She blew him a kiss as she did every time she passed by the community center. “Love you Daddy,” she whispered and took the turn onto her own road.
Jemma was thrilled at the speed of the boys and their progress on the roof. It took just one day for them, along with Angel, to tear off the old shingles, and by the end of the week the house sported a brand-new roof. Her hands had blisters on top of blisters, but they were healing. Her spring break was coming to an end, but she’d enjoyed the labor-intensive week. And the nights she gotten to spend with Angel had been pleasant, to say the least.
They had finished on Friday, so she decided to take the rest of the weekend off and relax. On Saturday, she enjoyed the day with Angel on his ranch, but on Sunday she was rewarding him with a feast. The boys, too. He’d told her he was looking forward to her home cooking again.
After she fed and paid the boys, she and Angel sent them off to their homes, as she needed to get ready for her return to school the following week.
“Dinner was great.” He told her as he helped her to clean up the kitchen. He would be leaving the next morning for San Antonio.
“Thank you.” She enjoyed cooking for him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and accepted the kiss he was waiting to give her.
“Not too tired?”
“No. Not for you.”
His eyes smoldered at her words, and he pulled her closer. He found her the most desirable woman he’d ever been with. When he kissed her, flames ignited the moment his lips touched hers.
“Woman, I could get used to this,” he muttered as he began to caress her body through her clothes, stoking the flames.
“So could I,” she replied as she pulled back. She wanted him now, but she still had a great deal of work to do tonight before a more pleasant distraction like this. “I do have some papers to grade and some lessons to plan tonight.”
“Okay, well, I will finish up in here and let you get to it.” He swatted her on the behind as she trounced out of the kitchen.
It was going to be a busy month for her. Her AP students were set to take their exams in four weeks, and she had intensive reviews planned while she spent her weekends working on replacing the old windows in her home with new ones. Again, she was armed with knowledge from Calliope and YouTube do-it-yourself videos.
Angel had teased her that if she didn’t like teaching, that after this project she could be the next Joann Gaines and fix up old Texas homes. She’d just laughed at his suggestion.
She’d just settled down with her stack of papers when he entered the room, a grim expression on his face. “What’s the matter?”
“I just got an emergency call. I have to go.”
Jemma kept her disappointment at bay. “I understand.” She got up to walk him out. “Will you come back here tonight?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll be closer to home when I’m finished, and this may take a while. “See you Wednesday?”
“Sure.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her, hating that he had to leave in such a hurry and not finish what he’d started earlier in the kitchen. He also hated not telling her the truth about why he was running out on her.
When Angel arrived home, he texted Jemma to let her know he would see her on Wednesday night. He hated missing the evening with her, but he was working in San Antonio over the next few days in his clinic. It was in the opposite direction from her home.
He liked their new routine. He went to see her on Wednesday night and then she met him on Friday night. He’d follow her home on Saturday and then spend the rest of the weekend with her, leaving either late Sunday or Monday morning. His hired hand for the ranch fed the animals and let them out to pasture when he wasn’t there.
Jemma filled his days with laughter, too. They talked and texted on the days they didn’t see each other, and he began to wonder about a life with her, a future. He thought he could sell his ranch and live with her. He knew she wouldn’t want to leave her family home. He could convert her barn into a clinic like he’d done with his own. Her property would suffice for his animals, but all of that was just a pipe dream, he reminded himself. She didn’t know of his work with the Tarpley VFD, and until he told her, he didn’t want to think of a future like that. It would be too painful if he lost her. He vowed to himself that he would tell her this week. He had said the same thing to himself the week before. But he couldn’t put it off any longer. It wasn’t being fair to either of them. They were both invested too deep.
He’d tell her Wednesday night, he promised himself, and come hell or high water, he would convince her that a love like theirs was too good to give up on because he volunteered occasionally.
Jemma spent her evening grading papers, until a text on her phone stated Calliope wanted to skype. She dropped the stack of papers and hopped on her computer to catch up with her dear friend.
“Hi, Callie. What’s going on?” Jemma smiled at her friend.
“I have news. I’ll be in your neck of the woods for a bit. Care to put me up in a few weeks?”
“Absolutely! You can help with the windows.” Jemma laughed when Calliope just shook her head.
“Well, you know I will. But I can’t be sawing and cutting and framing. I have plans.”
“The team doing work in the area?” Jemma asked.
“Actually, no. Just me. I took a bit of time off.”
“Okay, that’s great. I’d love to have you around. Plus, we’re having this big fair thing happening at the Community Center. It’ll be fun.”
Jemma thought about going. She’d heard the talk at work about the firefighters from last year’s brush fire on the preservation being honored there. They had saved countless lives, animals, and of course, the preserve, though it had been badly damaged when the fire was purposefully lit. It would be easier to attend an event like that with Calliope by her side. Though she had vowed never to love another firefighter again, she still respected the hell out of what they did. In the huge fire last year, the firefighters rescued a poor woman who had been kidnapped by a serial killer. In fact, she’d been the one to set the blaze as a ruse to escape her attacker. It had been horrifying to think a serial killer had been at work so close by. Jemma told the tale that had made the papers and the news to Calliope.
“Wow, that is crazy. Were you planning to go?”
“Uh, I wasn’t sure. But if you’re here, yes, I’ll go.”
“Jemma, you have to go. I know you don’t want to let yourself get close to these people after your dad, but they certainly sound like they deserve this recognition.”
“I know.” Jemma sighed and leaned on her hand in resignation.
“My job is just as dangerous, Jemma.”
Jemma swallowed the lump forming in her throat. It was true, her one and only friend constantly put her life on the line. She sat back up. “I know, and that’s why you really should take the job that is open now, or the one that will be available next year. Your parents will be thrilled.” Though she hated to say it, “You can stay with me. I’d love to have a roomie.”
“Now, let’s not rush the gun. I said I will think about it. I definitely don’t want to teach chemistry. But maybe next year. Teaching biology and environmental science sounds amazing. Plus, I can steal your lesson plans until I come up with my own.”
“I’d be thrilled to hand them over.” It would be fabulous to have her so close by. At least Calliope wouldn’t be chasing any more tornados.
After they caught up with their week’s activities, Calliope called it a night. “We’re hitting the road early, so I really should get some shut eye. Love you, Jems.”
“Love you too, Callie. Be safe,” she said, ending the conversation like she always did.
After she turned off her computer, Jemma settled down on her comfy sofa and picked up the huge pile of lab reports her students had completed the week before Spring Break. Though she missed not having this last night with Angel, she understood that vets sometimes got called away for emergencies. The lab reports
would keep her mind off missing him this evening.
Chapter 10
Jemma stretched out on Angel’s sofa. The weather had grown warmer, so he left the screened front door open to catch some of the breeze. They had finished dinner, steaks and salads, when Angel suggested they stay in that evening. She had gotten comfortable while he went to grab them a bottle of beer from the refrigerator.
Tonight, he wore a serious expression on his face, and she noticed that on Wednesday he’d been as nervous as a cat with two tails. But each time she’d asked him if he was okay, he’d brushed her off. Jemma felt there was something going on with Angel, and it was starting to make her apprehensive. Calliope had suggested maybe he was planning to propose when Jemma mentioned it to her. Jemma didn’t think it was that. It was too soon. But something was definitely up.
Angel handed her the bottle and then sat at her feet. “Sweetheart, on Wednesday I was trying to work up the courage to talk to you about something,” he confessed.
Her heart jolted. “Talk?” That sounded serious. Something in the pit of her stomach felt like a rock.
He sensed from the pitch of that one-word response, she was worried about something. He had thought about what he would say all week, but nothing had sounded right. Using the word talk probably hadn’t been the best choice, either. Drawing a deep breath, he began, “I love you Jemma. With all that is in me. I do. But there is something I haven’t told you about myself.” He just spit the words out. He had to tell her and he wasn’t going to delay it any longer.
Jemma sat up straighter, bracing herself, for what, she didn’t know. She put her bottle down, too. “Okay, well, tell me.”
“It’s…” He paused, looking for the right words. Fear and nervous anticipation filled the air between them. Just then his phone beeped, several times. He recognized the sound. “Shit!” The notifications kept coming, and they were a shrilling sound in the silence of the very pregnant pause. He grabbed his phone off the coffee table and glanced at what he knew it would say. “Shit!” he cursed again, looking down at his phone. “I gotta go. It’s an emergency.”
He jumped to his feet, but seeing her pained expression, he wanted to put her mind at ease. “I promise it’s nothing bad, but we will have to talk about this when I get back.”
“Okay. I’ll wait here.”
He shook his head in the negative. “I’m afraid this isn’t a simple emergency. I might not be back this evening or even tomorrow. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
Angel took her purse and the overnight bag she’d left by the door earlier. He opened up the screen door, and when she reached him, he opened it and ushered her to her car.
He practically pushed her out the door. Jemma felt herself about to lose it, wondering what kind of emergency could possibly take several days. “Surely, I could sleep here, and if you’re not back by morning, I’ll head home and you could meet me there.”
“Again, I’m sorry. I just don’t know…”
Her next words cut off the lame excuse he tried to offer. “Do you smell smoke?” Immediately her hackles rose and she sniffed the air.
He smelled it, too. “Might be a brush fire or wild fire nearby.” He knew it was.
“Should I be out driving in this?”
Angel knew the fire wasn’t anywhere near Tarpley. It was in the county east of Banderas, but Tarpley VFD had been called to help put out the brush fire. He needed to get into his truck with his gear, and in order to do that, he needed to get rid of Jemma. He didn’t want her to find out about his volunteer work like this. Time was of the essence, though.
“It’s coming from the east,” he told her, making a big deal of sensing it coming from that direction. He picked up her bag and started walking to her car again with her on his heels.
“What’s your emergency?” Jemma asked as he turned around. She eyeballed him suspiciously.
“I’m not sure. My partner called me, said I was needed. He didn’t get into specifics.” He hated lying to her, but he had no choice. He was not about to blurt out he was a firefighter moments before he rushed off to put out a fire. Instead, he reached for her, gave her a quick hug, and kissed her on the top of her head. He wouldn’t lie to her face. “I have to meet him at Faina Farms. Might be a breach labor. I don’t know.” He’d partially told her the truth. He wasn’t meeting his partner, Richard, but rather his team. They were meeting at Faina Farms. But it wasn’t a breach birth. He knew it was a fire on the easternmost edge of the ranch.
“Okay,” Jemma murmured into his chest. She was disappointed, and afraid. She didn’t know why, though. The smell of the smoke had her on edge, and whatever he’d been about to tell her. She couldn’t fathom what it would be. He was clearly in a rush to get going, and she didn’t want to delay him further. She knew it couldn’t be a proposal. It was too soon. Plus, he’d looked scared. Had he learned something new? Fathered a child he just found out about? An ex trying to come back into his life? She couldn’t leave without knowing something. “You promise that what you have to tell me isn’t bad?”
Angel’s heart broke a little bit as he saw the shimmer of tears in his beauty’s eyes. “I promise. At least I don’t think so. I just did this all wrong. Please don’t worry about us. I love you, Beauty.” He cupped her face and kissed her. “I love us together,” he promised when he broke the kiss.
“I love us together, too.”
“I really gotta go,” he said as he opened her car door for her. Jemma slid in as he handed her the purse and then the small overnight bag which she placed onto the seat next to her.
“Be safe,” she whispered as he waved her off, already retreating into his own home.
Jemma reluctantly turned the ignition over in her car and drove away, feeling unsettled. She hated not knowing what he was going to say. But he was a vet and committed to his clients. She supposed this was one thing she needed to get used to. Angel running off to save animals. She couldn’t hold that against him.
He meant too much to her.
Chapter 11
“Two days!” Jemma paced the floor in front of her computer screen. “Two friggin’ days. How long does it take to deliver a breach birth?” She fumed. “And not a single text message!” Jemma could tell Calliope was just as angry as she was but was holding back.
Calliope watched her friend on the monitor. She too was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Whatever Angel had planned to reveal to Jemma sounded highly suspicious. She suspected that Angel was keeping something from Jemma, too. She didn’t bring up her suspicions because she didn’t want to cause her friend any more worry. “I’m sure it was important.” She tried to play devil’s advocate.
“I’ve texted him every few hours all day.”
“Maybe he left his phone somewhere. You could always drive over there,” she suggested. “Or call his office in San Antonio. Isn’t he supposed to be there on Tuesdays? Surely they would know where he is?”
“I guess I could drive over. I should have earlier, but it’s too late now. Plus, that fire in eastern Banderas has been going on so I wanted to stay close to home.”
“What about calling his office?”
“I don’t know.” She had thought of that, too, but didn’t want to be that woman. “I trusted him wholeheartedly until two days ago, and if I start doubting him now, what would that say about this relationship?”
Calliope nodded her understanding. She watched as Jemma stopped pacing suddenly and looked off into the distance. Then, her eyes brightened looking into the monitor. “Hey, I think he’s here. I see lights coming up the driveway. I’ll text you tomorrow and let you know if he turned up.”
“Love you, Jems,” Calliope stated as Jemma signed off.
The moment Jemma opened the door, Angel swept his woman off her feet into a crushing a bear hug. “Ah, you’re sight for sore eyes, my beauty.” He knew there was going to be hell to pay, but he was exhausted. He’d left the fire, now under control, stopped home for a shower
and quick change so he didn’t smell like smoke, and then hightailed it to Jemma’s, knowing he’d have a lot of explaining to do.
He hadn’t expected fists. Jemma pushed him away and hit him smackdab in the center of his chest. “You can’t just come in here and try to butter me up. Put me down. I’m pissed at you,” she declared.
Angry tears ran down her face. She looked adorable, but his heart ached that he had made her feel this way. He had to come clean, so he complied and set her down.
Jemma dashed the angry tears off her cheeks with her sleeve and eyed Angel. He looked tired, though groomed. But even that did not reassure her. Before he could utter a word, she pounced once more. “You don’t call, return my texts, I mean what kind of breach birth takes forty-eight hours? You didn’t have one minute for a break to let me know how you were doing? I’ve been out of my mind. Now tell me where in the hell you were!” She had meant be calm about it, but she’d worked herself up into a fury after her conversation with her friend.
“I’m so sorry, Jemma. I couldn’t call. I forgot my phone.” And that was the truth. He had forgotten his phone at home. He had battled the fire for two days alongside his companions, and their reprieve came today just as they’d managed to get the blaze under control, but not before it had destroyed over two hundred acres of the Faina farm’s prime woodland. The blaze had been started by lightning striking a dead tree.
“There were no phones around you could have borrowed?” She huffed and began to pace in front of him. “Seriously, I was freaking the hell out over here.” She stopped and placed both hands on her hips. He saw her nostrils flaring in anger.
“Please sit, and I’ll explain everything.” He tried to reach for her, but she stepped out of his arm’s length.
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