Page 10 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“I know, you’re right. It’s just tough. I’ve even been grappling a bit with coming to work, but Maura wants to come over and spend time with him. It only makes sense to make a few dollars while she takes a shift.” Jack and Ellie went back and forth regularly between Hayden and Maura’s houses, but it was decided early on that Jack would stay with Hayden to convalesce since he had a little more room.

“You know we’re happy to help with whatever we can,” Rick volunteered. “Didn’t you say there’d be some nurses and therapists coming through?”

“Yeah.” Hayden glanced at Pierce. “And you’ll never believe who his nurse is.”

Pierce’s brows drew together in thought and then shot up as he realized what his brother meant. “Not the girl from Verna’s place? The one you were all gaga for?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t gaga,” Hayden corrected. At least, that wasn’t what he’d call it. There was no doubt Jessica had an effect on him, though.

“Hold on, is this the one you boys were talking about the other day?” Rick asked.

“Yup.” Hayden placed the coffee cup on the table, realizing it wouldn’t cure the exhaustion he felt all the way to his bones. His worry over Jack had certainly kept him up, but his constant thoughts about Jessica weren’t helping, either. “The visiting nurses' agency told me someone would be showing up at five, but I never even gave a thought as to who it might be. Then there she was at my door.”

Pierce elbowed him. “So, you’ve got a sexy nurse working under your roof, one that made you all moon-eyed just a couple of weeks ago? That’s gotta be…interesting.”

“It’s not like that,” Hayden quickly corrected him. Or at least, he was trying to keep it from being like that. He knew he wasn’t doing a very good job, though. He’d been more than happy to let her in the door last night, and he’d meant it when he asked if she wanted to stay for dinner. He would’ve let her stay as long as she wanted to, and his wolf would’ve been in its glory.

He’d really crossed the line when he’d fed her that bite of chicken. The way she looked at him as she took it off the fork with her teeth was still making his blood pressure spike.

“But you’d like it to be like that,” Pierce pressed.

Hayden sighed. There was no point in lying to them, and it was probably about time he stopped lying to himself. He checked over his shoulder, making sure none of the other firefighters or dispatchers were coming in. The Westbrooks were the only three wolves in the department, and so far, they’d kept their secret under wraps. “Fine. If you want to hear me say it out loud, I think she’s my mate.”

“Well, now.” A smile spread across Rick’s face. “It wasn’t like this with Maura, was it?”

Hayden knew his father wasn’t trying to put his ex-wife down. Rick had felt that fated magnetism himself long ago, and even though it’d been ten years since his mate had passed, it was a feeling that still pulled at his heartstrings. And he was right. The comparison between the attraction Hayden had felt for Maura and the pure demand that his wolf and body had for Jessica was steep. “No. It wasn’t.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Pierce asked.

“Nothing.” Hayden shook his head. He’d asked himself that question over and over again, but every time, he came to the same conclusion. “She’s at the house to take care of Jack, not to get a date. I’m sure it’d be crossing all sorts of professional boundaries if I pressed the issue. Honestly, Jack is my priority right now. New relationships take a lot of time and energy, and I don’t have much of either.”

“That’s sensible. Just don’t wait too long and lose track of her. We’re not given those kinds of chances every day. You don’t want to miss out on it completely.” Rick tossed his empty water bottle in the recycling bin and checked his watch. “I’d better get back to my paperwork if anyone wants to get paid this month.”

The clang of the alarm broke the peace of the firehouse. The Westbrook brothers bolted off the couch, headed into the garage, put on their gear, and jumped onto the fire truck. As they listened to the dispatcher explain the small forest fire on the edge of town, Hayden was grateful for the distraction. His mind had been swirling between Jessica and Jack, and he hadn’t been able to let go of either one of them unless he was actively focused on something else.

“Did you hear all that from Dad about missing out on chances?” Pierce asked as he pulled out onto the street. “He’s still missing Mom like hell. I’ve wondered if we should try hooking him up with someone.”

“Are you kidding?” Hayden snorted.

“Why not?” Pierce asked. “He’s the fire chief. He’s a great guy and keeps in killer shape for his age. We wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone willing to go out with him.”

“Yes, but that means if he were interested in dating, he’d already be doing it,” Hayden pointed out.

“Right, because you’ve been putting yourself on the market so much lately,” his brother retorted. “And don’t give me any bullshit about how that’s obviously been for a good reason now that Jessica has come along. You’ve been divorced for over a year now.”

“I’m not in any rush.” Meeting Jessica had made him feel impatient, but he really hadn’t been concerned about finding a new partner before now. “I never wanted to be one of those guys who was always dragging new women in and out of his kids’ lives. It’s not fair to anyone involved.”

“Now you only have to bring one in, and the job is done,” Pierce reminded him with a grin.

“Maybe. Just not right now, okay?” Hayden took a deep breath that came out as a sigh. So much for the distraction of work. “You know, we’ve had an awful lot of fire calls lately. This afternoon was slower than usual, but we’ve still spent most of our time on-scene.”

Pierce nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that, too, and I have a theory.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, most of them have been pretty small fires. They always seem to happen where no one’s around to witness what’s happening, like the edge of the woods or an abandoned house. Sounds like some teenager trying to blow off some steam,” Pierce theorized.

“Could be,” Hayden agreed. He hadn’t given much thought to any pattern in the recent fires around Eugene. They were part of the job, so nothing had felt particularly out of place or surprising. Now that Pierce had pointed it out, though, he wondered if there was any significance to his idea. “You should mention it to Dad when we get back. It’ll give him something to do besides counting his sit-ups.”

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