by Ashlee Price
Jenna simply stood there inhaling the sweetness of baked cakes and memories. It made her smile.
“I remember this place too,” she told Mr. Donner. “My mother, she’d get these long cookies with a cream in the middle. They were delicious.”
“You remember the flavor or the color?” he asked.
“Strawberry, and I think the cookies were brown,” she said, glancing up to the ceiling as if there were a mental rolodex of thoughts taped to it.
“Ah yes, my chocolate-covered strawberry wafers. One of my classic bestsellers. Would you like a box?”
“You know what, Mr. Donner? Now that I’m here, I would like to put together a gift basket for the fire department. They’ve saved me more times than I can even believe in these past few weeks, and I think they deserve something special. What do you think they’ll like?”
“Well, I know a few of them, and they like the cupcakes, believe it or not,” he chuckled. “I can also toss in some cookies and a few Danishes and doughnuts. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great,” she grinned as she sat down at a table to wait for her order. “I’ll take a dozen of those wafers too.”
Jenna reminisced in the shop while Mr. Donner put her order together. Her mother’s laughter seemed to fill her ears. The place hadn’t changed much since they were last there. The small tables were clear and round, with doily tablecloths draped over them. She wondered how he managed to keep them so clean.
Mr. Donner came out from behind the counter. The old man appeared to shuffle across the floor rather than walk as he sat a small white china mug, in a saucer, on the table.
“A white hot chocolate, just how you like it, froggy milk as you used to call it,” he laughed. “On the house.”
Jenna couldn’t remember the drink as vividly as Mr. Donner, but she appreciated how sweet he was “Froggy milk?”
“Frothy,” he told her. “You liked to swirl the cocoa powder in the foam.”
That was all he said before shuffling back behind the counter. Jenna practically dipped her nose into the froth. Taking a stirrer, she swirled it around just like she had when she was eight.
Several sips and deep breaths later, Jenna was out of the bakery and making her way toward the firehouse. Worried as she’d been before, she now felt an overwhelming joy. The smile on her face was wide and bright by the time she stepped inside the station.
It was practically empty. The bay where the truck would normally sit was empty. She didn’t suppose the door would be left unlocked if they were all out, though, so she called out, “Hello? Is anyone here?”
She walked along a wall where hooks and gear hung. She didn’t want to touch anything, but she needed a place to set down her goodies, so she kept moving through the station. She pushed through a heavy grey door just behind the tall brass pole the firefighters would slide down. The flight of stairs was steep, and she took every step with caution.
The stairway opened into a vast entertainment space with couches, TVs and pool tables. There was a kitchen in one corner with a large table and a bunch of chairs. The door was partially cracked as Jenna approached it.
“Hello? Is anyone up here?” she called out again.
“Jenna!” Tanner peeked from behind the door with a raised eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”
“I come bearing gifts,” she smiled, holding up the box from the bakery. “Cupcakes and cookies, to be exact.”
“Wow, that’s generous of you,” he said, stepping out of the office.
She smiled, setting the box down on the table. “Well, you guys have done so much for me, you know, saving my life and all. Plus after what happened today, I really wanted to give you all something as a token of my appreciation. So why aren’t you out with the rest of them?”
“It’s not actually my shift yet. I came in a bit early because I wanted to pick the lieutenant’s brain for this exam I’m studying for, but they were on a call. Haven’t gotten back yet. So what happened today?” he asked, sitting on top of the table next to her.
“I set The Wheel on fire,” she replied bluntly.
“What?!? Are you alright? What happened?”
“Relax,” she reassured him, touching his hands softly. “I was cleaning up and there was a minor accident. I was able to put the fire out myself, but you guys still came to do a walk-through to make sure I got it all.”
“How bad is the damage?”
“A few thousand dollars’ worth. But apparently I’m not to worry about that because The Wheel isn’t my responsibility. I’m just supposed to pick a grad school and leave! Just leave Doveport knowing my dad’s going to be slaving away working off his debt to Hannity.”
“Sean Hannity?” Tanner was surprised. “Why would Mr. F do business with anyone like him? Doesn’t he realize how dangerous that can be?”
“I think he does, which is why he keeps trying to get me out of Doveport. I gotta tell you, though, I wasn’t too worried about Mr. Hannity until today. He was so nice when we first met. Now he wants Daddy to up his insurance policy in case something like this happens again. I don’t trust him.”
Tanner pulled her into the office and shut the door behind them. “Listen, I’ve heard his name tossed around a bit. I think you should back off and let your father handle him. He’s dangerous. I don’t want anything bad happening to you. You mean too much to me.”
Jenna wasn’t completely shocked. The on-again, off-again fling between her and Tanner was happening because of feelings they’d been harboring these past years. With everyone else out of the station, she was sure that now seemed like a good time for Tanner to bring it up again. But she wanted to focus on her father’s problems with Hannity.
“I want to figure something out, to help him before I leave. I don’t want to leave him here with this debt hanging over his head.”
“I know you don’t,” Tanner pulled her in for a hug, “and I’m sure that this will all work out somehow.”
Pulling away from him, Jenna stared into those hazel eyes and nearly melted at the sincerity within them. She couldn’t fight it anymore, and she leaned in. Tanner’s hands moved from around her back and up to her face, cupping it gently as their lips met in a soft embrace. Passion erupted there in the office. They didn’t care where they were as they let the moment take them away.
It wasn’t long before Tanner had his hands in her shorts, rubbing between her thighs. The look of passion on her face drove him to fulfill his primitive urges. However, this time she would make some of her own moves. Shoving her hand down his trousers, Jenna grabbed his thickness, stroking him into a full erection. There was an anticipation there she’d never felt before. They’d slept together when they were younger, but now, with some experience behind them, it was looking to be one of the most memorable moments either of them had ever had.
Panting and gripping the desk, Tanner clenched his teeth as he tried to restrain himself from climaxing too soon. Jenna pulled him out of his pants to see all of what made him a man. It was bigger than she remembered, and she wondered where he thought it was all going to go.
Tanner tried to keep his breathing steady. He didn’t want to do too much in the office, and with the fantasies running amuck in his mind, he didn’t want to lose control. Jenna was hard to resist. They both stroked each other, bringing each other closer and closer to orgasm. Their lips met again, with their bodies pressed together and his fingers moving in and out of her while hers moved up and down on him. There wasn’t anything they wanted more than each other.
Tongues lapped each other, circling around one another… Jenna propped one knee beside Tanner on the desk, but just as he went to pull her shorts down, they heard the gate outside being lifted.
“Crap!” he gasped, pulling away from her. He looked down at his erection, and then his eyes shot back up to Jenna. “The guys are back. You gotta get out of here!”
Jenna panicked and rushed across the room to the mirror, frantically adjusting her clothes and checking he
r reflection to make sure she wasn’t too flushed. Her nipples were visibly hard, so she began to pinch at them furiously, hoping that the pain would get her out of the mood and soften them up a few notches.
When she turned around, Tanner was still sitting there, hanging out of his pants with a goofy grin across his face.
“Tanner! Get yourself together! We can’t be seen like this!” she shouted in a whisper.
Tanner shook himself out of his impish mood and started to get dressed as Jenna hurried out into the main area to stand by the goodies she’d delivered. By the time the returning firefighters made their way upstairs, they were both decent—and the entire department was all smiles after seeing what she’d brought them.
“Hey Tanner,” one of the guys shouted, “your girlfriend here brought us donuts and stuff.”
“Cookies and cupcakes,” Jenna laughed, “and I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Thanks, Jen,” Tanner laughed. “And thank you all for saving my not-girlfriend and her bar, apparently. I missed a lot this last shift.”
“Yeah, you did,” the guys laughed.
Jenna was certain she didn’t want to delve into their inside jokes, so she simply thanked the guys again and made her way out. With her box of baked goods delivered, Jenna decided she needed to vent—and there was no one she’d rather vent to then Hannah.
Chapter 12
The sound of Jenna’s phone vibrating with notifications was a distraction as she surveyed the guys working around the bar. She’d been getting messages from Tanner ever since she ditched him at the fire station. He was rightfully confused, and all of his voicemails told her so. As the men pulled up scorched wood, Jenna checked her messages.
Message 1: “Hey Jenna, you ran out on me there. I know the guys aren’t exactly the audience we’d like to have, but I didn’t think it would warrant you ignoring me, again. Call me.”
When she didn’t reply, he’d waited a few hours before calling again.
Message 2: “You do realize that you came to my job, right? I don’t even know who started it. It’s all kind of a blur. Alright, call me. Let’s figure this out.”
“Let’s figure this out?” she asked herself, looking at her phone.
One of the workers Hannity had sent over interrupted her. “Yeah, while you figure that out, can you tell us where the nearest outlet is? And where’s the dumpster for dumping the demo trash?”
Jenna sighed as she walked the guys around the bar… again. She’d shown them a few times already. Not only were they not listening, it didn’t seem like they cared that much about what they were doing. She’d even caught a few guys pulling up floorboards that were completely undamaged. It was too much. Just as she was about to lose her temper and fire everyone, her father stepped into the bar with Mr. Hannity.
“Hey, boss,” one of the men shouted with a nod and slight wave.
“Get to work, fellas,” he told them. It was as if they had been stalling until he got there. They needed the word of Sean Hannity to do the work. It infuriated Jenna.
Paul walked behind the bar, clearing his throat to announce to the guys, “You’re done at five every day. Not a minute over. Envelopes with your name written on them will be given to you at the end of your shift for the day. Jenna, my office please.”
Jenna followed him away from the bar, unsure if she wanted to leave the group of workers unsupervised. Sitting behind the desk, Paul pulled out a wad of cash, a stack of envelopes and a list.
“Here’s a list of everyone on this job,” he sighed, handing everything to her. “Make out an envelope for everyone on that list. This money will cover the next four weeks, and if there’s still work left to be done then, we’ll do this again.”
Jenna stared at the list. There were about fifty names on it, and well over ten thousand dollars in the stack of money. “Dad, there’s only like six guys working out there. This is wrong.”
“This is what Mr. Hannity wants done, so this is what we’re doing,” he told her firmly.
“No,” she shook her head, “I’m not going to make under-the-table payments.”
“Do you hear yourself, Jenna? Just do what I’m asking you to do, dammit! This isn’t a game! This isn’t some movie or book or simulation for one of your classes! This is real life, and I have responsibilities that I’m obligated to come through on. Now either help me or leave! Because whether you like it or not, this is the situation I’m in and I can’t change it!”
Jenna took a deep breath before she quietly pulled a chair up to her dad’s desk. She split the money into piles, wrote the names from the list on the envelopes, and stuffed in the payments for the week. With her heart sinking, she did what she was asked silently and without protest. It made her feel like crap. She knew that she was part of the reason her dad was in this situation, and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. When she was done, she simply left him alone in the office and headed out to lunch. Hanging around The Wheel was becoming more and more difficult with every passing minute.
Jenna made it to the little cafe just as Hannah was arriving. Her pretty red curls were still braided down her back. She wore a bright yellow cardigan over a knee-length daisy print dress. It forced Jenna to look at herself: She was wearing denim jeans and motorcycle boots, matched with a skin-tight shirt that barely covered her up top.
“We don’t look like we should even know each other,” Jenna sighed, eyeing Hannah from head to toe.
“Relax,” she laughed, “you work in a bar and I work with teenagers, many of them guys. I’d wear what you have on in a heartbeat, but somehow that screams inappropriate.”
Jenna laughed. It was the first time she’d laughed all day. In fact, when she thought about it, she hadn’t laughed in days. Her world was in chaos and she didn’t know how it was going to turn around.
“Jenna!”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Jenna stared across the table at Hannah, who was motioning toward the waiter. “Order what you want, I’ll pick it up. You’ve been through enough.”
“Wow, is it that obvious?” she chuckled.
“Well, let’s run it down: stressing about your dad, the bar, your ex who you might or might not want to be your current, your ex’s ex who may or may not be his current, two fires, and a partridge in a pear tree,” she sang.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Speaking of exes, I brought by some cookies and stuff to the station to thank the guys and Tanner was there,” she said softly with a warmness flushing to her cheeks.
“What did you guys do in the firehouse?!? Did you slide down his pole?” Hannah giggled.
“My hand may have, but then the truck came back and it stopped. We were seconds away from finishing.” Jenna continued to blush.
Hannah tilted her head to the side, back and forth, as she questioned her friend. “So what do you want from Tanner?”
“I don’t know,” Jenna sighed. “A part of me wants us to give it another go, but then I still have to go to grad school. And he seems serious about his career too. I mean, I barged in on him studying for his lieutenant’s exam. Then there’s his thing with Brandy.”
Hannah listened to Jenna vent about Tanner and everything else that was bothering her, but at the end of it all she only had a few words of advice to give her friend. “Just have fun with Tanner, but tell him that. Don’t lead him on to think it’s going to be anything more than a summer fling. The thing with your dad and Hannity, I really think you should back off. Hannity is dangerous, and if your dad says he’s got it under control, then let him handle it.”
“What if he gets arrested?” Jenna felt tears welling up in her eyes. The soft touch of Hannah’s hand on top of hers was soothing, but it couldn’t calm her worries completely.
“Jenna, I’ve known your dad practically my whole life. I’m absolutely sure there’s something about this Hannity thing you don’t know. Trust him and try to stay out of it. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”
“He said the same thing,” Jen
na sighed. “But enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
“Wow, a conversation about me? I’d love to, but maybe next time. I gotta get back to work.” Hannah tossed some bills onto the table for the bill, and with a quick hug and kiss, the two friends went their separate ways.
Jenna imagined the group of guys working at The Wheel and decided to avoid them for the rest of the day. She headed home. She stood outside, on the front lawn, simply staring up at the house she grew up in. Memories of her parents teaching her to ride her bike in the driveway played like a drive-in movie.
Turning from the driveway to the porch, she smiled brightly. It was on that porch that Bobby Kissinger, who was in eighth grade, had pecked her on the lips one Halloween before dashing off into the night with his friends. She had taken her sixth-grade self into the house to tell her parents, whereupon Paul had chased after little Bobby with murder in his eyes, and her mother had simply smiled.
Looking up the street, she remembered waiting for Tanner’s old Chevy pickup to round the corner as he came to pick her up. It was rusty and uncomfortable, with torn leather seats, but it was their space. It was the same safe space where they had first told each other “I love you.” It was the same space where she had cried on Tanner’s shoulder for hours after finding out that her mother was sick. It was the same space where Tanner had proposed, and where she had said no. So many memories wrapped around her that she couldn’t help but let her tears fall.
Falling to her knees, Jenna finally let it all go, sobbing into the grass on a beautiful summer day. She was tired of being an image of someone strong when she felt like her world was crashing down. Tears stained her cheeks and her upper body shook as she curled into a ball and buried her face in her hands.