Page 73 of That One Heartbreak

“Yeah, that’s okay with me.” He shrugged. “As long as we still get to go to the diner afterward.”

Of course it was never going to be as easy as just walking back into the fire station after all this time. She hadn’t anticipated the number of hugs she’d get, or the murmurs about how much they still missed Paul.

And she hadn’t realized they’d put his photograph up on the wall of the training yard, along with a plaque that made her chest ache.

Paul Connelly. Father, husband, firefighter. Fallen in the line of duty.

There were flowers beneath it. Looking at the photo made her eyes start to tear up.

“Mommy, that’s my daddy,” Addy said, pulling at her hand. “Look, he’s in his uniform.”

“That’s right, honey.” She nodded, finding it hard to breathe.

“James never said they had Dad’s photo here,” Ethan said, looking around. “Hey, is this where he…”

Kate’s eyes met Carlton’s. They both knew what Ethan was going to ask. And she wasn’t prepared to answer it, not here.

Because yes, her husband had died right where they were standing. Collapsed to the ground.

She felt sick thinking about it.

“Come on, kids, let’s find somewhere to sit,” Carlton boomed, in an attempt to get their attention away from the memorial. There were some benches on the far end of the gray concrete yard. Carlton walked them over there, while she stood staring at the photograph.

A tear slowly rolled down her face.

How would he feel if he knew what she’d been doing with Marley? She never, ever in her life imagined she’d have to find love again. She thought she and Paul would be together until they were old.

She never thought she’d have to do this alone.

Lifting a hand to wipe away the tear, she jumped as the door to the main station opened. Marley walked out, his brows dipping when he saw her.

And then he saw what she was looking at.

“Kate.” His voice was thick.

She couldn’t catch her breath. Her chest felt tight. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you doing the warm up?”

“I had some paperwork to finish up. Tayto’s leading the run, then I’ll do the training.” He glanced at the photograph of Paul. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. I didn’t realize you had this…” She could barely speak. The guilt was killing her.

“You were invited to the unveiling ceremony.” His gaze didn’t waver from hers.

Kate had been invited to a lot of things. And she’d been a mess back then. She could barely remember the first year after he died.

“Marley!” Addy came running over to where they were standing, stopping in front of him and holding her arms up. He swung her up, and she started to giggle.

“Hey kiddo. You okay?”

“We’ve come to watch James train,” Addy said to Marley. “Can I stay with you and watch? Ethan and my grandpa are talking about baseball. It’s boring.”

“Marley is leading the training,” Kate told her. “You can sit with me.”

“But I want to stay with Marley.” Addy pouted.

He put her down gently on the ground. “I’ll tell you what, you can be my assistant. But you have to wear a uniform and do exactly what I tell you to.”

“Do I get to wear a hat?” she asked excitedly.

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