“Yeah, I don’t know how she got this drunk that quickly.”
“Maybe she is just a lightweight.”
“Apparently,” Willow said. “So much for showing me the nightlife in Evans Mill.”
I looked over at her quickly and let out a slight laugh. The thought of a nightlife scene here was just comical.
She looked at me and started to laugh as well. “I guess there isn’t much of a nightlife here is there?”
“No, there isn’t,” I said. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”
“Nope. Vic is my cousin. I came in town for an engagement party this weekend and decided to make a vacation out of it.”
“Vacation? Here in Evans Mill?” I laughed again. I looked over at her again and I could see the blush creep back on her cheeks.
“Yeah, I guess this isn’t the best place to vacation. But I figured it was a good break. I was getting a bit bored of the same thing.”
“Where are you coming from?”
“Denver.”
“And you were bored in Denver?”
“I know, it’s silly. But everything is just the same there. The same bar scene, and the same people. My work seemed to take over my life. And I just wanted something different.”
I nodded in agreement. I understood wanting something new. Something different than what you were used to. It was part of the reason why I started working at the fire station full time.
Willow grew quiet and I looked over at her. She looked confused, and a little worried.
“Everything ok?”
She bit her bottom lip, not realizing how cute it was. “I think I pointed the wrong way. This doesn’t look familiar to me.”
“Well it’s a small town, I’m sure we can find it.” I made a u-turn back towards the center of town.
“I’m really sorry about this, you had just gotten to the bar and we made you leave. I probably owe you a beer or something.”
I laughed. “Yeah, but you paid for mine tonight, so I think we’re even.”
We kept driving and she looked out the window, squinting at the buildings as we passed by.
“That’s her apartment building right there,” Willow said as she pointed off to the right. I pulled the truck over and parked in front of the building. Victoria shot up in the back seat, startling both of us.
“Are we getting kicked out?” she whined. “I swear I was just resting my eyes.”
“No sweetie,” Willow said as we both laughed. “We just got back to your place.”
Victoria nodded and started to fumble with the door in the back. Willow hoped out of the front seat and opened the cab door to help her. Once she got her unbuckled, she helped her out of the truck. Victoria took one step and toppled over taking Willow down with her. I quickly hopped out of my truck and helped Victoria and Willow back up. I held on to Willow, trying to steady her.
“You think you can make it?” Victoria looked at me as if she was realizing I was there for the first time.
“Oh, he’s cute Willow. Are you bringing him inside?”
“No,” I laughed. “I’m just helping you guys home.”
“Aw, but I think you should come inside,” as she winked at me.
“Vic, he’s just helping us out,” Willow said as she grabbed on to Victoria. “Thanks for your help Kalen, I think I can take it from here.”
“You sure?” I asked as I looked at Victoria’s wobbling form. I was still practically holding her up.
“I’m a big girl,” Willow said. “I can handle it.”
I nodded as I let go of Victoria. And just as I expected, her entire body weight fell onto Willow.
“Uh,” Willow grunted. “Ok. Maybe I could use your help,” she said sheepishly.
“I got her,” I said. Willow quickly moved her over and I picked up Victoria swiftly and walked up the steps to the building. I laughed as Willow struggled with Victoria’s keys in the door.
“What’s so funny?”
“Some of the guys at the fire station were saying maybe I would get to take a girl home tonight, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
She got the door open, a devilish smile playing on her lips. “Well, now you can tell them you took two girls home. You’ll be the talk of the town.”
Three
Willow
Kalen was gorgeous. And a fireman, which gave him bonus points. In the short time I knew him, I could tell that he was an absolute perfect gentleman, and Victoria was laying on him like some type of Damsel in Distress. But lucky for me, due to her intoxication, she was kind of missing out on the possibility of making a move. I flipped on the light switch and walked him into the building. Victoria’s place was an old unit downtown and there were a couple of apartments, one on the first floor and Victoria's on the second. I walked up the stairs and he followed behind me, never even seeming out of breath as he was caring Victoria's mostly lifeless body. Occasionally she would wake out of her drunken stupor and tell him how cute he was, but besides that, she wasn't much help.
When we arrived at our door he set her down and she seemed to finally be able to stand on her own. She took the keys from my hand.
“Is he coming in? I'm going to make macaroni and cheese, he should come in.”
I rolled my eyes, this guy had already completely saved our butts, he did not need to be subjected to Victoria's drunken cooking, which would probably cause a fire. In front of the firefighter, not a good look.
“No, he's not coming in. I'm sure he has better places to be than here.” Like absolutely anywhere, or maybe back at the bar so he could finish his beer. Jesus, we were a mess.
“No I don't,” he chimed in, catching me by surprise. “Mac and cheese sound great.” He leaned closer to me as Victoria fumbled with the keys in the door, “If you're going to let her cook, you at least need a firefighter to stay keep you safe. I don’t trust her near any open flames. Besides some pasta might absorb some of the alcohol in her body, it's good for all of us.”
His body being that close to mine set my skin on fire. What was it about him? The knight in shining armor routine? Or the fact that he was a firefighter? Or the giant muscles that lay right beneath his very tight t-shirt? It could be any of them or all of them. Or the fact that I hadn't dated in quite some time. But it didn't matter, Kalen was perfection. And as Victoria stumbled into the apartment and he followed close behind me it took every fiber of my being to not jump him the second the door was closed.
“Mac and cheese!” She announced as she made her way into the kitchen.
“Do you want something to drink? Water or a beer? I feel like I owe you way more than mac and cheese and a drink for saving our butts tonight.”
I could hear pans slamming into each other in the kitchen, the water turning on and off several times. Victoria's mac and cheese was definitely not enough to say thank you to Kalen for taking care of us. I wasn’t even sure it was going to be edible.
“Victoria? Everything going ok in there?”
“Yep!” She responded a little too excitedly for making pasta at midnight, but we all have our little things I guess.
“I'll take a water.” He finally responded sitting down on the sofa.
“You really don't need to stay you know, I'm sorry she's such a mess. Chalk this up to one of your worst nights in history.”
“Nah,” he said leaning back making himself comfortable. “Definitely not one of my worst nights. Actually potentially one of my best.”
What did that mean? I smiled at him trying to consider what he was saying when I realized that the kitchen was completely silent. Fuck. What happened to Victoria?
I walked into the kitchen to find more pots and pans than ever would be needed to make mac and cheese covering the countertops. And there was Victoria, slumped down next to the oven completely passed out. Shit.
“Hey, Kalen! Since this isn't your worst night ever can I ask one more favor?”
He walked into the kitchen and laughed. “Want me to put her in
bed?”
“Please,” I responded completely exhausted by this entire situation.
He strode over and lifted her up like she was a ragdoll. As if she weighed nothing, he threw her over his shoulder and walked back into the living room. “Which bedroom is hers?” He asked me as he moved down the hall.
“One at the end. The purple comforter I think.” As I followed him.
He sat her down gently and then even took her heels off. I was so impressed. They sure didn’t make them like this in Denver.
We silently walked back into the living room and he sat down on the sofa. I had expected him to leave but instead, he looked relaxed, like he intended to stay for a while. I looked at him with a slightly confused look on my face.
“I mean I was promised mac and cheese and a glass of water. I assume you'll follow through on her promises?”
I smiled at him. “Yeah, I can do that. And you're in luck because my macaroni and cheese is way better than hers.”
“I'll believe it when I see it.”
I brought him water from the kitchen and turned on the stove since Victoria had completely forgotten to do step one of boiling water. I sat down next to him. My knee slightly brushed against his and I felt a spark course through my body. The air surrounding us was thick as I felt the tension rise between us. And I knew both of us could feel it.
“I think I have a thing for the new girl in town,” he said with a smirk.
“Oh? What makes you say that?”
“Well, she's beautiful for one. And kind enough to take care of her friend when she's not in the best place. I respect that.”
“You said I was beautiful,” I responded leaning closer, inhaling his musky scent.
“I did say that,” he whispered back.
Just as our lips are about to touch I heard the worst possible sound. Victoria retching in her bed. Mother fucker!
“Oh no!” I stood up and immediately ran to the back of the apartment. She was hanging her out of her bed with her dress up above her waist and throwing up on the floor. The smell of vomit wafted to my nose. Gross.
Kalen came up behind me but I shielded him from the view.
“I think we're going to have to end our night here. Without mac and cheese. I'm really sorry. And you were so sweet to help me.”
“No, it's fine! We've all had a friend who's had a rough night. But maybe we could have another night together? One with just you and me?”
He pulled out his phone and I put my number in. This was so unlike me, meeting some random stranger deciding he is crazy sexy and putting my number in his phone. But I didn't care, I was only in Evans Mill for a week. Why not make the best of it?
“Call me tomorrow? But like give us until afternoon, I have a feeling this is going to be a long night.”
He smiled and kissed me on the cheek. “Tomorrow, afternoon. Can’t wait. Goodnight Willow.”
I watched as he walked down the hall, letting himself out of the apartment. And as much as I hated to see him leave, watching him walk away wasn’t that bad.
Four
Kalen
“Earth to Kalen…”
I shook my head and focused my eyes. I looked up to find Levi standing over me. I was part way under the firetruck. I was supposed to be finishing up the checklist of our equipment, but my mind must have wandered off.
“Sorry,” I said as I rolled myself out from under the truck. “What’s up?”
“Thought I lost you there,” Levi laughed. “I was trying to tell you that I finished.”
“Yeah, I must have spaced there for a minute.”
“You doing alright?” He looked at me with concern on his face. Out of all the guys at the fire station, Levi was the only one that knew everything that was going on with my family. About how I walked away and gave everything up.
“Yeah man, I’m fine.”
“Good, for a minute there I thought there was more drama happening on the family end.”
I decided to not accept my family’s trust five years ago, and that caused more drama that I was ever prepared for. Since then, every time that I spoke with my family it turned into a fight.
Growing up, I was always taught that money really wasn’t an issue. Our entire family was well taken care of thanks to the work of my great grandfather. When I was younger, I never really thought anything of it. It was just how life was. But as I grew up, I started to realize how snobby my family had become. Expensive condos in Denver and trips across Europe were all paid for without even batting an eye. I didn’t truly start to realize how outlandish my family’s spending was until I met Levi.
Levi and I met when we were in seventh grade. His family had just moved into the area because it was more affordable than trying to survive in Denver. His mom worked as a waitress at the local diner and his dad was no longer in the picture. His mom was trying to make ends meet to give him and his older brothers a better life. When he started seventh grade, a few of the other kids made fun of him when they realized he was wearing older clothes. They could tell his clothes were hand-me-downs from his brother because a lot of them looked too big on him.
One day during lunch, the bullying became to be too much for me to watch. A couple of guys were ripping into him, and I could see that he was on the brink of crying. So, I stepped in and defended him. Called out the bullies on their own faults. From there on out we became best friends.
Being friends with Levi taught me a lot. It made me realize that not every kid had a family like mine. As we got older, I started to distance myself from the family. To my parent's dismay, I got an after-school job at a local hardware store and refused to take their weekly allowance anymore. My mother, at the time, tried to blame my friendship with Levi. She tried to keep us apart, but it never worked. Eventually, she gave up, thinking that my friendship with him would be just a phase and that when I was ready to go to college, my mindset would change. Instead, it only strengthened.
“Thankfully there isn’t any family drama,” I said. “I just had an interesting night last night.”
“Interesting night huh? Is that code for sleeping with someone?”
“I wish,” I said as I let out a laugh. “I just helped a girl out last night, that’s all.” I stood up to grab more tools, wiping some grease off my hands on an old rag.
“Sure… you helped her into bed?” I punched him lightly in the shoulder and we both laughed.
The loud ringing of the fire alarm broke up our laughter. Adrenaline kicked in my system and the calm fire station turned into a flurry of activity. I rushed over to my gear and jumped into my suit. During training, our captain ran drills of all of us getting into our gear and heading out. It mattered to be fast because precious seconds counted when it came to saving someone’s life. Within a minute and a half, everyone that was on shift was ready to go and we were pulling out of the station. The siren blared as we sped down the street.
“Where are we headed?” I asked Levi.
“Mia’s. Sounds like they have a small fire happening in the kitchen.”
Mia’s was a popular Italian restaurant in the middle of downtown. They served the best homemade lasagna. Francesca Mia was the owner. She actually leased the property from my father. I knew I’d be getting a call shortly from him if we didn’t get the fire contained quickly. I clenched my jaw as I thought about how he would care more about the welfare of his building, rather than any of the people that happened to be in it. Willow’s face flashed suddenly in my mind. I hoped that Victoria didn’t decide to take her there for lunch.
As we pulled up to Mia’s I could see everyone gathered outside on the street. Good, I thought. Hopefully, everyone is out of the restaurant. At first glance, the building looked as though it was fine. There was no visible fire or billowing smoke coming from the building. But as we got out of the truck and grabbed our gear, I could see that there was smoke quickly filling the inside of the dining area, which meant it wouldn’t be long before the fire got bigger.
I se
cured my ventilation mask and headed into the building. Smoke was billowing out from the kitchen, which meant it was probably a grease fire. A slight pang hit my stomach. If it was a grease fire, we would have to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, which would contaminate a lot of the kitchen. I knew Francesca well. I had grown up coming to Mia’s. She was a sweet Italian cooking up recipes she learned from her grandmother. If we ruined her kitchen, she would be heartbroken. But I guessed ruining her kitchen was better than her losing her entire restaurant.
We made our way to the back as I looked around the building to make sure everyone else had evacuated. “Anyone in here?!” I yelled around the restaurant. No response.
Finally, on my walkie, I heard, “All guests evacuated. You’re clear.”
Thank God for that, I thought as Levi and I continued on. The door to the kitchen was closed, I could see the smoke coming out from it.
“We gotta kick open the door,” Levi said. And I knew exactly what that meant. The second that the door was pushed open, oxygen would rush to the fire, feeding it.
“Ready when you are,” I said.
Levi kicked the door open, and as expected the fire surged. From what I could see through the flames, it looked as though the fire was coming from a pan on the stove. I pressed down on the extinguisher and aimed it at the fire. Foam coated everything. Within a few minutes though, we were able to put out the flames.
Francesca rushed up to me the second we stepped outside.
“Kalen! I thought I saw you as you walked in. Stai bene?” A smile spread on my face. Francesca had always treated me and my brother as if we were her own grandchildren.
“I’m fine,” I told her as I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “But your kitchen might need some work after this.”
“A kitchen can be cleaned and rebuilt. What’s important is that you are safe. Thank you for putting out the fire.”
“Of course.”
“I bring you some dinner later, yes? You need to eat. Growing boys!” She whacked Levi on the shoulder and I laughed.
Burning Love (An Evans Mill Romance Book 3) Page 2