Page 44 of A Sudden Response

This was why she didn’t normally read when she was at work, Joe thought with a heartfelt sigh as she got to her feet, trying not to laugh when the guys groaned in disapproval. When she caught them pouting, she said, “Here,” as she tossed the book to Jim. “Just toss it on my bunk when you’re done.”

“Why the hell did you do that? We were just getting to the good part!” Eric bitched, moving to grab the book back only to find the men gathered tightly around it.

“Are you coming or not?” Joe asked, not bothering to look back as she made her way to the ambulance bay.

“Where are we going?” Eric asked as he quickly caught up with her.

“You’re buying me breakfast,” she informed him.

“No, I’m really not, though,” Eric said, opening the garage door for her.

She turned to glare up at him. “After the bullshit that you put me through, you’re buying me breakfast and that’s final.”

“Yeah, good luck with that, sweetheart,” Eric said, lazily throwing his arm over her shoulders and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Whatever insanity had taken over them last week was clearly over. They hadn’t talked about what happened, but then again, they really didn’t need to.

They’d been friends for over twenty years, and at this point, some things didn’t need to be said. That incident in her kitchen had been a mistake, one that made her ache, but a mistake, nonetheless. It was just one of those things that was better left alone.

“Thanks for dinner,”Joe said, smiling as she nibbled on a fry drenched in ketchup.

“You’re welcome,” Eric grumbled, wondering how she’d tricked him into paying for breakfast, lunch, an ice cream, and dinner.

Oh, that’s right, Eric thought, she stole his wallet and refused to give it back. Since he’d caught the little gold-digger eying theHungry Man’s Breakfast menu at Rick’s Dinner earlier when they’d grabbed lunch, he knew that he was going to have to steal his wallet back while she slept or he’d be forced to buy the little gold digger breakfast in the morning.

Normally, he wouldn’t mind buying her whatever she wanted. He tormented her about it, but this was his Joe and he made damn sure that she was taken care of, but today everything she did was pissing him off. She’d obviously forgiven him since she was talking to him again and acting like nothing happened and for some reason, that pissed him off. Any other woman would have brought up what happened in the kitchen at least a hundred times by now. At the very least, she should have asked how he felt about it, but had she?

Not Joe.

She acted like it was over and done with. Did she really want to pretend that she hadn’t sucked on his tongue and moaned his name as he’d ground the hardest erection that he’d ever had against her?

He knew he was being an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. His pride was taking a beating on this one. Was he really that forgettable? The thought pissed him off. It pissed him off to think that the woman he’d been fantasizing about for years thought he was that forgettable. Every time she came near him, he had to curl his hands into fists to stop himself from grabbing her and showing her just how unforgettable he really was.

“I think we should talk about what happened,” Eric said before he realized what he was doing, but once the words were out of his mouth, he decided that they were damn well going to have this talk.

Joe shrugged it off as she finished off her last fry. “The nurse was an idiot,” she simply said, referring to an earlier call they had where a nurse decided to light up a cigarette next to their patient while they were stuck outside of a nursing home waitingto be buzzed in. They’d both gotten into it with the nurse and were expecting a call from Bill, but he wasn’t worried.

“That’s not what I was talking about. I think we should talk about what happened last week,” Eric said, only to add, “in your kitchen,” when she frowned in confusion.

“Well, I gave that some thought,” Joe said, collecting their trash before she jumped out of the ambulance and walked off, leaving him sitting there, trying not to lose his fucking mind.

“And?” Eric asked when she climbed back in and pulled her hair back into a lazy ponytail.

“And I made a few calls. I’m going up to New Hampshire on Friday for three days of training so that I can get certified,” she explained, shrugging it off.

Since that wasn’t what he was talking about and was the last goddamn thing on his mind at the moment, it took him a few minutes to figure out what she was talking about.

“You’re going for certification?” Eric asked. “For what?”

“Dispatch and teaching First-Aid and CPR,” she said, taking him by surprise.

Well, that had been easy. Maybe a little too easy, Eric realized as he narrowed his eyes on her.

“Are you taking a job in dispatch?” Eric asked, already deciding that would probably be the perfect job for her and, most importantly, it would get her off the truck.

The stubborn pain in the ass shook her head. “No, I want the certification. I talked to Bill and after I finish training, they’re going to hire me in dispatch as per-diem to cover shifts and keep my skills up.”

“Then, you’re planning on teaching First-Aid and CPR full-time?” Eric asked, wondering how she expected to make enough money to support herself doing that, but if that’s what she wanted, he’d do whatever it took to make it happen.

Again, she shook her head. “No, I talked to Bill and he said that after I passed, he’d give me the contract for the city if I wanted it. I think I’m going to take him up on it.”

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