Page 193 of Mountain Grump
“I—”
“I fucking swear.” His lips pull up into a small smile. And I think I believe him.
“But if you don’t want to?—”
“I want to tell you.”
I heave out a breath. “Fine. But I can’t promise I won’t cry.”
He shakes his head. “You’re too good for your own good.” I scrunch up my nose, but he ignores me and keeps talking. “I was nineteen and had just moved into an apartment with some friends. Probably should’ve saved my money and continued living at home, but I’d lived in this town my whole life and wanted to see something else.”
“Lonely?”
Ethan nods. “I’d never known any firefighters, but it sounded like a fun job, and you can do it without extra schooling. My parents always offered to pay for college, but that was never my thing.”
“That’s a nice offer.” I hold my mug in both hands, feeling colder than before.
Ethan sighs. “Yeah, they were good people.”
“So… nothing like my family?” I try to joke.
His next sigh is a little heavier. “I wish you could’ve met them.”
“Me too,” I whisper, meaning it.
Ethan takes a sip of coffee. “They were heading to the airport to go on vacation… and there was a freak accident on the highway. It was awful, but from what I was told, it was instant, so they didn’t suffer. And I think that’s the best anyone can ask for.”
I swallow, the urge to cry already building in my chest. “When you were nineteen?”
“Yeah.” He says it casually. Like you’re not still practically a child at that age. “My sister was twelve.”
“Sister?” I choke out. “Was she…?” I can’t finish the question.
I didn’t know he had a sister. And if she died…
Ethan’s soft expression gives me the answer before he speaks it. “She’s fine. She wasn’t with them.”
I exhale. “Thank fuck.” He smiles at my cursing. But then I realize how bad that sounds and hold up a hand. “Not that the rest isn’t awful. Just?—”
“You don’t have to explain. I know exactly what you mean. She was staying at the neighbor’s for the weekend. If I’d lost her too…” Ethan shakes his head. “It was bad. But that would’ve been worse.”
Nineteen. “What did you do?”
Ethan lifts his mug and tips it toward me. “I’ll tell you, but drink your coffee, Starlight. Don’t let it get cold.”
I lift my mug to my lips and sip, even though the flavor tastes too sweet now.
“I packed up all my shit that night, after the call.”The call. When he found out his parents died.“And I moved back home to take care of Sandra.”
“I can’t imagine.”
He blows out a breath. “It was definitely an adjustment for both of us. But we’ve always gotten along.”
“Is that when you became a ranger?”
“Not right away.” Ethan takes another drink. “Our parents… We had a modest house. They had normal jobs. My mom was a dental hygienist. My dad worked at a factory as a floor supervisor. But after they passed, we discovered they both had pretty large life insurance policies. And some saved money that,as far as I could tell, came from my mom’s dad. It was… a shock.” He shakes his head like he can’t believe it all over again.
I give him a crooked smile. “Family members are like that sometimes.”
