“No problem, brother. I’ll see you at the fair tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.” Not just because he was getting a commendation. Any chance Jemma was willing to give him, he was willing to take. He was hoping they could put this behind them, and get back to where they were.
Penelope winked before she turned her back on her comrade. Jemma was a great woman and Angel was a fantastic man. I hope they can work things out, she thought as she made her way into the station for her shift. She made a mental note to herself that if she saw Jemma tomorrow at the fair, she’d just have to put in a good word on Angel’s behalf. She’d mention what an awesome and loyal man he really was. She knew Jemma, and though she had always professed that firefighters were off limits, she knew that she’d see reason, especially if she really cared for Angel.
Chapter 14
Jemma was running late. She’d promised to meet Calliope by the food tents located next to the Community Center for a late lunch at 1PM. Though the ceremony to honor the firefighters wasn’t scheduled until later, Calliope wanted to enjoy her weekend off and insisted Jemma talk to Angel.
“Are you ready? I’m starving.” Calliope had been dressed and ready to go since noon.
She redid her pony tail for the third time, and then made her way downstairs. “Yes, almost. Just let me get these dishes done.” She heard Calliope’s loud sigh as she finished cleaning the kitchen before leaving. She glanced at the clock. It was already 12:30.
It wasn’t that she was putting off the inevitable, she lied to herself after she locked up the house with Calliope waiting patiently beside her. “It’s going to be a scorcher,” she commented. The day was warm and the sun bright.
“It’s going to be fine.” Obviously, Calliope wasn’t referring to the weather.
“Well, I’ll meet you there,” she told Calliope. “But I need to stop at the drug store for some sunscreen.” Her fair skin burned so badly under the Texas sun. She’d run out of sunscreen and needed more, but hadn’t had a chance to pick some up during the week.
Calliope had given her the look, but didn’t say anything.
“I promise. I’ll be right behind you,” Jemma reassured her friend.
“Fine. But you’re not getting out of talking to him, Jemma,” Calliope warned her.
“I know. I promised. I sent him the text. So, I am sure he’ll be on the lookout for me.”
Calliope nodded once before marching down the driveway past Jemma’s Volvo. Jemma checked her purse for her phone and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans before she headed to her own vehicle. Once inside, she waited for her friend to back up before she started her own ignition and then pulled out of the driveway.
Just as she was leaving the Rite Aid a few minutes later, which wasn’t far from the fairgrounds, she ran into Frank.
“Fancy meeting you here!” he called her way as he walked down the sidewalk toward the fair.
“Yes, it is!” She waved as she started to get into her vehicle.
“You might as well keep your parking spot here,” he told her. “The parking area beside the Community Center is all filled up. I had to park at the grocery store.”
Jemma wasn’t surprised. The annual fair was a highlight for a community this small, and several of the surrounding communities always came out for the rides, booths, crafts, and food. Plus, this year the firefighters of the Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department were being honored for their heroism in putting out a fire at a nearby preservation. Many dignitaries from law enforcement and the media would be in attendance to capture it all. It wasn’t surprising that this year’s fair would get a record attendance.
“Good idea. I just need to put on a little sunscreen, then I guess I’ll see you over there.” Jemma waved him off, but Frank wasn’t to be dissuaded.
“I’ll wait and walk over with you.”
Jemma didn’t protest. They’d finally gotten onto better footing, and she was glad that Frank was taking everything in stride. She made quick work of applying the sunscreen she’d just purchased and then tossed the tube into her car. Once she grabbed her small wallet, she let Frank know she was ready. She locked her car, not too concerned about leaving her purse inside. Tarpley was a small town and everyone knew each other, but she did place it out of sight under her seat to be safe. She hadn’t wanted to carry her purse around all day at the fair, especially if she went on some of the rides with Calliope. She didn’t know how long she’d be staying, but the small purse was something she could easily slip into her back pocket, and she had placed enough cash in it to get her through the day.
As they crossed the road, Jemma began to hear the crowds of people having fun at the fair. At the dunking booth she saw Pops getting dunked by several firefighters she recognized and some she didn’t. All the large men were bare-chested which drew an even larger crowd. She saw Angel with them, but he was facing the other direction. Now was definitely not the time for their conversation. Some of the guys were beating on their chests and working the crowd. The fair was sponsored by the VFD to raise funds for much-needed equipment and training. For now, she would let him be as he worked the crowd.
But, she also couldn’t help smiling at the women catcalling and ogling the men, waving dollar bills at them to take another shot at dunking the fire chief. It was a pretty wild scene, but she knew the men did it to raise more funds for the community center and the fire station. She was glad that Frank did not mention it, though. It would have been awkward to have to defend Angel since they were still broken up. Frank just laughed as the crowd roared when several of the men threw their balls at once to dunk their commander. He came up sputtering and yelling that they would get theirs when it was their turn in the dunk tank.
She and Frank rounded the corner and made their way toward the Community Center, and she breathed a little easier with Angel out of sight. She wasn’t ready to talk just yet. Not when he stood there looking so tempting with a full audience in view. It had only been two weeks, but she hated to admit it, she felt lost without him.
At that moment several students stopped Frank. “Mr. Reynolds, hi!”
“Hi, Mark, Jenny,” he greeted the kids.
“I didn’t know you and Miss Haner were a thing?” giggled Jenny who was holding a large stuffed teddy bear.
“We aren’t, sweetie.” Jenna quickly corrected her former student from last year. “We are colleagues and friends.” She added the last two words to soften her hurried rejection of Frank who, she noticed, stiffened by her side. “I need to meet my friend Callie at the food tent, Frank. I’ll catch up with you later. Have fun, kids.” She veered left, glad that Frank didn’t follow her.
The food trucks were positioned together to the left of the Community Center, and Jemma spotted Calliope standing in line for some barbecue.
“Jemma!” Calliope called. They must have spotted each other at the same time. “You finally made it.”
“Yup, I’m here. As promised.”
“Great, you want me to order something for you? I’m almost at the front of the line.”
“Sure. Just some French fries and a Coke, though. I’ll snag us a table in the food tent.”
“Good thinking.” Calliope gave her the thumbs up sign.
As Jemma passed the covered area for people to sit and relax, she noticed it was quite full, but, luckily, as she entered the area, an older couple was just leaving and offered her their table.
“Thanks,” Jemma replied as she helped them tidy the table and then take a seat.
Calliope didn’t take long to arrive. She carried a basket full of barbecue ribs, and another full of French fries, with a big dollop of ketchup squeezed from the concession into one corner of the box for dipping. Her friend knew her well.
“Yum, you remembered.” Jemma snagged a fry and drenched it in the ketchup.
“Yes, that godawful stuff you love is gross. Save me a few from that corner.” She pointed toward the opposite end of the box.
Jemma laughed. “Wil
l do.”
They dug in, and she snatched one of the succulent ribs from her friend.
“So, have you seen Angel yet?” Calliope wondered.
“Mm, yes,” Jemma murmured around a mouth full of delicious pork. “He was over by the dunk tanks earlier.”
“Yes, I saw him there, too. One of the guys invited me to come over and watch the chief get dunked, but the food tent was beckoning me. Plus, it smelled so darn good, and I was starving.”
Calliope had a voracious appetite at times. She was also one of those lucky women who could eat whatever and how much she wanted and her magic metabolism made the calories disappear. “You going to talk to him before or after the ceremony?”
“I’m not sure. After, I think. Do you know when the ceremony is?”
“I heard it was happening at dusk, just before the dance begins.”
She had forgotten about the dance. “Yeah, probably after then. I don’t want to ruin the award ceremony for him. I’m sure he deserves the commendation. They all do.”
Calliope eyed her friend. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I’ve just been thinking what a fool I’ve been to expect him to give this up. It terrifies me. Always will. But it’s not fair, I guess.”
The thought had been eating away at her all morning. She was still mad about the lie of omission, but she loved Angel. And if this was that important to him, she couldn’t expect him to give it up for her. Love came with compromises, and he couldn’t be the only one expected to make them.
Calliope smiled. “I like where this is going, and…” She encouraged her to continue.
“I do love him. I know he loves me. Can I live with the fear every time he gets a call? I don’t know.” And, she didn’t. But she was willing to try.
Calliope nodded her understanding. “My parents feel that way about me. They survive. I know it’s a little different for you. You lost your dad to a fire. That leaves scars. But, if Angel wants to do this, it really isn’t fair to ask him to give it up.”
“Like me asking you to give up chasing storms.” Jemma knew why Calliope saw Angel’s side in this. She had both Jemma and her parents worried about her.
Calliope nodded with raised eyebrows. “Yes, but I want you to know that I do plan to use that teaching degree someday. Storm chasing is not how I see my entire life. It was good and fun for a while. But, I do want a home, a family. To find that special someone. I want to settle down, too. I want it all.” She raised her hands in a grand gesture of female empowerment that made Jemma laugh.
“And you’ll have it, someday.”
Calliope would find love again, Jemma knew it. Her infectious personality, her generosity, her kindness, and willingness to go that extra mile for a friend. Those things made her worthy of her own great love.
“Yes, I will. Now, if you’re finished, I see a family over there with three kids eyeballing our table. I think it’s time we go have some fun, play some games, hop on a few rides, and find some hunky firefighters. What do you say?”
Jemma shrugged her shoulders and began to clear the table. “I say let’s do it.”
“Over here, folks!” Calliope called. “You can have our table. We just finished.”
The thankful parents rushed to claim the spot just as Jemma finished picking up all the debris.
Hand in hand, like in college, they scampered off to wait in line for tickets to get on the rides. Jemma felt lighter now that her decision had been made, and hoped she would run into Angel sooner rather than later. She didn’t go looking for him, though. As the planners of the fair, she knew all the Tarpley VFD guys would be busy. But, hopefully, she would find him and get to tell him before the ceremony that she wanted them to try again, and that she could accept what he did, as long as he promised to be careful and never to lie to her again.
After the tilt-o-whirl and the zipper, Jemma and Calliope queued up in the line to ride the Ferris wheel.
“Hi!” The woman in front of them in line turned to greet Jemma and Calliope.
“Oh, hi, Penelope. It’s been forever,” Jemma responded.
Jemma accepted the quick hug from one of Tarpley’s heroes. Jemma had gone to school with Penelope, but she hadn’t seen her in quite some time. In high school Jemma had always hung around with the nerds and science kids, while Penelope, who had been popular and very athletic, had hung around with the jocks. But it was a small school, and all the kids had been on friendly terms even if they didn’t often socialize together outside of school.
“It’s strange. We live in the same small town, but I never see you.” Penelope laughed.
“I’m teaching in Medina, so I do most of my shopping there before I go home. But I do see plenty of that donkey of yours.” Jemma wagged her finger at the only female on the Tarpley VFD that she knew about.
“Oh, gosh, sorry about that. I did get that message from you about your flowers. I’m sorry. Smokey has a real mind of his own. In fact, he got out this morning and is roaming somewhere around here.”
Jemma laughed. “Well, I’m sure everyone in this town knows him by now. He’s safe enough.”
“Yup. A real celebrity. Well, it’s nice to see you. I hope you don’t stay a stranger.” Penelope started to turn back to her companion but then stopped. “Um, I, there’s…”
Jemma eyed Penelope and sensed she had something on her mind. “What? Was there something else?”
“Just that, well, I hate to butt in where I don’t belong, but Jemma, I want you to know Angel is such a great guy. He really misses you, and feels like such a jerk for not telling you he was a volunteer with the Tarpley VFD.”
Jemma sighed. She wasn’t surprised. Her father was close with all the guys he’d worked with. They were like family to him, so it didn’t bother her that all of the other firefighters were aware of her situation. “I know he’s a great guy. I miss him.” She was at a loss for words.
“I didn’t mean to overstep,” Penelope interjected, seeing Jemma’s brain working. “But, I know he would never lie to you again. And a lot of what we do isn’t dangerous.”
“No, not at all, it’s just…”
Calliope interrupted. “Actually, she plans on forgiving him and trying to work things out. We just haven’t seen him around yet for her to tell him.”
Penelope’s eyes widened in surprise as they stepped onto the scaffolding for the Ferris wheel. If Jemma Haner was willing to date Angel in spite of his being a firefighter, she must really love the guy. A genuine smile crossed her face when she saw Angel getting out of one of the seats on the Ferris wheel. “Well, look no further because he’s getting off a cart on the Ferris wheel right now.”
And suddenly Angel’s eyes locked on hers. “Hi!” he exclaimed.
She could see the worry in his expression as he looked at Calliope, then Penelope and then finally back to her. At that moment the carnival worker indicated that she and Calliope should take the seat he’d just vacated with the elderly woman he’d escorted onto the ride.
“Go ahead. Talk to him now. The time is perfect,” Calliope encouraged.
“What? I don’t know…” Angel looked very confused.
“Jemma wants to talk to you. And you’re going to want to hear what she has to say. I can escort, er, um,” Calliope looked at the older woman who was very interested in following the conversation.
“Mrs. Jameson,” Angel said the elderly woman’s name.
“I’ll escort the lovely Mrs. Jameson to wherever she wants to go next. You can have my seat on the Ferris wheel with Jemma.”
“Um, okay, sure.” His eyes lit up. Jemma was nervous, but her friend indicated that she wanted to talk this through. He glanced her way, and she gave him a tentative smile.
Terrified. Absolutely terrified. Not only did she hate heights, but now she’d have to tell the gorgeous, confused man in front of her that she wanted to work things out with him while riding the Ferris wheel. How the heck did this happen?
Penelope and her man
climbed into the cart in front of them, and then she and Angel got back onto the blue cart that he’d just vacated. As the carnival employee fastened the arm latch that would keep them from slipping out, she noticed Penelope quickly turn and wink at Angel and give him a thumbs up sign.
Once the wheel began to move, they both spoke at once. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison. Then they laughed.
“You first,” Angel offered.
Jemma nodded, but as they climbed higher, she got nervous and reached for his arm, gripping it hard. Once the cart stopped swaying, she felt a little calmer as long as it didn’t move. She began to speak. “I want you to know that I’m sorry I kicked you out the way I did. It was just such a shock, and the lie…”
“I’m so sorry. I was stupid to do it. I regret doing that to you. I was just so…”
Jemma held up a finger, and he stopped to let her finish. “Thank you. It’s hard enough for me to… whoa,” she interrupted herself when the cart lurched. She nearly jumped out of her seat.
“Are you afraid of the Ferris wheel?” Angel asked, full of concern.
“Yes, heights. I am.”
“Come closer,” he encouraged. “You’ll feel better with my arm around you. It’ll make you feel more secure.”
Jemma smiled inwardly. “Yes, it would.” And she leaned into him.
She felt the warmth of his body and had to admit she did feel safer with his arm curled around her.
“I know you’re not done talking, but this kind of feels hopeful here, doesn’t it? I don’t want to presume, but…”
Jemma looked up into his warm eyes. “Yes, be hopeful. I want to be. I’ve really thought about this, and though it terrifies me to death, it’s not fair to ask you to change who you are and not do something you love. But you have to promise me not to lie again, even by omission. And you’ve got to deal with my anxiety and panic attacks when you get called away. I can’t predict how that will be, but I want to try again.”
“I can do that. I promise. Jemma, you mean everything to me. I love you. God, woman, these past two weeks, I have been kicking myself for all kinds of a fool. I also wanted the chance to explain to you why I want to keep being a volunteer, too. Can I?” he asked. “It’s important to me that you know why I do this.”
Fighting For Jemma Page 12