It Had To Be You (27 page)

Lela threw her head back. “Well, I don’t know
about you, but the tongs are a new one for me. How did he even
reach—”

Holding up his hand, Christian chortled.
“Stop. The images are too gross to even consider.”

Again, she laughed aloud.

“
I like it when you laugh.” He grasped
her hand. Held it.

She thought back to Len’s death, two weeks
ago. The fallout for her hadn’t been nearly as severe as it had for
the Allens. Josh was making progress, though, with the Fourth of
July party, but he hadn’t wanted to go to a playground program he
usually attended in the summer. This morning, though, he’d asked to
see Tommy Sloan.

Beck’s son. No, don’t think about Beck. About
green eyes lit with fire, a body to—
No!
As she’d done for
the last weeks, she concentrated on the here and now, which
included Christian Singer.

He squeezed her hand. “Lela?”

“
I was just thinking about the last two
weeks. And Josh. He’s better, but it’s slow.”

“
He needs time to adjust to life
without his dad.”

“
I guess. He liked seeing Kayla
yesterday.”

Christian had brought his daughter over for a
backyard picnic, and she and Josh had played some catch in the
yard. Josh had been modestly excited when they went to get ice
cream.

He glanced at his watch. “Want to have
breakfast with me? We’re off night duty.”

“
I can’t. I’m going to the shelter this
morning.”

He set his coffee down and, turning to face
her, he brushed his hand down her hair. “You work too hard. I worry
about that.”

“
I appreciate your concern. But they
need me there more than ever. The angst the vets experience when
one of them kills himself brings along a lot of ailments and minor
accidents. I’ll cut back on my hours after the whole thing with Len
settles down.”

“
All right.” He drew her close and
kissed her head.

She’d found a way over five weeks to deal
with another man touching her, too. And she was beginning to like
it. “Hmm,” she murmured.

“
Hell. Don’t do that unless you want a
trip to the on-call room before you leave.”

She chuckled, then pulled away. His face was
lined with fatigue, but he was so attractive in the light from the
hospital behind them. “Nope. Not ready for that. But you can walk
me to my car.”

They held hands across to the staff lot. Once
there, she unlocked the door. A blinding slice of memory hit her,
of standing with Beck several times at her car or his…
No, no,
no
.

So she bent down, pressed the unlock button,
and said, in as much of a flirty tone as she could muster, “It’s
still dark out. Y’all wanna neck in the car some?”

“
I’d love to, Nurse Allen.” Hurriedly,
he rounded the trunk to the passenger side.

Building up her enthusiasm, she slid in the
front.

And soon, she was indeed thinking only about
Christian.

o0o

After his shower at the end of his shift,
Beck had just finished dressing when his text chime went off.

Done with the night shift. Poor sick kids.
Caught an interesting morning news clip that I got on tape. Wanna
come over and see it with me?

Beck grinned as he sank down onto his cot to
put on his deck shoes and texted her back a yes. Why not? He was
wired, he’d had a good night, and even if he’d saved only dogs, two
little hearts were beating this morning that wouldn’t have been if
it weren’t for him.

When his replacement arrived, he snuck out of
the firehouse the back way so he didn’t have to endure the night
shift explaining what had happened to the morning crew.

On the drive to Lexie’s house, he thought
about his state of mind. He’d been in a black hole the weeks
leading up to Len Allen’s death. But something had changed for him
after the suicide. For one thing, the incident had confirmed that
he and Lela weren’t going to be able to be together, despite their
vows of love. Josh was in the pits of despair over losing his
father, and it was ludicrous to think Lela could ever risk another
man with PTSD living with her son. The truth had slapped him in the
face, and he’d accepted the end of their relationship. He’d also
begun to think about how he was going to live his life from here on
out. Right now, he was casually dating Lexie Wellington.

The sun warmed his face and his step was
light as he took the stairs up to the front porch of her patio home
outside of Hidden Cove. He rang once, and she opened the door
immediately.

“
Hey, there, handsome.”

“
Hi, beautiful.”

Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. She had
that after-shower scent of soap and shampoo clinging to her. “Come
on in.”

He held on to her for a second, kissed her
damp hair, then followed her inside. He’d been to her home a couple
of times, but mostly they’d sat in her backyard, and so he hadn’t
seen much of the interior. It was decorated with modern motifs,
bright colors and wood that made a statement. The kitchen was full
of high-tech gadgets and appliances.

As she placed the single-cup serving in her
Keurig, he watched her move around her own space. She fit here, all
lithe and beautiful, upbeat and sweet.

When the brew finished, and he was sipping
his coffee, he asked, “All right, how did you get a tape of the
rescue?”

She chuckled. “One of the nurses had seen you
pick me up at the hospital last week. She was watching the news
before she came to work, and recorded the big event because she
knew I was on duty.”

“
So they aired the clip?”

Lexie nodded.

“
I’m embarrassed.”

“
I haven’t seen it.” Her hazel eyes
twinkled. “But I heard what you did.”

He rolled his eyes.

“
Come on. Let’s go watch it.” She held
out her hand and when he took it, she said, “Oh, by the way, my TV
down here is broken. The only one working is in my
bedroom.”

He stilled, capturing her gaze. “I could see
your bedroom today.”

They made their way upstairs. She put in the
DVD and he kicked off the Docksiders he wore with navy shorts and a
casual, light blue shirt and dropped down on the bed. This room
sported modern decor too—skylights, an arched ceiling, sleek teak.
It was so different from…
Nope. Can’t go there now. Can’t ever
really go there again.

She slid onto the mattress next to him,
propping herself up with pillows. He noticed now she was wearing
light knit, yellow capris and a printed top. Were those
pajamas?

“
Oh!” Her expletive distracted him from
her unfettered breasts. “Look at you.”

God, he
looked
ridiculous. Big guy, in
clumsy turnout gear, clutching the two mutts to his chest. He
hadn’t noticed their gray-and-white hair and russet markings. Hell,
did he have to hold them so…tenderly?

You’re so tender, Beck. I love that.

A voice-over said, “One of America’s Bravest
shows his feminine side.”

“
Shit, I’m not going to hear the end of
that one.”

“
I think it’s adorable.” Lexie moved
over and skimmed her hand down his thigh. “Besides, I know how
masculine you are.”

They’d had fun getting to first base, then
second and third, building up to what she’d called recreational
sex. Soon, he knew, they would take their physical contact to the
natural conclusion. He was looking forward to it.

“
My Lord, Beckett Sloan.” She was
watching the TV again. “You sat that little dog right inside your
mask.”

It
was
a cute picture. He’d removed
his helmet and was seated on the ground with the distraught
owner.

The screen switched to a list of emails—no
wait—tweets. Again the invisible narrator. “The twittersphere has
been abuzz with these pictures and praise for our brave heroes.”
Some of the tweets flitted by…
Bravo to firefighters who care
about everything…Love that guy. Is he single?…Finally, a man who
shows his gentle side…

Setting his coffee down on the nightstand,
Beck grabbed the remote from Lexie. “Hell, don’t these people have
anything better to do with their time?” He switched off the
DVD.

Lexie disposed of her cup, too. She said
sexily, “I know I do. How about you, Beck?”

Tossing the remote to the floor, he turned
over and reached for her, not misinterpreting her remark. “I do,
baby. Oh, I do.”

o0o

“
Any interesting cases last night?”
Nick asked Lela as they sat having coffee before the clinic
officially opened for the day.

Lela giggled. “One that I’m too embarrassed
to tell you about.”

“
Ah.”

Her eyes twinkled. Since her husband’s death,
her face had been consistently shadowed. It was nice to see some
brightness today. “It involved a vibrator and parts of our anatomy
that we usually don’t discuss.”

Laughter bubbled out of him. He was feeling
better. He’d been thinking a lot about how
he
was or wasn’t
living his life.

“
Did you see the thing on TV about our
friend Beck saving some puppies?”

“
Um, no, I didn’t.”

“
It was cute.”

Standing, she got a coffee refill, and asked
if he wanted one.

“
No, I’m avoiding too much
caffeine.”

After she sat back down, she studied him.
“You look happier these last couple of weeks, Nick.”

“
I feel happy, some at least.” Should
he tell her it was because of her husband’s suicide? Was it callous
or would it help her. “Since the funeral.”

Her expression was questioning.

“
Something happened there, for me.
Something that opened my mind.” He touched his face. He’d never get
used to the way he looked, but he’d had some kind epiphany. “Like I
don’t want to end up like your ex. Is that an awful thing to
say?”

“
Not at all. It makes me feel better.
Does this extend to Amy?”

“
Yeah. I’ve been seeing her regularly.
She doesn’t seem to mind going out in public with me.”

Although at the movies one day, a little kid
at the concession stand had run away screaming when he’d caught a
glimpse of Nick’s face. He’d handled the situation, and the mother,
God bless her heart, hadn’t let it go. She’d corralled the boy,
spoke to him, and they’d both approached Nick. Still, he’d avoided
places where children would be. Though Beck was on him about
volunteering at the day camp he’d become involved in.

“
Of course she doesn’t mind being with
you. She loves you.”

“
I love her, too.”

“
Have you told her that since you got
back?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to spare her a
life with me. I pushed her away.”

“
Oh, Nick, life’s so short. You have to
live it. Especially after surviving the horror of Afghanistan. We
owe it to ourselves, to live well here.”

He thought about Beck’s statement.

You gotta manage this thing or it’ll win.
The fucking terrorists will win. We didn’t go over there to fight
so they could win once we got back in the world.

He was still thinking about Lela’s words—and
Beck’s—when Amy came to pick him up at the shelter at noon the next
day. They were taking a drive out to the lake. Her little sedan
swerved to the curb and he approached the car. With a lighter
heart, he swung the door open, said, “Hi, there,” and climbed
inside. Before he put his seatbelt on, he touched his wife’s arm.
She looked adorable today in simple jeans and a pretty, pink
blouse. “Ames?”

She turned to him with the sweetest
expression on her face. “Yeah?”

He drew a deep breath. “I love you, you know.
Still. I’ve been a bear, but that never changed.”

Her throat worked and her eyes clouded with
tears. “Oh, Nicky.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and threw herself
into his arms. For the first time in months, he didn’t balk at the
contact.

Instead, he savored it.

“
And when we need to talk to you, I’ll
raise my hand, and you raise yours.” Megan Hale Malvaso lifted her
arm with her palm outstretched for the kids to mimic, and Beck
watched them somberly follow orders. Though her sister-in-law ran
the entire camp, including the residential part, Megan had wanted
to be the one to kick off the first Junior Hale’s Haven.

But ten little ones couldn’t remain quiet for
long. A buzz started, and Megan raised her arm again. They settled.
Beck knew they were anxious to get off the bus and into the
Anderson County Zoo.

“
The one rule is that you have to stay
with your counselor,” Megan continued.

Beck looked down at his little guy: a
four-year-old, still in diapers, whose dad had died in a firefight
in Kandahar that had taken out his whole platoon. “Did you hear
that, Adam?”

Big, blue eyes looked up at him trustingly.
“Yes, sir.”

“
You can call me Beck.”

“
Mommy said you’re an
officer.”

“
I was. But I’m just Beck
here.”

“
That’s it for instructions,” Megan
finished. We’ll walk into the zoo and go right to a meeting place.”
Where the director of the camp would stay for the entire visit and
where kids would also gather when the time came to leave. The nurse
would be stationed with her in case someone got hurt. He looked
toward the front. Or in this case, the
doctor
.

A week ago, Lexie had said to him, “Gabe told
Rachel the nurse for Junior Hale’s Haven broke her leg. They can’t
get a sub. I have a lot of time off. Would you mind, Beck, if I was
there for the four days?”