by Bliss Carter
“Hmmmm, you’ve given me some ideas Gracie Lou. Come on, we’ve got to get going and check out. Jaxson gets anxious if we’re late picking him up.”
Grace just grinned at how thoughtful Walker was and followed him down the next aisle. Grocery shopping was never this sexy before.
Grace: Francie, I’ve got Ash info that you need to know.
Birdie: Gossip isn’t good for the reputation Grace
Kresley: That depends. It’s not gossip if it’s info vital for her existence. And let’s face it. Info on Ash, who she is crushing so hard on, is vital
Gertie: Y’all woke me up. Don’t make me put you on Do Not Disturb
Grace: Well, where’s Francie?
Kresley: As far as I know she was going to be home. So, she should have her phone near
Birdie: I just called her. She had been cleaning out the fridge and didn’t hear text alerts.
Francie: Whew. Cleaning out the fridge is hard work. Now what’s this about Ash?
Grace: Walker and I saw him today. With a girl
Francie: Oh
Birdie: That’s it?
Grace: Who are you talking to Birdie? Me or Francie?
Birdie: Both of y’all
Grace: No, I have more. Francie, you still here?
Francie: Yes
Kresley: Better hurry Grace before she bolts
Grace: Ash and Killian were in the grocery store and a girl was walking behind them. It turns out it’s Ash’s sister
Francie: Sister? I’ve never seen her. He did mention her that time we were packing up Kres’ apartment for the move to Cade’s, but he didn’t say much.
Grace: Yep. You could tell Ash was uncomfortable and she didn’t act the best either. Walker told me after they left that he thought she could have a drug problem by the way she looked and acted. She said something about an appointment. I’m not telling you this to spread gossip. I’m telling you this and one more nugget because I think you should give the guy a break.
Gertie: If Ash is dealing with a loved one with drug issues, he has a lot of stress I’m sure. But we don’t need to say a word about this to anyone, including Ash. If he wants it told, if it’s true, he’ll be the one to tell it.
Birdie: Gertie, that sounds an awful like you and Braxton. One day you’ll decide that you can trust him with what’s happened to you. One day.
Gertie: Anyway, back to Francie. Grace, what’s the other thing you needed to say?
Grace: Well, Walker and I were talking and he made the observation that Francie ran hot and cold with Ash and asked me if I knew why. I just told him that several women had told her/us that Ash is a player
Francie: Yeah, I’ve heard several talking about him before. I’m not making that up
Grace: Well, Walker said he couldn’t answer for Ash in his past, but he said Ash hasn’t been on one date since the day he met Francie at Club Vue. Not one single date or booty call
Francie: What? That can’t be.
Kresley: It makes sense. For someone who is a player he hangs out with Boomer, Cade and the other guys a lot when he isn’t working. No women
Francie: But that would mean…
Birdie: What Francie? That he actually likes you? Wants to spend time with you? It would explain him getting so mad at Cade’s that time when he heard it from Jaxson that a guy at the gym tried to kiss you
Kresley: Oh my gosh I forgot about that.
Grace: I’m not sure who the women were that you heard talking about him but it seems they may have stretched the truth or were very old flings he had.
Francie: One was nurse Suzie
Kresley: Nurse McBoobs?
Grace: Nurse Suzie-slut-o-matic? After what she pulled with Walker, I wouldn’t trust a single thing she had to say.
Francie: Yep
Birdie: You can’t base anything on her opinions. She’d probably stretch the truth more than what her vagina is.
Gertie: Snorts. Oh my gosh that was crude but funny as hell
Grace: I’m not telling you what to do Francie. But if nothing else listen to me now. I wasted two years of my life living in fear of commitment. That’s two years I could have had with Walker. I’d be married by now probably, had a baby or two. So just give the guy a chance and stop treating him hot and cold. Because the way it sounds, he is totally miserable and about ready to give up and move on.
Francie: No! I mean, I would hate to...I don’t even know what to say
Kresley: Just stop thinking so much. Just go with feelings. Speaking of feelings, Grace. How are things with Mr. Boom Boom?
Grace: Amazing.
Birdie: That’s it? Amazing? You speak more words than that describing an oil change, heifer
Grace: Lol Don’t need many words when everything is set up in the best way imaginable.
Francie: Well I keep thinking every day you’re going to walk into work with a ring on that finger. I keep wondering which one of y’all is going to give in to the no sex rule first. Lol
Gertie: It must be so hard...uhhhh, I mean difficult. Difficult. It must be difficult.
Kresley: Oh my gosh. Gertie! You made a questionable joke! I’m so proud of you honey. You’re on your way back to us! The old Gertie is beginning to emerge from her safety blanket. *hugs*
Gertie: Therapy isn’t for wimps. It’s for fighters.
Grace: Fight like a girl, honey. Fight like a girl.
∞∞∞
Whimsy Events became hot firefighter central in the next several days. The Firefighter Heroes Calendar was in the works with photo sessions having already been scheduled prior by Francie. The photos were being taken in Birdie’s photography studio on the second floor and Grace got to see lots of good-looking men in uniform traipsing up and down the stairs. When she mentioned this to Walker, he would scowl and order her to keep her eyes anywhere but on them when they were going by her desk. Grace just shook her head and giggled. She told him he had absolutely nothing to worry about and that he was one hundred times sexier than any of them put together. That seemed to appease him, but Grace often found Walker making “surprise” visits, multiple times a day. He would bring her a fresh cup of coffee from her favorite café or her favorite bacon Nutella walnut crunch donut. She knew what he was doing and totally loved it. She reminded him that she would remember this when they did a law enforcement calendar next year. Walker rolled his eyes and just walked away.
Francie and Birdie seemed very stressed out by all the happenings going on. The firefighters, for the most part, were good sports about the whole thing. Grace had gone upstairs and seen the set up that Birdie had come up with for their photos. It was genius really. From what she understood, there was a main guy for each month, with one of those being chosen for the cover photo. Then there were more minor pictures that would be put through the calendar in places. The twelve guys that were chosen for months were chosen by their peers at the fire station and not Whimsy Events. It was no surprise to Grace when she saw that Braxton, Killian and Ash were all chosen for a month. She also observed that Gertie, Francie and Birdie were all very flustered when the men’s times came to take their photos. Each woman found a reason to be in “attendance” during their photo shoot. Birdie really didn’t have an excuse. She had to take the photos.
The backdrop she used was old barn wood made into a wall, with large metal hooks where an old fireman’s hat, protective gear coat, red suspenders and face mask hung haphazardly. In front of that was a pedestal made entirely of stacked, rolled up fire hoses. Each firefighter would pose in some way in front of the barn wood, and on the top of the pedestal, would be a rescue animal of some sort from the local animal shelter. The fireman got to pick which animal they wanted to take their picture with, whether it was a cat, dog, bunny, turtle. It didn’t matter. The local shelter manager loved the idea and, on each calendar, all the info of where to adopt the animals would be displayed. Also, the charity fund would donate a percentage of each sale of the calendar to the animal shelter. So, it was a win-
win. The only thing that the guys balked at doing was having baby oil rubbed on their bare chests and arms before taking photos. Each one wore his turn out gear pants and boots only. His chest would be bare and oiled up so it would shine like a pretty penny in the photo. The animal was honestly the selling point of the photos, from what Grace observed. They were all so cute and cuddly. Grace had played with several of them while they waited to go upstairs. She made a point to remember to talk to Walker about his thoughts on adopting a pet for Jaxson for Christmas.
Gertie handled watching Braxton pose with a puppy, Rocco, like a champ. The puppy was a pit-bull mix and was a velvet gray color with blue eyes. Gertie took one look at the puppy and fell in love. Between each photo taken, when Birdie had to adjust something, Gertie would walk over and pet the puppy, cooing at it and letting it lick her face. Braxton smiled at Gertie’s reaction to Rocco, looking besotted himself. With Gertie that is. “Would you adopt him, Gert? Do you want a dog at your house?” Braxton asked this as he watched Gert pet the dog over and over again. He was jealous of a damn dog.
“Oh, I hadn’t ever considered that. A puppy is a lot of work, isn’t it? I’m not sure I’d be a good enough owner.”
Braxton hated to hear such doubt in her voice about herself. “Hey, with me living next door and home during the day in between shifts, I could help watch Rocco. I know how to train a dog as well and could help you with that. I can see how much you love him already and he is in love with you, too. I think it would be good for you to have him at your house.”
“You’d really help me, Brax? You wouldn’t mind?” Gertie pulled her bottom lip through her teeth and looked up at Braxton with her deep, dark green eyes.
“I’d love to help.” Braxton knew this would also help get his foot in the door of getting closer to Gertie.
“Then I guess I’m going to adopt Rocco here. Aren’t you excited, baby? You’ll be going home with me soon.” Gertie cooed at Rocco, petting him. She left him with Braxton a few minutes later so Birdie could resume the photo shot and he could see out of the corner of his eye her talking to the animal shelter manager. He hoped this was something that would help her open up more so he could figure out how to breech those built up walls of hers.
Ash’s animal of choice surprised Grace the most. It was a pygmy goat, the tiny ones that didn’t grow large at all and were cute as a button. The goat was white with black hoofs, and a black front and head. Francie had greeted Ash downstairs when he walked in and tried to have some casual conversation with him. Grace could tell she was trying to be more balanced with Ash. When she asked him which animal he had chosen, he indicated the baby goat in its carrier. Francie was surprised and asked him why that one. He shrugged his shoulders and said the one thing that could thaw the ice around Francie’s heart. “I took one look at her and thought you’d like to pet her while she was here. Her name is Melody, by the way. She’s soft and cute. You’ll like her. Want to come up stairs and help me with her while I take the photos?”
Francie smiled a big, beautiful smile up at Ash. “You chose her for me? That’s so sweet. Thank you, Ash. Yes, I’ll help you with her upstairs. I’ll head up in just a second”. The shelter employee followed Ash up the stairs, carrying the goat with her.
“Oh my gosh Grace. He chose that stinkin’ cute baby goat for me. Me! I’m going to faint. I swear, I’m going to expire right here. I can’t do this. I can’t.” Francie began hyperventilating and shaking her hands.
“Francie, stop that shit right now. It’s a goat. It’s not a proposal of marriage. Take a deep breath and let it out. Okay, now, go upstairs. He’s waiting on you. Go pet the baby goat. Watch him take some hot photos. Live in the freakin’ moment instead of worrying about every little thing. Seriously. Go.” Grace hated to sound like a belligerent parent, but geez. It sounded like Francie needed one today.
“Okay, I’m going. Stop pushing me, witch. I said I’m going. Geez woman.” Francie grumbled as she headed upstairs at Grace’s less than subtle prodding.
Grace turned around to find that Walker had stopped by for one of his “patrols” of her work space. “Hey baby!” Grace raced over to him and gave him a sweet, passionate kiss hello. “How’s your day been so far?”
“It’s been stressful so far. What was that all about?” Walker indicated where Francie had disappeared upstairs.
“Ash. A baby goat. A sweet gesture he did for her. Photo session. Francie flustered. The end.” Grace stated, giving him a sweet kiss between each word or sentence.
“Give me many more kisses like that back to back and you’re going to find yourself in the same predicament you were in last night, angel.” Walker growled at Grace, pushing his face and daily whisker scruff into her neck. He opened his hot, wet mouth and sucked very gently on her neck. Too gently to create a hickie. But it reminded her of last night, where he had sucked on her instead and left a huge hickie that she hadn’t noticed until this morning.
Grace slapped at his shoulder, secretly loving how aggressive he could be with her, but stated in a firm voice, “Walker Collins, you stop that right now. We’re at my workplace, not the bedroom.” Her giggles ruined how stern she wanted to sound.
“Yeah, you sound completely torn up about it baby.” Walker drawled, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. He bent her over his arm and proceeded to kiss her until she was completely breathless. His tongue reached far into her mouth to rub against hers. Wet suction of his lips and the groans he growled within her depths turned on Grace in a way that she could feel vibrate throughout her whole body.
“Y’all gonna stop that any time soon or am I going to have to shield my unborn child from seeing such debauchery?” Kresley asked with laughter in her voice. She was walking towards them, holding a donut in one hand and some sort of green juice in the other. At Walker’s look of revulsion at her beverage choice, Kresley rolled her eyes.
“I know. Cade said I needed to try to be healthy when I’m naughty during my pregnancy. So, I thought if I eat a donut, I could drink some green monster juice, too. It’s not bad. I just concentrate more on the donut.”
“Smart thinking, Kres. Hey, while you’re standing here, I was thinking we needed to do dinner and karaoke soon. Maybe get a baby sitter for Jaxson. The whole group go out and eat and us men watch you ladies butcher great songs like Bon Jovi and Journey. What do you think, baby?” Walker asked Grace, looking at Kresley to see if she was game for it as well.
“Sounds good to me. What about Saturday night? Since tomorrow’s Friday, I may not be able to get Sara for tomorrow night so soon. Kres, what do you think?”
Kresley, her mouth full of donut, nodded her head yes and mumbled around her food that she would let Cade know. They all knew that Cade would say yes to whatever pregnant Kresley wanted.
“I’ll let the other girls know. We’ll invite Darby Hart, too. She’s such a sweetheart and a nurse as well. So, if one of the men’s hearts stops because our singing is so amazing, then she can resuscitate them. Walker, will you let the guys know? I think I overheard Braxton mention they were off duty for the next two days.” Grace looked up at Walker with a grin and winked.
“Sure thing baby, but only if you’ll give me a kiss and go steal me a donut out of Kresley’s office.” Grace laughed at that and kissed him sweetly, then walked off to get him a donut treat.
Walker quickly looked at Kresley and asked “So you think we’re all good then for Saturday? Got all the details worked out? I’m nervous as shit Kres. What if I screw this up?”
“Walker. Breathe. You aren’t going to screw anything up. Listen to me. I know. She’ll love it. I promise. I’ll handle everything on my end. You just take care of your stuff. Okay?” Kresley smiled warmly and patted him on the arm. He nodded his head and said thank you silently to her. She walked back towards her office again with a wave.
Grace walked by Kres and paused to rub her small baby bump, then on to Walker’s side, with a chocolate iced donut in her hand covered with a napkin. “H
ere you go baby. Some sugar for my sugar.” Walker laughed and grinned at her antics, then kissed her again, saying he had to go. “I love you Gracie. Don’t forget it.”
“I love you more handsome. I’ll never forget.” She smacked him on the butt as he made his way to the front door. With one last backwards glance at her, he smiled at her and left.
“Hey, was that Boomer? I needed to talk to him about…something.” Ash stated as he walked down the stairs.
“Yeah, it was. He just drove off in his squad car. I’m sure he’ll answer his cell if you call though.”
“Thanks Grace. I’ll get up with him later.” Ash stated, looking around for Francie. When his eyes landed on her, standing right behind him, he smiled at her and asked if she had loved the baby goat as much as he did. Francie smiled at him warmly and nodded.
“He was super cute, Ash. I think your photos are going to turn out looking great. Birdie showed me some she took and they looked really good. Not trashy at all, I know that was something you worried about.”
“That’s good to know. My mama definitely wouldn’t appreciate her baby boy looking trashy.” Ash laughed at that and winked at her. He turned to Grace, who had said his name.