Page 5 of Every Beat of My Heart

I gathered up the canisters and followed them inside. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be.” Claire flashed a smile over her shoulder. “I ordered too much Chinese food for just the two of us. I thought a friend was stopping by, but she cancelled.”

There was something about being in this house and around these two that made me long for something more than an apartment over my dad’s garage. My brothers teased me about never growing up, and now I was starting to wonder how I ever expected to have a relationship with a woman if I still lived at home. Especially someone so put together as Claire.

“Where do you recommend we place the fire extinguishers?” Claire asked me when we returned to the kitchen.

“Somewhere near the stove is good. You just need easy access to it.”

Claire took one and placed it in one of the lower cabinets next to the stove. “Please let us thank you by feeding you.”

The damage was covered with a sheet. It would probably take a few weeks for the insurance company to approve a contractor to complete the repairs.

I smiled, the one that never failed to make women a little off-kilter. “I’d be happy to stay for dinner.”

Claire grinned, then turned to the fridge to pull out the to-go containers. “Have a seat.”

I sat on a stool at the island while she plated the food. Owen had disappeared, probably to his room.

Claire glanced over at me. “Owen should be doing his homework. I still can’t believe you teach in middle school. I teach at one too, and we’re short on subs. Not many people want to teach that age. The kids can be rude and out of control.”

“I love that age group. It’s where they’re first getting that taste of independence, and they’re trying to fit in.” There was something about guiding young people that I thrived on. It wasn’t what my family would think of as valuable though.

Claire returned her attention to the plate of food, placing it in the microwave. “We’re so short on subs that the regular teachers have to fill in for chorus and the miniclasses, like cooking and tech ed.”

“If you need a sub, you can always request me.”

“How do you fit everything in with firefighting?”

I shrugged, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. “We’re twenty-four hours on, and forty-eight off. I don’t like to sit around and do nothing.”

“I’m surprised you’d chose to work more on your days off.”

I chuckled. “You and my family both. They don’t get it.”

“I, for one, think it’s amazing. I wish we had more subs like you.” Claire smiled wide, knocking me off-kilter. It was a new feeling for me.

CHAPTER 2

CLAIRE

Jameson cleared his throat. “I love teaching.”

I pushed the plate of spicy chicken and broccoli toward him. Then handed him a fork.

The brush of our fingers sent tingles through my hand. To cover my reaction, I asked, “Why don’t you teach full-time? We could always use more men at this level. They make such good role models, and there’s so few of them.”

Jameson shook his head. “I like being a firefighter. And this allows me to do both.”

I nodded. “I can understand that.”

As if he could smell the food, Owen appeared, taking one of the warm plates to the round table in front of the window, and shoved a spoonful into his mouth.

I placed my hands on my hips. “Where are your manners? Please wait until we’re all seated.”

Owen gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry. I was hungry.”

Jameson sat across from Owen.

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