“I never want to be let go of.” I melted into the bed as his body covered mine. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”
“I’ve never been happier, baby girl.”
As Grayson made love to me again, my one hope in making all this truly magnificent was that my dad could find in his heart to somehow accept us as a couple—along with everyone else at Station 38. I didn’t want them to give Grayson hell, though I was sure they would. Just as Laura and Pam had tried to do. My dad hadn’t let them stay. Maybe he would come around… eventually.
13
Grayson
IT’D BEEN TWO weeks since Gillian and I told Travis about us. He still hadn’t talked to her or me. I wasn’t about to tell anyone at work until he was ready for the news to get out. Gillian only went home to see Billy when Travis was at work. It’d been rough for both of us.
As a couple, we were fantastic, finding our groove living together. When I was home, we grocery shopped together and cooked. Curled up on the sofa to watch a show. Showered together and made love daily. Sometimes multiple times.
My apartment was spotless because Gillian was a neat freak, which I already knew about her. But when she was sad, usually when I was at work, it was like she went into a deep-clean mode. Our kitchen floor was so clean, we could eat off it.
Damn, I missed her like crazy when I was at work, like now. I was on my bunk trying to get some sleep. When I closed my eyes, she was there—my beautiful, sweet Gillian.
My eyes flew open when I heard the three beeps, then the computerized voice:Vehicular accident. Two cars. One victim: female. Two victims: male. One pedestrian: male.I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep.
I launched out of bed and into action. None of us said anything while we got into gear. It was dark out. The digital clock on the wall showed 12:14 a.m. I’d been out for a few hours.
Jared and our crew headed out first to block traffic. Behind us were another truck and ambulance. Depending on the crash type, gasoline and oil leaks were always a concern.
Gillian’s beautiful face flashed behind my eyes. Thinking of her when going out on a call wasn’t new. Anything could happen. Any one of us could not make it out. Such was the risk of being a firefighter, but I loved my job. Gillian grew up in a firefighter’s household. She knew the life. Accepted the risks. Each time I kissed her good-bye and left her, it put an ache in my chest.
My girl tried to appear okay when I’d leave. Hell, she was the strongest woman I knew, but in her light-green eyes, I saw relief in them when I came home after my shifts. I imagined she’d been anxious when I was gone, though she never said a word about her fears. It only showed me how selfless she was when some women couldn’t hack being with a firefighter. This life wasn’t for everyone.
Life was precious. Here today, gone tomorrow.
I listened to the information, noting the scene was at a two-lane intersection a mile from my apartment complex. My stomach tightened. I suspected one of the drivers was under the influence. It was usually the case at this time of night and when a pedestrian was involved.
We arrived at the location in less than ten minutes from the time of the call. I spotted both vehicles. A white truck was in the middle of the intersection with some minor damage to the front, its hazard lights flashing. A car was off to the side, its front smashed. The hood was wrinkled in half, and a fair amount of smoke bellowed from under it.
“Shit, man. Isn’t that lime-green Charger like yours?” Jared’s question hit me like a punch in the gut.
I squinted, trying to see the thin stripe along the side. Gillian had been using my car when I was gone and I’d ridden my motorcycle. It wasn’t something I’d done often, but I didn’t want her stuck at home.
Jared hit my arm, bringing me out of the haze I’d fallen into. “I think that’s your car, man. Someone stole it.”
“Fuck! Gillian!” I jumped out of the truck and ran toward my baby girl… toward my everything. The warm night air was filled with the acrid scent of burnt rubber. My heart hammered against my chest. What was she doing out this late at night?
“Did you say Gillian? Travis’s Gillian?” Jared shouted, hot on my heels.
“Yes!”
“Jesus Christ!” The fear in his voice was palpable. Dread flooded my veins and overwhelmed my heart.
I screeched to a halt seeing Gillian slumped forward, her head awkwardly positioned on the steering wheel. “Goddammit!” I grabbed the door handle, but it was locked. Of course I didn’t have my keys on me. I banged on the window. “Gillian, Gillian… Can you hear me, sweetheart?” I slammed my hand on the window, my heart in my throat as I saw no movement.
Jared ran off, likely to get a Halligan bar to pry the door open, and barked orders.
I couldn’t lose my shit. My girl needed me to get her out.
I checked my car for any oil leaks. The brunt of the damage was on the left front. “Hurry up,” I yelled, my hands itching and tingling to get inside.
The sound of boots clopping on the asphalt had me turning. “The captain is on his way.”
Fuck. Travis might lose his shit. Losing two loved ones in an auto accident would fuck anyone up. I sure as hell would never be the same. Just a numb, dead shell of a man if I lost Gillian.