by Marie Ahls
But when a young woman abandons a baby into my arms, she’s seeing everything in a new light.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted…
And this baby might just be our chance at more than just a romance…
Safe Haven is a stand-alone, interconnected story in our Love Demands a Holiday series featuring smokin’ hot firemen that will tug at your heartstrings and make you root for Parker and Jack’s romance.
Safe Haven
by McKenna Rogue
Chapter One
“Bishop!” I’d come around the corner of the firetruck to find Jack frozen mid-sponging the red engine. “Quit daydreaming or I’ll spray you with the hose.” I waved the nozzle, illustrating the power I wielded.
I was tempted to hose him off any way. What woman wouldn’t want to ogle a wet t-shirt clinging to those rippling pectorals and washboard abs?
Washing the station’s fire engines wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend the first remotely warm day of the year, but at least it gave me an excuse to be outside in the sunshine. And a chance to check out Bishop’s ass every time he bent over to scrub a hubcap or suds-up his sponge.
What a nice ass it was, too.
Jack Bishop and I had been friends for years, ever since we both took on firefighter training together. He helped me get into enough shape to lift the required dead weight and we’d worked on the drills together to keep each other focused on ready.
And if I happened to ogle him when his shirt was off, imaging what it would feel like to run my fingers over the hardened muscles of his bare chest, that was purely a bonus.
I knew I needed to get over my crush on Jack. He wasn’t ever going to see me as anything more than a buddy, a coworker, a friend with thighs that were too wide to be fashionable and arms that could beat half the guys on our team in arm wrestling.
“Who’s daydreaming?” He lifted a brow and smirked like he knew I’d been checking him out. “You’re just pissed that my half of the engine is sparkling and yours still has mud on it.” To elaborate his point, he grabbed a handful of dirt from the flowerbed framing the front of our station and smeared it right across the engine’s station number.
Shaking my head, I hoisted the hose up and blasted it right at the spot he coated in dirt. I wasn’t going to fall for his goading or get myself roped into shenanigans. He dragged me into enough at the apartment we shared as roommates.
“Come on, Steele, let’s finish together, and then we’ll go inside and have something to eat.” He flashed me a smile and a wink.
God, why did everything out of Jack’s mouth sound like a come-on? I’d seen dozens of women fall for it—the charming smile, the devilish glint in his eye, a cheesy but effective pick-up line, and they were putty in his hands. And if those things on their own didn’t work, usually he “conveniently” lost his shirt somehow, and the abs and the sculpted “V” pointing down toward the goods got them.
He’d tried the moves on me, when we first met, but I didn’t fall for them then, and every day we grew closer, I was glad I hadn’t. He was an incredible guy, so much better than a string of one-night stands and short relationships he cut off before anyone got too attached.
I wasn’t sure who he was holding out for, but clearly, he hadn’t found it yet.
Every once in a while, like now, when he looked at me with those whiskey colored eyes and a smile that felt more honest, more earnest than most of his grins, I wanted to believe who he wanted was me.
But it could never happen. I wouldn’t let it.
Jack needed someone in his life who could give him the things he really wanted, the things he only ever admitted to wanting when we were two tequilas too many into the bottle, and he held me like we were more than just friends.
As much as I craved being in Jack’s arms, the secret desires of being a husband and a father were not something I could fulfill. I didn’t look forward to the day when he finally found the perfect woman for him, someone less tomboyish and more dainty, someone who couldn’t beat him at darts and pool, and someone who could bear him children. There was no way I could ever be that woman for him.
“Steele, you going to help?”
“Uh, you made the mess. You clean it up.”
Jack smirked and soaked his sponge, sauntering back over to me with a mischievous grin. “Make me, Parker.”
“What are you going to do with that?” I held my hands up, trying to prepare for whatever assault was coming.
He took another step toward me and then threw the sponge at my chest.
I shifted my feet and tried to grab the sponge, but it bounced off my shoulder before landing with a splat on the concrete. “How about I clean up that mess?” His eyes dropped to my shoulder and then to my chest which had been splattered with wet suds.
I tried to dart around him, so I could keep him from starting anything more, but Jack caught me around the waist and hauled me back. He pressed me up against the still-wet fire engine, pinning my hands against the cool metal as he caged me in.
“Jack…” I squirmed, trying to get free before he realized just how much of an affect he had on me.
Each struggle meant a caress of my body against his and his weight increased against me, like he wanted more. Or maybe I was pressing against him trying to feel more of him against me. Either way my whole body was buzzing and aching and wanting more.
“What, Parker?” His voice had dropped an octave and his eyes were twinkling with mischief. “Can’t handle me getting you all wet?”
God, I hoped he couldn’t feel the tremble in my knees.
Could he tell my body was responding in all the wrong ways? His chest brushed against my already taut nipples and my breath hitched. His eyes grew hooded. I licked my lips thinking about the innuendo of his question and his gaze dropped to my mouth.
A small cough drew our attention away from each other.
Standing at the end of the drive was a wisp of a woman in oversized clothes that hung on her frame. Although, woman seemed generous. She looked like she was barely old enough to drive.
Jack released his hold on me and stepped away from me. I let go of the breath I’d been holding.
I studied the young woman and realized in her arms was a tiny bundle of pink blankets.
I glanced at Jack and then took a tentative step forward. “Hi. My name’s Parker. And that’s Jack. Can we help you?”
“This is one of those places you can drop a baby, right? With no questions?” Her voice trembled and her hands were shaking; I worried she was going to drop the baby I assumed was hiding inside the blankets.
“Yeah. Are you okay? Do you need us to call anyone, or get you checked out?”
“No, you just have to take her. You have to, it’s the law.” Her gaze dropped from Jack’s face to the bundle for just a second before she shook her head. “If they let you give her a name, call her Briana, okay?”
Jack stepped forward and carefully lifted the baby from the young woman’s arms.
I kept my focus trained on the woman while Jack took the baby. I stepped forward, and her eyes widened with fear. She took a step backward. Her eyes flickered to the baby in Jack’s arms and then she darted out of the firehouse and around the corner.
Why did Jack have to take the baby? He was faster than me and could run longer. That girl clearly needed help, even if it was just in the form of a hug and a promise that everything would be okay, Briana would be safe.
Still, I took off running after her, hoping to give her any sort of reassurance. But a black SUV pulled out down the street and there was no sign of her.
I didn’t bother trying to get the license plate number. It probably wasn’t her car, and even if it was, Nebraska was a Safe Haven state. She was well within her rights to drop the baby off at the station.
Even though I’d never know her reasons for this choice, I couldn’t fault her for making it. She was practically still a child herself; if she couldn’t take care of the baby, she’d done the right th
ing.
Lord knew, I’d made a similar choice when I was around her age.
As I rounded the corner back to the station, I assumed I’d hear the baby wailing, despondent to be left. But instead, I found the giant, muscular, six-foot-five-inch fireman cooing softly as he rocked Briana in the safety of his arms.
“You’re kind of a natural at that.” I smiled softly as I walked up. “Or is it just because she’s on your intellectual level?” I needed to take the emotions out of it. To ignore the pangs in my gut.
“Mock all you want, but she’s sleeping.” He stuck his tongue out at me and then sobered as she cooed softly. “We should get her inside, let the captain know so that we can call in social services.” Jack looked back down at her and my insides turned to goo.
The man looked like he was made to be a father. Everything about his demeanor softened, like his whole world had somehow shrank down to the size of the little bundle in his arms.
Shaking my head, I grabbed the buckets and followed Jack into the station. I needed to stop thinking about him like anything more than my friend. It didn’t do me any good to daydream about his sexy body or get all gooey just because he was holding a baby.
The station alarm startled me and rebooted my brain. We’d practiced so often, my body was already moving, ready for the emergency.
“Steele, Bishop, you’re on baby duty!” Captain Greyson shouted as he pointed at the screaming baby trying to outdo the alarm.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I grabbed Bishop’s arm and tugged him toward the dorm. As soon as the engine was loaded and on its way out, the sirens ceased, and we worked on calming down the baby again.
I was just glad the captain didn’t leave me alone with Briana; otherwise I might’ve been bitter about being the only woman and being left with a baby.
As the sirens faded, Jack’s soothing voice filled the void. “Shhh, you’re okay.” I turned to find him gently bouncing Briana and pacing the length of the room.
“Who are you right now?” I sunk down on my bunk and stared at him. “You don’t secretly have like six of those somewhere, do you?”
He rolled his eyes at me exaggeratedly. “I have a kid sister, who’s eight years younger than me. You get pretty good at babies that way.” As Briana quieted in his arms, he came over and sat next to me. “You telling me you’d never want one of these?”
I ran my fingers over Briana’s soft, peach-fuzz hair and smiled softly. “I’m never going to have kids, no.” How could I explain to him that what I wanted didn’t matter? I’d had my chance, but I was too young, and now it wasn’t even an option.
“Never?” He gaped at me. “I always pegged you having a houseful of kids. I figured it would be just a matter of time before I lost my roommate to some guy and an adorable little drool machine.” He shifted Briana in his arms, holding her out some. “Want to hold her?”
Oh, God, did I. But if I held her, if I let myself, even for a moment, get attached, I wouldn’t want to let her go. “I think you’re doing just fine.” I got up, pacing along the other side of the room, wanting to do something. The beds were made, the dishes were done. There was nothing to do to keep myself busy. “We should probably call social services, let them know we have her. And, I don’t know, do we need to get formula or diapers or something?” Anything to get me away from the painful reminder that I’d never held my own baby, and now I’d never have the chance at another.
“Captain said he wanted to make the call. She’ll be okay for an hour or two. And if she’s here longer than that, we’ll run out and get stuff.” He patted the bed next to him. “Just sit down and relax for five minutes, Parker. It’s a baby. She’s not going to bite.”
I frowned and crossed my arms. “How can you be so calm right now? She’s all alone. Her mother abandoned her.” My eyes burned as tears welled up. I didn’t want to cry, but it felt like it might be inevitable. “Who’s going to take care of her now?” My voice cracked and I knew Jack would be able to tell I was losing it no matter how much I tried to hide it.
Jack quickly grabbed every free pillow he could, nestling Briana into the middle of my bed, surrounded by a barricade of pillows, before he crossed the room and gently grabbed me by the shoulders. “Parker, what’s going on with you? You were fine earlier, but as soon as the baby showed up, you’ve been acting all squirrely.”
I sighed. “It’s just hard, seeing her abandoned like that.” Up close, I knew he could see that tears were about to fall.
“It sucks. I get that. But you’re not just acting like it’s a shit situation.” He cupped my cheek, his thumb tracing over my cheekbone in soft, slow touches. “I know you, Parker. This isn’t a normal Parker Steele reaction.”
I leaned into him, ignoring the way my gut flip-flopped all over the place at the gentle caress. “What do you want me to say, Jack? We’re friends. But you don’t know everything about me. You have no idea who I was before we met. You don’t get to look at me with pity now.”
He took a step back, pulling his hand away with him. “I’m not pitying you, Parker. Seriously, what’s going on?”
I swallowed hard. “I was her, okay? Is that what you want to hear?”
“Briana?” He gestured to the baby. “You were left somewhere? Parker, I had no—”
I cut him off. “No, not the baby. The mom. I was fifteen, stupid, and on my own.”
And then I was back in Jack’s arms. His warmth surrounded me like a blanket. I rarely felt petite, but in that moment, I felt so small.
“You never said anything…” His voice was barely a whisper.
I molded myself into him, breathing in his musky, manly scent as my hands slid around his lower back. I hated how comfortable he was, how right it felt any time I got a hug, a touch, a lingering look.
But this felt like so much more than a hug. “I didn’t leave my daughter at a fire station or anything. But she’s out there in the world, without any idea that I’m her mom. I don’t even know what happened to her after the paperwork was processed. She was just gone.” The tears started, like the floodgates had broken. “She was my only chance.”
Jack rubbed my back, not saying anything at all as he backed up to the bed next to mine and pulled me into his lap. “Have you ever tried to find her?”
I shook my head, leaving a wet trail of tears and snot across his navy-blue t-shirt. “I’m still not in a place to be there for her. And it would just be too hard on both of us. She’s ten. She has her parents.” I curled into him, my cheek resting on his chest. “Why aren’t you freaking out about this more?”
“Would me freaking out make it any easier? My best friend’s hurting. I’m doing exactly what she needs.” He pressed his lips to the top of my head, holding me close. “Is that why you don’t want to hold Briana?”
“I can’t get attached to another baby just to let her go.” I sighed. “I probably already am attached.” I could just barely see her through her walls of pillows, but already my heart ached at the thought that I’d have to watch her get handed over to social services. “You probably think I’m nuts.”
“Not even a little.” He pulled back slightly and looked down at me. “Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded slightly. “Thank you for sitting here with me. For letting me get it out.”
“You know you can talk to me about anything, Parker. I’m here for you. Always.” He kissed my cheek and grinned at me. “Okay, go clean yourself up, take as much time as you need, and I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
I cuddled closer. “Can I stay here for just another minute or two? I know neither one of us wants the rest of the team to come in and find me a blubbering mess, sitting on your lap… But it’s really nice.”
“Parker, I don’t give two shits about what the rest of the guys think.” He moved closer, and for a fleeting second, I thought he was going to kiss me.
The crazy thing was, I wanted him to. I wanted so badly to find out what it would feel like to have Jack Bish
op’s lips on mine.
But instead, he leaned over and grabbed a box of tissues. “Just in case.”
As I snuggled into his chest, he wrapped his arms around me, keeping me close, as if he wanted this as much as I needed it.
“What did you mean, when you said your daughter was your only chance?”
I sniffled. “There were complications. If I want kids, it’ll be adoption.” The irony would never escape me. I couldn’t raise my child when she was born, and now if I was ever going to have a family, I’d have to do it with someone else’s kids.
Jack didn’t ask for any more information, and I didn’t supply anything more either. It wasn’t something I talked about with anyone. I’d never gotten close enough to anyone to trust them with that secret of my past. But with Jack, it seemed so easy to just spill everything, now that I’d started.
Briana started crying and I slipped from Jack’s lap, giving him space to care for her as I headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
Chapter Two
By the time the crew came back, Briana was in desperate need of a clean diaper, a meal, and a safe place to sleep that didn’t involve all the pillows in the station.
But Jack didn’t seem to care. He just kept walking around with her, bouncing her, patting her ripe-smelling diapered butt, cooing to her.
And every time he got close to me, the smile that filled his eyes seemed so warm, so genuine, and so foreign. It almost seemed like he was looking at me with more than just friendship, like he was imagining raising a kid with me just as much as I was with him.
“Okay, Bishop, a rep from social services should be here before the end of the shift. Hand her off to Benedetto. Take Steele to get supplies for dinner and to get this kid to stop crying and stinking up my station. You both look like you could use some fresh air.” He looked Jack over once before saying, “And Bishop, change your shirt. It looks like you got baby crud all over you.”
I grabbed keys for the smaller truck, knowing there were enough crew that we could be gone for a short time without taking the engine, and waited for Jack to join me. I hated that he had to change because of me, because of my snot and tears, as much as anything Briana may have coated him with.