Page 11 of Bravely Yours

“See you around, Jay.” I tried to mask any sadness in myvoice. Not sure I did so, though.

The need to get out of here was intense. Because I kinda liked this guy. Before Nora, I would have been falling all over this hot, young firefighter, hoping for his attention. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out the attraction was mutual. But I had to be better, smarter, than the Sarah I used to be. A night living out the fantasies that wouldn’t leave my mind might sound tempting, but it wasn’t what I needed anymore. I wanted the kind of connection that would last a lifetime. Not just for me, but for my baby girl. The road I’d traveled so far had been long and full of bumps, but along the journey, I was learning that I deserved more. I could offer more than what my body said I could. And I was done settling for less. I wanted more.

And there was no way a guy in his twenties would want the types of string he’d be stuck with once he discovered the baggage I was carrying.

Jay

Every day,I was more curious about her story. I guess I’d thought that Nora’s dad was no longer in the picture, but the moment she brought him up, Sarah was ready to hightail it out of the café. It was obvious she didn’t want to expand on the topic.

Isnagged my mobile order from the counter and took off after her. I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Chasing women had never been my thing. But something about this one kept drawing me in.

Once I was at her side, I slowed my pace to match hers. For some unknown reason, she was moving at an excruciating crawl.

Her gaze landed on the big white bag in my one hand before swiveling over to the large drink carrier in my other. “That’s a lot of coffee.”

“Yeah. I’m on shift today, so I’m picking up coffee and pastries for the guys.”

“How nice of you.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Coffee and abundance of sugar were always met with smiles. The treats were much needed after rough calls. Getting out of the firehouse and enjoying a few minutes of silence was good for me too. Being the fun-loving shit-stirrer of the group meant no one left me alone. But that was a role I’d played my whole life. I liked making people smile and laugh. Even as a kid, my favorite pastime had been entertaining my sisters with jokes or funny faces.

Life was too short to be serious all the time. It was probably why the guys had been giving me a hard time lately. I’d lost a bit of my humor. Apparently, I needed a full eight hours of sleep to be funny.

Sarah checked her phone for the third time since we’d left the coffee shop two minutes ago.

Was she meeting someone? The thought landed like a rock in my gut.

If Nora was with her father, then it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that Sarah would have a date. But it didn’t mean I had to like the idea.

“You okay?” The slow pace and the nervous way she kept looking at her phone made it clear that something was up.

“Yeah, I’m just—” She pulled up short beside me.

I stopped too, turning and studying her, then our surroundings. The firehouse was still a half a block up, and the town’s diner was coming up on our right. I scanned the street, looking for a person she could be meeting, then focused on Sarah again.

Her body language was different. She looked spooked. Like she was ready to bolt. It was similar to the way she’d behaved the night I met her. Her eyes were wide and full of fear as she stared at a man coming out of the diner. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I’d been a firefighter in Half Moon Lake for the last three years, but grown up a town over, so I was still getting to know the locals here.

“Everything okay?”

She gave a slight shake of her head. So subtle I almost missed it.

The guy on the sidewalk narrowed his eyes in our direction, the reaction instantly putting me on edge. I shifted forward, the urge to step in front of her, to protect her, swamping me. Sarah remained frozen as he crossed the street to his car. When he approached it, he stood at the driver’s side door, staring at us.

Fuck. My stomach was in knots as the interaction played out. When Sarah let out a deep breath like she’d been holding it, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Who’s the dude with the greased back hair?” Had no one told him that looked died in the ’90s?

“Drew.” She unstuck her feet from the sidewalk and moved woodenly toward the entrance to the diner. “Nora’s father.”

Those two words were like a punch to the gut. The knock-off Danny Zuko? Was she serious? And where was Nora?

Handsfisted at my sides, I hustled to catch up to her again. “Should I be keeping an eye out for this guy?”

I had no problem telling him to take a hike if she didn’t want him around.

“No. It’s fine.” She lowered her head and focused on the concrete in front of her, refusing to meet my gaze. “Thanks for walking with me. I need to go get Nora from the social worker now.”

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