Page 22 of Courageous Yearnings

“How tired are you? Do you have a little ‘gas’ left in your tank, hon?”

“I’m ready.”

“Shopping?”

“Shopping.”

The two women looked at each other and grinned.

Hours later, Blythe was ready to collapse.

She was so tired, so worn out, and so hoarse it wasn’t funny. Her voice, which had already been gravelly, was now nearly non-existent. She wanted a cup of hot tea, a blanket, and about twenty-four hours of rest. Lance had asked her to text when she got settled at his place. However, when she hadn’t done so...

He called from Justin’s phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, did I wake you?”

“Actually, I was at the store with Maya…”

“Oh?”

“I needed to get a few necessities.”

“Ah, I see. Okay. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing,” his voice was hushed, like he was trying to keep the other guys from hearing him, and honestly… it was sweet.

“Thank you for checking on me. I’m about done for the day and beat. We’re in line to check out now and then I’m going straight to your place.”

“If you need anything, help yourself.”

“We’re gonna talk about this…”

“We will,” he chuckled softly. “Text me so I don’t worry.”

“I promise,” Blythe promised, looking up as Maya leaned toward the phone, smiling and rolling her eyes playfully.

“Don’t you need to get to work, Loverboy? Your girlfriend is in good company, so relax. Go do some amazing firefighter stuff,” Maya said loudly.

Blythe heard Lance chuckle, almost able to picture his expression or the way he would roll his eyes or shake his head. He had a playful side to him, but it was mingled in this weirdly intense edge that seemed to simmer between them. Maybe that was why it was so hard to pinpoint what was going on in his head.

She couldn’t tell with him sometimes. When they first met, there was no mistaking his interest in her, but he’d shut down so quickly when she talked about them going out. Then he showed up at her work, acting almost casual about the whole thing. ‘Hospital Lance’ was different. He was caring, concerned, romantic, worried, and protective in a way that just spoke to her very heart and soul.

“Text me later,” he said again and ended the phone call without so much as a ‘bye’ between them. She looked at the phone, hesitated, and then shrugged, putting it back into the shirt pocket of the scrubs the hospital had given her.

“Let’s head out, get you something for dinner, and then unload your goodies so you can rest.”

Looking at Maya, she smiled.

Thirty minutes later – Blythe was not smiling.

Lance had said repeatedly, ‘Don’t judge’ and claimed his apartment wasn’t ‘Perfect’… but nothing had prepared her for this. It was sparse, to say the least. There was a couch, a recliner, and a television – but that was it.

There was no kitchen table, a stack of paper plates instead of actual plates in the cabinet, and a large coffee mug that had plastic utensils sticking out of it like flowers in a vase. A variety of wrappers, paper towels, and tissues were in a box that was obviously serving as a trash can between the recliner and the couch. There was a calendar in the kitchen that had women posed in different scantily clad swimsuits and several magazines in the living room and the bedroom.

“Oh my gosh…” she whispered hoarsely, staring in dismay.

Stray socks, the occasional pair of boxers, a few T-shirts strewn on the floor, combined with a pile of clothes beside the bed – also on the floor. The bathroom was clean-ish, so that was a blessing. She expected to see a filthy ring in the tub, a horrifyingly disgusting toilet, or toothpaste all over the mirror, but that wasn’t the case.

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