Laida: The Herbalist. Is this the Firefighter?
Holy shit,I thought.She was thinking about me, too!
Me: LOL. Hi Laida. Yes, this is ‘The Firefighter.’ How did you get my number?
Laida: …
Me: What does that mean?
Laida: Shame… I called the firehouse and a Brady answered. He sounded overly excited that I was calling for you.
I wasn’t surprised that Brady was so amped up. He’d been trying to get me to go out with someone new for a long time. I wasn’t mad at him for giving Laida my number, but I gave him shit about it the next time I saw him.
Me: Wow. And he just gave a stranger my phone number?
Laida: Oh what…ever. Mr.I’m coming back all week to fix everything.
Me: LOL. Noteverythingbut it’s nice to know I’m appreciated.
Laida: You are. Also, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I just saw the house fire on the news. Sad. Assuming you went to that?
Grinning at my phone like a teenager, she wassweet,too.
Me: I did. It was intense, but the old man and his dog are going to be okay. I got home a bit ago and just got out of the shower.
Laida: Yeah, I kept working after you left, so I just got out of the tub, too.
The tub. I imagined her in the bathtub will bubbles covering her. My dick was throbbing under my towel.
Me: It was a long day.
Laida: Are you coming by tomorrow?
As much as I wanted to, with my new duties, I had to start scheduling some safety classes.
Me: I can’t tomorrow. But I’ll try to stop by this weekend.
Laida: Oh… alright. No biggie. Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Have a good night.
Her“Oh”was full of disappointment and I wanted to drop everything, including my towel, and go over to her place. We’d only just met, but I wanted to be around her all the time.
Me: G’night, Laida. Sleep well.
Laida: G’night, Firefighter.
Chapter 3
Laida
It had been three days since I’d seen Jesse. He never did visit that weekend like he said he would. I tried not to bug him, but I’d be lying to myself if I said it wasn’t nice having him around. He could have at least called.
Even though I was annoyed with him when we first met, he quickly grew on me. Faster than I realized. I felt a little crazy since we had onlyhung outfora week, and that wasn’t anything. At the same time, it was everything. It was nice having someone around, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how he remembered seeing me come into the firehouse with the gift basket. Maybe I wasn’t such alonerafter all.
I spent those few days by myself getting so much done. When I first arrived in Whispering Pines, I hadn’t brought much with me. I didn’t want to bring anything from my old life that I had shared with my ex-boyfriend with me. So, I left most things with him and only moved only the things that weremine. Everything I could get into the car was packed tightly, with all my plants sitting up front with me. The onlynewitems that Ipurchased were a new mattress and bedding, so I couldn’t wait to set up a place formeagain. Fixing and organizing the barn was an important part of that.
A dedicated space for my stock of herbal ingredients was finally in order. I made some homemade salves with Calendula flowers and Dandelions that help with burns and inflammation that I thought the firefighters could use. Next, I planted some flower beds and set up plant stands so I could begin restocking my shelves. Plants are just like people. With the right care and attention, they will give back to you so many times over.
Then, I cleaned up the kitchen, purging it of old shit, and getting a chopping, bottling, and canning area set up. Eventually, I wanted to paint the kitchen a sage color and fix the cabinets.
