Page 102 of Where There's Smoke
“Well, what's he like?” Sunny asked gently, and I could see how encouraging she was trying to be with her smile. It was clear Sunny cared a lot for Hailey and wanted her to be happy.Another reason Sunny made for such a good friend. Both Hailey and I were lucky to have her in our lives.
“He's sweet enough, but that's not the main problem.”
Sunny and I shared a glance. What did she mean? Thatwasn'tthe problem? Could there possibly be more? Wasn't bonding a complete stranger behind a bar bad enough?
God, poor Hailey. What is this omega going through?
“So… after we bonded, I asked him to come back to my apartment because it wasn't far, and clearly, we needed to talk. That was when he admitted he was part of the…convictfirefighter camp and had actuallybroken outfor the night. We had bonded, and then bam! He just up and left, hightailing it out of there because he’d already broken a rule, big time.”
“To go back to jail?” Sunny exclaimed quietly.
Hailey nodded, sitting down on the bed with a grim look on her sweet face. It was a wild concept to think that Hailey, of all people, a woman who cared for injured people and knit blankets for dogs, was involved with a criminal.
“Yep. My choices are pretty limited here, as you can see.” She sagged, shaking her head to herself. “I accidentally bonded with a felon. God, that sounds like the title to an unbelievable romance novel.”
We all glanced between each other, lost for words.
I wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the convict firefighter camp, but I knew enough to understand that Hailey was in a precarious situation. There was no telling exactly what type of person she was getting herself involved with. I also didn’t know if there was a way to reverse a bond once it had been established. I was so new to all this omega stuff, and it was clear that I still had a lot to learn. Being there for Hailey was something I could do, however, and it was clear that she needed a support system right now.
“If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us. Are you sure you don't want to tell our guys? They might be able to help or come up with a potential solution.” I didn’t want to press, but I’d come to realize that leaning on those around you when you needed to wasn’t weak. It was smart.
Hailey shook her head. “No, he wasn't supposed to be in town that night, and he could get into a lot of trouble. He could be carted off to another facility. The distance would mean that I would have to leave because of the bond. I’ve heard too many stories of omegas getting sick because of separation from their alpha or pack.” Hailey’s eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, girl,” I sighed, pulling her in for a hug. She sagged in my grip, like she desperately needed that embrace.
Against my shoulder, her muffled words carried the weight of the future. “I just don’t know. I’m not like this. I don’t make rash decisions and just throw caution to the wind. I’m a medical professional, for Christ’s sake. I don’t know how I ended up in this situation. I still hardly know anything about the guy, and I feel royally stupid for letting myself get carried away like that. It was just his scent…it was so…”
She didn’t finish, but I had a feeling that Sunny had hit the nail on the head, even Hailey to an extent. The guy must have been a particularly strong scent match. I didn’t know what that was like, and as much as I felt guilty for thinking it, I was momentarily glad that I hadn’t run into that issue with the guys. They smelled amazing, yes. I’d wanted them the moment I could finally smell them. But I’d been able to keep a clear enough head, to wait to bond until the time was right.
It seemed like biology had stripped Hailey of that choice, and I didn’t envy her.
A sob broke free of her, and for a moment, the three of us all huddled into each other and let Hailey get it out. She needed agood cry. We all did sometimes, and Hailey definitely deserved it.
“Okay, enough of this.” Hailey sniffed, pulling herself up. “Let’s finish bandaging you up and talk about those sexy men of yours.”
Offering her a smile, I went with the change in topic. I could be her distraction, and hell, I needed one myself, considering everything that had happened.
Chapter 49
Fitz
It was finally time.
Melody was on the road to recovery, and we were finally letting her come back to the station. She had been stuck at the pack house, recovering from her burns and resting as much as possible. It had been a fight to make her actually take a break, but eventually, with a little begging, she gave in. She had spent four weeks snuggling with us, grumbling, and healing. We had done our best to distract her, and she had read a lot of Samson’s books in her downtime.
“So, what sort of event are you guys having?” she asked as she got into the passenger seat of my car. Dotty was already on the back seat, lying down like the amazingly good girl she was.
I bit back a smile, so glad to have that melon scent in my vehicle again. “It's a charity fundraising barbecue. Basically, Elliot will man the grill and cook up a bunch of burgers, and some people from the community and other fire stations will come by and raise money for a good cause. It’s a good time. We even get a bounce house for the kids.”
Melody sank back in her seat, beaming, her mouth turning down in that adorable way when she thought something was cute. “That sounds lovely.”
“I’m sure the kids will love seeing our little fluffball as well!”
“She’ll love it too,” Melody said, glancing back at the puppy whose tail was wagging. “It’ll be some good socialization for her.”
I resisted the urge to hold her hand on the drive to the firehouse. She insisted her hand was fine, but the burns were still healing a bit, which was normal, and I wasn’t taking chances. This was my omega right here, and hurting her was the furthest thing from what I wanted to do.
Instead, we passed the drive in comfortable conversation.
