A cocky grin transformed his whole face. “When do I get to meet her?”

Rafe narrowed his eyes, silently warning the dude to steer clear.

“Lighten up, Rafe.” Liam rubbed his hand over his shaved head before throwing down the two of clubs.

Rafe tossed in a card.

“I met her last week, near the end of our run,” Hank said. “She has legs you wouldn’t believe.”

“I saw her at Rosemary’s yesterday, when Sam, William, Rafe, and met for breakfast there,” Adam said.

Liam raised his eyebrows. “She ate with you?”

Rafe frowned. “No, and quit looking at me that way. I don’t plan to see her again.”

“Why not?”

“For starters, she’s not my type. Plus, getting involved with my future neighbor is a bad idea. And because she said point blank she’s ready to get married and have a baby.”

Liam looked stricken. Like Rafe, he enjoyed playing the field. He shrugged. “At least she’s up front about what she wants.”

Over the PA system, Sarah McCone, one of the female dispatchers who worked for the fire and police departments, called out a fire alarm at Barclay’s Pub at the north end of town.

Leaving the cards on the table, Rafe and his buds quickly moved toward the brass fire pole, used only when a call came in. One by one, they slid down it and prepared to head out.

*

To Rafe’s relief, the fire at Barclay’s Pub caused only minor damage. He, Ethan, and Gus, this month’s paramedic team, checked out all the customers. None showed any indications of smoke inhalation or medical trauma. Given the rapid response time of the fire department, came as no surprise.

Unlike finding JR Metzger on the premises. He appeared to be sober, but his staggering sidekick, a skinny, scraggly looking male, was obviously drunk.

“How you doing?” Rafe asked JR.

“Not bad. I’ve never been at a tavern when a fire broke out. At first, it was kind of exciting.”

“There’s nothing exciting about a fire in a building full of people,” Rafe countered. Although, truth be told, every time a call came into the department, adrenaline surged through the whole crew. “Be thankful our firefighters extinguished the fire quickly and no one got hurt.”

“Good point.”

“Why don’t you call your sister and your girlfriend. They’ll want to hear you’re all right.”

“They won’t know about this fire. Besides, it’s almost eleven o’clock. These days, Chelsea’s never up past ten. Jillian’s probably winding down and getting ready to turn in. I’ll tell them in the morning.” JR glanced at his friend. “Ready to take me home?”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t ride with this guy,” Rafe advised. He nodded at the other man. “You’re in no shape to drive.”

The intoxicated male bristled. “I’m fine.”

Safety was key, and in the interest of calming him down, Rafe gentled his tone. “Come on, buddy, it’s obvious you’ve had too much to drink.”

“How the hell would you know, you son of a bit—”

JR grabbed his friend’s arm. “He’s right, Pete. You’re drunk. Besides, the cops over there are watching us.”

Muttering, Pete quickly backed down, pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and punched in a number.

“You do the same, JR,” Rafe said.

The kid shifted his weight. “I, uh, don’t have a cell phone.”

Without a job he probably didn’t have the funds to buy one. Rafe pulled his own phone from his pocket. “Here, borrow mine.”

JR made the call and then returned Rafe’s phone. “Jillian’s going to pick me up.”

Not exactly the woman Rafe wanted to see, but he figured he could handle himself by playing it cool.

Pete’s ride showed up. Soon, only JR, the tavern owner, a police officer, Rafe, and his crewmates remained.

Rafe told Ethan and Gus to stand by while he talked to JR. His two crewmates began to pack up.

“What are you doing, hanging out with a guy like Pete?” he asked.

JR scrubbed his hand over his face. “We haven’t really hung out since before I moved to Seattle in ninth grade. Pete’s not so bad. He said he might know of a job for me at the bottling plant where he works. We were discussing it over beers.”

Jillian’s sedan pull into the parking lot. The rush that went through Rafe had nothing to do with the fire. “Your sister’s here, in record time. Your call probably scared her.”

“You’re the one who asked me to call her.” JR rolled his eyes. “Sometimes she acts more like a mom than a sister.”

She exited her car, her long legs encased in leggings and boots that looked sexy on her. Her forehead wrinkled with concern, she hurried toward her brother. “Are you okay, JR?”

He gave a terse nod and brushed off the hug, reminding Rafe of teenage kid who didn’t want anyone fussing over him.

Ethan and Gus and the men from the two fire trucks wandered over. Rafe figured those who knew Jillian wanted to say hello. The others no doubt wanted introductions.

Within minutes, she’d greeted the men she already knew and had met the rest, along with Captain Comings.

Warm, friendly and clearly comfortable in her own skin, she charmed them all, Rafe included. Even if he was bound and determined to play it cool. He might not want the white picket fence and all the trimmings, but he sure wanted her.

After a few minutes of chitchat, the firefighters disbursed. Rafe asked Ethan and Gus to hang loose a little longer, and the two moved toward the aid car.

“Did your pottery class go okay?” he asked Jillian, careful to hide his unwelcome warmth.

“Until the end.” Her eyes narrowed at her brother. “I need speak with you for a minute. We’ll be right back, Rafe.”

Rafe nodded and used the time to organize his gear in the medical kit he’d brought. Although Jillian and her brother kept their voices low, he could hear snatches of the conversation.

“…agreed to help me clean up after class,” she said. “But no, you…”

Between her angry expression and tone, Rafe easily filled in the gaps. JR had chosen to hang with Pete instead of helping Jillian.

A mixture of guilt and defensiveness darkened JR’s face. “It was a spur of the moment thing,” he said, his voice carrying easily. “Pete said he might know of a job at the bottling plant.”

“A job?” Her tone softened. “That’d be so great.”

“Yeah, but according to Pete, they’re looking for certified welders. That leaves me out.” Hanging his head, JR kicked at a pebble.

“At least Pete knows you’re looking. You did tell him to put out the word you need work.”

Her brother stiffened. “Come on, Jill, I’m not that dumb. Of course I did. I don’t need you telling me how to look for a job.”

Jillian crossed her arms and raised her voice. “Seeing as you haven’t lined up a single interview, apparently, you do.”

Every person within hearing distance stared at them.

“Get off my back!”

She winced, and Rafe’s protective hackles rose. Forget that he meant to play it cool. He moved closer to Jillian, but she signaled for him to leave them alone. He nodded, but hovered nearby.

“I hate that you’re upset with me,” she told her brother. “As much as I love you, I’m not thrilled with you, either. You haven’t followed through on your promise to give me a hand when I need you, and I don’t see you spending much time looking for a job. I’ll help in any way I can, but this can’t go on forever. You have three months, until mid-June, to find work, save up, and move into your own place. Then you have to go.”

She’d used a form of tough love that impressed Rafe. Maybe she’d given her brother more time to get his act together than Rafe would have, but at least she’d set an end date. And she’d done it with love and loyalty to JR that had shone through.

Rafe couldn’t help but compare her to his mother, a woman without a loyal bone in her body or a thought for anyone but herself. Some of his earliest memories were of when she left him alone in the evening, sometimes for the entire night, and then lied about where she’d stayed and with whom.

Jillian was straight forward and steady. And he hated what her brother put her through.

With that, he made a snap decision. He crossed to where they stood and joined them. “I couldn’t help overhearing. I might be able to help,” he told JR. “You’ve cleared pastureland, so I assume you can operate a chainsaw and drive a bulldozer.” He waited for JR’s nod then continued. “Before the builder can break ground on my house, I need to clear half an acre of brush and small to medium-size trees. It’s a two-person job and should take ten days to two weeks to finish. You interested?”

Jillian’s brother brightened right up. “Hell, yes.”

Jillian’s brilliant smile made Rafe feel ten feet tall.

“All right, then,” he said. “I go off duty at 0800 Wednesday morning. Why don’t we meet at my property after lunch, and I’ll show you what I want. The following week, you can start.”

“Awesome. Do I need to find a partner to work with?”

“That’s taken care of.” Rafe had already contracted with a tree removal expert he trusted, a man who wouldn’t be averse to taking on JR instead of his own assistant—provided Rafe paid extra. He wasn’t about to analyze why he wanted to do this. “His name is Zach, and you’ll meet him Wednesday.”

“What about the equipment? Should rent my own tools?”

Rafe shook his head. “Zach has everything.”

Knowing he’d pleased Jillian made him way too happy. As he ambled toward the aid car, he caught himself grinning and quickly sobered. No sense giving his buddies any ideas when he planned to steer clear of her.

He climbed into the back of the aid car and buckled in.

“If I stood in your shoes, I’d be grinning, too,” Gus quipped from the passenger seat. “She’s a looker, all right. Chalk up another score for our resident stud.”

So much for wiping his expression clean. “You’re one to talk,” Rafe returned. At six feet four, two hundred thirty pounds of solid muscle and an outgoing personality, Gus had no problem attracting women.

“Jillian didn’t give me that soft-eyed smile.”

“In case you haven’t heard, she’s on the prowl for a husband.”

“Ah.” Gus shook his head. “That changes everything.”

Chapter Eight

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D
elighted with the luscious blue-green glaze and the shimmering gold edging she’d applied to a recently fired sushi set, Jillian whistled. “You are gorgeous, if I do say so.”