Authors: Kristen James
He laid her down on the couch and found her mouth, kissing
her deeply and hungrily.
She didn’t have time to gasp, not even when he slid his hand
up her shirt. He leaned up and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch.
“Aubrey . . .”
“Is playing,” he said, throwing the blanket over her and
undoing her pants under it. Desire burst into flame. She whimpered when his
hand slid up her bare leg and softly touched her. “Close your eyes,” he whispered,
and then he proceeded to drive her crazy… and right over the edge.
She lay breathless and satisfied for several minutes. When
her head cleared a bit and she could speak, she asked, “Jason…what about you?”
“Shhh.” He touched her lips with one finger. “Let’s just
worry about you.”
Savanna was glad October came, a new month, another step
farther along in the healing process for Cassie. That’s all Savanna could hope
for her friend, and for Jason, too: time to heal their pain.
Saturday came full of promise with the cooler weather and the
free time she needed. Aubrey must have been tired, too, because she didn’t wake
up until eight thirty. At nine, Savanna took Aubrey and went next door to check
on Jason.
“Hey, you’re up,” she greeted. Up, dressed, and shaved, he
looked good. He wore a camouflage green T-shirt over his shorts.
“I’m trying.” He used his crutches to stand and moved back
from the doorway. “Want to come in?”
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked. Maybe someone was
coming to pick him up.
“I was going to your door. Do you want to go somewhere
today? We’ve been sitting home a lot.”
She laughed. “Sounds like you need to. Did you already have
an idea?”
“Why don’t we go to the park and let Aubrey play? That’s a
start.” His suggestion put a big grin on her face. He asked the little girl,
“How does that sound, Aubrey? Want to play at the park?”
Aubrey looked up to study him. When Savanna said, “Go bye
bye,” Aubrey got the idea and went for the door.
Stepping back inside her place, Savanna got the diaper bag
and sweaters for her and Aubrey. Savanna had taken the stroller the six blocks
to the park before, but Jason’s cast made the car sound like a better choice
for today’s trip.
At the park, Aubrey headed for the first ladder she could
find. The girl liked to climb. Savanna stayed close, helping her, but letting
her explore.
Aubrey squealed, “Mama, Gase! Mama, Gase!”
Jason smiled, his eyes warm with emotion. He looked relaxed
and happy, and that made her heart jump. With the sun out, the temperature
reached sixty, and it felt perfect for running around. After the hot summer,
they enjoyed the cooler air. She’d put on Capri pants and a green cotton top
that morning, hoping the outfit looked casual but classy.
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail to push Aubrey on
the swings, while Jason leaned back against the swing set.
“I never knew a woman could look so hot just by being a
loving mom.”
She threw a smile over at him before she hurried to watch
Aubrey on the baby swing. “Thanks. This was a great idea to get out of the
house.”
Jason nodded to a taco stand at the edge of the park. “Are
you getting hungry?”
“Good idea, I’ve been sniffing it since we got here,” she
agreed. “Come on, Aubrey.” Aubrey did not like that idea.
“I’ll stay here if you want to get us lunch. Here.” He held
out his wallet.
On her way over, she got the urge to look back, to check on
them. She didn’t. Instead, she walked to the stand and ordered food and only
then watched them across the park. They must look like father and daughter to
anyone watching.
When she returned, they took their tacos to a bench to eat.
“So how did you end up as a firefighter?” she asked. There
were so many questions to explore.
“I’ve always been big on plans,” he said in a lighthearted
voice, but a telling silence followed. She glanced over just as he looked at
her, and they didn’t need words. She rubbed his leg, hoping he’d still share. “I
knew I would be a firefighter before I started kindergarten. You know how
little boys watch cowboys, policemen, and rescue workers? That’s when I knew what
I wanted to be. Pretty simple.”
“And what about the townhouses and renting?”
“I kind of came into the townhouses. I collected baseball
cards growing up. I was serious about it, too. I traded my way up to some
expensive cards. So part of the money came that way, when I cashed in some
cards.”
She imagined him young and lanky, pouring over his card
collection. “But what actually made you buy the townhouses?”
“Part of the plan. I wanted to build equity plus have rent
money coming in. I was renting another house for a while, but then I spotted
the lot by the river. Actually, I’d been watching for just that type of lot. I
moved into one of the townhouses so I could buy the land.”
She liked his forward thinking. “You are smart with your
money and planning.”
“I had some luck, too. I guess. My Uncle Frank left me some
money my junior year of college. He didn’t leave any to my parents or sister,
and they’ve been mad about it ever since.”
“Oh.” She remembered that he said they weren’t close
anymore. “I’m really sorry about your family.”
“Well, sometimes things go that way. I’ve tried to reach out
to them, but they remain bitter.” Going back to the story, he said, “I wanted
to invest in something, not just put the money in the bank. I didn’t have
enough with just my uncle’s money, so I sold some cards. I didn’t want to go
into debt. Now I get rent money and the property value goes up, plus I have a
place to live without worrying about paying rent myself.”
“Well, I know you don’t charge me what you normally charge
your renters.”
“And I don’t care about it.” He nudged her. “I like taking
care of you. Isn’t that what you said to me, too?”
She tried not to smile too big upon hearing his words.
“Maybe we both can take care of each other,” Jason said.
Yeah, she thought, having that in a relationship would be a change, a very nice
change.
The corners of his mouth lifted in an
I-want-to-kiss-you
smile.
Savanna stretched up and met him, just as excited as she’d
been the first time they kissed. Though she wanted to lose herself in the feel
of his full lips on hers, she needed to keep a close eye on Aubrey, who sat at
their feet, singing.
She thought back to when she first returned home and how
badly she had wanted to help him. And she had. But the problem remained between
him and Cassie. Although they still had not talked about ‘them’ as an item,
Savanna asked, “Do you think Cassie will be able to accept us together?”
His expression darkened. “She doesn’t feel any differently
about me. I have no idea how to reach her.” He touched Savanna’s arm and said,
“I certainly can’t give you up now.”
“Then we won’t tell her for a while,” she said without
hiding the fear in her voice.
“She’ll be mad about that, too.”
“She’s mad no matter what we do.” Savanna sighed, resigned.
“Don’t give up. She’s your best friend.”
Jason’s words echoed in her head. She looked away so he
wouldn’t see how much she hurt over it. It wasn’t his doing, and she refused to
let him feel responsible.
A high-pitched scream startled them both out of their wits.
“Aubrey!” Savanna cried.
“Mama?” The little voice came from right next to them. She
scooped her up and glanced at Jason as some other child continued to scream.
She spotted a woman racing around the play equipment to a small boy. Something
about his scream sounded terrifying. Then it stopped.
Jason was already halfway across the grassy area to the child,
swinging on his crutches. The boy started thrashing. That’s when Savanna
thought to follow.
“He’s not breathing!” The mom’s voice hit a higher octave
with each word. “Oh, my God, he’s not breathing!”
Savanna hit 9-1-1 on her cell, not
sure what else to do. Her own heart was jack-hammering, but she knew it would
be a thousand times worse if her daughter were the one gagging for breath.
“Does anyone know CPR?” Someone
in the gathered crowd yelled. Jason settled next to the boy, taking over.
Everyone gasped when he pulled a large bumblebee out of the boy’s mouth.
“Savanna!” Jason said her name
while pointing back at the car. “Get your first aid kit from the truck, hurry!”
She set Aubrey down to run back to
the vehicle, grab the kit, and race back to him with it. Jason had actually
been the one to put it there a while back. He was now performing CPR on the
little boy.
With Jason busy, Savanna opened
the kit and looked inside, waiting for him to direct her. She saw the liquid
Benadryl just then and ripped it out, handing him the small bottle.
The entire scene swirled with fear
and craziness and yet seemed to stop at the same time. She didn’t know what to
do except hold onto the poor mother. Jason, however, kept calm, giving medicine
and keeping the boy breathing until the ambulance arrived on the scene.
The little boy looked purple by
then. The medics performed a tracheotomy to get air back into his lungs. Jason
directed everyone to step back and let them work before he hugged Savanna and
reassured her.
“Good work, Lancaster,” a medic
called to him as they carefully placed the boy on a stretcher. She wondered
what would have happened if Jason hadn’t kept some oxygen going into the boy’s
lungs. She looked up at him and felt the tears on her cheeks.
“Hey, it’s okay. He’ll be all
right.”
Twelve
Jason flexed his back and breathed in deeply as he woke up.
He’d fallen asleep in his shorts the night before when they’d crashed.
Savanna’s head was halfway under the covers, so he slid the sheet and blanket
down and soothed back her hair before getting out of bed.
He stood by the back window and looked at the hillside
surrounding the town. A few deciduous trees, bright orange now, grew in with
the evergreen forest. Mist drifted through the hills, touching the trees in
places.
He couldn’t remember when he’d had so much leisure time to
sit around and think. The emergency yesterday had surprised them, but he’d
immediately stepped into his training mode and handled it. He felt good today.
Good about how he’d handled it, good about him and Savanna, and good about
life.
Savanna woke soon and he let her take a shower while he took
Aubrey downstairs. They settled into the couch together and watched a cartoon
until he went to start breakfast.
Music from the show made Jason smile as he cracked eggs.
Actually, what made him laugh was hearing Aubrey sing along in that cute little
voice. He couldn’t understand each word, but she knew the song.
He listened to Aubrey’s laughter and wondered how that sound
had made it into his home. Soon Savanna came downstairs, and then they were
both singing along with the next song. It could be his family playing together
in the living room. Heck, the three of them were like a family. His chest
filled and his heart jumped around, making him run his hand over his chest
because of the feeling.
Savanna called, “Do you want help setting the table?” She
must have seen him trying to hold plates along with his crutches.
“I’ve got it.” He might end up breaking something, but he
would handle it. Just as long as he didn’t break another bone. This cast had to
go sometime. “Anyone hungry?”
They’d brought Aubrey’s high chair over, and he liked how it
looked sitting by his table. Its owner bobbed in, her baby hair bouncing with
her. He tried to picture Aubrey with longer hair, wondering if the curls would
stay as it grew. She turned her big brown eyes up at him. “Hi, Gase.”
“Hey, sweetie.” He leaned the crutches against the table and
pulled her up, balancing on one foot. Aubrey settled into her high chair,
thoroughly inspecting the bacon and poking it before eating it. After the
drama, it looked like she liked it.
“She’s eating it!” Savanna laughed. “Thanks for making
breakfast.”
“Sure thing. I wanted to return the favor, but maybe you
should give it a try before thanking me.” He grinned with that one. They
exchanged looks while eating. Or maybe she just caught him staring. He’d never
get enough of her green eyes. And her dimples. He got to see them a lot more
often these days and also hear her laugh.
I love you!
If only he could tell her. He knew it’d
scare her, since she had a kid to think about. He couldn’t pretend he was dad material
yet. Or a husband. Or even a good boyfriend.
Savanna tried to help him clear the table, but Jason made
her sit down. “You need someone to take care of you.” He glanced over his
shoulder in time to see her look of amazement on her face.
He took a washcloth over to Aubrey, but while he washed her
face, she grabbed more food.
“How do you get this kid clean?” he asked, laughing. Aubrey
seemed to think the whole process was funny.
And that’s the second when Jason felt a longing to hear that
little girl call him “Daddy.”
“What’s the look for?” Savanna asked in a soft voice. He lowered
Aubrey to the ground and let her run off. Even though the emotions boiled in
him, swelled to capacity, he didn’t know if he could risk telling her.
She continued to look at him. “Already getting tired of
having a kid around?”
“Where’d that come from?” He gave her a quizzical look. “No,
I’m having a lot of fun with both of you.”
“Really?”
“Really, Savanna.” She started to turn to the kitchen sink
to rinse the washcloth. He reached for her, planning to touch her hair where
it’d swept close to her eye, but she flinched big time.