Embracing Today, a firefighter romance: (The Trading Yesterday Series, #3), Kahlen Aymes [essential reading txt] 📗

a brighter smile. “Siri. She’s my favorite. Uncle Leonard had her bred a few months before he died. She’s due in a couple of weeks.”

“Two weeks, huh? Ugh!” I bemoaned. “She looks so uncomfortable.”

“Yes. The sire was the large black, so the foal will be big. The vet says it might come a little earlier.”

“Well, you’ll need at least that long to heal and feel more yourself. So, what’d ya say? Friends?” I asked. I wondered what on earth could make such beautiful woman so shy. I looked forward to the day when she might trust me and feel more at ease around me. “I’m new to town and I don’t know a lot of people. I could use more of them. Would that be okay?”

Marin’s smile became more relaxed. “Yes. I could use more friends as well.”

“Cool. I can’t promise I won’t steal your dog, though.” I made a little ball of rice with my fingers and added a piece of the pork from the Moo Shu. “Is this okay for her?”

“It’s okay, but not too much,” Marin returned. “I don’t want her sick in the middle of the night.”

The puppy greedily ate the meat and rice from my fingers as I held her. “Yes, that would be bad. She’s hungry. I’ll get her dog food and then I’ll get going. Did you get my number from one of the guys last night?”

A slight pink hue graced her cheeks. “I did.”

I wanted to ask Marin for her number in return but decided it best to let it go. I’d get her number if she ever decided to call me, but that had to be up to her. “Good. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will, but we’ll be okay.”

I stood there gawking at her in the middle of her kitchen, not wanting to leave, but knowing I should. I placed the puppy on the floor and soon she was munching on the dish of dog food I’d set in Marin’s laundry room. I picked up the nearly empty water bowl and went to the kitchen to refill it.

“Listen,” I began. I knew I was butting in, but I was not able to stop myself. It had been bugging me since I’d arrived. “The door was open earlier. Now that you’re out here alone, it might be a good idea to keep it locked.”

Marin looked startled. “Oh. I didn’t realize. Of course, I will, thank you.”

I nodded and smiled. “Okay. I’ll be back around 6 AM. I have an early shift tomorrow, but I’ll be quiet, so I won’t wake you. You won’t even know I’m here.” I walked toward the door. “Bye, little bit.” I bent to pet the dog’s head one last time.

“Thank you, Ben. I’m so grateful for all your help.”

Even all rumpled with messy hair she stole my breath away. “No problem. Take care.” Her gratitude was genuine, and it made my heart swell a bit.

“You, too.”

I sucked in a big breath of the clear night air on my way to the truck, reluctant to leave. This was a small town, but as such, everyone in town knew she was out here by herself after her boyfriend had perished in the fire. She shouldn’t be out here alone, especially when she was still incapacitated from her injuries. I felt very uneasy leaving, which was the last thing I should be feeling. Marin was a victim of one of my fires. I’d rescued a lot of others like her in the past, so why was this woman tugging at my emotions?

I got into my truck and glanced at the house as I turned on the engine and made the turn needed to drive back out of the lane. The entire time I kept glancing in the rearview for any sign that she was moving inside the house. The porch light turned off as I neared the white mailbox perched on a wooden post where the lane met with the county road that would take me back to Jackson. The full moon that shone bright overhead illuminated the black letters; LANDRY written on the side.

One thing I was sure about; I needed to speak to the chief about changing my workdays around. Normally, I liked the twenty-four hours on, forty-eight off schedule, but that would be a problem when I needed to be out at the ranch every morning and evening to care for the horses. For the time being, at least, I’d need twelve-hour days. I was pretty sure the chief would accommodate with a four-day-on and then four-day-off schedule, but because the roster was made a month ahead, I’d have to get some of my coworkers to swap for the next couple of weeks. If I wanted them to help me out, it would leave a lot of the guys asking questions that I wouldn’t be able to avoid.

Especially, Davis.

MARIN

Two days later, I was getting used to Ben’s stealthy visits to care for the horses and peeked out the window whenever I heard his truck in the lane. He took care of the horses in the early morning without any contact but knocked on the door to check on me last night, though just took off his cap and stood on the porch for a couple of minutes conversing about the horses, asked how I was doing and then left. He was a complete gentleman.

I felt a huge wave of guilt because I felt lucky to have met Ben and Gina and I wouldn’t have done if not for the fire. I felt safer around Ben in the three days I’d known him, than I ever did around Carter. I found myself wanting to be in his company even though it seemed way too soon after Carter’s death.

Gina volunteered to help track down Carter’s family and called me with some information the first night after Ben had left. She found a woman with the last name who turned out to be Carter’s mother. After