by Burton, Jaci
She laughed, not at all offended. “It’s new. We’re not really dating, just having fun together. We live next door to each other.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that, either. That’s convenient, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I’ve known Rafe and his brothers for several years now. They’re all amazing.”
“Yes, they are. It’s annoying how perfect they are.”
She arched a brow. “Perfect? I don’t know about that. No one’s perfect.”
“Spoken like a woman who’s dating a guy. That’s when you truly learn how imperfect they really are, am I right?”
Adrienne had a point. “You might be right about that. How else do we learn that they leave underwear on the bathroom floor, or the cap off the toothpaste, or the toilet seat up?”
The guys came back, and Rafe put his arm around Carmen. “For the record, I never leave the toilet seat up. My mother would have slapped the back of my head for doing that.”
“Same,” Miguel said.
Mitchell nodded. “Without a doubt.”
A man in his late thirties came over and shook hands with Miguel, Rafe and Adrienne.
“Hey, you made it, Rafe.”
“Tommy Rodriguez, this is my friend Carmen Lewis,” Rafe said. “Carmen, this is Tommy, who owns this place.”
“Buena noches, Tommy. Estoy tan feliz de estar aquí.”
Tommy grinned. “¿Tu hablas español?”
She nodded. “Sí.”
“¿Y estás saliendo con este chico? Puedes hacerlo mejor.”
Carmen laughed.
Rafe shook his head and looked at Tommy. “Estella dijo que se había casado contigo porque sabía que eras tan fea que nadie más lo haría.”
Tommy laughed. “That’s probably true. My wife, Estella, has a big heart for ugly men like me.”
Carmen looked over at Rafe and realized she’d never heard him speak Spanish before. Of course he was Hispanic; she knew that. But somehow, hearing him speak their native language sounded so . . . sexy coming from him.
“You speak Spanish,” she said to Rafe.
“Of course.”
“I’ve never heard it.”
“Spanish?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ve heard the language. Just not from you.”
He shrugged. “I don’t use it much. My adoptive parents aren’t Hispanic, so I kind of lost touch with the language for a while.”
“And then he met us,” Miguel said. “Tommy and I forced it on him. He caught back up pretty fast.”
Carmen smiled at him. “Bueno.”
Tommy put his arm around her and led the group to the table. Carmen and Tommy engaged in a flurry of talk in Spanish, which suited Carmen just fine.
Mom and Abuela had immersed her in the language since birth. But her grandfather wasn’t Hispanic and only spoke a handful of words and phrases.
She’d missed having someone to talk with in Spanish. There were a few Spanish-speaking nurses at work, but it wasn’t the same as family, as someone you could converse with every day.
Tommy sat them at a large table in the back of the room. They were set apart from everyone else, which meant they could be as loud as they wanted to be.
“I’ll bring margaritas and beer,” Tommy said, as if that was expected and no one needed to order.
“Sounds great, Tommy,” Rafe said with a smile. “Thanks.”
Rafe leaned over and whispered in her ear. “La próxima vez que esté dentro de ti, te susurraré en español.”
Her entire body flamed hot at the visual of him whispering to her in Spanish as he moved inside of her. She responded with, “Quiero eso,” to let him know she wanted what he was offering.
He gave her a promising smile, and then the drinks arrived. She opted for a margarita, and Rafe had beer. Then they perused menus, and wow, Tommy’s restaurant had quite the diverse selection. Everything from seafood to pasta to burgers to burritos and anything in between.
She decided on grilled chicken. Then salsa and chips and queso arrived, and she got to know everyone as they drank and talked.
She learned that Miguel and Adrienne were moving in together. They’d been secretly dating for almost a year, though according to what Rafe whispered to her, everyone at Station 6 had already known the two of them were together. It was only when things got serious that they had to go to their captain to admit they were a couple, and changes had to be made to their shifts.
“We put it off as long as we could,” Miguel said. “We’re a good team, and we hate splitting up.”
Adrienne nodded. “I’m going to hate having a new partner, but we have to abide by the rules.”
“Rules suck,” Miguel said. “I mean, as far as us not working together.”
“Hey, we’re all going to miss having you on our shift,” Mitchell said. “But we understand that the two of you had to be out in the open with your relationship.”
“Yeah,” said Tommy, who’d taken a break to come sit with them. “But we got tired of the two of you sneaking off to the supply closet.”
Adrienne let out a shocked laugh. “We never once did that.”
“Okay, maybe once,” Miguel said.
“Miguel,” Adrienne said, her cheeks turning pink.
“It happens all the time in the hospital,” Carmen said.
Adrienne’s brows rose. “Seriously? I thought that kind of thing only happened on TV shows.”
Carmen shook her head. “Oh no. Trust me, it’s not just on TV. Doctors and nurses getting it on in a private room, or two residents who are dating and working ridiculously long hours exercising a little stress relief together. Trust me, it happens more than you think.”
“I am shocked,” Rafe said.
Carmen laughed. “No, you’re not.”
“Well, I am,” Adrienne said. “I don’t know how anyone gets any work done. Or who avoids getting caught. It was difficult enough for Miguel and me to try and steal a kiss, let alone do . . . anything else. Especially with all the Snoopy Sammies of Station 6 following our every move.”
Mitchell laughed as he poured more beer for everyone. “That’s because we knew what you two were up to, so we gave you a hard time.”
“Thanks, Mitchell,” Miguel said.
Mitchell winked. “Anytime, buddy.”
“Okay, I won’t miss you,” Miguel said.
“Yes, you will. Who will laugh at your lame jokes?”
“The crew on second shift.”
Carmen could see that these people got along very well. It reminded her of her team at the hospital. Having people you trusted and liked was so important when you had to work so closely together.
Dinner arrived, and it was delicious. The grilled chicken was bursting with flavor, and if she hadn’t eaten so many chips with salsa, she probably would have cleaned her plate. But between the chips and the margaritas, she was only able to eat half.
Fortunately, Rafe seemed to have a hole in his stomach, because he ate all his food, then the rest of her plate, too.
“Hungry?” she asked.
He smiled. “Always.”
She switched over to water after dinner, and she noticed Rafe did as well, which made her happy. Not that she was monitoring how much he was drinking, but since he was driving, she liked knowing he’d only had two beers and he’d spread those out over a few hours.
Tommy seemed to be in no hurry to get rid of them, even though they were monopolizing a pretty great space. In fact, a few other people arrived, and he made room for them as well. Kal showed up late with his date, a beautiful brunette named Yvette, and Jackson and Becks came in, too, as well as firefighter Ginger Davidson and her husband, Kyle.
“Did my grandpa text you earlier?” Carmen asked Kal when he arrived.
Kal shook his head. “No, but I called to check on him. He said he was going to bed and he didn’t need anything.”
That’s what she liked so much about the Donovans. They were always so thoughtful. “Thanks for d
oing that, Kal.”
“No problem.”
Then it got loud, and everyone was talking over one another. Adrienne and Miguel left, and Mitchell took off not long after. She and Rafe moved over to where Jackson and Becks and Kal and Yvette were sitting. Ginger was deep in conversation with Yvette, and Kyle and Kal were talking about something having to do with some video game that was way over Carmen’s head.
“Did you all eat dinner?” Carmen asked Becks.
Becks nodded. “Jackson and I grabbed a bite near the beach after I got off work. But we’ve eaten here before. Tommy and Estella make great food. What did you think of it?”
“It was amazing. If I hadn’t stuffed myself full of chips and salsa and queso, I’d have probably licked the plate clean.”
Becks laughed. “I know what you mean. It’s both an awesome and terrible place to eat.”
Carmen nodded. “I can see the pitfalls.”
This was the most she had talked with Becks since they had their run-in during her grandfather’s fall so long ago. The guys had all come over to help, and Becks had come as well. Carmen had been stressed to the max about Grandpa and had acted like a total bitch to Becks for no reason whatsoever. She’d apologized but still felt like it hadn’t been enough. And since then, she’d been so embarrassed about how she’d acted that she’d been avoiding Becks.
“Listen, since we’re here, I want to say again how sorry I am.”
Becks frowned. “About what?”
“About how I acted that night when everyone came over to help take care of my grandfather.”
“Oh, I never even think about that, Carmen. Don’t worry. I’ve let it go. You should, too.”
Becks was much more forgiving than Carmen would be. She held grudges. Which she knew was wrong, but she couldn’t help it.
“Thanks. You’re nicer than I am.”
Becks laughed. “I doubt that. You apologized. I knew you were upset. It’s no big deal.”
“Well, thanks. I feel marginally better now.”
“Good. We should be friends, since we live next door to each other. And we’re dating brothers.”
“That’s true.” Though she still wasn’t sure about the whole dating thing. She intended to take that one step at a time.
“Rafe is a great guy,” Becks said. “I’ve known him since I was a kid.”
She’d almost forgotten that Becks was part of their homeless group.
“What was he like back then?”
Becks shifted to face her. “Just a typical kid. I remember him being quiet at first, until he got to know all of us. We arrived about the same time. He and I bonded as the new kids, hung out together a lot. We both liked to read, so he’d chill in my tent, and we’d read anything we could get our hands on. Newspapers, comics, any books that we could find.”
Carmen’s heart tugged at the education that was denied to them for so long. So many children took for granted what these kids didn’t have available to them. “I’m sure it was hard.”
“It was, but we managed. And then after he got comfortable, he was always active, running around, kicking soccer balls and playing football. It was like he had all this energy that he didn’t know what to do with.”
Carmen smiled. “I can see that, even now.”
Becks nodded. “He does like to stay busy, doesn’t he? Between his job at the firehouse and going to the gym and working with kids at the community center, I don’t know when the guy finds time to sleep.”
“Wait.” Carmen frowned. “The community center?”
“Yeah. The one for at-risk youth. He volunteers his time there just to hang out with the kids. Talks to them about his upbringing. Where he started versus where he’s at now. He wants them to know it doesn’t matter where you begin. That it’s important to have a goal, to see a future for yourself. I’ve gone there with him a few times to hang out and talk to them as well. But I really like listening to him tell his story to these kids. He’s incredibly inspiring.”
Huh. She had no idea.
She looked over at him, at the way he laughed and had a deep camaraderie with the people he worked with. It appeared that he had close ties with these people, that he considered them friends, maybe even family.
She understood that, considering his background. Being a firefighter, having that bond of brotherhood meant something deeper to him. Beyond the family he’d made with the Donovans, these were all his brothers and sisters.
She admired that. And appreciated that he thought enough of her to include her in this special circle of friends and family.
Obviously, she had a lot more to learn about Rafe Donovan.
CHAPTER 18
RAFE WAS MAKING BEDS IN THE SLEEPING QUARTERS when Kal came in and sat down on the mattress.
He shot a glare at his brother. “If you’re gonna plant your ass where I’m working, you can help.”
“Fine.” Kal got up and helped Rafe change the sheets.
It got quiet, which meant Kal had something on his mind. Rafe waited, moving around the room in silence with his brother.
“I talked to Jackson about the job change.”
They had moved to another bed. Rafe looked up, then around the sleeping quarters. They were alone. “Okay. What did he say?”
“That he wasn’t surprised. He knew I was unhappy; he just didn’t know why. So we talked it out.”
“And?”
“He said he’d approve the transfer if I qualified for the class.”
Rafe felt equal parts elation and anxiety. But he wasn’t going to say that to Kal. So he grinned. “That’s great. How did he feel about it?”
Kal shrugged. “He was fine with it, as long as I was happy. Then he asked if I was sure this was what I wanted.”
Rafe straightened and looked across the bed at Kal. “Is it?”
“It’s not like I just pulled the idea out of my ass. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. The TRT has been on my radar for at least a year.”
A year. Damn. “And you never told us about it?”
Kal shrugged. “I needed to be sure about it before I brought it up. Leaving you guys isn’t exactly going to be easy. We’ve been a team practically our entire lives.”
Rafe came around and sat on the bed. Kal sat next to him. “We’re still gonna be a team, Kal. The three of us. Always. That’ll never change, no matter where you go or what you do.”
The thought of them being separated made him ache inside. But he knew it was coming. Maybe not with work, but someday, they’d all move on with their lives. He hadn’t expected it to be right now. But he’d never do anything to hold Kal back from what he wanted.
“Yeah. Still, you know what I mean. We’ve always been together. Since we were kids.”
“I know. It’ll be tough not seeing you on Ladder 6 every shift.”
“But you’ll see me on the news doing amazing rescues.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Whatever, wonder boy.”
The alarm sounded. It was a full alarm, which meant both truck and ladder as well as EMTs, so they hustled into the bay and climbed into their gear.
The call was three miles away, so it didn’t take long to get there. It was a three-car wreck right on the overpass, and it looked bad. One car was pushed against the edge of the bridge and appeared to be pretty smashed up. An SUV was crushed behind it, and a pickup was wedged in between the two of them.
“I’m concerned about structural here,” Jackson said as they all climbed out. “We’ll need to concentrate on stabilization.”
“I’m calling the city.” Captain Mathias had driven in with them and was already on his phone.
Jackson nodded. “We need to assess injuries first and see who we can extricate before this goes sideways.”
It looked like a couple of the occupants had already climbed out of their vehicles.
“Hendricks. Find out who belongs where and see who might still be inside,” Jackson said.
Hendricks nodded. “You got it.�
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“Brokaw, Smith, see if they need aid,” Jackson instructed.
John Brokaw was starting his new shift replacing Miguel Acosta. He was two years into his EMT duties, which made Adrienne his senior.
The EMTs ran over to care for the victims who were free of the wreckage.
“The rest of you, let’s get in there and see what we’re dealing with,” Jackson said.
Rafe went over to the compact car that was balancing precariously against the edge of the bridge. There was a teen girl at the wheel and a little boy who looked to be about eight or nine in the back seat. Both were conscious, both looked scared as hell.
“You okay?” he yelled, since all the windows were rolled up.
The girl gave a quick nod. “I am, but I think my brother’s hurt. Can you get us out?”
She started to unbuckle her seat belt, but Rafe held up his hand.
“I need you both to stay right where you are and not move at all for now.”
The look of fright in her eyes told him she understood what he was saying. She laid her hands in her lap. “Okay.”
The little boy was huddled up in the back seat against the far door, crying. “My arm hurts. I want Mom.”
“We’re working as fast as we can to get you out of there,” Rafe said. “Try not to move, okay?”
“Please hurry,” the girl said, her voice trembling.
“What’s your name?” he asked, simultaneously trying to see if he could extricate them without moving the vehicle any closer to the edge of the bridge.
“I’m Ariel. That’s my brother, Andy. I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t my fault. Someone hit me from behind, and the next thing I knew, the car was smashed against the edge of the bridge.”
“Are we gonna fall over?” Andy asked.
“No. We’re not going to let that happen,” Rafe said. “My whole team is working to get you two out of here. Your job is to relax and not move.”
“We’ll try, won’t we, Andy?” Ariel said.
Andy gave a short nod.
Rafe took a deep breath. He needed to get the kids out of there. The back end of the vehicle was crunched against the truck. Side doors were smashed in, and the other side was caught against the edge of the bridge, so they couldn’t open any doors. Rafe was concerned about making any movements to the car, since the barrier was already cracked. The slightest movement could compromise the barrier and send the vehicle right over the edge of the bridge.