by Kathryn Shay
Chapter 7
“I’ll drop Kate off at the academy and you at the firehouse, Rafe,” Mitch told them when they finally left the hospital around noon. Only Carol and the kids had been allowed to see Brick as he was still in ICU.
“I don’t have my car at work. It’s in the shop and Beth picked me up this morning.” His expression was somber. “We’re both freed up for today. And truthfully, I’d like see Tommy now.”
Kate nodded. She got it. After close calls, firefighters needed to see their spouses and kids. “Fine by me.”
Mitch grunted. “I’ll bet. You’re missing the confidence walk.”
“Mitch, I can—”
“Teasing you, kiddo. You can’t do the hike because you’ve been up all night. Take the day, both of you. That’s an order.”
When they reached the academy and got into Kate’s car, Rafe turned to her. “You sure this is okay?”
“Of course it is.”
He leaned back against the headrest. “I thought I was going to cry like a baby when Carol saw you.”
“I shed a few.”
“Why not? I keep remembering things. How we went out with them to movies and dinner. How we loved their kids, took them some overnights so Brick and Carol could have time together. Both are teenagers now.”
“So many memories.”
“I begged him to put in for my squad, after you left.”
“I’m glad he transferred.”
The drive was short to Kate’s from the academy, so they reached her patio home in ten minutes. When they pulled into the driveway, Kyle was playing catch with Tommy in the front yard. They stopped the toss when Kate and Rafe got out. He drew in a deep breath. She knew after fires the people who fought them couldn’t get the smell of burning wood and timber out of their head. The scents of newly mowed grass, the flowers dotting the porch helped expel it
“Mommy! You’re home. Daddy, you came to see me.”
Rafe cleared his throat, still emotional. Tommy ran to him. He hugged his son.
“What’re you doing here?” Tommy asked when Rafe finally let him go.
“We got a day off unexpectedly,” Kate answered. “Come on inside, honey. Your dad needs to talk to Kyle.”
“See you, Kyle.”
Kate went into the house with Tommy and made coffee. Her son climbed up on a stool at the counter and she served him juice. She called Megan to cancel her stint at babysitting, then sat with her boy.
When Rafe came in, he joined them. Tommy’s nose crinkled. “You got dirt on your face. And you’re stinky.”
Rafe sniffed his uniform shirt. “I was in that fire and need a shower.”
“We got two,” Tommy told him.
“I suppose it would be better to shower and put back on dirty clothes than to stay this stinky.”
Kate said, “Come on, I’ll show you where to go.” She led him down a corridor to the bath between her two guest rooms. “Hold on a second.”
Leaving him in a chair in the corner, she went to her bedroom, fished in the back of the closet and found a box. When she entered the bathroom again, she handed it to him.
“What’s this?”
“I’m embarrassed to say.”
“Kate?”
“Check inside.”
When he opened the box, he smelled laundry detergent. He frowned as if he didn’t recognize the contents. Then he looked up. “These are a pair of my old jeans, a shirt and sneakers.”
“I, um, packed them by mistake when I left. Well, not the shirt, I took one of yours intentionally.”
“Oh, Kate.”
“I wore it as a maternity top for six months. It made me feel closer to you. Brought the baby I carried closer.”
Briefly, he closed his eyes. “The image of you in my shirt, big with my child, alone, is unbearable. I can hardly listen when you tell things like that.”
“I wished every single day you were there, to celebrate milestones: when I started to show, when I first felt him kick.”
He frowned. “But you kept these clothes all this time?”
She blinked rapidly and crossed her arms over her middle. “When I married Chris, I told myself to throw your stuff out, but we ended up buying the house I rented, so it stayed where it was buried.”
“Why did you bring the box home with you?”
She could feel her face heat even more. “Take a wild guess.”
“To show me you never forgot me.”
“Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad, honey, I’m…flattered.” He sighed heavily. “But I’m trying to keep some distance from you.”
Relishing the endearment, she chose to ignore the rest of his statement. She leaned against the vanity. “You’re the one who asked to be with me yesterday and today.”
“I guess.” He raked a hand through dirty hair. “I’m confused.”
“That’s understandable. We have a lot of time to figure things out. Unless…” She frowned. “Did you set a date to marry Melanie?”
“No, and we had a fight about it.”
She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
“I’m gonna shower.”
“Then I will, too.”
He stared at her and she knew he was thinking of the many times they showered together. She left the bath, wanting badly to stay in that room and feel the hot spray of the water on them as they had wet, hot sex.
o0o
After lunch at a hamburger place, two games of catch, and a rousing match of a Mad Mortimer board game, Rafe yawned.
Kate noticed. “You need some rest. You must be exhausted.”
“You are, too.”
“I didn’t fight a fire yesterday.”
He rubbed his neck, sore from exertion. “I feel like I was hit by a train.”
“Don’t go home, Daddy. You can sleep here in the spare room.”
She glanced at Rafe.
“You can’t drive me home. You’re exhausted from today, too.” He sighed. “I guess I could take an Uber.”
“No! I wanna be with you, Dad.” His son’s voice was getting whiny.
Kate sighed. “Your dad can sleep in the spare room.”
Rafe said, “Sounds like the best solution.”
The three of them made the trek down the same hallway to the two other bedrooms. Tommy walked into his and Kate closed his door.
“I’ll leave my door open.”
“Not necessary. I’ll hear him from the living room.”
“Aren’t you going to take a nap?”
“On the couch, in case he wakes up and comes out. That’s what I do when I get really tired during the day.”
Rafe walked into the spare bedroom and sat on the bed. Even this room smelled like her lotion, her shampoo. He hooked his arm around his neck and kneaded there.
“Same old spot?” she asked from the doorway.
“Yeah, the damn thing never went away.” And was so painful now, he could barely stand it.
“Want some relief?”
He remembered how she’d massage that area when it acted up. “Kate…”
“I promise. Just the massage. Not what came after.”
“Since I’m not sure I can sleep with this, I’m choosing to believe you. You can massage my neck.”
He whipped off the shirt, kicked off his sneakers and lay prone on the bed. Crossing the room, she put a knee on the mattress then straddled him. “I’m sorry, I have to.”
“You’re not sorry.”
Ignoring his comment, she started with the biggest knot.
“Holy hell, that hurts.”
She chuckled. “Some things never change. You’re a baby.”
He laughed, then groaned into the pillow.
She kneaded harder. Found the places that were causing him grief, attacked them. Pain streaked through his torso as she rubbed and pressed and kneaded. But the way she fit him, the sexy clutch of her legs against his torso, knowing if he turned over, they’d be groin to groin, made him a
ware of her in the midst of the soreness. After a bit, he said, “Stop. Your fingers must hurt.”
Slowly easing off him, Kate stood, and he turned to his side, the way he used to sleep. She bit her lip. He…longed for her. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to crawl into this bed with me.”
She didn’t deny it. Or apologize. “I’ll go.” She reached the door.
“Kate?”
Stopping, she turned back to him, she asked, “Yes?”
“I know how you’re feeling, because I want that, too.”
It was the wrong thing to say, but he was so tired he wasn’t being cautious. When she left, closing his door, too, he shut his eyes and blacked out.
o0o
“Can we make pizza for my dad?” Tommy asked from where he sat on a stool at the island counter.
My dad. His use of the term thrilled her. Kate whispered, “Yes, but only if we’re quiet.”
“Can’t we get him up?”
“He’s exhausted. He fought a fire yesterday and that’s really hard.”
“O-kay. I’m gonna be a firefighter someday.”
Kate stilled at his words, then put them out of her head. She would not worry about that.
She’d planned to have homemade pizza this weekend, so the fixings were already in the fridge. She got out two cans of diced tomatoes, a can of paste, garlic, parsley and oregano she always kept on hand.
At the stove, Kate sautéed the spices and the zesty scent permeated the kitchen. Adding the tomatoes, she stirred everything together. Hmm, it smelled delicious. When she’d mixed them enough, she turned down the heat. “Now it has to simmer.”
“That means cook slow.”
“Teaching the boy to cook?” The deep, sleepy voice came from the archway of the kitchen. Rafe’s hair was rumpled and messy. His eyes were still slumberous.
A pang shot through her, remembering how much she’d loved waking up with this man. “All men should know how to cook.”
“I agree.” He sniffed and arched a brow. “Homemade pizza?”
“I was planning to make it anyway.”
“Not till Saturday, you said, Mom.”
He chuckled. “It’s my favorite of Mommy’s meals.”
“Mine too,” Tommy put in.
Rafe’s brow furrowed. “Did you check on Brick?”
“As soon as I woke up. Carol said he’s sore, and grumpy, but on the mend. We can see him tomorrow.”
Rafe dropped down next to Tommy at the bar. “You let me sleep.”
“You needed the rest, but we were nearing dinner time so I had to cook.” Kate removed the dough and toppings from the fridge.
“How much sleep did you get?”
As she rolled out the dough and put it in a pizza pan, she smiled at him. “An hour and a half. I’ll go to bed early.”
He ruffled his son’s hair. “So, Tommy, what do you want to do before supper?”
“Play cards. I like war, Go Fish…”
“Whoa. I pick Go Fish.”
Kate angled her chin. “Play in the living room and I’ll make a salad to go with this.”
Tommy hopped off the stool and took Rafe’s hand. She got a glimpse of what life would be like as a family and she sighed, deeply.
Rafe said, “When you join us, bring two glasses of wine.”
“You’re on.”
They all played Go Fish while the pizza baked, then ate the hot cheesy pie without much talking. After Tommy and Rafe sent Kate to the living room, they cleaned up. Tommy asked, “Can you put me to bed, Dad?”
“Sorry, he can’t, buddy.” Kate overhead the conversation from the living room. “You have to come with me to drive your father home.” But Kate had wanted more time with Rafe, too. She wanted him to put her to bed, like he used to.
“I can call—”
“No, we’re taking you.”
An hour later, they all climbed into her car and headed to his house. When they drove up to the garage, he noticed the lights were on.
“Do you have lamps that turn on after dark?” Kate asked.
“Not inside. Just the outer ones.”
“Who’s in your house, Dad?”
“I—” He was shocked when Melanie whipped open the front door. Wearing a light sweater with her skirt and heels, she somehow still marched down the sidewalk and came up to the driver’s side.
Reluctantly, Kate rolled down the window. The woman wasn’t so pretty with a pinched face. “Hi, Melanie.”
“What the hell is going on here?” She bent over so she could see in the car. “How cozy. Have you been with them since yesterday? I’ve been calling you, Rafe.”
Rafe turned to the backseat. “Goodbye, son. Kate.” He got out of the car and tapped on the hood when he closed the door. Kate backed out. She didn’t look through the rear-view mirror. She didn’t want to see what developed in front of Rafe’s house.
o0o
He could see Melanie’s angry eyes because of the garage lights. She folded her arms over her chest. “What’s going on with you and Kate?”
“We’re friends. Colleagues.”
“You were with her for two days?”
“How do you know that?”
“I called the firehouse and they said you had the day off. Then I checked the internet and saw there was a big fire, so I was concerned about you.”
He’d purposely ignored her calls, then his phone had run out of juice. “About my safety or where I was, who I was with?”
“All of the above.”
Fatigue crept up on him, even though he’d napped. “One of my crew had a heart attack in the fire yesterday. He almost died. I was at the hospital until noon today.”
That deflated her righteous posture. “I’m sorry to hear that. How is he?”
“I called his wife on the way over. He’ll be fine if he does rehab and changes some of his habits.”
“Was Kate with you?”
“Damn it, Melanie. You’re like a dog with a bone.” Because he felt guilty, Rafe raised his voice.
“Don’t yell at me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m whipped and need sleep.”
She moved close and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’ll stay the night. We can sleep. After.”
Fuck! He couldn’t do that now. “It’s a nice offer, but I don’t think I can do the before.”
“Nonsense. Of course, you can.”
Easing her away, he said, “I’d like you to leave.”
But Melanie reached up and looped her arms around his neck, pressed her body to his and gave him an open-mouthed kiss. When she stepped back, she said only, “She can’t have you back, Rafe. I mean it.”
He watched her walk to her car, which was parked on the street, for some reason, maybe so he couldn’t see it and she could make a dramatic entrance. Or maybe she wanted to ambush him, catch him unaware with Kate. God, if she was like this now, what would she be like if they married?
His head began to ache so he went into his house, plodded upstairs, plugged in his phone, set the alarm and flopped on the bed in the clothes Kate had saved for him.
A loud buzzing woke him. It took him a minute to realize the alarm went off. Five a.m. His shift began at six.
He did his morning routine, called the hospital to learn Brick had a restful night, then headed to the firehouse. When he entered, there were no sounds from his crew. He found them in the kitchen, sitting silently around the table.
“Hey, why the long faces?”
Tim Murray, who was always so jovial, but seemed down, stood and hugged him. “You good?”
He patted the guy on the back. “Yeah, sure. Brick’s improving, too. I called the hospital. I’d like to go over there as soon as we’ve had breakfast.” Firefighters could leave the station house, but only together, in case they got a call.
“We’re not hungry,” Luke quipped.
“You gotta eat. We need fuel.”
Lore
lei popped up out of her seat. “I’ll cook.” She headed for the fridge. He usually went to his office while breakfast was prepared but because of their attitude, he got coffee and sat. And talked. “Carol and the girls are dealing.”
“We know. We called her.” This from Luke.
The sound of sizzling bacon filled the room accenting their silence.
“What’s going on, gang?”
“We all tried to call you, Rafe.” Tim again.
“After we left the hospital?”
“Yeah. You didn’t answer.”
“The battery died on my phone.”
Beth threw her newspaper down. “We usually hang out for a few hours after somebody gets hurt. We went to Badges for food and camaraderie. We needed you with us.”
“Then I’m sorry. I was distracted but I should have realized—”
“Distracted by Kate Cassidy.” This from Ernst, who rarely got riled, but also seemed mad at him. “You were with her after you left the hospital, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Was she more important than us?” Tim asked.
“It’s complicated. We go way back.”
“Yeah, we heard the story.” Luke again. “How can you be with her after what she did to you?”
“I’m not going to discuss my relationship with her. I will say I was thoughtless yesterday, I won’t do it again, and I’m sorry I didn’t follow our usual routine.”
That seemed to placate them. They ate the eggs, bacon and toast Lorelei prepared, and afterward, all piled into the squad vehicle to go to the hospital.
When he knocked on Brick’s hospital room’s door and entered, he found Kate in a chair on the right side of the bed.
o0o
Kate’s eyes widened with anxiety when Rafe walked inside. But Brick perked up at the sight of his captain.
“Hey, man!” Rafe crossed to the other side of the bed. He held out his hand which Rafe briefly clasped “How you doing?”
“I been better.” He scanned the group who waited at the door. “Come on over you lugs.”
They gathered on the window side and at the foot of the bed. A few of them greeted Kate. The others nodded. Rafe waited until Brick greeted them.
“Some fire, huh?” Brick said.
“Yeah.” Rafe gave him a stern look. “I got a lot of questions for you, buddy, but I’m going to wait until you’re better.”