Home Fires (35 page)

The wild thump of his heartbeat matched her own galloping heart beat for beat.

“Katie was a wonderful woman, but she certainly wasn’t the saint that sharp legal mind of yours has made her out to be,” he said in a low voice. “She had a feisty temper and a mind all her own. She could go for days holding a grudge and not talking to me. And she had her little quirks, just like we all do.” The hint of a smile played round his mouth. “She used to sleep with her socks on at night. I always hated that. Never could convince her to stop.”

A sudden glint of mischief danced in his eyes. “Do you sleep with your socks on, too?”

Rose couldn’t stop herself from giggling through her tears. “No, I don’t wear my socks to bed.”

“Good. At least that’s one less thing we have to worry about.” His voice filled with patience as he cradled her close. “Don’t be afraid, Rosie. Everything will work out if we give it some time. And I’m willing if you are.”

“But what if it doesn’t?” She bit her bottom lip as all the unspoken fears and nagging insecurities rushed to mind. “You don’t know the real me, Mike. The Rose you know is someone on vacation. I’m not usually like this.”

“You mean you’re not that decent, kind-hearted woman I made you out to be? You sure had me fooled.” A big grin spread across his face.

His teasing coaxed the hint of a smile hovering around her lips. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Quit underestimating yourself, Rosie. You’re loyal and brave and fiercely devoted to the people you love. Remember how we met? You were driving your mom to the hospital when you rear-ended my truck. We stood there arguing and then her car started smoking under the hood. I took one look at you, so scared for your mother, scared silly for yourself… well, I think I fell in love with you that very minute, right there on that curb.”

Rose smiled through the tears, remembering her first glance of this fireman. He’d been all business after their fender bender, ranting and raving till the radiator blew. He’d come out a hero.

Mike was right. There’d been sparks between them right from the start.

“And look how you stood up to me about the Judge. You were fierce, Rosie, fighting for someone you loved as you tried to prove me wrong. I admired you so much for that, more than I could ever tell you.”

Was he actually saying none of it mattered? But even her father, another Michael John Gallagher, had had certain standards. Their house had been orderly, clean… and centered around her father. It had worked, in large part because of the concessions her mother had made.

Concessions like staying home and raising a family. Of being the perfect wife.

“I’m not like my mother,” she voiced a quiet warning. At the very least, Mike deserved that much. “I don’t even know if I want children. I’ve never thought about it.”

He gave a slow nod. “We can talk about that.”

“And I hate doing housework. Sometimes I don’t even make the bed.”

His eyes sparkled as he lifted his eyebrows. “You won’t hear any complaints from me on that account.”

She struggled to continue, in spite of the teasing. Better that he heard the whole truth now. Mike would never be able to say that she hadn’t warned him.

“I work a lot of late hours. You would be coming home to an empty house. And I’m very independent. Sometimes I get mad when things aren’t done the way I like them.”

“Mmmmm.”

The stoic look on his face hadn’t changed since she first started talking. Rose thought hard. “I’m orderly and precise, practical in all things. Some men find that hard to deal with.”

He merely shrugged. “I’m not all men. What else you got?”

She stared at him in confusion. Hadn’t he been listening? “Isn’t that enough?”

“More than enough.” He leaned over to kiss the tip of her nose. “But none of it matters. I love you just the way you are.”

“You might never eat again,” she warned him. “I’m not much of a cook. Remember how I nearly burned down my mother’s house?”

“No need to remind me. Your name is legend down at the fire station,” he replied with a knowing smile. “Let’s make a deal. How about you let me worry about the cooking? I know my way around a kitchen. I’ve been doing it for years in the fire station. I’ve even got my own apron.”

“It’s a good thing one of us does.” Rose managed a shaky laugh, then sobered slightly. “Do you really think it’s possible we can work things out?”

“I thought we already had. As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one decision left to make—and that one I’ll leave up to you. I’ll follow you anywhere, Rosie. Wherever you are, that’s home for me.”

His words snatched her breath away. What had she done so good in her life to deserve such a man as this? Rose felt the tears start up again just as something splashed on her head.

“It’s raining!” Laughing, she leaned back against the dock and opened her mouth to catch a taste of the cool, refreshing wetness.

“Come on, let’s get inside.” Mike, already on his feet, pulled her to a stand.

“No, wait.” She stood planted on the dock and reined him in with one hand. “We’ve waited so long for this rain. Let’s enjoy it.”

“You’re crazy, you know that? We’re going to get soaked.”

“I don’t care.” Rose leaned into the warmth of his embrace as the raindrops came faster, pelting them. She gazed up in wonder at the man beside her. He wasn’t at all what she had expected for herself, this fireman with the slow steady smile, sparkling eyes, and a heart that saw the truth of all that was right and good with the world.

“Mike?”

“Yes, Rosie?”

Finally she found the courage to give voice to the words that had been locked inside her heart. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He laughed and hugged her close. “Come on, let’s go get warm.” He started toward the cabin.

“Wait a minute.” She bent and grasped the wooden plaque from the dock, tucking it safe against her heart. “I can’t forget this.”

“We’ll have to find you someplace special to hang that,” he said as they reached the shelter of the cabin’s front door.

Rose offered him a shy smile. “I already know the perfect spot.”

EPILOGUE

ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE

____________________________________

By: Charles Kendall

The James Bay Journal

____________________________________

JAMES BAY—The annual Fourth of July parade kicks off Monday at 2:00 P.M. sharp. More than 50 entries are expected in this year’s parade, which will be led by the fire department.

Patriotic commemorative buttons are once again being sold by the Kiwanis Club to raise funds for the downtown beautification project. The buttons, a new fundraiser item last year, are hot collector items. They can be purchased up until parade time at the James Bay Bank, the
Journal
offices, or Ramer Mercantile. For more information about the commemorative buttons, contact Charles Kendall, Kiwanis button chairperson.

____________________________________

“I’m impressed, Rose. You’ve done wonders with the place.” Andy Sabatini’s admiring gaze wandered the office. “When I first saw it, I had my doubts. I never thought it would turn out looking like this.”

Rose beamed with pleasure from behind her new desk. “Thanks, Andy. Decorating it was a labor of love.”

“You’re an amazing woman, you know that?”

The telephone rang. Rose shot him an apologetic glance. “Give me a second?”

He nodded, and she reached for the phone.

“Cecilia Rose? Sweetheart, is that you?”

“Hi, Mom.” She settled in her chair and held up a this-will-just-take-a-minute finger for Andy.

“Why are you still at work? You promised me you would make it home this year.”

“I’m leaving soon.”

“Please be careful, sweetheart. I hate to think of you on the road in all that holiday traffic.”

“I have someone in my office, Mom. I have to go.” She shot Andy a conciliatory smile as she hung up the phone. “Sorry about that. You know how mothers can be.”

“Totally understand,” Andy replied as he came to his feet. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my mom, but most days I’m glad she doesn’t live anywhere near me. She has her own life and her own opinions. A couple thousand miles between us is a good thing.”

“Moms… you’ve gotta love ’em.” She stepped around the desk and into his arms. Andy had been a dear, allowing her the time she needed to make things right for all of them. “Thanks again. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.” He enveloped her in a tight hug. “I’m just glad to see you happy. This place suits you.”

“I think so, too.” She glanced around her new office with a satisfied smile. The decision hadn’t been easy, but it had been a few months and she now knew she’d definitely made the right choice. How could she ever have had any doubts?

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early,” she promised as she ushered him out the door.

Rose shut down the computer and gathered her car keys and purse, then took an extra moment for a final glance around the room. Sunshine bounced off gleaming polished windows. Fresh-painted walls and newly upholstered chairs lent a welcoming touch to the recently refurbished office space. Andy was right. The remodeling had been worth every penny.

She hurried down the stairs and gave a firm push on the heavy front door. Was it merely her imagination, or did she actually smell the enticing aroma of barbequed chicken?

The blast of a loud air horn shattered the afternoon. Startled, Rose glanced up to see a large yellow fire truck rounding the corner in front of her with a familiar face behind the wheel. Mike’s hand went up in a brief wave as he grinned at her through the truck’s open window.

“Look, Daddy, that fireman waved at me!”

Rose glanced at the little boy hopping up and down on the sidewalk outside the office door. His eager face beamed with excitement as he pointed out the fire truck to a man standing close beside him.

“That’s what I want to be when I grow up,” the little boy said. “I want to be a fireman, just like him!”

Pride and love flooded through her. Who said all the heroes were dead? Thank goodness little boys still dreamed of growing up to be heroes someday. Heroes like Mike.

“Daddy, look! He’s stopping the fire truck!”

The little boy’s voice hit a fever pitch as the heavy truck lumbered to the curb. The passenger door opened, and Rose reached up to grab Mike’s hand. One quick boost and she was in the cab, settled beside him. She snapped on her seat belt.

“Nice outfit,” she noted with approval. Mike’s new dress uniform made him even more handsome. The chief’s gold braid flashed brilliant in the July sunshine.

“Thanks.” He shot her a quick glance. “Did Andy stop by?”

“He left a few minutes ago. We’re all set to go fishing tomorrow morning.”

“Did he like the office?”

“He loved it.” She smiled to herself, remembering the astonished look on Andy’s face as she gave him a guided tour of the Judge’s refurbished suite of rooms that made up her new law office. She leaned across the bench seat and kissed Mike’s cheek. “Thanks again for talking me into spending the money.”

“It was worth every penny, putting that smile back on your face. And by the way, you were right about that sign.” He nodded at the embossed wooden plaque displayed above the office’s front door. “It looks perfect up there. The Judge would approve.”

“Think so?” Rose wriggled with pleasure. The Judge had always tried to tell her she was meant to be at home. It seemed he had been right.

She wasn’t so naive as to believe things would always be perfect. After all, this was still James Bay, the town where she’d grown up, with all the good and bad associated with small-town living. People still talked. Probably they always would. But she intended to counteract it with some positive talk of her own. No doubt the future would hold challenges and things wouldn’t always go as planned. Life offered no guarantees.

But just as Mike had told her once, there was no such thing as a geographic cure. No matter how far you traveled trying to escape your problems, they simply followed behind you up and down the highway until you finally turned and found the courage to face them. Change couldn’t happen unless you were willing to try. That’s all that was needed to make some sort of start. The courage to try.

Mike’s love had given her the courage to try again. She’d reclaimed her hometown for what it was… a small town, filled with ordinary people. Some good, some bad. Some generous, some selfish. All of them human to the core. But Rose was ready to give them all—including herself—a second chance. She could do anything with Mike at her side.

She’d grown to love the sight of him fussing in the kitchen. She’d gotten used to his squawking 911 pager that toned him out at the most inconvenient times. Who cared that they ate breakfast on the run or that the fire department saw more of him than she did some days? She had her share of late-night sessions sitting behind her new desk studying case law—just like the Judge. But they could get through anything, now they had each other. Life was good.

Mike’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “All set?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting all year for a ride in this fire truck.”

“Let’s get going, then.” A big grin settled across his face as he threw the truck in gear and eased the truck away from the curb. Rose threw the little boy a wave through the cab’s open window. The diamond wedding ring on her finger sparkled in the afternoon sun.

“Hey, Daddy, how come that lady gets to ride in the fire truck? No fair!”

“Maybe she’s a fireman,” the man answered. “Remember what I’ve always told you? Girls can do anything.”

The little boy’s words bounced around in Rose’s mind as the truck headed for the library and the start of the parade route. Her, a fireman? She didn’t have what it took to do Mike’s job, not by a long shot. She wasn’t the brave or daring type, and certainly not cut out for that type of work. But thank goodness that some men—and women—
were
.