Page 154 of Light My Fire

My heart jumps into my throat.

Are Wyatt and Luke at the one that’s on TV?

No bubbles pop up showing that he’s typing. A second later my phone rings.

I answer it, feeling like I can’t breathe. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Jackson says. “Okay, yes, they are there. But like I said, they don’t go in unless they’re needed. If there’s a fire or something else they’re trained for.”

I’m staring at the TV, mesmerized by the flashing lights.

“Brooke.”

I close my eyes and concentrate on Jackson’s voice. “Yeah.”

“This is their job. They are highly trained and very good at it.” He’s quiet for a second, then says, “This is part of the deal, sweetheart.”

I know he means part of the deal being involved with Wyatt and Luke.

“Don’t you worry?” I ask.

“Of course I do. If I think about it too hard. But I just can’t. When you go to work, we can’t think about dog bites. You’re a professional. It’s your job and somebody has to do it.” He pauses, then says, “They live for this, sweetheart. They love it. They’re heroes. But they’re smart and they’re careful. And they’re there together. They have each other’s backs. Our job is to be supportive and make sure they work out and get enough sleep and that they don’t think about and worry aboutuswhen they’re in there.”

I’ve got it. He’s warning me not to freak out about this. That might be distracting for Wyatt and Luke in the future, when they need to be fully focused on what they’re doing.

“Okay.” I take a breath. “You’re right. They’re the best at this. Chicago is lucky to have them. Theyneedto be there. And you and I need to just give them lots to live for that will keep them careful and smart.”

“That’s my girl.” I can hear the smile in Jackson’s voice.

I take another deep breath, letting the words I said really sink in. I swallow. “So… I’ll just wait and hear from them later.”

“They’ll text afterwards. They know that we see this shit on TV. They always text their family and friends when it’s over.”

I blow out a breath. “Okay.”

Tammy comes out into the waiting room, obviously looking for me. She glares at me when she sees me on the phone.

I sigh. “I have to get back to work.”

“I can text you after they text me. But I’m sure they’ll text you too.”

“I won’t see it for a while. I’ll be working. How about this? Call me if it’s anything… bad,” I say, hating that. “And call the clinic. Ask for me. I can’t have my phone on all the time.”

“Understood. But it’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna get a bunch of texts, I promise.”

My heart is racing. No matter how this turns out—and I’m sure Jackson is right that it will be fine—I’m going to want to see the guys tonight. I’m going to want to see for myself that they’re fine. I’m going to want to put my hands on them, hug them, kiss them, hear their voices.

I’ve missed them anyway, and this makes it even worse. Which means that I won’t get my reviews done tonight, and I’ll feel less prepared tomorrow. At least tomorrow is Saturday, and the clinic is only open for half the day.

But I’m also going to be distracted for the rest oftoday.

This sucks.

I’m really going to need to adjust to this if I’m going to be involved with Wyatt and Luke.

“Hey, could you maybe somehow turn it into a group text?” I ask Jackson. “All the different texts are really overwhelming. Maybe you could just text them now in a group text and say hey let us know how you are.”

He’s quiet for a second, then he says, “Sure. Of course. Sounds good.”

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