Page 27 of My Off-limits Firefighter Next Door
I put aside my self-pity, hurrying to my car, which I finally reached. I fumbled with the key fob, pressing the unlock button over and over until the headlights flashed.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, I locked the doors and gripped the steering wheel, my breaths shallow and uneven. I scanned the area, keeping a sharp eye out for the man I didn’t want to see. I still felt unsafe.
After navigating out of the parking garage as traffic eased, I pulled up to a red light beside a yellow taxi, our small town only had three taxis. A quick glance to my left made my stomach drop. Roger was in the back seat—head bowed over his phone, oblivious to everything around him.
Panicked, I snapped my gaze forward so he wouldn’t catch sight of me. The moment the light turned green, I stepped on the gas and sped off, hoping to disappear before he looked up.
My heart pounded so fiercely that my grip on the steering wheel turned my knuckles white.
So he was getting around in our taxis. That made sense. He must have rented or borrowed that car he’d come to my house in just for the night.
I tried to release my tension as I drove the twenty minutes to the daycare. They all looked at me when I came in. Usually they didn’t pay much attention to me. I just came in and signedmy girl out and greeted them all with smiles and jokes. Not this time.
“Miss Gilson. You are here for Alana?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Is Sally back there with them?”
“Yes, she’s on kid duty today.” The bubbly blond, Helen, grinned at me. “You can go on back since we don’t have her here waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Helen.”
“You bet.” She pressed a button on the underside of the counter she was standing behind to unlock the doors to the back. I went through and down a small carpeted hallway that led out into a much larger room. It was for playing, toys were spread everywhere, as well as children.
Inside Little Tykes, the noise of children playing was a welcome contrast to the silence of the parking garage. My eyes searched the room until they landed on Alana.
She was at a small table, carefully gluing colorful shapes onto a blue sheet of paper. Sally was sitting at her table, too, in one of the tiny chairs.
She leaned forward, smiling, and I could tell by the expression on her face she was saying encouraging things to Alana about the picture she was making. I couldn’t hear her words over the buzz of noise in the room coming from all the other kids.
Sally was facing me in the chair. She lifted her eyes and caught sight of me, causing her to smile wide. She tapped Alana and pointed at me. I couldn’t hear her but I could tell she was saying, “Look, there’s mommy.”
“Mommy!” she cried, her face lighting up as she spotted me.
She raced over, and I scooped her into my arms, holding her close. Her laughter was a balm to my frayed nerves, but I didn’t let my grip loosen. Not yet.
I couldn’t let Alana know what I was going through. She didn’t need to be exposed to my fear. I wanted her to be confident andstrong, not weak and fearful. How would it be if she saw me that way?
I didn’t want to go straight home. I was afraid Roger would be there waiting for me. Instead, I headed for an ice cream parlor. Alana was a big fan of ice cream. And the parlor was attached to a convenience store that was close to the firehouse.
Maybe Jackson would be working and I could see him. I knew he’d taken some time off but he hadn’t said for how long. I couldn’t assume he would take a long time off just to be a guard dog for me and my girl.
And firefighters couldn’t work from home. I would just have to hope he was at the firehouse. If not, Alana and I would just get some good ice cream and spend time together.
“Are you ready to go get some ice cream?” I asked, my voice bright despite the knot in my chest.
Her eyes lit up even more. “Chocolate?”
“Anything you want, sweetheart.”
As I buckled her into her car seat and drove off, I couldn’t stop the thoughts racing through my mind. Should I call Jackson? Or Marcus? Maybe both. But who first?
For now, I drove toward the ice cream parlor, hoping for a moment of normalcy in a day that had been anything but.
Chapter Twelve
Jackson
I hadn’t stopped thinking about Savannah all day. The fire station was packed, bustling with activities due to this week’s inspection.
