Warrick: Heading out on a call, sounds like it could be a bad one. I’ll call when I get a chance, but don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. Call Knight or the Barnetts if you need anything. Love you xx
Fear swirls through my stomach as I think about how dangerous fires can be. He could be out in the middle of the woods, hurt or burned or dead, and I’d have no idea. Would they even let me see him at the hospital if he gets taken there.
When the microwave dings, I pull in a slow, calming breath and try to banish the irrational fear. Warrick is a highly trained firefighter. He knows what he’s doing, and he has a team of other trained firefighters out there with him. He’ll be fine, and he’ll call me when he can.
Using a towel, I lift the hot casserole from the microwave and tip it out onto a plate. Grabbing silverware, I carry my plate to the table and sit down in my chair, then immediately get up and head for the back door. Sitting at the table without Warrick’s huge, warm body beside me feels wrong.
Stepping out into the yard, I exhale when the warm sun hits my skin. Sinking down into the grass, I pick at my breakfast as worry churns in my stomach. For the first time since he brought me to his home, I wish that he still had people coming to check up on me. Maybe they could reassure me that even though he’s out there fighting a fire, he’s going to be fine and will come back to me.
Like the words have gone from my lips to God’s ear, there’s a knock at the front door. Jumping up, I rush to the front of the house and throw open the door, finding Octy and Knight on the doorstep.
“Hi,” Octy says, while Knight stands like a stoic soldier at her back.
“Hi.”
“We’re not checking up on you,” she says. “Well, I guess we are, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Do you want to come in?” I ask, stepping back.
“Is that okay?” Octy questions cautiously.
I nod. “I’m just in the yard. Come on through.”
Leading the way through the house and into the yard, I sit back down in the grass beside my barely picked-over breakfast.
“Oh, you’re eating, we shouldn’t have disturbed you,” Octy says.
“Is that breakfast or lunch?” Knight rumbles, his eye twitching slightly.
“Breakfast. I fell back to sleep after Warrick left, and I only woke up a little while ago.”
Smiling widely, Octy points at me. “See, normal people sleep late,” she exclaims to her husband.
Knight’s expression stays perturbed as he eyes the plate of breakfast casserole with distaste. Pushing the plate away, I jump to my feet again. “Can I get you guys a drink?”
Knight’s brows draw together, and he turns his intense gaze on me. “Sit and eat. I’ll get drinks.”
“Oh,” I start, shaking my head.
“Finish your breakfast,” he growls, muttering under his breath. “Even if it is almost lunchtime.” And then he heads back into the house.
Chuckling, Octy smiles softly as she watches her husband leave, then she turns her head back to me. “He wasn’t joking, you should eat. He takes meals insanely seriously. I’ve eaten more since I met him than I think I did the whole year before. If we weren’t fucking so much to burn all the calories, I’d be as big as a house.”
Her bold honesty shocks me, but I shake it off, lifting my plate to my lap and nibbling at it. “How long have you been married?”
“A little over five months now.”
“How long have you known each other?”
“A little over five months,” she says, then bursts into laughter, making her pigtails bob up and down. “I met him briefly at a party up at Betty’s house. Then one day he showed up at the place I was staying and told me he was bringing me home. We got married the next day.”
“The next day?” I question.
“Men in Rockhead Peak move fast. But I think Knight and I hold the record now. I’m pretty sure it took Granger a couple of days to convince Alice to marry him.”
I’m not sure how my face looks, but Octy tilts her head to the side and smiles at me. “The Barnetts haven’t told you yet, have they?”
“Told me what?”
