by Burton, Jaci
“I ate dinner with your mom tonight.”
“Cool. What did you have?”
“Eggplant lasagna.”
“Oh. We had tacos. I got to play forward and halfback today at practice. I did my homework already, Mom.”
“Okay. I’ll check it later. You need to go take a shower.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
Kal stood. “I gotta go anyway. I’ll see you this weekend, Oliver.”
Oliver looked up at him. “You will?”
“I will. We’re gonna go do something fun.”
“All right! See you later, Kal.”
“See ya, buddy.”
Oliver went down the hall toward the bathroom, and Hannah walked Kal to the door. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s life with a kid.”
He didn’t seem upset about it, and she appreciated that he understood that her life was filled with interruptions. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
He wrapped his arm around her and tugged her against him, long enough to press a steamy kiss to her lips. Then he let her go. “Yeah. Soon.”
She didn’t want to let him go, and there was that problem again. “Bye, Kal.”
“Bye.”
He turned and walked out the door, and she lingered to watch him, far longer than she should have.
CHAPTER 16
AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY TO THE SCENE OF THIS ACCIDENT, Kal mentally prepared for how they were going to conduct the rescue. It always helped him to walk through the steps of what gear they’d need, how they’d work the scene, what role he’d take and how dangerous it was going to be. Though everything the TRT did was dangerous, some situations were worse than others. He hoped this wasn’t one of the worse ones.
They arrived on scene at the large farm and immediately started unpacking their gear. Kal caught sight of the nervous parents standing on the side of the road.
Lieutenant Anderson stepped up to talk to the parents, who hurriedly motioned them toward the back.
There was an old well that had been broken apart and a black hole where their ten-year-old son had fallen.
The parents were John and Belinda Lindquist.
“We haven’t used this one in years, and we knew it was a danger, so we were planning to fill it in,” John said. “We told Caleb to stay away from it, but he must have come out here to take a look and fallen in.”
“When he first fell in we heard him cry, and now we don’t hear anything,” Belinda said, tears filling her eyes. “Please, get him out of there.”
“Any water down there?” the lieutenant asked.
The man shook his head. “No. Well’s been dry for a while.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Lieutenant Anderson said. “Now you need to step back and let us get to work.”
John and Belinda also had a thirteen-year-old daughter named Roberta who looked just as worried as her parents.
The thing he liked the most about his lieutenant was how calm he was under pressure. He also made sure to fill in the parents about what they were doing and how they planned to get their son out.
He gave the team their assignments, and they all jumped to perform the tasks. They began to set up the tripod, get the ropes in line, and both Meg and Micah harnessed up. While all this was going on, their lieutenant laid out what was going to happen and what everyone’s job would be.
Meg would go down first, with Micah as backup if needed, though with the hole being so tight, hopefully they’d only need one of them. Dean and Phil would provide weight on the tripod. Kal was in charge of the blue rope that would be used to pull Caleb up. Irish and Andy were in charge of the red rope and lowering Meg.
They were a well-oiled machine, but all this took time to set up. They were thirty minutes in by the time they were ready to lower Meg into the hole.
“Oh, please hurry,” Mrs. Lindquist said.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Mr. Lindquist said, putting his arm around both his wife and his daughter.
EMTs were also on hand to provide aid for the child as soon as they pulled him out. Kal hoped the kid was okay enough to not need EMTs. He hated to think of the other outcome, not with the parents and his sister standing right there.
“You ready?” Lieutenant Anderson asked, looking around at all of them.
“Yes, sir,” they all said one by one.
His gaze landed last on Meg, who nodded, gave the rope team controlling her a thumbs-up, then slid over the edge and into the abyss.
Kal’s muscles tensed as he waited for the signal, hoping he’d get to pull up a survivor. He knew the entire team was focused on their duties, all connected via their mics to listen to Meg’s descent into the well.
He watched as Irish and Andy continued to give rope to Meg’s descent, which meant she was going pretty far down. He had no idea the depth of the well, but it was obviously a ways.
“Okay, I see something,” she said. “Looks like a figure curled up at the bottom. White T-shirt, blue jeans. No movement.”
Kal’s stomach clenched as he waited for her to reach Caleb.
“Feet on the ground,” she said.
And then nothing but silence. They knew she was checking Caleb’s vital signs, examining him for injuries, so it’d be a few minutes before they heard back from her. To the team it seemed like an eternity. To Caleb’s parents, even longer.
“He’s conscious. He was asleep. Amazingly, nothing is broken. He has some deep cuts and scrapes, but nothing major. Looks like he might have a sprained ankle. Maybe a concussion. Says he’s hungry and really thirsty. I’m harnessing him to pull up.”
They all exhaled in relief. The lieutenant reported Meg’s findings to Caleb’s parents, who both burst into tears, and the family embraced one another.
Within a few minutes, Meg gave the okay to pull Caleb, so Kal gently retracted his rope, not wanting to jar him or bump him against the side walls of the well. EMTs stood at the entrance to grab hold of him as soon as he appeared and put him on the stretcher. They headed straight for the hospital, the family following in their car. After he was up, Phil and Dean pulled Meg out.
“Whew,” she said after she disengaged from the pulleys. “Dark and tight down there.”
“Long way down, too,” Kal said as he was folding up his rope.
“No kidding. Caleb was lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries.”
Phil walked by, then paused. “Your rope was slack on the withdrawal. You could have banged that kid against the wall. Do better next time.”
Kal just stared after him as he walked away, then turned to Meg. “My rope was fine. Taut. Fucking perfect.”
She shrugged. “Ignore him.”
“Kind of hard to when he rides my ass every chance he gets.”
They packed up their gear and headed back to the station. Since it was late afternoon and they’d worked through lunch, Irish put together some bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and tomato soup for them to eat. Simple, but it tasted great.
“Heard you fucked up handling the rope today,” Dean said to Kal after everyone else had left the table. It was only Kal, Dean and Phil.
“No, I handled my rope duties just fine.”
Dean looked over at Phil and smiled, then sent a smirk back at Kal. “Not what I heard.”
There was so much he wanted to say, but what was the point? All it would do was cause more animosity with two of his teammates, so he let it go.
Then again, he was tired of having to take it almost every day.
“What’s your issue with me?”
“We worked our asses off to land a position on the TRT, kid,” Dean said. “While you just waltzed in and were given the job by your daddy, the battalion chief with connections.”
That’s what they thought? “Look. I applied, I tested, I trained and I got in, just like everyone else. My father had zero influence in my getting in here.”
Phil let out a laugh. “Yeah, right. E
veryone knows how you got here, and it wasn’t your skills.”
Now he was pissed. He stood up. “Bullshit. Talk to the lieutenant if you don’t believe me. Talk to anyone else.”
Phil leaned back in the chair. “No need to. Everyone knows the truth, and the truth is you didn’t earn your way here, Donovan. You got in through family connections.”
“You believe that, then prove it. Otherwise, shut your fucking mouth.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Kal snapped to attention when his lieutenant walked in. “No, sir.”
Phil and Dean went back to relaxed mode.
“Nothing going on here, Lieutenant,” Dean said. “Just having lunch.”
Lieutenant Anderson gave them all the once-over as if he didn’t believe what they told him.
“Donovan.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there a problem I need to know about?”
“No, Lieutenant. No problem.”
He stared at all of them for a few more seconds, enough to make Kal really uncomfortable. And judging from the squeamish looks on Dean’s and Phil’s faces, they weren’t comfortable, either. The lieutenant finally left the room. Kal glared at Phil and Dean, then he left the room, so wound up he needed to punch something. And since he couldn’t punch Dean or Phil, he headed to the workout room, deciding to take it out on the weight equipment.
He might not be able to beat the shit out of the guys who irritated him, but he could burn some of the rage off in there.
This time, anyway.
But one of these days, they were going to push him too far, and he was going to knock them both on their asses.
And that was going to feel really damn satisfying.
CHAPTER 17
“OLIVER, IF YOU AREN’T READY IN FIVE MINUTES, I’M GOING to call Kal and tell him we’re not going.”
“Mommmm. I’m in the shower now.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath. “You are not. Get in there right away.”
There were days when being a parent took every ounce of energy she had. Today was one of those days. Oliver had woken up cranky and obstinate, fighting her on every single thing. Even though he was excited about going to the festival, he was doing everything he could to not take a shower, like lying around on the sofa all morning and playing in his room.
But she did finally hear the bathroom door close, and when she walked down the hall, the shower was running.
Progress.
She pivoted and headed toward her room, running into her mother. “Kids, huh? Pain in the ass. Wonder where he gets it from,” her mother said with a knowing smile.
“His father, probably.”
“You’d like to think that, but I had to light a fire under your butt to get you moving all the time. So the hard-to-get-moving part? That’s on you, honey.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Well, I’m not like that now.”
“That’s because you married a boy even lazier than you. You had no choice but to grow out of it.”
“I guess you’re right. I won’t let Oliver grow up that way.”
She patted Hannah’s shoulder. “That’s my girl.”
After her mother walked away, she went down the hall and into her room. Now that she’d gotten Oliver started on getting ready, she had to do the same. She’d already showered, but she had to get dressed and put her makeup on. The weather was nice today. The temperature wasn’t unbearable for a change, so she put on a pair of capris and a short-sleeved T-shirt and slid into her canvas tennis shoes. After applying makeup, she brushed her hair and put it in a high ponytail. Perfect for a festival. She didn’t have to be glamorous, and it wasn’t a date, anyway. Anytime you brought your kid on an outing, it wasn’t a date.
After Oliver got out of the shower, she went into his room to supervise the rest of his routine, since he tended to get easily distracted. He got dressed and put on his shoes. She made sure he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. After that, he was required to pick up his room, since it looked like a tornado had swept through it after he’d slept. They’d argued about that, too.
It was just going to be that kind of day.
By the time Kal showed up, she was already exhausted and would have happily opted to spend the day curled up on the sofa reading a book.
He swept his knuckles over her cheek. “You look tired.”
“Kid’s giving me a hard time today.”
“Boys. They’ll do that. Or at least that’s what my mom always told us.”
She smiled. “Please tell me you grow out of it.”
“Some of us do and become amazing specimens of the male species.” He gave her a wickedly sexy smile.
She raised her hand and coughed into it. “Sure. Keep believing that.”
“Hi, Kal.” Oliver ran over and put his arms around Kal’s middle.
Kal seemed surprised but looked over at Hannah and grinned before hugging Oliver back. “Hey, buddy. How’s it going?”
“Mom made me take a shower.”
“Did you stink?”
“I dunno. Maybe.”
“Then you probably needed one. I took a shower, too. Now we can both smell good for your mom today. How’s that?”
“Okay, I guess. When are we going? I’m bringing my Iron Man costume. Jeff is going as Black Panther. Are you wearing a costume?”
“That sounds perfect. I’m not wearing a costume, buddy. How could I possibly compete with your awesomeness?”
Oliver laughed. “Mom, can I go get Jeff?”
“Sure, honey, but be careful.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back, Kal. Don’t leave without me.”
“I’ll be here.”
Oliver ran out the front door just as Hannah’s mother came down the hall.
“Hi, Kal.”
“Hello, Paige. How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know. Aging by the minute.”
He laughed. “Don’t believe it. Look at how beautiful you are. Are you coming with us today?”
She shook her head as she grabbed her purse. “No. I have plans with a certain gentleman for brunch.”
“Wait.” Hannah frowned. “I didn’t hear about this.”
Her mother came over and kissed her cheek, then patted her arm. “No, you didn’t, did you? You all have a nice time today.”
Hannah just stared after her mother as she walked out the door. “Huh. I had no idea she was even seeing someone.”
“Maybe it’s a first date and she doesn’t want to talk about it just yet.”
“Maybe.” It was none of her business who her mother saw anyway. But it was great that she was getting out and seeing someone.
Kal stepped over and pulled her into his arms. “Before the kids come back.”
He brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It was light and easy, but enough to let her know he’d been thinking about her. She fell into the kiss that suddenly turned more passionate, making her wish they had more time alone.
He pulled back and swiped his thumb over her bottom lip. “Damn.”
“Yeah,” she said, blowing out a breath. “I wish we had more time, too.”
“We’ll make the time. Somewhere. And today we’ll have some fun with the boys.”
She smiled, happy that he wasn’t frustrated or mad. “We will. I have a bag packed with donations for today. I got some hygiene items and some socks and a box of diapers for the homeless shelter.”
“Oh, that’s great. I have some stuff, too. I know they’ll appreciate it.”
The boys burst through the door. Jeff flung his backpack by the door, and they raced into Oliver’s room.
Hannah shook her head. “Let me give you the donation bag, and I’ll round up the boys.”
Once she made sure Oliver had his costume in his backpack, she hustled the boys out the door and into the truck.
Since the festival was in Pompano Beach, the drive took about a half hour. On the ride there, Kal engaged the boys in conver
sation about sports, comic books and superheroes. Hannah was amazed at Kal’s knowledge base about all kid things. Maybe boys retained all that knowledge from their own childhoods. She had to know stuff so she could talk to Oliver about his interests. It certainly wasn’t necessary for Kal to know any of it, since he didn’t have kids. She was impressed.
They parked in the lot and handed over their donation bags at the gate. Hannah’s eyes widened when she saw the multiple bags that Kal had in the truck.
“It’s not all from me,” he said as he easily hefted her two bags plus three more of his own. “Rafe and Carmen don’t come back from their honeymoon until tonight, so they wanted me to add stuff in on their behalf.”
“What are all the bags for?” Oliver asked.
“They’re donations for homeless shelters around the area.”
Jeff gave him a questioning look. “What’s a homeless shelter?”
“It’s a place for people to stay when they don’t have a home of their own,” Hannah said.
“Like an apartment?” Oliver asked.
“No,” Kal said. “Sometimes people don’t have a place to live at all. They live out on the streets either alone or with their families.”
“That sounds sad,” Oliver said.
Jeff nodded as they handed the bags to the people at the gate and got their wrist bracelets.
“And scary,” Jeff said.
They were given a pamphlet, and Hannah looked it over to decide which direction to go first.
“Do kids live on the streets?” Oliver asked.
Kal looked at Hannah as if to ask if it was okay to answer. She nodded.
“They do,” Kal said. “That’s where I lived when I was a kid.”
“No way,” Oliver said. “Were you scared?”
“Sometimes. But I stayed close with people I knew so I was never alone. In fact, my brothers that I have now became my brothers when I was homeless. We got rescued from a fire together when I was living on the streets, and we all got adopted by my firefighter dad and my amazing mom.”
“Whoa. That is awesome. You have the best life, Kal.”
Kal grinned. “Yeah, I sure do.”
Hannah thought it was incredible how kids could hear the worst circumstances but pull the highlights out and absorb only the best parts. She supposed that was the child in them. But Hannah had seen the shadows in Kal’s eyes and knew he was still haunted by his past. He probably always would be.