Page 98 of Anchor Point

The vise grip on my heart tightened even more. My girl had been crying, and I hated knowing it.

Buster jumped up and, after his three requisite spins, curled at Rosie’s feet. Only then did she fall asleep.

I lay there for I don’t know how long, just listening to the sounds of the ones I loved most in the world sleeping. Comforted by their nearness.

I didn’t know how I’d manage it. Maybe it would mean giving up the seniority I’d built and starting over. I would sell the lake house and the boat, or maybe even go work for another fifteen or twenty years somewhere else. Maybe we’d eat ramen and not take vacations.

One thing was certain, I’d give up everything I owned, but I wouldn’t give them up.

And if Olivia keeping her position was the thing that would make her happy and keep them with me, then I would make it happen. I’d do anything to keep us together.

I swallowed thickly. On the one hand, I wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the career that had defined me. The family I’d made with my crew.

On the other, it was time.

The all-night calls, the twenty-four-hour marathons.

The adrenaline highs and lows.

Leaving my shift would be hard. But being with Olivia and Rosie would be worth it. This was what it meant to be loved. Sharing dreams, sacrifice. Sticking around in the hard times.

Love wasn’t just kept in memories and old houses. Love was in the foundation of the family that lived in the house.

And these two loved me.

Despite my grumpy nature. And my solitary habits.

These two made my world brighter. So bright, there would only be darkness if they weren’t in it. So it was up to me to keep that brightness. To prove myself worthy of their love.

My mind made up, I drifted to sleep as the night sky faded and the sun began to rise.

Around mid-morning—after too few hours of sleep, even if I was surrounded by the loves of my life—I made a phone call to Trina, Olivia’s HR attorney. Her excitement at going against the city was palpable even through the phone, and I found her waiting outside city hall by the time I got there.

Together, we stalked down the long hallway to the Human Resources office, where I was informed that the director was in a meeting with the mayor and city manager.

“You can’t go in there!” Her words bounced off my back as I pushed through the door.

“I don’t care what the handbook says…” The mayor, red-faced, with spittle gathered from the corner of his mouth, loomed over the desk.

“Tsk tsk, Mr. Mayor. Now, I know you don’t want to violate your adopted Human Resources handbook and open yourself and the city up to litigation.” Trina sounded almost gleeful at the idea. The woman was a shark. “Generally speaking, of course.”

“What in the hell are you doing here? You can’t be in here. I’m calling the police and will have you escorted out of here,” he blustered, jowls wobbling as he aimed his furious words at us. Mr. Bloom audibly groaned, and the HR director looked defeated.

I had a feeling I knew why the man would be willing to risk breaking their own handbook. Was it legal and enforceable? I had no idea, and that’s why I’d called in Trina. And I hoped that by the time I walked out, we’d have some resolution.

“I have a proposition for you, Mr. Mayor.”

An hour later, I walked out feeling lighter than I had in years. After leaving Trina at her car, I stood on the sidewalk, looking out at the park in the distance. The artwork that had been destroyed in the tornado was starting to be replaced, slowly and surely, with new pieces. I strolled down the block to get a better look. Someone had created a chalk drawing on the concrete at the entrance to the park, the image of a beautiful sunrise over the city.

I didn’t know what direction my life was about to head in, what career I might find. I just knew that Olivia and Rosie would be with me.

Chapter Thirty

Olivia

In the days following the council meeting, I made it a point to visit every station and thank every single person individually for coming to support me.

I vowed that I would fight not only for my job but for my people, because they needed a leader who would put their best interests first.

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