Firefighter Christmas Complete Series Box Set (A Firefighter Holiday Romance Love Story)

by Nella Tyler

  When I arrived at Jared's place I saw his car parked out in front of his house. I still couldn't believe he hadn't shown up for work that day. He was always working hard for his business because he loved being there.

  I got out of my car and ran to the door. I banged on it while I called out his name. I waited but I didn't hear a sound in the house. Was he actually just in there ignoring me? What, were we five all over again? It annoyed me that he was acting this way instead of just hearing me out. I continued to bang on the door. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to answer I decided to take matters into my own hands. I knew where he hid the key for his back door so I headed to the back yard. Underneath a turtle statue was his spare key. I went up onto the porch and used it to let myself into his back door. Once inside I went in search of him.

  I went into the living room where I found him passed out on the couch. Okay, maybe he wasn't ignoring me but what was he doing sleeping in the middle of the afternoon?

  I looked around the room where I saw a bottle of whiskey and to my utter disbelief, something that resembled cocaine was scattered on his coffee table.

  “Holy shit.”

  I went to Jared on the couch and shook him until he woke up.

  “What the hell?” He muttered.

  “Get up. Get up right now Jared and explain to me what the hell is going on here? Did you lose all your brain cells recently or what?”

  He sat up on the couch and looked at me bleary-eyed. When he realized I was standing there in his house he asked, “What are you doing here Gemma, get out!”

  “I'm not going anywhere.”

  “This is my house,” he shouted.

  “I don’t care whose house it is,” I yelled back at him, “You need to get your life under control because what I see here is someone whose going to throw everything good in his life away.” I motioned to the cocaine.

  “You are one to talk. You're a traitor to your own family. Now get the hell out of my life.”

  I stood there stunned by his words. I didn't even know the person that was standing before me. He was a stranger. Drunk and drugged up, ready to throw his life and family away over nothing. This recipe situation, Link, it was all a ridiculous reason to ruin your life and disown your family.

  “You make me sick,” I said as I turned and left him sitting on the couch.

  I headed out to my car with tears in my eyes. Just a few weeks ago my brother was a healthy and happy man. I didn't know who that other person was in that house but he wasn't Jared. I couldn't believe what kind of person he was becoming and why? Over a recipe? It just didn't make any sense to me.

  As I drove away from his house I felt totally lost. I felt like I had lost my brother forever.

  Chapter Three

  I drove straight to Link's restaurant practically in hysterics. I knew that I should just let my brother live his own life but I couldn't do it. There must be a way to pull him back from the abyss. I was sure that I could do it if I just found a way to get through to him. There had to be a way.

  As soon as I parked I ran into the restaurant; it was starting to get busy for dinner. I walked right past the hostess without saying a word, noting her alarmed expression. I headed straight for Link's office, hoping that he would be there. I stormed right in and caught him by surprise sitting behind his desk.

  He looked up startled. Seeing the look on my face he said, “Gemma, are you okay?”

  I shook my head as tears streamed down my cheeks. Link got up quickly from his chair and circled the desk coming to me. He wrapped me up in his arms and held me tight. He didn't ask what was wrong right away, he just held me like that for a few moments. It allowed me to calm down and get a hold of myself. When we parted I looked up into his eyes.

  “What's wrong sweetheart? Please tell me.”

  “It's Jared, he's completely fallen apart.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I went to his work this afternoon and no one had heard from him.”

  His eyebrows shot up, “Wow really? That's not like him at all.”

  “No. And it gets worse. I went to his house after that and he was passed out drunk on the couch. There was a whiskey bottle and...oh god...cocaine.”

  “What??”

  “I'm serious Link.”

  Link was silent for a moment taking it all in. I knew exactly how he felt. I still hadn't processed everything that had happened that day.

  “Link, I don't know what's happening to him. I wasn't even aware that he ever did drugs. I don't know if this is a new thing or if cocaine's been around this whole time.”

  “I doubt it Gemma, a cocaine addiction is kind of a hard thing to hide. You would have seen signs of it by now. I think that's why he's falling apart right now. He's not used to stuff like that.”

  “I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I'm losing him. I can't lose him Link, I just can't.”

  He kissed me on the forehead, “You won't Gemma. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you because you don't deserve it at all. You are a sweet girl. I feel terrible that you have to go through this but you're not alone. I'm here with you. I will help you through anything.”

  I was overwhelmed by his compassion. I wasn't entirely sure what I had expected but he responded in a way that made me feel less alone. I guess that had been the point. My heart flooded with love for Link. I had never expected such things from him, I had never expected things to get so serious between us but I was so happy that they had.

  “How about I try and help Jared. Maybe there is something that I can do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well let me talk to him. Maybe I can get through to him. We used to be buddies after all. Let's go back there right now and talk to him.”

  “Oh god Link, that would mean the world to me. Thank you,” I gushed. I couldn't believe he was willing to put himself out there. He knew what Jared was like right now and what he thought of him and yet he was willing to go over there and talk to him anyways. That said a lot about who Link was; I knew it couldn't be easy for him to want to help someone that had spent weeks trying to bad mouth him and who called him a crook at every turn. I certainly wouldn't want to help someone that has systematically started a smear campaign against me. That's how I knew that Link must really love me. None of it made any sense. I didn't understand why Jared was spiraling out of control. How could one small recipe cause this much damage?

  “Okay love, let’s go and get this figured out.”

  I kissed him firmly on the lips.

  My heart was pounding when we arrived back at Jared's house. I didn't know what kind of condition he would be in at that point but I knew that he didn't want me there. He would be even less thrilled that Link was there too. I wasn't sure what we would be walking into and it scared me. I had to try though. I just had to. I couldn't leave him in that mess without first trying to get him out. He was my brother, the closest one to me in our family and I couldn't just sit back and watch him fall apart without doing everything in my power to stop it.

  I looked over at Link in the car and smiled weakly. He smiled back and me and squeezed my hand. “Are you ready?”

  I nodded. I still had the key for the back door but I doubted he had taken the time out of his drunkenness to go back and lock it again. We went into the back yard and up the porch steps. Just as I had thought the back door was unlocked.

  Link and I enter Jared's home and headed straight for the living room. Thankfully Jared was still awake and he watched us as we entered the room. Daggers came out of his eyes as he stared at me.

  “Hey Jared, I know you are going through a rough time right now. Maybe it's because I left the rest. I'm not sure. But surely we can work things out like old friends. We used to be buddies and things have got way out of control, don't you think?”

  “Go fuck yourself Link.”

  I gasped. “Jared, what is wrong with you? Link is here to help you and is willing to work things out with you in a civil manner.
Why are you behaving like a fool?”

  “You think because he's your boyfriend he actually cares about me? You're just as much of a traitor as he is.”

  “That's bullshit and I'm sick of you blaming everyone else for your problems. I didn't do this,” I said as I motioned around his room. “You have made a mockery of your business and you only have yourself to blame. Link and I together has nothing to do with this stupid recipe.”

  “He's a crook!” Jared yelled.

  “Where did the recipe come from Jared? I sure as hell know it wasn't something passed down through the generations. So, if it's yours where did it come from?”

  Link looked over at me and smiled with pride.

  “Ummm...it's been around for a while Gemma...probably a few years. I made it up myself.”

  I shook my head. “You're a liar. I can't believe you are sitting there lying to me. You need to let this vendetta go. Link's success is not your failure. You're restaurant is its own success with or without Link being a part of it.”

  Link jumped in, “Look Jared. Let’s just forget this whole thing. I have no intention of getting lawyers involved; just pull your teeth out of my business and me. We can go back to the way things used to be, we could still be friends. Your sister loves you a lot; nobody wants to see you like this. I don't hold grudges Jared. I just want this thing to end between us. You need to stop beating yourself up about all this and do the right thing. What do you say, Buddy?”

  Jared looked up at us and I couldn't read his expression. I wasn't sure if either of us was getting through to him. I thought that link's speech had been genuine and I found it surprising how easily he was willing to forgive Jared for me. After everything that Jared had done to him it was a wonder that he would be willing to forgive him at all, but there he was doing just that. He was doing anything he could to help get Jared out of that fog and back into his old life again. I could have kissed Link for all that he was doing, but I restrained myself.

  “Get the hell out of my house, both of you.” Jared looked straight at me, “This is now the second time I've told you. I want you to leave and never come back.”

  I turned away from him immediately and fled his house. Link was right behind me as I ran back to his car. I was crying by the time I reached Link's car and I flung myself inside. He came around to the driver's side and let himself in.

  “I'm sorry Gemma, you did nothing wrong. We did everything we could. It's time to let him fend for himself for a while.”

  I nodded, not saying a word.

  Chapter Four

  Link drove me back home and when he parked in front of my building he turned to me. “Gemma, I need you to go upstairs and pack yourself a bag.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think you need to get away from all this for a while. You need a break from what's going on with your brother. I would like to take you away for the weekend to clear your head.”

  “Oh god Link, that's so generous of you but I couldn't possibly leave right now. It's just not the right time for me. This thing with Jared, I just can't leave.”

  “I'm afraid that I'm going to have to insist. You are falling apart and this thing with Jared is no longer in your control, you have to see that. There's nothing that either of us can do about Jared at this point. You need a break, and to be honest so do I. We both need a break from this whole mess.”

  “Okay, maybe you're right.”

  “That's my girl. I'm going to tie up some loose ends at the restaurant and then I will be back to get you baby, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  He kissed me goodbye and I got out of the car. I headed upstairs to get packed for his return.

  Chapter Five

  After packing a small bag for the weekend I headed into the kitchen to open some wine. I wasn't sure when Link would return but I needed a moment to relax. I couldn't have been more stressed out in that moment and I could barely think straight. I just kept picturing my brother passed out on the couch in the middle of the day. The sight of that cocaine would haunt me forever. I didn't know what happened to my fun-loving brother and I worried that I would never get him back.

  I opened the bottle and poured myself a glass of wine. I took it outside onto my balcony and sat down in a lounge chair. I took a deep breath and prayed that Jared was going to be okay.

  Sipping the wine, I closed my eyes. How did we get to that point? It was obvious that Jared had lied about the recipe this whole time. He had behaved in a manner that was not only unprofessional but unethical and I felt like strangling him for it. That wasn't how our parents raised us and I couldn't believe he had gone and done something like that. He already had a successful restaurant so why go through all this trouble over a recipe that wasn't even his? It was such an unholy mess and I couldn't understand how Jared had done all this stuff to himself. He was clearly beating himself up about the mistakes he had made, but so what? We all make mistakes. He needed to wipe that cocaine off his table, clean himself up and start over. It wasn't that hard to do and the fact that Link was offering him forgiveness without retribution should have brought a smile to Jared's face. Instead he had lashed out at us again. I was totally at a loss as to what to do with him. Maybe Link was right; maybe there really was nothing I could do. Jared would have to make his own decisions on where he wanted his life to go from this moment on. He could continue spiralling or he could pick himself up and get back to his life before his business started failing.

  I put in a call to my brother and wasn't surprised when his voicemail kicked in automatically. I sighed deeply and waited for the opportunity to leave a message.

  “Look Jared, I'm just calling because I love you. You know I do, we are so close that I can't believe these things are happening between us. I love you so very much and I hope that you do the right thing. I miss you and I want you to come back to me. Your restaurant needs you.”

  I clicked off the phone and sipped at my wine again. I wasn't sure if he was even going to listen to the message but it was there just in case. It could pull him out of this mess…you never knew.

  “Hey sweetheart.”

  I turned to find Link behind me. I smiled as I got up off the lounger.

  “Hi, I was just trying to have a moment to relax.”

  “Well you definitely deserve it.”

  I continued to sip at my wine. I was in no rush. “So where are you taking me?”

  “I’ve rented us a beach house. It's one that I have used regularly so I know it will be perfect for us.”

  “So you mean you have taken other women there?” I said with a chuckle.

  “No! I definitely didn't mean it that way. I've had a family weekend there once and a few of my friends and I rented it for a week to party. No ladies Gemma, I promise. You are the first lady that I have ever taken there with me.”

  I smiled, “Okay I believe you.” He came to me and kissed me. He tasted warm and inviting.

  I finished off my wine and Link grabbed my bag. We headed out to his car to go to the beach house.

  Chapter Six

  It took almost two hours to get to the beach house but not before we stopped at a local market. We needed supplies for our weekend away. Link when around the market as if he was on a mission. He picked up ingredients for a recipe he wanted to serve me that evening for dinner and he picked up five bottles of wine. I perused the market as well and picked up the latest best seller from my favorite author. There would be times when we would be relaxing on the beach and I wanted to have something that I could drift in and out of and this book sounded exactly like what I needed to disappear into for a while. I imagine us snuggled up on the beach, wine in hand as I read my book and Link luxuriated in the sun. Yes the weekend away had been a great idea. I don't know why I even tried to fight it. Even just being out of the city right now felt great. I could forget the mess that we had left behind even if it was just for the weekend. I was going to let go of Jared and forget about the mess that he was in. I didn't want to f
ocus on it at all. It was a mess plain and simple and it wasn't even of my own creation.

  I grabbed some snack items as well and met Link up at the register. He took care of paying for everything; he was a true gentleman.

  When we got to the beach house, I started to settle in while Link went about cooking his recipe. I unpacked my bag and tried to settle in with being at the beach house. Once that was completed I went out onto the large porch that surrounded the beach house. The air was still warm even though it was now evening. The wind smelled salty and I breathed it in deeply. The ocean looked inviting and the stress seemed to dissipate from my body just standing out there on the porch.

  I went back into the house to see if Link needed any help. He was opening a bottle of wine as I entered the kitchen. A man after my own heart. “Do you need any help Link?”

  He looked up at me and smiled, “No, I think I have everything under control.” He poured two glasses of wine and handed me one.

  “Thank you. What are you making?”

  “Spaghetti sauce. We are having some pasta tonight my love.”

  I stopped mid-sip, “Wait...is that the recipe? THE recipe?”

  He met my gaze, “Yes it is. I want to prove to you it’s mine. I know it from heart. I don't even measure things up anymore, I do it all by sight. Can your brother do that?”

  “Link, you know I believe you. My brother couldn't even tell me where he got it from. You have nothing to prove to me.”

  “I know. I just wanted to make it anyways.”

  I smiled sadly, what a mess. “Well I'm looking forward to tasting it.”

  “It's starting to bubble right now, why don't you have a taste?”

  I moved over to the stove as he took out a ladle. He dipped it in the pot and the fragrance alone was mouth-watering. He blew gently on the sauce to cool it down and then he moved it towards my mouth. I took a taste and it lit my taste buds right up.