Page 43 of Return By Fire

He reaches over and brushes a lock of hair off my forehead. “Was it the first time someone had?”

I nod, too emotional to speak for a moment. “Except Kara, yeah. There I was—gay, rich, snotty, entitled, and they didn’t give a fuck about any of those labels. All they cared about was whether I would be at their backs as they went through the door and on their heels as they hauled ass up the ladder. After I was outted—announced as a disgrace by my parents—everyone treated me differently. Everyone, that is, except Kara and the people I worked with.”

“So you remained a firefighter?”

“That’s when I realized I’d already fallen in love with the job.”

Jed’s eyes reflect all the turbulent emotions telling the story bring up in me. “What about your grandparents?”

“If it wasn’t for them, I’m not certain Kara or I would be sane.”

“Wait, you’re sane?” He jests before pressing an all-too-brief kiss against my lips.

My fingers thread through his wild brown hair. I hold his face close as I wrap up my tale. “So, while my beginning with the company wasn’t all together altruistic, it fuels me now. I’m not certain I could give it up.”

Jed’s thoughtful. “I think by forcing you to work for your future, you received one hell of a legacy—unintended as it was. It has one hell of a more meaningful value—more than any money could have.”

“What’s that?”

“Freedom.”

I blink, never having thought of my past from that perspective. “Wow. I never thought of it like that.”

Jed’s lips curve arrogantly. “You just needed me.”

I study his handsome villainous face. “I did. I do.”

A hint of vulnerability washes over his features. I let out an enormous breath. “That feeling isn’t going anywhere, Jed.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Weeks turn to months. As much as I resent the passing of time, the winter months in Florida ease into the wretched beginning of summer. It’s time for me to go back to Alaska.

I don’t even consider not returning when the topic comes up. “What is Maris supposed to do?”

“What indeed?” he murmured.

That closed that conversation down. Still, in the middle of the night, I wake feeling Dean’s arms wrapped around me. Or his whispered words of love against my ear, “You’ll carry my heart back with you, Jed. It will never belong to anyone else.”

“I’ll be leaving mine here. You know that.”

“I do.” Words I want him to say one day to me in a wholly different setting if I can figure out all the moving pieces of my life.

Still, knowing Dean’s love is as intense as mine gives me strength as the day swiftly approaches when I have to leave.

Dean takes a few days off to sail with me around Amelia Island before I have to head back for the rush of the summer season. I reason that I can’t abandon Maris simply because I’ve fallen in love. When I explain that to Dean, he doesn’t protest. Still, my chest hurts when he doesn’t offer a protest when I give him my flight information. I’m almost certain I’m more heartbroken when I choke out, “I don’t have a choice.”

“I know,” he murmurs as he swipes the tears from my cheeks.

Maybe he truly gets it. He loves Kara and Kevin the same way I love Maris. Still, whereas I’d normally be looking forward to spending time in the heart of my beautiful home, I don’t want to go. I resent having to leave.

“It’s only for four months.”

Dean’s chest rises and falls. “Then you’ll be back?”

I frown at the fact it’s a question. “I promise.”

We’re docked off the coast and have spent most of the day sunbathing, swimming, and lying on the deck, sharing our dreams under the star-scattered sky before one or the other of us feels the rise of passion as sure as we feel the love in our hearts.

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