Page 41 of Koa's Little Girl
“Can I get a personal day scheduled? The doctors have scheduled my daughter to have her C-section next month.”
“Of course. Congratulations. Send me the date. I’ll make sure the duty roster gives you a couple of days off to enjoy your next grandson,” Giana assured him.
“Thanks, Captain. And I’m sorry.”
“For taking time off with your family?” she asked.
“For the total ass. The entire station will be glad he’s gone. Tom is toxic.”
“You hadn’t said anything,” Giana said.
“I figured he’d hang himself soon.”
“That he did. Clue me in next time if someone is disrupting the peace around here if I don’t pick up on it,” Giana requested.
“Will do, Captain. Be careful. He’s angry.”
“Always. Thank you, Mark.” Giana turned back to her paperwork. She wouldn’t give Tom another moment of her time. She had a drink of her now-cold coffee and grimaced. Too bad she didn’t have time to make a coffee run.
Giana pulledthe jacket closer around her neck. How cold had someone cranked the air conditioner up? This was ridiculous.
She reviewed the document on her screen one more time before copying it to her supervisor and pressing submit. Using the last of her energy, she pushed herself up from her chair and headed for the kitchen to return her coffee cup.
As she walked in, the firefighters on that shift greeted her eagerly. One female clapped, and the others joined in. Giana froze. Her worn-out brain took a second to realize they were celebrating Tom’s transfer. Unable to discuss personnel issues with other employees, she changed the subject.
“Did I actually tear out all my hair over this month’s reports?” she croaked.
Several smoothed over the right side of their hair, signaling to her that she’d definitely rucked up her normally restrained bun. Giana didn’t even care. “I’m off for a couple days. Stay safe, everyone.”
“Thanks, Captain,” came from all sides.
The woman who’d started the clapping suggested, “Go to the doctor, Captain. You sound awful.”
“Thanks, Liz. I’ll definitely consider that.” Giana nodded her thanks and headed for the door.
The trip to her truck exhausted the last of her energy. Giana dragged herself into the driver’s seat and pulled her seatbelt around her. She dropped her forehead onto the steering wheel. The blare of her phone made her wince. Surely this wasn’t an emergency. She hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot.
Daddy appeared on her screen as the caller. Giana fumbled with the phone. “Hi, Daddy. I’m on my way home.”
“What’s up with your voice?” he asked.
“I’m sure it’s from the smoke yesterday.”
“Does your throat hurt?”
“Yeah. I feel like a truck hit me. Maybe I’m coming down with something. I’ve been so cold today. I think the air conditioning at the station must be broken.”
“You’re not running a fever, are you?”
She could hear the concern in his voice. The memory of him taking her temperature the little girl way made Giana shiver. “I need some sleep, and I’ll be better.”
“Drive home safely, little girl.”
Giana could tell from his voice that the conversation wasn’t over. He was worried about her. And Koa worried meant he was in full Daddy mode. She smiled to herself and thought, “Not like he’s ever out of Daddy mode.”
Navigating the busy streets was torture on a good day. This evening, it was a lot for her to handle. She’d never been so happy to see a house in her whole life as when she pulled into her daddy’s driveway. Giana dropped her forehead back onto the steering wheel to rest.
A knock on her window made her look up. Koa stood outside, concern etched on his handsome face. “Little girl. Unlock the door for me.”
