The Firefighter's Christmas Reunion

by Christy Jeffries

  “Okay, tiger.” Drew appeared at her side and wrapped a steely arm around Hannah’s waist. Drew was the calm brother, the voice of reason. He would never have bid on her ex-boyfriend at a bachelor auction and then invited the guy to his wedding. He also, apparently, wouldn’t stand by and let his little sister make a fool of herself. “Let’s let it go for tonight.”

  She resisted at first, determined to finish what she’d been about to say. But the intense look on Drew’s serious face warned against it. Instead, Hannah let her brother lead her toward the exit, thankful that his long strides helped to hide the wobble in her legs.

  When they got to Drew’s car in the parking lot, Hannah rounded on him. “I’ve been waiting ten years to tell Isaac Jones off and you yanked me out of there right when I get to the good part.”

  “Isaac’s an idiot,” Drew mumbled under his breath. The statement caught Hannah off guard, only because she was spoiling for an argument.

  She tilted her head. “Well, there’s no disputing that point.”

  “Oh, you’re an idiot, too,” Drew said, and Hannah’s eyes rounded as her mouth sputtered.

  “Is that your clinical assessment, Dr. Gregson?” Hannah put her hands on her hips, all her anger redirected at her psychologist brother.

  “Yes, it is. And since you value my professional advice, I’m going to tell you the same thing everyone else has been telling you both. You and Isaac need to make peace with the past. And by making peace, I don’t mean telling him off in front of the whole town. If you can’t avoid making a scene, then maybe you should try and stay away from each other.”

  “Make peace? You may not remember this, since you were away at college, but I made peace with him in my own way.” By refusing to let anyone bring up the name Isaac Jones in her presence.

  “I hate to point out the obvious, but you two weren’t exactly being peaceful back there on the dance floor.”

  “Maybe because he hasn’t made peace with it.” Hannah pointed toward the entrance of the Snow Creek Lodge. “You heard him bring up Carter, right?”

  “I did. As did the rest of the town. But airing your dirty laundry for the entire world to see is what got you two into this situation in the first place.”

  Hannah felt her lips turn down in a pout. She hated when one of her brothers was right.

  * * *

  Isaac pulled out of the Snow Creek Lodge parking lot and flew down the highway. Seeing Carter Mahoney tonight had brought back too many unresolved memories, but seeing Hannah standing in the arms of Isaac’s former adversary was more than he’d been able to take.

  He’d made an ass of himself, the way he’d refused to shake Carter’s hand then laid claim to Hannah, wrapping a possessive arm around her before steering her to the dance floor. Isaac hated how weak it made him seem, to be so bothered by another man’s mere presence around her. But it had also been his own insecurities driving him. His own need to be her number one guy. Hannah had immediately picked up on his discomfort, but then she’d acted as though she couldn’t imagine why he would possibly have a problem with Carter.

  As he drove toward her house, he cursed himself for making that comment about Carter always giving her a ride. It had been a cheap shot and he wasn’t proud of it, but coming face-to-face with the man she’d once left him for had a tendency to bring out the worst in Isaac.

  The needle of his speedometer continued to rise, along with all the old anger and hurt he’d thought he’d let go of long ago. When would Hannah figure out that Isaac had been the best man for her? Or at least better than that damn Carter Mahoney.

  Isaac recognized the SUV pulling out of her long driveway. His pulse slowed briefly as he braked to prepare for the turn. At least it had been Drew who’d driven Hannah home and not Carter. After her brother yanked Hannah away before either of them could cause more of a scene, Isaac had started after her but been waylaid by Jonesy who’d cautioned him that it would be best to let everyone simmer down. He’d taken his uncle’s advice—for a full thirty minutes—before climbing into his SUV and heading this way.

  The beam of his headlights bounced off the front of Hannah’s cabin as his vehicle bumped along the dirt driveway. There was a fresh dusting of snow on the porch steps and it surprised Isaac to realize that it had been falling the entire drive here. He was a first responder. The one who got called out to the scene of a crash after a distracted driver took a turn too sharply. Yet he’d been on the road for ten miles and hadn’t even noticed the weather conditions.

  Instead of scolding himself about the dangers of tunnel vision, he soldiered on, getting out and walking to her front door, convinced that his dangerous oversight was all the more reason to finally get this much needed conversation out of his system once and for all. Although she must’ve had the same idea, because she chose that exact second to step out onto her front porch.

  He paused, his dress shoes crunching on the fresh snow beneath his feet. If she was beautiful when she was happy and carefree and helping others, then Hannah Gregson was downright stunning when she was angry.

  Watching her, reckless determination faded away, leaving nothing but confusion and an attraction that was too strong to resist. Did he really want to do this? Should he confront her and force them both to relive every way they’d caused each other pain? Or should he just let old hurts die?

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. The wintery air and the shape of her snug red dress made her breasts all the more prominent, her erect nipples drawing his attention away from the angry line of her normally full lips. Before he could get his tongue untwisted, she added, “Sammy is sleeping on the sofa.”

  Her words—along with her position blocking the front door, both hands on her hips—were a warning that she wasn’t about to let him inside her house, no matter how frozen she must be, facing off against him without a coat. That was fine with him. If she wanted to square off and do battle with him out here, then he’d say his piece and leave.

  “I think we both know why I’m here, Hannah. No more pretending that everything is okay between us. If we’re going to have to live in the same town, then let’s get it all out in the open now.”

  She took a deep breath; a cloud of condensation puffed out of her mouth as she released it. But she didn’t say anything, as though the first person to show their cards would no longer have the upper hand.

  “Fine, I’ll start,” he said, stepping up onto the porch so they’d be on equal ground. “You’ve always acted like you were better than everyone else.”

  “Me?” Hannah lifted her hands to either side of her temples. “What about you? Ever since you were sixteen, you’ve been a constant show-off. Always trying to prove to everyone how wonderful you are.”

  “Well, most people can see that I am a pretty decent guy once they finally give me a chance. But for some reason, you’ve always been too damn stubborn to see it.”

  “Oh, I saw you getting plenty of chances ten years ago when Elaine made it a point to mention how many girls you’d taken out on that stupid speedboat the day after I gave you my virginity.”

  “Elaine? You mean the same person who told me that you were bragging to everyone who would listen that you could do much better than some spoiled rich boy who thought the world revolved around him? You even proved it by letting Carter Mahoney drive you home that same night.”

  Hannah’s eyebrows slammed together. “Carter was trying to console me.”

  “Yeah, he had quite the reputation for consoling girls belowdecks on his daddy’s fishing boat.”

  “If I recall, your reputation with females wasn’t much better.”

  That stung. “I never asked for that reputation.”

  “Are you saying that it wasn’t well earned?”

  Isaac jerked his thumb toward the old wooden structure near the edge of the river. “Hannah, you weren’t the only virgin the night we slept
together in that boatshed.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hannah’s mouth opened and closed twice as she studied him. “You never told me.”

  “Hi, Chief Isaac,” Sammy said, and Hannah pivoted in surprise as though they’d just been caught red-handed in the midst of a make-out session. “Did you and Mama have fun on your date?”

  “Hi, big guy,” Isaac said to her son, always seeming so casual and relaxed around the boy when Hannah was raging inside.

  “It wasn’t a...” Hannah sighed, unable to finish saying it had only been a playdate. It was as though the appearance of her son had suddenly taken some of the wind out of her sails. Or maybe it was Isaac’s admission that he hadn’t been quite the playboy she’d once believed. Either way, all the heat and anger had left Hannah’s body and she shivered, wrapping one arm around her middle. “Sweetie, it’s too cold to be outside here in just your pajamas.”

  “But you don’t have your jacket, either. Did you leave it on your date?”

  Hannah didn’t know where she’d left it. Probably the same place she’d left her pride. “I must have. Go inside, Sammy, and I’ll be there in just a second.”

  Her son padded back into the house in his bare feet and Hannah felt guilt wash through her. She didn’t want the boy to think he was in trouble or had done anything wrong. But she could only deal with one offended male at a time.

  “I didn’t know that you hadn’t been with anyone else, Isaac,” she said in a hushed voice by way of apology. “You were supposed to pick me up for the bonfire the next day and you never showed up. When I finally got a lift out to Honey Point, I saw you racing by with your wakeboard tow bar and four pretty girls. Less than twenty-four hours after you’d slept with me.”

  The echo of their past ricocheted between them on that front porch, and now that the accusations were finally out there, Hannah couldn’t take them back.

  “I’d been out fishing—alone—that afternoon, and a stupid tourist on a Jet Ski ran into the back of my boat while I was anchored. He dented my propeller and I was stuck waiting for someone from the marina to bring me a spare one. It was the wrong size and I had to sit there another hour to get the right one. My cell battery died while I was waiting, then it took forever for me to change the propeller out. On my way back to the dock, I saw Marcia and a few of her friends who’d run out of gas. I was going to tow them in, but she was afraid her dad would find out that she’d forgotten to fuel up so I gave them a ride to the pumps. I used one of their phones to call you, but you never answered.”

  “Well, what was I supposed to think? When you drove by, all of them were waving and blasting music, and it seemed like quite the party. Elaine was standing next to me and asked if I’d already added my bikini top to your collection. She made it sound like I was just another one of your conquests.”

  “And you listened to Elaine?”

  She sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have, but that little video you made later that night pretty much confirmed that things were over between us.”

  “First of all, I never made that video.”

  “Really, Isaac? Because it looked and sounded exactly like you.”

  “I mean, obviously, it was me in it, but I didn’t know that Elaine was recording me. And I sure as hell didn’t post it.”

  “But the fact remains that I trusted you with my heart and you told anyone who would listen that I was using you before moving on to the next guy.”

  “What was I supposed to think? I finally got to Honey Point just in time to see you sailing off into the sunset with Carter Mahoney.”

  “I was upset, Isaac. Carter was only giving me a ride home. We’ve never been anything but friends.”

  “Well, I was upset, too.” Isaac crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “You had nothing to be upset about.”

  “Elaine told me that you called me a spoiled rich kid who wasn’t worth your time before you took off with Carter.”

  Hannah’s cheeks flamed at the quote. “I might’ve said something like that when I saw you with all the girls.”

  “And you left it up to Elaine to tell me that it was over?”

  “No, Isaac. I would’ve told you myself. That part about it being over, she must’ve added on her own.”

  “Well, from where I was standing, it looked like she was right. That you were moving on to the next guy.”

  “I was never moving on to the next guy.” Hannah let out a frustrated huff. After ten years, she had still never allowed a guy to take Isaac’s place in her heart. “I was only thinking of getting away from the bonfire. Of getting away from all the gossip. There was never anything going on between me and Carter. He only offered me an escape.”

  Isaac winced and she could tell by the hurt reflected in his eyes that her words had landed an unintended blow. “An escape from me? Was that what you wanted?”

  “Of course not. I wanted you.”

  “Then why didn’t you fight for me?”

  She sucked in her cheeks, a lump rising in her throat. He was right. She could stand up and fight like hell when it came to everyone’s needs but her own. She lifted her shoulders, then dropped them. “I didn’t see you fighting for me, either, Isaac.”

  “Maybe I should’ve followed you that night and confronted you myself about the breakup, rather than drinking straight from the bottle of Captain Morgan someone was passing around. But I was a prideful, stupid kid back then and didn’t want to believe that I’d come in second place. By the time I came to my senses the next morning and finally stopped puking, I did drive over here with a raging headache and a wilted bouquet of peonies to win you back. When I got here, though, Carter’s truck was in the driveway. What was I supposed to think?”

  A wave of nausea roiled through her. She’d had no idea that Isaac had tried to make amends back then. Just like him, she’d been willing to assume the worst. Her voice was low and filled with resignation as she tried to explain. “Carter came that morning to show me the video. To warn me that everyone was talking about us.”

  “Listen, I hated myself for that video. Not just because it made me look like a fool, but because I knew it would hurt you. I had no idea I was being recorded or I never would’ve opened my mouth. Those things I said? I didn’t mean them. A million times I’ve wished I could take them back. I loved you, but instead of proving it, I lashed out in anger and hurt.”

  Loved. Past tense. That extra D hung in the frosty, December air between them.

  Hannah’s sigh let out a cloud of her warm breath, like pressurized steam leaving her body, until she felt empty and drained. “We were just kids back then. We didn’t know what love was.”

  “Do we know what it is now?” Isaac asked.

  “I know what it isn’t. It isn’t jealousy and bitterness and jumping to conclusions.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” he said and she saw the drop in his shoulders, the tension draining from the lines around his mouth as though he was giving up. He glanced back at his SUV, still idling in her driveway, ready for him to turn away from her and drive straight out of her life. It caught Hannah off guard when, instead of beating a hasty retreat, Isaac asked, “Have you been in love since then?”

  Hannah looked down at the black suede pumps that would’ve been pinching her toes if her feet weren’t completely numb from the cold. When she lifted her eyes, she gave a slight shake of her head. “Have you?”

  But before he could answer, Sammy cracked the door open again and tugged at her hand. “Mama, I can’t fall asleep.”

  It was a reminder of all the other pressing responsibilities Hannah had waiting for her. Her son. Her mother. She looked at Isaac, her eyes pleading with him to just let everything go. To let her go. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  His jaw was firm, his stubborn chin set, his brown eyes dejected when he gave a barely perceptible nod. Isaa
c reached passed her and squeezed Sammy’s shoulder. “See you around town, big guy.”

  And, just like that, Isaac Jones turned around and walked out of her life again.

  * * *

  He heard the dog’s bark before Clausson knocked on Isaac’s open office door on Wednesday afternoon. “You have visitors, Chief.”

  It had only been a week since he’d driven away from Hannah’s cabin after she shut him out for the second and final time. She’d made it clear that they were through, that she couldn’t keep seeing him. And really, it was for the best. His heart had already been through one major breakup with her and he still hadn’t gotten over it.

  But that didn’t stop his pulse from springing to life with fresh hope when he heard Sammy’s voice speaking to Garcia in the TV lounge. Isaac paused outside the room, steeling his thoughts from getting too full of promises for what could never be. Or could it?

  He turned the corner, fully expecting to see Hannah, then stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on Donna Gregson, instead. Her thin frame was bundled up in a puffy purple coat over a sweat suit that could’ve easily been mistaken for a pair of pajamas. On her head, she wore a pink ball cap that said Fight Like a Girl. His medic training had him giving the woman a once-over for any signs of discomfort or impairment. She looked healthy, despite the fact that she was battling a terminal illness, and he had to wonder what would bring her into the fire station on one of the coldest days in December.

  Then he saw Sammy and Big Dot and knew. The woman was here to appease her grandson. The same grandson who was too afraid to get close to her for fear that she was dying.

  “Hey, Chief Isaac,” Sammy said, dropping the leash to give him a wave. “Grammie said that if Big Dot wants to be a fire dog, she needs to spend more time at the station to get trained.”

  “I wasn’t aware we were training any new fire dogs today.” Isaac lifted a questioning brow at Mrs. Gregson. “Or ever.”

  What Isaac really wanted to ask was, Does your daughter know about this? Hannah’s mom didn’t rise to the bait, though. In fact, she kept her expression completely neutral, a skill she must’ve developed as a minister’s wife who helped counsel her husband’s flock. When he was eighteen and would go to their cabin to drop off Hannah, Mrs. Gregson had always had the ability to set Isaac on edge with that same look. Back then he never knew what the woman thought of him. And, apparently, he still didn’t.