Fallen: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Rebecca Barber

  “Who’s this in the photos with you?” Lily asked, flipping around a frame where I was standing on the beach in my board shorts with my arm draped over a blonde’s shoulders.

  “Ah, that’s my sister.”

  “Your sister? She’s stunning.”

  “Yeah, Maddy. She’s an actress.”

  “Your sister’s an actress?”

  “Yeah.”

  “In anything I would’ve seen? Movies? TV shows? Was she in the latest Marvel movie?”

  “She wishes. Nah. She’s in a soapie back home.”

  “Was it the one Chris Hemsworth was in? Home and Away I think it’s called.”

  “What?”

  “Or the one Liam was in? Neighbors or something?”

  “Oh my god, Lily. You’re kidding me, right? You know about Aussie soaps?” I couldn’t believe it.

  Setting the photo back on the shelf, Lily turned back to me with a shrug. “I know about the Hemsworths.”

  “What is it with you women and the bloody Hemsworths? They’re just normal guys. They surf. They drink beer. They watch the footy. They’re just like the rest of us.”

  I don’t know what it is about the Hemsworth brothers. Women everywhere thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. I didn’t understand it. I don’t think I ever would.

  “They’re not like the rest of you. No way. Hell, I’d even do the other brother.”

  “Other brother?”

  “Yeah, the third one. I’d do him just so I could score an invite to the family Christmas dinner.”

  Bloody women. I’d never understand them as long as I lived.

  Mom outdid herself with dinner. If I was thinking about keeping her around after breakfast, then there was no way I was letting her go now. I can’t remember the last time Mom cooked my favorite; a roast lamb leg with all the vegetables piled high on my plate. When I was a kid, I could barely remember a Sunday where we didn’t have the hot roast dinner. It was a tradition. One I’d seemingly forgotten until now. But sitting there, with the drawstring on my pants tugging at me under the pressure of too much food, I decided it was a tradition I was going to reinstate. Immediately.

  When I’d tried to clear away the plates, Mom handed me a beer and shooed me out of my own kitchen. While I was more than happy to not have to do the dishes, being nudged out the door was Mom’s not so subtle way of matchmaking.

  Sitting on the bottom step, I picked at the label on my bottle. “Sorry about this.”

  “Don’t be. She’s your mom, she loves you.”

  “Yeah. In her own way, I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right. At the shop, she doesn’t stop talking about how amazing you are and how proud of you she is.”

  Feeling a little embarrassed, I drained the rest of my beer and stood to get another. “Want one?”

  “I shouldn’t.”

  “Why not? It’s just a beer.”

  “Ava…”

  “One beer’s not going to do any harm. Besides, it’s not like you’re driving.”

  “You’re right. A beer would be awesome, actually.”

  Heading back inside, I flicked the outdoor lights on that I’d strung up last weekend, stuck my head through the doorway to find Mom sitting in the chair, her eyes closed and a magazine in her lap while Ava slept soundly in the center of my bed, cocooned by pillows. With the house quiet and everything as it should be, I grabbed a couple of beers and went back out to Lily.

  Popping the cap, I handed her the bottle. “Thanks. It’s so beautiful out here.”

  “It’s a work in progress.”

  “Who’s doing your work?”

  “Mainly me. I mean, I get some help from the guys at the station, but it depends on schedules. Which is why it’s so slow.”

  “Wait until I get started. Yours will look like it’s supercharged. It’s going to take me forever to get done what I want to do.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Everything. Grandma’s house is so old and needs so much work, I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Does that mean you’re staying there then?”

  “I think so. I mean, I love my apartment, but being at Grandma’s, it just feels… feels right. It feels like home. Even though I never intended to live there, now that I am, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

  “What are you going to do with the apartment?”

  “Honestly. No idea. Thankfully I don’t have to worry right away.”

  “Well, that’s good. You can take your time. Do what you need to do.”

  “Yep. And first step, get the rest of my stuff out of the apartment and start making Grandma’s house feel like mine. She’s not coming back, so I guess it’s time to move on.”

  “Well, let me know if you need a hand,” I offered.

  “Thanks. Wow! Is that the time? I should get home. I didn’t mean to stay this long.”

  Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was almost nine. No wonder I was starting to get tired. With a huge belly full of food and a couple of beers under my belt, I was fading fast. After collecting the empty bottles, I met Lily standing on the steps, still wearing my clothes. Damn the woman looked good.

  “Let me grab my shoes and I’ll walk you home.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I do. I’d drive you home, but I don’t have a seat for Ava in the truck, so I’m walking you.”

  With a resigned sigh, Lily smiled. “Okay. If it’s not too much trouble. That would be great.”

  16

  LILY

  I couldn’t believe I’d let Sage talk me into this. Actually, that wasn’t quite accurate. I couldn’t believe I was allowing Sage to take over my life and drag me out tonight, especially looking like the town tramp. Part of me knew it was my own fault, but I was still blaming Sage. It was much easier to blame her than to own it myself.

  It’d been a few days since Zach had shown up before the shop even opened, a group of his firefighter friends in tow, and began loading my life into the back of their oversize trucks. A couple of hours later and the apartment was empty, and I’d been left standing in the middle of the room, staring at the space I’d once called home wondering how I ever fit everything in here. It looked so much smaller.

  I must’ve been up there longer than I thought when Sage came looking for me. I was on the verge of sitting down on the carpet and having a good old cry, something that was long overdue, when she stomped her heavy boots in front of me, leaving a muddy mark.

  “What’s wrong? Have all the hot firemen gone for the day and you’ve got no one left to ogle?”

  “No!” I defended quickly, swiping away the tears that were threatening to overflow down my face. “Besides, I wasn’t ogling.”

  “Okay. Fine. Drooling then.”

  “Wasn’t drooling.”

  I probably was, but there was no way under the sun I was going to admit that. Besides, it wasn’t like you could blame me. Watching Zach’s tight ass run up and down those stairs then reappear carrying something heavy that made his bicep’s bulge while he bit his lip in a way that should’ve been outlawed… The things I’d do to be the one biting that lip had me shaking my head and taking a much-needed time out in the cool room.

  “You were, but so was I. Don’t be embarrassed, Lily. Own that shit. Hell, if that man looked at me the way he looked at you, you can bet your pretty pearls I wouldn’t be drooling through the windows. I’d be smacking that ass and riding him into the sunset.”

  “Don’t you mean riding off into the sunset?”

  “Sweetie. You might pretend to be all innocent and naive with your petticoats and pearls, but we both know you’d like to be riding Zach Higgins into the sunset.”

  My cheeks burned at her words. I couldn’t reply. There was no reply. Those were the ideas I had at home, alone, tucked in my bed late at night. Sage did not need to know the things I wondered about Zach and what he could do with his hands.


  And that was the problem.

  And it was how I ended up sitting in the front seat of Sage’s bright yellow buzz box, one that should’ve been deemed unroadworthy years ago but she adored anyway, out the front of Hooligans on a Friday night instead of being curled up on the lounge in my favorite pajamas with my new book.

  “Come on,” Sage encouraged as she jumped out and rounded the car.

  This was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

  It’d been just after lunch when she’d cornered me and told me she was taking me speed dating to help me find someone to, in her words, ‘scratch the itch’. I’d begged off, saying I couldn’t just go out on the spur of the moment, that I had Ava relying on me, when the truth came out.

  Sage had planned this for over a week. And what’s more, Linda, someone who I was coming to rely on and adore, was an accomplice in her scheming. So here I was, dressed in Sage’s indecently tight jeans that showed off every single one of my flaws, flaws my wide-skirted dresses usually hid. She had me in a pair of her knee-high, black leather boots with a heel that was dangerously tall—and by dangerously tall, I meant with every step I took I wobbled like I’d gotten stuck into Grandma’s sherry. But the boots weren’t the worst part of my scandalous outfit. No. That particular achievement went to the top that Linda and Sage convinced me was perfect for a night out on the town. The sheer black wrap top fit perfectly if I wanted to show off my tits or my ass, both of which I absolutely did not want to flaunt. If I adjusted it at the front to cover up the massive amount of boob I was showing, then the bottom rode up, flashing my butt. If I pulled it down to hide my massive ass, then my boobs almost spilled out the top. I couldn’t win. Sage promised after the second cocktail I wouldn’t care, and at this point, there was nothing more I could do than hope to god she was right.

  Wriggling out of the car, I was careful not to fall on my ass on the uneven ground. Straightening up, I stuffed my phone in my clutch before turning back to Sage who was wearing a ruby-red tube dress that hugged her like a second skin and her heavy black ass-kicking boots, as she called them. On anyone else it would’ve looked completely ridiculous, but somehow on Sage, she made it look effortlessly chic.

  “You’re buying the first round,” I grumbled, slamming the car door.

  Linking her arm through mine, Sage smiled. “Absolutely. And, Lily, remember this is for charity. It’s supposed to be fun and a laugh. So maybe you could wipe that sour puss look off your face and at least pretend you’re here to have a good time and not like this is your last night before you’re shipped off to the nunnery.”

  I felt a bit bad. Sage had gone to all this trouble to organize tonight. From making sure Linda was happy to watch Ava, getting the tickets, then spending all afternoon at my place trying to turn me from a Stepford wife wannabe as she’d described me, to a Friday night fun girl. Brushing off the feeling of guilt that was lingering, I pasted on a smile as she pushed open the heavy doors and the sound of the bass pumped through me. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a disaster after all.

  Or maybe I’d spoken too soon.

  17

  ZACH

  “I’m gonna need a beer,” I grumbled, leaning on the bar watching people file through the door.

  “Here,” Dan replied, sliding the frosty glass in my direction. “And stop looking so damn miserable. What’s the worst that can happen? You meet a nice girl?”

  Flashing Dan a scowl, I picked up my drink and took a sip. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. And where the hell were the others? I was seriously going to kick someone’s ass if they all managed to bail and I was the only chump who’d shown up.

  Three days ago, Chief had bailed us up after a shift. I was sweaty and tired and looking forward to the steak I’d been craving all day. There were four victims. Those of us who weren’t on shift and were single had been signed up to speed dating. At first the protests had been loud and definitive. But soon enough we were caving in and collecting our tickets.

  When I’d joined Station 13, I hadn’t really understood what it meant to be a firefighter in a community like this. We weren’t just firefighters, called out when someone needed us and otherwise forgotten. No. We were part of the community. An important part. We spent time at the schools, not only letting the kids climb all over the rig and try on our helmets, but also teaching them about safety. We visited the nursing home, helped rescue stray cats from trees, and yep, that really did happen. We were always signed up to whatever fundraising event that was taking place, from manning the dunk tank at the local carnival to raise money for the high school marching band, to stripping off and posing for a calendar.

  Which is exactly why I was here tonight. Tonight’s speed dating was a fundraiser for the children’s wing of the hospital. And there was just no way it was possible to turn down raising money for sick kids.

  “Hi all,” A shaky voice rang out over the microphone. Standing up, I glanced around spotting Courtney, one of the pediatric nurses I’d come to know nervously waving a microphone about. “We’re about ten minutes from starting tonight. So, gentlemen, if you could please take a seat at one of the numbered tables, we’ll be almost ready to go.”

  Taking my beer, I headed towards the corner. If I was going to do this, there was no way I was going to be making a spectacle of myself while I did. I was just pulling my phone out of my pocket, ready to start blowing up the other guys’ message banks telling them to get their asses moving when they stumbled through the door. Collins, Johnson and the new guy Samuels.

  “About bloody time,” I mumbled under my breath as Samuels clamped one of his massive paw-like hands down on my shoulder.

  Jake Samuels was a good guy, at least so far he was. A Texas native who was a hell raiser and high on adrenaline. He spent most of his time in the workout room or eating. I mean, I loved my food, but I’d never seen anyone put it away like Jake did. The guy didn’t stop. If he wasn’t eating his serving-bowl-sized salads, he was running down the road to grab donuts.

  “Oh, come on, Skip. Keep your pants on. We’re here. Didn’t want to leave the ladies hanging. You know they love some good ole Texas beef.”

  “Did you seriously just call yourself Texas beef?”

  “Hell yeah! Top quality T-bone right here.”

  “Geez! Sit your ass down before you hurt yourself, would you?”

  Samuels dropped into the seat beside me, pulling a wad of cards from his pocket.

  Collins sat a beer down on my table before taking his own seat. “What the hell are these?” He picked up one of the cards, flicking it at me.

  “No,” I denied, staring at the card. “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is?”

  “What the hell?” Johnson chuckled, spinning the card between his fingers.

  “What? It’s my card. Makes it easier to give the ladies my number.”

  My eyes rolled so hard I was pretty sure I saw my brain.

  The confidence, and the cheap cologne were oozing off him, and I was suddenly feeling a little better about the night. Watching him crash and burn could prove to be bloody entertaining.

  “Okay let’s get this show on the road,” Courtney began, gaining a rousing round of applause. “I’m Courtney Harris and luckily for you, I’m the emcee for tonight’s festivities. First of all, on behalf of all the kids, families and the staff in the pediatric unit of the hospital, a huge thank you. Just from ticket sales from tonight’s event, we’ve already raised over a thousand dollars. But there’s plenty more ways to spend your hard-earned money with a silent auction, raffles, as well as some other surprises. But let’s face it, you didn’t give up your Friday night to listen to me waffle on. No. You’re here to meet the man or woman of your dreams.”

  Somehow, I wasn’t sure how, I managed to hold back the groan that was bubbling in my throat. If I’d have known better, I could’ve just thrown money at the problem and spent the night in front of the TV.

  “Now, ladies. If you’d like to help yourself to a cocktail from the bar, a l
ittle liquid courage, if you will, then find a seat. No fighting over the gentlemen. You’ll only be there for ten minutes before you move on.”

  The whispers started as women shuffled around, most of them clutching their girlfriend’s arms tightly. There were a few women I recognized; some nurses from the ER I’d met a few times and a couple of teachers from the primary school. Unfortunately, with the room split in half, with potted plants creating a wall between the sections, there was no stealth way I could see who was on the other side. Not that it mattered, I reminded myself. The last thing I was looking for was a girlfriend.

  “Guess this is my seat then,” a seductively sweet voice cooed, catching my attention.

  “Phoebe,” I greeted, trying to sound pleased to see her.

  Beside me, Samuels’ eyes were bugging out of his head as he checked Phoebe out shamelessly. Something her outfit was begging to have done. Her top, if you could even call it that was basically a bow wrapped around her chest, barely covering her tits. The leather skirt she’d somehow managed to get on, was so tight it left absolutely nothing to the imagination, and I was pretty confident there was not a whole lot on beneath it.

  “You ready for our date?”

  Fuck me, it was going to be a long night.

  18

  LILY

  I was surrounded by doctors and police officers. I’d met a postal service worker and caught up with a few other local business owners. Eight dates, three cocktails, and I was ready to call it a night. Ava hadn’t been sleeping and these dates weren’t exactly earth shattering.

  Beside me, Sage was having a great time. There was no doubt we were the complete opposite. Where she was a chatty-Kathy, I struggled to find topics to talk about. Especially topics a guy would actually care about. Flowers and babies weren’t exactly classified as scintillating conversation starters.

  The bell dinged and Luke, one of the local police officers, smiled and slid me his card. “It was great chatting with you, Lily. I’d love to take you out sometime.”