Page 113 of Five Alarm Love
He continued, “It’s not a one-way street, though.You are a part of the equation.If being with you means I have to respect your privacy and change how I operate, then so be it.”
“What?”
“You’re worth it.”
“Worth what?”
“This.”He showed her the phone.The social media app was up, his profile was selected, but it read,Profile not found.
“Where did it go?”
His eyes shimmered.“I would do anything for you.I would burn my whole world down, Lou.”
“Tuli?No.”The impact of what he’d done knocked the air out of her.
“You’re it for me, Lou.Nothing else matters.”
Her mouth must have hit the floor.“Oh my gosh.”She pointed.“That’s your life.Your livelihood.Your future.”
“I want you to be my life and my future.Anything else is secondary.”His chest ached.“I know I come from nothing.My family was not a good one.I don’t have a fancy degree or a high-paying job.But I want to be the man you can be proud of.”
“You already are.”A tear fell.
His chest caved in.He’d never seen her truly cry.
She sniffled.“I’ve been proud of you since we were in school together.I want you to have everything you want out of life.”
“If you’re in my life, then I have everything I need right here.”He rubbed his thumb over the wet track on her cheek.“I love you, Lou.”
The hard lump held back the words for a few seconds.She whispered, “I love you, Tuli.You’re my person.Even back on the playground twenty years ago, I knew it, deep down.”
“Sure you are okay with a guy who has a bum leg, a part-time deli job, an unlikely future as a firefighter, and now zero followers?”
“You have one follower.”
She kissed him until he wished he could hitLIKEover and over again.
Epilogue
5 years later
Lou smiled asTuli stood before a video crew in the town park overlooking the Yukon River on a sunny August afternoon.His handsome face beamed at the camera as he described the newest tourist activity available in Yukon Valley, a crafting retreat where tourists could stay in the Koyukon village and learn from local artists.
He completed the clip and stepped back.
“That should be good,” he said to his crew.“Let’s head over to the village and get some shots there.We can also use them for our Athabascan Alaska cultural tourism series.”
The two-person crew agreed and started packing up their equipment.
“Hi, Lou.Did you get a nice nap?”he asked as he strolled over and gave her a kiss.
She had just finished several night shifts in a row, but had managed to get six hours of sleep this morning.As the town’s newest paramedic, Lou still pulled the short straw when it came to which shifts she got assigned.Worth it.She loved using her extra education and new skills to help patients and train EMTs.
All that satisfaction had paled in comparison to when she woke up and checked her phone an hour ago, though.She had actually jumped out of bed.
The news couldn’t wait for Tuli to finish his work.
“How’s the project?”she asked, heart pounding.
