by Hart, A.
Megan
I looked around to try and understand what was happening, and then looked down to see a man’s hand on my arm. My heart sped up a little, bringing back a flash of a memory that I thought I had long forgotten. I pulled the memory back, stopping it from flashing in my mind anymore, and looked up from the hand to a very pissed Travis. He was taking a deep breath and shaking his red face at me. “What the fuck, Megan!” My voice got caught in my throat. He walked to me and placed hands on both my arms, lightly shaking me. “Are you drunk? You have been gone for an hour! I couldn’t find you!” I tilted my head. An hour? Seriously? “You’re out there kissing some—” and then he was cut off as his body was flung slightly to the left in front of me.
I looked to my side to see SJ, or Sawyer, as he seemed to go by now. His face looked pissed and his fists were clenched. Oh, yes. SJ always did come to my rescue. This was going to be interesting. Travis stumbled to stand up and looked like he was going to lunge at Sawyer. Sawyer either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because he slowly walked towards me and then gently touched my cheek.
“Are you okay?” I nodded my head, completely confused. “Is that your husband?” I shook my head. “Boyfriend?” I shook it again. “Long lost brother?” I shook my head again, unable to speak. Sawyer nodded his head and looked over at Travis, then back at me. “Even if he was, I don’t like him treating you like that. You don’t ever deserve that. You understand that, right, Pumpkin?”
I nodded again. “He’s a friend,” I blurted.
Sawyer ignored me and glared up at Travis. SJ had always worried about me; this wasn’t unexpected behavior for my long-lost best friend. Sawyer shifted his body so he was slightly blocking me from Travis and crossed his arms.
Travis walked strongly towards Sawyer. “I suggest you get out of my way and mind your business.” Sawyer stood his ground as I peered around him to see Travis glaring at him.
“You treating her like a rag doll is my business.”
Travis laughed sarcastically. “Ha. Rag doll? You’ve got to be fucking with me. I’m trying to protect her from jackasses like yourself.”
Sawyer shifted a little and looked back at me. “First off—language.” Ah yes, Sawyer always was a gentleman. He only ever swore in front of me in emergencies and by accident. Travis looked like he was going to punch him. “Second, I am many things, guy, but a donkey isn’t one of them.” Sawyer shifted slightly so he could look back at me again, and I peered over to see Travis’s glare soften then harden again.
Travis shoulder chucked Sawyer, who just stood there ready to jump as Travis walked towards me. Travis looked at me with concern in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Meg. You okay?” I nodded my head, still dumbfounded. Then his face turned from concerned to pissed again. “Good, we are leaving, now!” He grabbed my arm again and began pulling me.
I shook my head. “Wait, what? No, I don’t want to,” I said, sounding like a toddler. My eyes locked with Sawyer’s, and I couldn’t believe he’d found me. I had left him eight years ago, standing in front of my trailer, and he’d found me. When I thought all hope was lost, that I would never see him again, he found me. He stood there staring at me, searching my eyes.
Travis groaned. “Damn it, Meg, I don’t give a shit what you want. You are the biggest pain in my ass. I swear, if Charles—”
At the mention of his name, I broke the connection with Sawyer and my eyes flung to Travis, who stopped talking. “Don’t you dare!” I shouted. “Don’t you dare tell me anything about him! You ass hat!”
Travis wiped his hand down his face. “Meg, I’m sorry, okay? I took it too far. But we need to go.” I nodded my head, and just as I was about to turn to talk to Sawyer, my feet were no longer on the ground, but were dangling in the air instead. Travis had thrown me over his shoulder and was walking quickly through the crowded club.
I looked up to see Sawyer about to rush to my rescue when I mouthed, “It’s okay.” He reluctantly nodded his head and then just stared at us as we walked away. This image of him disturbed me, because it was similar to the one I had of him eight years ago. Except that time I had turned around and run. This time, I watched his disappointed face the entire time until he disappeared from my line of sight. The pain that the image shot through me was close to torture. I bounced on Travis’s shoulder, yelling at him to put me down.
I heard him mumble something along the lines of, “You fucking women drive me nuts.” Women, as in plural?
We got to Emerson’s jeep in the parking lot and he plopped me down. “Travis, what the hell is wrong with you? I could have walked.”
He shook his head and turned to Calvin. “Seriously, Bro, get me out of here, I’m going to lose it.” Cal nodded his head from the other side.
I slid in next to Sarah. She smiled at me. “Hey, Sex Kitten. Good for you. I came back in to help Travis look for you and saw you.” She winked.
Travis gritted out, “I thought I told you to stay.” He glared at Sarah.
She laughed. “So I follow your orders now? As if, Macho Man.” Travis grunted and looked away.
I blushed as Emerson looked back at me. I was about to say that I knew the guy before Emerson spoke. “Hey, I hope we didn’t interrupt, but Jenny called and Mariam won’t stop crying.”
I sat up. “What? Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” Then my head whipped to Travis, who was now sitting next to me and buckling my seatbelt like I was a child. “Why the hell did you not lead with that?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I was a little distracted by you acting like a child.”
I slapped his hand off of my seat belt and finished buckling it myself. “Then stop treating me like one, you idiot.”
Sarah laughed next to me. “It’s alright, Meg. He carried me out of the bar too. It seems Travis feels the need to treat all the women around him like children.”
Travis shifted in his seat. “You didn’t see me carrying out Emerson. Oh yeah, that’s right, because she walked out on her own, like an adult.” Emerson and Cal giggled quietly as they shared a look.
I shook my head and we began our drive home. The girls talked again, and although Cal chimed in here and there, Travis sat silent with his arms crossed. When we finally got to my apartment, Travis hopped out silently.
“Thanks for tonight, hope Mari is okay,” I said as I leaned in the doorway.
Emerson smiled. “I’m sure she is fine. Night, love you, girl.”
I smiled. “Love you too, Em.” And I did. I truly loved her. She was becoming like a sister I never had, one earned through hard times. It was so nice to have true friends, ones I could depend on.
Speaking of friends I could count on, I was a little thrown off when Travis didn’t get back into the jeep but closed the door instead. I glared at him as Emerson rolled down her window.
“You guys get back to Mari, I’m going to find my way home,” Travis said to them. I heard Sarah snort in the back seat, and Travis shot her a glare through the window.
Emerson looked hesitantly at Cal, who nodded. “Umm, okay.”
I shook my head at him and then smiled at them again. “Thanks, guys, I had a great time.”
Sarah shouted from the back, “Yeah, you did! You go, girl!”
I laughed as I began walking up the stairs, and when the car pulled away, Travis began following. “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked as I glared at him.
He snorted “You know where I’m going.”
I shook my head and unlocked my door. “Fine. Come in, but you’re sleeping on the floor.”
He looked at me, deadpan. “No, I’m not.”
I closed the door behind me and glared at him. “I don’t get you, Travis. You made it clear that you did not have feelings for me, but you want to snuggle in my bed? Because I know that’s all we will do. The last time we did more, you practically ran out of the room. We don’t even have feelings for each other, Travis! It has almost been three years since Charles died.” My throat clenched at the words. �
��I need to start moving on, and if not with you, then why do you care?”
I wanted to mention that the guy I had been kissing was my childhood best friend who I had always loved. Or the fact that I knew Sarah had feelings for him. I bit my tongue, deciding now was not the time for either confession. I sighed, my mind sticking to the thought of Sawyer. What was he doing here? Had he tracked me down? After all these years? After I told him not to? Would I see him again? I couldn’t decide if I was mad or happy to see him. Seeing him brought up old feelings that I had been trying to suppress since the day I left him. I shook my head and concentrated on glaring at Travis.
Travis threw his hands in the air and started pacing. “I don’t know, Meg. You’re right. I don’t have feelings for you like that. I don’t know if I’m capable of it, but I know that I feel very protective of you, and when I saw you kissing—” He swallowed, and I stopped to take in his hurt expression. “I didn’t like it, okay?”
I nodded and then sighed. “But I’m not yours, Travis.”
His eyes met mine as he replied, “I know.” He swallowed hard. “But you’re not . . . not mine . . . ” He paused. “Yet.” His eyes were heavy as he looked up at me. “I’m just confused. I need a little time.”
I sighed, then my voice grew quiet. “Yeah, okay. But Travis, I don’t have feelings for you either. It’s not going to happen, you know that, right?”
He huffed, then shrugged. I gave him a confused look as he walked to me and then gently tucked me under his chin. “I know, I know. It’s just . . . God, I just miss Charlie so much, and I don’t know what to do. He wanted . . . ”
My eyes looked up at him and my heart stopped. “He wanted?” I asked, but it felt more like I choked on the words.
Travis swallowed hard and didn’t take his eyes off of mine. His voice was low. “You aren’t the only one who Cal brought a letter to that night.”
My heart began speeding up. He was referring to the night before Charles’s burial. Calvin had brought me a letter from Charles, a letter that I had tucked safely in my nightstand, a letter in which the words haunted me: Please, promise me you’ll love again. You’re too good at it not to. I cleared my throat and my eyes shot up to his. “What . . . Travis . . . What did Charles want?”
Travis slowly backed away from me. He turned around and ran his hands through his hair. My voice was weak and raspy with anxiety. “Travis?!” He swung around and locked his heavy eyes with mine. I swallowed and felt like my heart was going to explode.
Travis sighed. “For us to be a family.”
Chapter Nine
Sawyer Prescott
I sat in my truck, completely in shock at what had just happened. It had been eight years since I last shared a kiss with Megan. Eight years since she had left me alone and heartbroken. She obviously didn’t remember me at first. I knew she would eventually, it would just take her a minute . . . or twenty. Although it stung a little that she didn’t immediately recognize me like I had her, I could understand. Unlike her, I had changed a lot from the boy she knew. She looked a little older, but exactly the same. Not me. I had grown almost three inches, going from tall to super freak. I had turned to exercise for an outlet and concentrated on training for my job, so the rest of my baby weight fell off and my body became hardened.
I hadn’t had the surfer boy, shaggy hair since my 20th birthday when I graduated the fire academy. I cut it to stay uniform, but now it felt normal. It felt like a part of me. It made sense that Megan didn’t recognize me right away. I had changed, at least physically. I doubt she would be surprised to find out I was still very much the same in every other way. Megan and I had been best friends since kindergarten and had grown up attached by the hip. She knew everything about me and me, her. She knew that I left a trail of change and receipts all over the house. She knew that I loved to fish but secretly hated baiting my hooks, although I would never say those words out loud. I was capable of being brave in terrifying moments, but freaking worms seemed to be my Achilles’ heel.
Megan was the only person in the world who would ever know that. She also knew that I had an addiction to pizza and that I liked corny 90s movies, my favorite being Tremors. She was with me for every important milestone in my adolescence, including when I found out my parents died. Megan had become my rock and made me want to be better, stronger than other men, not only physically but emotionally as well.
After she left me and I couldn’t find her, I decided that I would put all my effort into being that better person. I always admired public servants, and my Uncle was a Fire Chief in California. I began studying Fire Science at a local college. I received my Associates degree and went to the fire academy. After I graduated, I did two years of volunteer fire fighting in Georgia, and then I did a year as a smoke jumper and firefighter in the Tennessee Mountains. Two years ago, my Uncle Tom called me with a job proposition. I was looking for a change of pace and scenery, anything to keep my mind off the fact that I didn’t know where Megan was or if she was okay. Little did I know that I would find her in the place that I came to finally move on from her. Irony didn’t even begin to sum it up.
I shook my head as I thought about it again. I can’t believe I found her. I never thought I would. Eight years ago, I never thought we would leave each other’s side; that was, until the night she disappeared on me. I had told her I loved her, we’d shared the best kiss of my life, and she ran. The memory gave me a fresh sting of pain. I winced at the thought of her tear-stricken face as she told me to stay away from her, that she hated me. Even as she was saying the words, I remember thinking her face looked more hurt than mad. I knew her, I knew all her faces.
God knows I didn’t even try to stay away from her. I searched for her for years. Now I had found her and I hadn’t even tried. Right when I decided to give up, when I decided to move on, she came crashing into my world again, literally. When I saw her in the bar, I had to hold back from lifting her into my arms and swinging her around like I always had when we were kids. There was a reason why she left all those years ago, and I still didn’t know what it was. My worry that she was in trouble or in danger was now put to rest, at least until I found out more.
Megan had always been a strong-willed girl, but she was more small and fragile than most would ever know. I didn’t like how rough the man was with her in the bar. No one deserved it, but Megan truly didn’t deserve it. It reminded me all too well of the many nights of finding her in similar situations. I prayed silently that she didn’t find herself in those situations anymore. The pain of not knowing is what hurt the most. I needed to make sure she was okay, I needed her to be okay. I was never able to deny the part of me that longed to protect her. Not even when we were five and I pushed Brad Lowman on the ground for pulling her hair.
Now that I found her, now that I saw her, my need to protect her intensified. I finally had a chance to. I knew that I couldn’t move on, with or without her, until I knew that she was truly okay. I knew I would have to find her somehow. I took a deep breath again, trying to understand this. She was here in California? What was she doing here? Did she live here? Had she been here all along? What was she doing at the bar? Who was that man? The questions stung my brain.
I took my fire department badge out of my pants pocket and placed it in my cup holder. I was wearing my Lincoln Fire Department tee-shirt, dark blue work pants and work boots, but if Megan noticed, she didn’t show it. I hoped she did notice, and that she would come looking for me. That would be much easier than trying to find her, but I would try. I had been at the new bar on a work call. I was checking the fire permits and safety protocols for the new Fireside Bar and Lounge that indeed had a lot of fire in and around it. It would be important that they strictly followed safety protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.
After I had finished up inspecting everything and talking to the owner, I was on my way out the door when I spotted her. At first, I just stared at her thinking that she was like the eight hundred other black-haired girls t
hat I had thought were her over the past eight years. Then when she slightly turned and I caught the flicker of her gray eyes in the firelight, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was real.
I had no idea how it happened, all I know is that it did. I had finally found her, and when that asshole took her away my heart physically ached with the worry that I wouldn’t be so lucky to run into her again. I hoped that I was wrong. I would check online and see if she created a Facebook profile recently. I doubted it, but maybe, just maybe. I took a deep breath, started up my Lincoln Fire Department truck and began my short drive back to the firehouse to finish my shift.
Megan
It had been three days since my run-in with Sawyer, and I was still in shock. I thought about hopping online and looking for him on Facebook. I didn’t have an account, but I still could, maybe. No, it was a bad idea. It was an impulse I had stopped many times before. It was also my first official day teaching at Wheatland Elementary School and Charlotte’s first day in her preschool class. I had dropped her off expecting her to cry, but she didn’t. She ran off with one of her friends from Sunday school without so much as a goodbye.
I was glad that she was excited for school, but I also missed my baby girl already. The summer with her had been nice, but I guess it was time for me to get back to work. I walked into the office, nervous as a sinner on Sunday. It’s not like I hadn’t been to the school yet. I had worked on my classroom for several days since I arrived. It was just that the first day was always nerve-wracking. You had names and sometimes pictures of students, but because they were kindergarteners, their files were empty. They were blank canvases, so you had no idea what kind of group you were getting. I knew once I got in front of the kids I would be fine.
I smiled at the sweet, gray-haired lady that sat at the front desk. “Good Morning, Gracie.”
She looked up at me with a sweet smile. “Well, Good Morning, Miss Maxwell, there are donuts and coffee in the breakroom from Jules.”