Page 41 of Too Much Heat

“I have to get up.”

“All right. What about us together?” He gestured to the room. “And him.”

“I don’t want to hide what happened.”

“He’s your husband, love.”

“In every sense of that word, he’s not. In his saner moments, he told me to find someone else to fulfill my…needs. I’ll go downstairs first.” She swung her feet over the bed. “You take a shower, get dressed and come down as if nothing’s wrong with us being together. But linger here for a bit. It takes me a while to get him ready for the day.”

She reached for a robe.

“Hold on a second.” He pressed her back into the mattress. “I know why this can’t happen again, why we can’t be together, but I want you to know something.” He kissed her deeply again. “I’ll never forget our time together. Never.”

He felt a bit guilty for making that statement and not telling her there was a battalion chief position opening soon and he was going to fight like hell for it. He couldn’t let her hope for something that might not happen. The disappointment would be too great if he didn’t get it.

* * *

As he stepped under the spray, Joe started to remember the dream but he couldn’t. Somewhere he knew he wouldn’t let himself. So he thought about making love with Lara. He couldn’t believe he didn’t feel guilty. He’d broken a cardinal rule of the fire department, which had been his life. He lathered his hairwith her shampoo then pressed the plunger of a bottle of soap. It smelled like lavender. Like her. He rinsed and dried off.

He’d forgo the dirty underwear and go commando. Out of habit, he threw his briefs in the hamper. And laughed. Let them be a reminder to her. His shorts and T-shirt were expensive so they didn’t wrinkle. He finger-combed his hair then sat in a chair.

Tolinger, he called Jackson. He needed to hear his friend’s voice. “Hey, Joe.”

“How are you, buddy?”

“On the mend. I got a headache but the meds help. Maisy won’t let me get out of bed. And she won’t stay in it with me.”

Joe laughed. “You got a concussion, buddy. I was there when the doctor told you to take it easy.”

“I know, I know. But I’m basically fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in Lara’s bedroom.”

“Ah.” A pause. “I didn’t expect that.

Joe told him about Lara coming to the hospital and taking him home.

“So, where do you go from here?”

“Nowhere. We can’t have a relationship with her under my command but last night sure did feel good.” He hadn’t told anyone, even Jackson, about the battalion chief possibility.

When they disconnected, he made the bed then checked out her space. The whole upstairs was done in peach and taupe. Very feminine. The furniture was teak. He sat down at her desk. A picture of a dog caught his attention. Theirs? Must be one from her past. He pulled open a drawer and found bills and paid receipts.

For a few minutes, he laid in the hammock and watched the birds peck at the feeder outside her window. It was open and let in the warm air.

When the dream started to come back, he got off and went downstairs.

Sammy looked over and did a double take. “Captain Romano?”

“Call me Joe, Sammy. Good morning.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Lara told them. “Sit, Joe.”

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