Page 34 of Playing with Fire

Willa coughed out a watery laugh and shrugged. “I’ve been better. It’s hard when the man you love is in a hospital bed, but I’ll take that over some of the alternatives.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead, the coolness of her lips feeling like a balm on his hot skin. “You scared me, Baby.”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. The medicine was really kicking in, making his mind feel like warm applesauce, so Beckett wasn’t certain he heard what he had hoped he did. “Did you say you love me?”

Willa sniffed and smiled at him. “Yes, I did.” Her hands cupped his cheeks before she pressed her lips against his. “I love you, Beckett. I was going to make a big thing out of telling you but then you went and ran into a burning building. Kind of ruined my plans.”

Beckett chuckled faintly. “I can’t promise I won’t do it again.” He wouldn’t make the same rash decision he had today, but fighting fires was as much a part of him as loving Willa was.

“I know,” she replied, a soft smile on her face. “And I love that about you, too. Now get some rest. You have a lot of people who want to come and see you later. At least four concerned brothers and one very red-faced fire chief.”

The fact that she said four brothers and not three as well as the chief being visibly mad barely registered with Beckett. The one thing that had been on his mind all morning took priority and before he drifted back off to sleep, he needed to say it to the woman next to him. “I love you too, Wild Woman.”

Willa kissed his cheek and smoothed a hand over his head. “I know you do.” With that, she slipped into the chair next to him and watched as he finally gave in to the pull of the painkillers he was given, a wide smile on his face at knowing that not only did Willa love him, but she would be there when he woke, as well as every day after.

Chapter Twenty-Two

~Willa~

The bright blue sky was a welcome change from the white walls of the hospital, the pale yellow walls of her office, and the dark gray of Beckett’s bedroom. It felt as though Willa had been inside all day every day since the fire one week ago, and as much as she loved lying in bed with Beckett and taking care of him as he recovered from the surgery on his arm, she was excited to finally be getting some fresh air with the man she loved by her side. Beckett seemed much less enthusiastic than she did as they climbed up the same hiking trail he had rescued her from all those weeks ago, grumbling as he itched at the skin just outside his cast.

“I still don’t understand why you picked here of all places to spend our first day of freedom,” Beckett moaned. His hiking boots kicked a rock into the brown brush nearby. It didn’t do more than create a light plinking sound as it hit a small boulder, but the small action seemed to make him feel marginally better. “It’s not like I can carry you down this time if you get hurt again, though we could get up to a lot of fun out here in the middle of nowhere.” He glanced over at her and waggled his eyebrows, the action the first sign of his mood improving since they’d arrived.

Willa could understand that being injured must be hard for the strong man, so she grabbed his free hand and tugged him to a stop for a quick kiss on the lips. “We’re out here to make a new memory. I’m taking hiking back from the bad dates of the world and giving it another shot. Besides, maybe I’ll carry you this time,” she sassed.

The corners of Beckett’s mouth twitched before a smile finally broke free. “I’d say go ahead and try it, but I think we both know how that story ends and I’m in enough trouble with the chief as it is. I don’t need to add another rescue from the man tomy record. ”

“I know.” Willa gave his hand a small squeeze and started moving again. “Do you think he’ll lift your suspension soon?”

Despite the fire department relying mostly on four people, the chief suspended Beckett and called up a bunch of volunteers from neighboring communities to fill in. Beckett seemed to take it in stride, even agreeing with the need for the punishment, but Willa could tell he didn’t like being away from work. He would only be on light duty until his arm healed anyway, but she knew even that was enough to sustain his need to contribute to the town. Frankly, she was surprised he hadn’t started wandering the street offering to do good deeds for others to fill his time.

“Maybe.” Beckett smiled sadly at her. “He dinged me for insubordination and misconduct, which wasn’t unreasonable. I’ve got at least four weeks to think about what I did, but he might shorten that depending on how much I beg for forgiveness.” He helped Willa step over a larger rock before he spoke again. “More than anything else I bet he’s pissed that I worried him. I’ve known the guy for a long time and you develop a sibling-like bond. I think I lost sight of that when I ran into that building.” Beckett snorted and shook his head. “Hell, even Jude is pissed at me and he wasn’t even there.”

Rubbing his back, Willa tried her best not to contribute to his guilt over his actions, but she had been plenty mad at him too once she realized he was still alive. The worrying had been awful, and thinking she might not see Beckett again was a pain like none other, but once she had seen him in his hospital bed, alive and well considering the circumstances, that anger gave way to sweet relief that he was still with her and would be for the foreseeable future. Willa knew it wouldn’t be the last time she worried about him and his job, but it would be the last time she felt angry about it. Beckett was who he was and that’s why sheloved him. If it meant having to deal with a little extra anxiety, well, he was worth it.

“I’m sure that they’ll come around sooner than you think,” Willa told him. It was almost impossible to stay mad at Beckett, even when he did something completely irrational and dangerous.

They eventually came to a stop at an overlook and gazed down onto the orchards and fields that sprawled around the center of town. The burnt cider mill was barely visible from this vantage point, but even the small glimpse of the blackened building that Willa got was enough to send a shiver down her spine. Hopefully, someone did something useful with the space because she wasn’t sure she could ever see the building again without remembering the day she could have lost Beckett. If it was like that for her, what must it be like for him? When Willa turned to see him staring at the same spot she was, the frown she would have thought would be there was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his expression was filled with satisfaction.

Beckett’s gaze flicked over to her and he smirked. “I know I’m not supposed to be proud of my actions that day, and I do genuinely regret putting the team in danger by going against the chief, but I can’t say I’m not happy that the building is still there.”

“Really?” Willa asked with shock in her voice. “I would have thought you would hate seeing it. I know I don’t love it.” She shivered again, but the tremors faded when Beckett wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

“Maybe if I tell you a little story, you’ll think differently about it.” As they stood and looked over the small town they called home, Beckett recounted the tale of his parents’ first kiss.

It seemed that Beckett’s dad had gone to great lengths to secure what amounted to little more than a brief brushing of lips before they were rudely interrupted by a family of raccoonsmaking themselves known. The story was silly, sweet, and so much like the man telling it that she felt her ill will toward the building that nearly took him from her giving way to more positive emotions. Willa would probably never feel the way about it that Beckett did, but she could think better of it for him and for his family.

“Alright, alright,” Willa said when he’d finished the tale. They started the hike down the trail, hand in hand as the sun started to reach its apex. “I think I won’t hate the building now. Though I do find it funny that your dad has a whole amazing apple orchard at his disposal to impress your mom with and he chose to take her to a rundown cider mill instead.”

Beckett stopped in his tracks, inadvertently tugging Willa’s arm and causing her to fall back. Even with only one good arm, he caught her easily, smiling down at her sweetly. “You know, I don’t think any of us ever wondered about that. Of course, you think of everything.”

Willa smiled and reached up to kiss his jaw. “Not everything, but maybe we could ask them sometime.” She peeked over at Beckett to see his eyes widen with happiness. “I know I technically already met them at the hospital, and we had plenty of time to get to know a little about one another, but if you want to have a proper meeting, I’m okay with that.”

Beckett’s smile dimmed slightly. “Just okay with it?”

Willa shook her head as she leaned against his chest. “More than okay with it, actually.” When she peeked up at him, his smile was back in full force. “I want to know everything there is to know about you, Beck. I want to know your parents, your brothers, and anyone else who is important to you.”

She meant every word she’d just spoken. Willa already knew all the important things about Beckett, the traits that painted the foreground of the picture of him. That he was a good man, supportive and patient, kind and generous. Now all sheneeded was to fill in the background, the small things that meant just as much as the rest.

“I would love that, Willa.” He kissed her temple and tucked her into his side as they started back down the mountain. “They would love that too. My parents have been asking about you since the first time I mentioned your name and after last week they’ve practically been begging me to bring you home for dinner.”

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