Page 46 of Wild Fires

“Are you sure you're okay? You may need to shift and let that heal.”

“Later,” I said as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.

Kim was far too observant. I really hadn’t been this happy in a while, maybe ever, and I was pretty sure it had everything to do with the crazy woman in my arms that I couldn't seem to get enough of.

Before things could progress further, she pushed me away with a giggle.

“You promised me a lobster dinner, and you aren't going to ruin it with a distraction.”

Gracie

Chapter 14

I wasn't in the habit of lying to myself. So I had to just admit it. I was falling hard for Ryan Davenport.

If I were back in my high school days, I'd pull out a notebook or journal and start doodling hearts around Gracie and Ryan. Hell, I probably still had a few of those lying around somewhere, though I’d never in a million years believed it would actually come true.

Now here we were growing closer by the day and falling into a normal couple routine.

I'd been staying at his place most nights, though we'd had our fair share of time at my cabin too. It had been a week since the first time we'd made love. Ryan was back to work in his office, but only for half days until we officially caught the arsonist.

For the last three nights he'd been quiet. It was a little unnerving. No fires reported. The only calls that came in were for cats stuck in trees, heat detectors malfunctioning, or just questions that could be answered over the phone. There hadn't even been a car accident or emergency baby delivery.

Life at the firehouse was pretty boring.

This meant that the guys were getting restless. And when they got restless they caused chaos.

A civil game of darts ended with Big Dick throwing them at Dan instead of the board. The only good part of that was that Clarence had made us all get our EMT certifications claiming we were too small of a town to have separate departments, so stitching up Dan when he cut himself trying to remove one kept them all entertained.

I couldn't believe I was even thinking it, but I was ready to get out of here. All I wanted to do was go home and cuddle up with Ryan. Sex wasn't getting old at all, but the closeness was what I craved most, especially on a boring, rainy day.

He was stuck at the office all day in meetings. He'd put off his life last week for us to investigate the fires, but that couldn't go on forever. He was an important man in Ravenden and had to eventually go back to his day job.

It was okay though. Being apart seemed to make our time together even better.

I'd never considered myself a relationship person and Ryan and I didn't exactly match on paper, but somehow, I was, and it made perfect sense in reality. I was pretty sure he felt the same as well. Not that I've asked him or declared my love for him or anything.

I was definitely falling in love with Ryan Davenport. The man that not only followed the rules but helped write them was apparently the dream man for me, the girl who broke all the rules. It was almost comical. And if it didn't feel so right, I'd laugh.

No one at the station thought anything of it. I doubted they even considered it a possibility, no matter how much time I spent with him.

When Clarence had reinstated me, I knew overnight and on-call shifts were going to start up again. Pre-Ryan I lived for these nights, even the slow ones. But now it just felt like a waste of my time to be here when I could be home with him.

With everyone occupied in whatever stupidity they were doing now, I snuck off to the bay and climbed up into one of the trucks. It was quiet and a place I commonly used to get away when I wanted my space. No one would think anything of it.

I pulled out my phone and called Ryan. He answered right away but sounded distracted.

“Hi,” he said. “Give me just a minute.”

I could hear him talking in the background and then things quieted down.

“Sorry about that. What time is it?”

“Almost eight,” I confessed.

“Wow. I am just getting home. You caught me programming my coffee and reminders for tomorrow.”

I smiled, shaking my head. It was such a Ryan thing to do.