Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“Hunter, I think you need to work on repairing your relationship with your son,” I tell him. “And I don’t think you can do that with me in your life. At least, not right now. Not until Micah grows up a bit, like you said.”
He shakes his head. “No. This doesn’t work. I’m not going to let my son’s mood determine who I can be with—”
“I don’t want to let it either, but I also don’t want to be at least partially to blame for you not having a relationship with your son.”
“You’re not.”
“I am, though. What happened with Micah wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t found us together,” I insist.
“That’s his problem, Harlow.”
“It’s our problem. And it’s a big problem,” I tell him. “And it’s a problem I don’t think can be fixed while I’m in the picture.”
He shakes his head, his face clouding over with emotion. He’s not usually given to big displays of emotion, but Hunter looks frustrated and … sad. Seeing that kind of feeling on his face only drives the dagger in my heart even deeper. I know this is the right thing to do, but it’s killing me.
“Don’t I get any say in this?” Hunter asks. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either. But I also don’t want you to lose your son.”
“That’s his choice.”
“It’s a choice we’ve kind of made for him. And it’s not something I can live with,” I tell him. “For all his flaws, he’s your son. I can’t compete with that. Nor should I.”
“Harlow—”
“I’m sorry. I just … we can’t. Not right now.”
Before I can back out, I get to my feet. My legs are shaking so hard, I’m half-afraid I’m going to fall. My vision shimmers with tears as I look down at Hunter and feel another pain cut through my soul. Leaning down, I plant a gentle kiss on his lips.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I don’t want to do this, but I have to because I don’t think either one of you will take that first step.”
“Harlow—”
“Fix things with Micah.”
I quickly turn away and head for the door, tears streaming down my face, and my heart breaking a little more with every step I take.
13
HUNTER
“Okay, fellas, do the overhaul on the house,” I call out. “Keep your eyes peeled for spot fires and for possible collapses. Watch each other’s backs.”
I open a bottle of water and take a long swallow as white smoke continues to rise from the remnants of the burned-out house. We’ll have to wait for an official determination from the fire investigation department, but it looks to me like a grease fire in the kitchen that got out of hand and spread fast. Now a family of four is going to have to find a new place to live and replace everything they own. It’s a total loss.
Laughter off to my right draws my attention, and I see a couple of my firefighters horsing around. I grit my teeth and my body heats up with anger as I watch them fucking around.
“Ramirez, Taylor, stop fucking off and do your goddamn jobs!” I shout. “Let’s go. Mop up or you’re going to be walking back to the fucking house!”
Looking startled, Ramirez and Taylor jump to follow my orders. Watching them through narrowed eyes, I take another swig of water and throw the empty bottle to the ground.
“Wow. I’ve seen somebody eat angrily before, but I’ve never seen somebody drink angrily.”
I turn to find Darnell standing there with a cheesy grin on his face. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Obviously,” he replies. “You haven’t been in the mood for a few days.”
“Stow it.”
I turn and stalk back to the truck, just trying to get away from Darnell. It doesn’t help. He follows me over. So, I try to ignore him by picking up some of the tools and putting them back into the storage compartments. He stands where he is, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the side of the truck. With a sigh, I finally turn to him.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“Aside from a million dollars, I kind of want to know what crawled up your ass.”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, it looks it.”
“What do you want from me, man?”
“I want to know why you’ve been biting people’s heads off the last couple of shifts,” he says. “You’ve been a real asshole. So, what gives?”
“Like I said, nothing.”
“We both know that’s a load of horse shit.”
“Fine, let me try it this way, it’s none of your fucking business.”
Darnell’s chuckle is a low rumble. “That’s fine. You can snap at me all you want. I’ve known you long enough to not take it personally. But the other guys—especially the younger guys—don’t know you as well as I do and they will take it personally,” he says. “You’re obviously going through some shit, but unless you want to get a reputation as an asshole and maybe have Captain Ray come down on your ass for it, then you need to clear your head, bro.”