Page 24 of Scorched

Declan opened the closet and took out his department jacket, doing his best to put it on as he followed her out the door. He was glad he grabbed his badge and put on his shoes before she got home. She wasn’t waiting. He got both arms in the jacket as he reached her car, climbing inside as she started the engine.

“Where am I going?”

“The fire station, so I can get my helmet.”

She put the car in reverse.

“Thank you.”

Maggie glanced at him as she pulled onto the street, a question in her dark eyes.

“I know I promised to stay away from work, but—”

“No, I understand. I’m not mad. Just worried you’ll hurt yourself.”

“I was a Marine. I can handle some broken ribs. It’s not the worst injury I’ve ever had.”

“No, but you’re stubborn.”

He couldn’t argue there. But he had no intention of overdoing it. He wanted to get back to fighting fires as soon as possible. “I’ll behave.” He gave her outfit a onceover. “I’d offer to let you come in and supervise, but you’re not exactly dressed for it.”

“What? Am I too prissy for a fire scene?”

He groaned. “I’m never living that down, am I? I’m sorry. I know you’re at ease in anything you wear and aren’t afraid to get dirty. But you still remind me of Lilah in some ways. She was always very polished, and God forbid if I messed up the polish.”

She wrinkled her nose and made a turn out of his neighborhood. “I’m not sure I like being equated with her. I remember her from some party we all went to. She seemed a bit stuck up. What did you see in her, anyway?”

He shrugged. “She wasn’t all bad. So long as we did things on her terms, she was great. But she wasn’t ever willing to do anything that would mess up her nails or her makeup.” Looking back on his relationship with Lilah, he knew now they should have ended it sooner. They weren’t well-suited. It was a bit of a blessing neither of them wanted to move so they could take their relationship to the next level.

“I’ll never understand that. Both those things can be fixed. You miss out on life when you aren’t willing to get dirty. Some of my favorite memories are when I was covered in dust and engine grease. Or horse manure.” She laughed.

He grinned. “Same here. Not the manure part, but the other stuff. Messy can be fun.”

“So, does that mean you’ll stop thinking of me as high-maintenance?”

“No.”

She turned a sharp glare on him.

“What? You are. But you’re also not when you want to be. How about I promise to see you as both?”

Maggie gave a short laugh. “I’m not sure how that works, but okay.”

“It just does, trust me.” Declan smiled. He took his phone from his pocket. “I’m going to call Seb and have him meet us at the house.”

While he talked, she drove the rest of the way to the fire station, soon pulling into the parking lot.

“I’ll be just a minute if you want to wait here.”

She arched a brow. “You’ve been out almost a week. Do you really think you’ll be in and out of there quickly?”

“Normally, I’d say no, but it looks like most of the squads are out on runs.” He pointed to the open doors in front of the bays where firetrucks and ambulances normally sat. There was one firetruck and one ambulance remaining.

She nodded. “Point taken. I’ll wait here.”

He opened his door and climbed out, walking inside as fast as his ribs allowed. The garage was quiet, and he made his way to the equipment room, finding his helmet hanging above the rest of his gear. He took it off the hook and grabbed a pair of gloves as well, then went back out to Maggie’s SUV.

“Let’s go,” he said, climbing inside and buckling up.

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