Forever Starts Tonight

by Barbara Freethy

  Bill was talking about the tattooed, long-haired blond teenager named Connor, who'd become a regular at the beach the last few months. While Connor and his friends sometimes made him feel like an old man, he respected their skill and their daring. "Connor is good, but not as good as me," he retorted.

  Bill laughed. "Gotta love the fact that old age has not made you humble, Reid."

  "I'm thirty, not ready for the retirement home."

  "So, listen," Bill began, a thoughtful look on his face.

  Reid suddenly had a feeling their chance meeting was not so much by chance. "What's going on?"

  "I got a call from Larry Hendricks."

  "Your friend in Chicago?"

  "Yes. He told me there's an opening at his firehouse. It's on the south side, rough neighborhood, but if you want to apply, he'll put in a good word for you. He said they've had a revolving door of firefighters the last year, and the guys across town don't want to work there."

  "You're really selling it," he said dryly. He'd been thinking about making a move to a big city for a very long time. Family circumstances had prevented him from doing that before now, but those circumstances were about to change.

  "Just giving you the facts. Larry said the firehouse is strong, good guys, so it's not all bad."

  "How soon do they want someone?"

  "May. Apparently, the latest hire is transferring out then, so you have some time to think about it."

  "May could be perfect. Tara graduates in June. As long as I can make her graduation, it could work out."

  "But it is in Chicago. There aren't any ocean waves there, Reid. All they've got is a big lake. And don't forget the bitter cold in the winter, the killer wind chill, and the hot summers."

  He smiled. "I don't think anyone is going to make you a spokesman for the city, Bill."

  Bill shrugged. "It wouldn't be my choice."

  "No, it wouldn't. It would be mine." As he gazed out at the sea, he thought he would miss this town, this view, but he'd spent his entire life in Half Moon Bay, and he'd wanted to live somewhere else for as long as he could remember. He'd been trapped in this town, in this life, but he was about to be free. "I could adapt," he said, looking back at Bill.

  "I'm sure. If you want to apply, it's on you."

  "Thanks for letting me know."

  "I still hope you won't go for it. We've got a good squad. I hate to see that get messed up. It's not easy breaking in a new guy."

  "You'd manage. I've been waiting for Tara to graduate for a long time. Once she's legally an adult and on her own, I don't have to feel guilty about leaving her behind. She'll have her own life."

  "I get it. But just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."

  "Where did you read that? On a fortune cookie?"

  "I'm serious, Reid. You made that promise to yourself when you were a teenager. You have a lot more to give up now than you had then. You have a life here."

  He did have a life, and it wasn't a bad life, but was it the one he wanted? Didn't he need to find out for sure?

  Bill picked up the stick and tossed it down the beach to Oscar. "So what's up with you and the beautiful brunette from the doghouse?"

  "Nothing, unfortunately. I asked her for coffee. She said no."

  Bill grinned. "Strike one. That doesn't happen to you very often. But maybe it's a good thing. She has a kid and a dog."

  "And an ex-husband," he added. "But they were divorced six years ago, so it's not like she's on the rebound."

  "Still, that's a lot of baggage for someone like you. You like to travel light."

  "Normally, I would agree, but there's something about Jess…I don't know exactly what it is."

  "She's very attractive."

  "It's not just that, though. I'd like to get to know her better."

  "If she's been divorced six years, she must have split from her husband when the kid was a baby. He couldn't have been more than seven or eight."

  "Yes," he said, thinking about that. What had gone wrong so fast? Jessica clearly had some anger toward her ex, but he was in her life enough to add a dog and a doghouse into the mix, so it wasn't like he'd completely disappeared.

  "What are you going to do? You'll have an opportunity to see her again next week. You can give it another shot."

  "I'm not sure I want to wait that long."

  Bill tilted his head, giving him a speculative look. "What's your plan?"

  "Not completely sure. I'm still working on it."

  "Want to talk about it over breakfast?"

  "No. I'm going to go back out. I think better out on the water."

  "It's getting rough out there."

  "I can take it."

  "Well, don't do anything stupid. Leave that to the teenagers."

  He laughed as he grabbed his board. "I will do that."

  * * *

  He was doing something stupid, Reid thought, but he wasn't on his surfboard anymore; he was standing outside Jessica Blake's house just before eleven on Saturday morning.

  He didn't normally—make that ever—get involved with people he'd rescued, especially not divorced women with kids. As Bill had said, that was way too much baggage for him. He had enough problems to deal with in his own family; he didn't need to take on someone else's problems.

  Dating for him was fun, easy, and mostly forgettable. Which was why he really shouldn't have come here.

  But he couldn't get Jessica out of his head. It wasn't just the memory of her curvy, sexy body hanging out of the doghouse, or her thick, wavy brown hair that would look great spread across his pillow, or her dark-brown eyes that were intelligent and curious and sometimes sad and angry, too; it was also the sweetness he saw in her smile when she wasn't looking at him, the strength in her shoulders and the determined lift in her jaw when she'd told him no, she couldn't see him.

  He wasn't used to hearing no; Bill was right about that. He found himself wanting to change her mind. And he didn't want to wait a week to have the chance to do that.

  Along with Jessica, her son's heartbroken face had also gone around in his head. He'd had to destroy the doghouse to get Jessica out, and it had obviously torn her son apart. He understood that, especially now that he knew the kid had gotten the dog and the house from his dad, someone he apparently didn't see that often. He knew a lot about disappointing fathers. He couldn't fix that, but he could fix the doghouse. And if he could do something about it, he should.

  Of course, Jessica had to let him in the door first.

  He grabbed his toolbox out of his Jeep and walked up to her front door.

  He hadn't noticed much about the house during their call, but now he could appreciate that the yard was neatly landscaped and well-tended, a garden basket filled with wildflowers hanging from an awning over the porch. It was another sign of how hard Jessica was working to make a good life for herself and for her son.

  He rang the doorbell, and a moment later, he was looking into her surprised face. She'd obviously been cleaning, her hair up in a ponytail, thick, yellow vinyl gloves on her hands and some dirt running across her cheek.

  Despite the fact that she didn't have on an ounce of makeup and her faded jeans and tank top were obviously work clothes, her beauty hit him like a punch to the gut. Her skin was clear and creamy, her eyes bright, her lips pink even without lip gloss.

  Her brown eyes widened as she said, "Reid, what are you doing here?"

  He held up his toolbox. "I came to fix the doghouse."

  "That's not necessary."

  Her words were interrupted by the excited barks and sudden appearance of a big black Lab, who took a happy leap toward Reid.

  "Down, Wiley," Jessica said, trying to grab the dog's collar.

  "It's okay," he told her. "Hey, buddy." Wiley barked in enthusiasm.

  "He's not dangerous, just very friendly," she said.

  "I can see that."

  He set down his toolbox and gave Wiley a scratch around his ears as the dog barked and licked
his face. "I take it this is the wallet thief."

  "Yes, it is."

  "I can see why you needed the big doghouse."

  "He won't fit into it in another month or two. He's only eight months old. Apparently, he's going to grow a bunch more."

  "I love Labs. They're friendly and great with kids."

  "They are."

  "Who is it, Mommy?" Brandon asked, ducking around in front of his mother to give Reid a surprised look. "Hey, you're the firefighter who broke my doghouse."

  "And today I'm going to fix it," he said.

  "You are?" Brandon asked, his wary expression turning to a hopeful smile.

  "If your mother agrees." He turned his gaze on Jessica.

  "You have to let him fix it," Brandon told his mother.

  "The front is torn apart," she said, giving him an annoyed look. "I'm not sure it's fixable."

  "I have some wood in my truck. I think I can rebuild it for you," he said. "It may not be perfect, but it will be better than it is now. It's the least I can do—since I broke it." He knew he was putting her in a bad position, but if he was going to get another chance to get to know her, this was his best opportunity.

  "We don't blame you for breaking the doghouse," Jessica said. "You did what you had to do to get me out. Brandon knows that."

  "Still, it won't take much time. What do you say?"

  "Please, Mommy?" Brandon put in.

  "Of course," she said with a helpless shrug. "You're very generous to offer, Reid. Come in."

  "Yay!" Brandon clapped his hands as Reid stepped over the threshold.

  Wiley barked again with excitement, and Reid laughed, thinking it had been awhile since anyone had responded to him with so much enthusiasm, although Jessica obviously didn't share Brandon or Wiley's attitude.

  "Can I help you?" Brandon asked him.

  "Absolutely," he said.

  "Sorry for the mess. I was just cleaning," Jessica said.

  He didn't see much of a mess, just a little kid clutter in the small, cozy house. As she took him down the hall, he noted the photographs of Brandon that covered the walls. She was in some of them, but he didn't see any of Brandon's father.

  When they entered the kitchen, he was assailed by the delicious aroma of chocolate cookies. "It smells good in here," he commented.

  "We made cookies earlier."

  "Maybe I could get one of those," he said hopefully.

  "Let's see how you do with the doghouse first," she replied, with a sparkle in her eyes, for the first time letting down her guard just a speck.

  "Pressure," he said.

  "I have a feeling you're used to pressure; in fact, you probably love it," she added, as they went through the small adjoining family room into the backyard.

  "I don't mind it," he said. "It keeps life interesting."

  As soon as Wiley hit the grass, he took off, barking at a squirrel making its way across the back fence. Then he stopped to sniff the roots around a tree before making another run around the yard.

  "He has a lot of energy," Jessica said.

  "I can see that. Does he actually use the doghouse?"

  "Only to hide things he steals from the house."

  "Mommy, he's just playing," Brandon put in. "It's hide-and-seek to him."

  Reid laughed, thinking it was hard to argue with Brandon's logic. Jessica just rolled her eyes and turned back to him.

  "So what do you think?" she asked.

  As he perused the broken doghouse, he had to admit the damage was worse than he remembered, but it was mostly the front and top pieces that had been torn apart. He could put it back together. It might not look as good as new, but it could work. He'd spent a lot of off-days working construction for one of the guys at the firehouse. He might not be able to handle a house remodel, but a doghouse shouldn't be too difficult.

  "I can fix it," he said confidently.

  "What can I do to help?" Jessica asked.

  "Nothing. I have some wood in my truck. I'll go get it."

  "You can go out through the gate. Just make sure Wiley doesn't go with you."

  He smiled. "Or I'll be going on a run, right?"

  "He does love to run," she agreed.

  "Got it."

  She gave him a somewhat awkward smile and then turned to her son. "Brandon, I'm going to finish cleaning inside. You stay in this yard. No going out front, okay?"

  "Okay."

  "Just send him into the house if he's too much trouble," she told Reid.

  "He won't be."

  She gave him an uncertain look. "I really don't know why you're doing this."

  "It's part of the job," he lied. "We're a full-service fire department."

  "I doubt that, but thanks."

  "You're welcome. And I'm going to hold you to that cookie offer."

  "I'm sure you will," she said, giving him one last thoughtful look before heading into the house.

  Four

  An hour later, Jessica had changed into clean jeans and a soft deep-purple sweater, run a brush through her hair, and put on some makeup after being appalled by the sight of her dirty face in the bathroom mirror. Then she'd headed to the kitchen to cut up fruit, make tuna fish sandwiches and put some freshly-baked cookies on a plate. She'd actually accomplished quite a bit, considering she'd looked out the window every five minutes to see what was going on in the backyard.

  Moving back to that window, she pulled the curtain aside to see what progress had been made since her last viewing. She was surprised to see that Reid was almost done, which was a good thing. That meant he'd be gone soon.

  On the other hand…she wasn't quite ready for him to leave. As he leaned over the doghouse to hammer in a nail, she could see the muscles in his back working against the thin material of his T-shirt. He was obviously athletic and fit enough to be a firefighter, but it wasn't only his hot body that made her palms sweat. It was also the blond streaks in his light-brown hair that glowed in the sunlight, the shadow of beard along his masculine jawline, his incredible blue eyes, and the great laugh he had when Brandon accidentally hit him in the back with a soccer ball. Her son had apparently lost interest in the building project.

  Reid didn't get mad when the ball bounced off him. He just grinned and said something to her son, who laughed in return and then kicked the soccer ball toward Wiley, who barked and ran after it, happy to be in the game.

  She felt a rush of emotion at the scene—happiness, but also sadness. She'd imagined this kind of scene with Brandon and his dad a thousand times. For the first year or two of Brandon's life, she'd thought Kevin might change his mind and realize he couldn't walk out on his son, or on her, but that had been the foolish and desperate thought of a young woman way over her head in single motherhood.

  Kevin had never wanted to be married to her. He'd just tried to do the right thing for as long as he could stomach it. And he'd never wanted to be a father, either. She thought he loved Brandon in his own way, but that way was distant and disconnected.

  Brandon deserved a dad who would show him how to grow into being a man, who would hang out with him on a Saturday and kick a ball around with him and his dog.

  But that man wasn't Reid, she told herself firmly, realizing how quickly her thoughts were getting away from her.

  She'd made a promise to herself a long time ago that no matter how difficult it was to be a single mom, she would not marry again for any reason except for love—real, genuine, life-lasting love. And that man would not only feel that way about her but also her son. She wouldn't settle for less, and she wouldn't be with someone just to get Brandon a father. She'd already messed up once. She wouldn't do that again.

  And while Reid was being an awfully nice guy, her gut told her to be careful, to go slow. It wasn't just about her making another mistake; she also didn't want to expose Brandon to more potential heartbreak. He had enough of that every time his hopes were dashed when his father didn't keep a promise or didn't show up.

  She had to keep her stan
dards high.

  Letting the curtain fall, she leaned back against the nearby wall and closed her eyes, drawing in several deep breaths, hoping to settle the fluttery feelings running around inside her. It was one thing to be logical and practical and demand the best, but what about emotion, what about love, what about sex?

  She was lonely. She missed being with a man, not just physically, but emotionally. She missed having not just someone she could count on, but someone who could make her laugh, someone she could tease and just have a good time with. But she hadn't had much luck in the dating world the few times she'd tried it.

  One guy had seemed good on the surface, but his interest in her son had quickly faltered when he realized she really wasn't just going to go to bed with him because he'd taken Brandon to a baseball game.

  Frowning, she hoped that wasn't what Reid was doing now, fixing the doghouse and being nice to her kid so she'd go out with him.

  Cynically, she thought that probably was the reason. Why else would he be here after she'd said no to coffee the night before? He wanted another chance with her.

  It was flattering, but it also made her feel nervous.

  The back door flew open, making her jump in surprise.

  Brandon and an exuberant Wiley came in first, followed by Reid.

  Despite her determination to keep things cool, her heart skipped a beat when his blue eyes met hers. She felt like she was looking into the deep, dark sea. And there was a good chance she could drown there. She drew in a breath. Her guard wall was going to need some heavy-duty reinforcing.

  "The doghouse is fixed," Brandon told her with a happy smile.

  "It's not as good as new," Reid said. "But it will shelter Wiley if he ever chooses to go inside, which, to be honest, doesn't seem too likely."

  She smiled. "I agree, but now he has the option."

  "I also made the opening a little wider, just in case you need to go looking for something."

  She flushed at the reminder. "I appreciate that. I have your cookies, but I also made lunch if you're interested. It's nothing fancy, just tuna sandwiches and fruit."

  "Sounds good to me."

  "Great. Brandon, why don't you go upstairs and wash your hands and take that shirt off? Were you rolling around in the dirt?"