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“Rick is driving my car. They’re waiting for you.”
He nodded and got moving, his clunky turnout gear hot and stinking. He hoped the car his uncle had driven was the SUV and not his luxury car.
“Hey, good looking, wanna ride?” It was Rick Jackson in the driver’s seat of Charlie’s SUV.
“Yeah, but I gotta get out of this costume.”
“Throw it in the back with the rest of them,” his brother Tony instructed.
He stripped down and placed his gear in the back, securing his oxygen tank with the others with cargo straps. The ride back to the station was quiet, rush-hour traffic diminished at last. Getting out his phone, he sent the first text to Ava in twenty-four hours.
I’m so sorry. I didn’t get a chance to get in touch before this. The place had zero cell service. I’m on my way back to the station and will be home about midnight. Have to go to work tomorrow morning. I’m starving, by the way. XO
Breathing a big sigh of relief, Ava smiled at her phone. The rocking chair had become her place to sit while she fed Violet. The view of the mountains out the window soothed her soul, and it was the perfect place to watch for the return of a loved one whose life was possibly endangered. The past twenty-four hours without any contact had been so difficult but full of disclosure. The biggest revelation was that she missed Leon and was lonely without him. Life was empty when he wasn’t around, a close description of love. But was she in love with Leon?
The baby was sound asleep, and she carefully took her to the crib. Checking her watch, she had about an hour to shower and get ready for love. Leon was thinking the same thing, stripping and getting to the shower even though it meant returning to Ava’s house wearing one of the pairs of ratty sweatpants he kept at the firehouse to sleep in.
But she didn’t care. She saw his truck round the drive and quickly went to the garage to open the door. While he gathered up his things, she waited at the doorway into the house, and as soon as he was within reach, she flung her arms around him. As he lifted her off the steps, she wrapped her long legs around Leon’s waist. He held her while they kissed, the kiss of lovers who had been apart.
“I missed you so much. I love you, Leon. I couldn’t wait to tell you.”
“You do? That makes me so happy.”
“Are you tired?”
“Tired and hungry,” he said. “But I’m sure I’ll revive as soon as we get into the bed.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, tonight is my lucky night, then, because I want to do things to you that I didn’t get to at the beach the other day.”
“Oh, man, watch it, okay? I might not make it to the bed.”
She slid down from his arms, and they walked into the house together, catching up with the last twenty-four hours. He told her about Francine Walker and how he had no interest in her at all, and that Tony had told him the folks knew all about his relationship with Ava. And Ava told him about Roberta’s invitation to join the women’s vigil at the ranch and how much it meant to her to be included.
“Why didn’t you go?” Leon asked, eating the meal she’d prepared for him.
“Honestly, it was too late, and I didn’t feel like dragging Violet out at midnight. Plus I was afraid. I was scared you’d get hurt. I didn’t want to plan an entire night around worrying about you.”
She didn’t mention Alex or the death watch after the crash.
“I get it,” he said. “It does sound a little creepy, but it’s historical, the women waiting together, supporting each other. Was it easier not to worry staying here?”
“No, I worried until I got your call. The only difference was home. So if you’re about done there, I’ll take your plate and lead you to the boudoir. Are you in the mood?”
“Need you ask?” He pointed to his groin and the growing bulge.
“I want to make use of that, pretty please.”
“Oh, begging will really do it. I’m ready to explode. Hurry.”
“Patience, patience. Just follow me.”
***
Thanksgiving was that week, and although Leon had originally been scheduled to work, one of the men who didn’t have a family offered to cover for him so he could be home with Violet.
The apartment was almost settled, too. Having his own place ended up meaning less time with Ava, as well, which confused him.
“Why won’t you stay over?” he asked her when she was preparing to leave the first weekend he had at home.
