Protect Me(6)

“Hey, sis. I just stopped by for a cup of coffee and something sweet on my way home,” I tell her as I casually cross my arms over my wide chest. I love coffee, and even in the early morning after working a long shift, I still crave the taste. Decaf allows me to enjoy the taste without wiring me for the next three hours. Plus, Mom’s cinnamon rolls are my favorite, and I never pass up an opportunity to grab one.

“Oh, okay. Did Lia get you a cup? Did you officially meet her?” Avery asks as she sets her purse down on the small desk in the little room that my mom used for an office.

“Not officially,” I say as I extend my hand towards the woman in front of me. “Nate Stevens.”

She hesitates momentarily, but eventually places her small hand inside of mine. “Lia Walker,” she replies. Electricity.

“Nice to meet you, Lia Walker,” I say as I gently pump her hand up and down. I don’t pull away. Hell, I can’t pull away. I lean forward ever so slightly, dropping my voice to just above a whisper. “Next time, I expect a smile instead of a pan to the head.”

Lia blushes the fiercest shade of pink and drops her eyes to the floor. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbles. “I promise not to hit you again.”

I stand straight up and turn my attention back to my sister who was silently watching our exchange. “I’m heading home to sleep. I’ll see you later, Ave,” I say as I walk over and place a kiss on her cheek.

“Bye, Nate. Sleep well,” she says with a knowing smile on her face.

I walk towards the door and give Lia a quick glance over my shoulder. She’s staring at my ass. Effin’ A! I can’t help the smug smile that crosses my face as her eyes work their way up my body and collide once more with my own. She blushes again before returning her eyes to Avery. I head out the door with a little pep in my step and a lot of tightness in my pants. Lia Walker is a mystery to me, but if there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s unraveling a good mystery.





*****




It took me longer than usual to fall asleep this morning. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was blue-gray eyes filled with so much emotion. Something deep and dark is lurking within those stunning eyes. I felt a pull towards Lia like I’ve never felt before. A sexual pull, of course, but also something more. I feel this overwhelming urge to protect her from the secrets she’s clearly carrying. It’s all I think about as I slowly drift off to a restless sleep.

I wake up at three o’clock in the afternoon to the steady beep of my pager. I snatch the device off of my nightstand and make a grab for my clothes. I always keep a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt on the chair by my bed. It’s more convenient than rummaging around in the dead of night through my drawers and looking for clothes.

I slip on the jeans and shirt, socks and work boots on autopilot. I’ve done this so many times before, it’s second nature. I grab my keys and cell phone off of my dresser and head towards the Mustang.

I live in a decent sized three-bedroom older home in the heart of Rivers Edge. I bought it a couple of years back and have every intention of fixing it up and selling it for a profit. I’ve already redone the kitchen, complete with new cabinets, countertops, and flooring. The appliances are state of the art and the plumbing all new. It took me awhile to complete the project which is why I started with the most time-consuming part of the house. When you work twenty-four hours on/forty-eight off in a town thirty minutes away, plus volunteer for the local fire department, the time I can truly devote to the house comes in small increments.

I turn on the blue flashing light, throw the Mustang into reverse, and pull out of the driveway quickly. I head towards the small, local fire station with enough speed to get me there quickly, but not enough to put myself or anyone around me in danger.

I pull into the small parking lot adjacent to the building just as the doors are thrown open and my fellow firefighters climb onto the first of two rigs. I’m on the second one. It’s the large ladder truck that is used for most fire calls in Rivers Edge.

“What have we got?” I ask Dave, a lieutenant, who is climbing into his gear next to the ladder truck.

“Barn fire outside of town. The old Frazier farm. It’s going up quickly,” Dave reports.

I slide on my turnout gear and climb up into the truck. John is our designated driver. I station myself in the passenger seat next to him while four men sit anxiously in the back seats of the large truck. Moments later, we are pulling out of the bay and heading towards the Frazier farm.

I’ve been a volunteer fireman since I was eighteen and a senior in high school. It was always what I wanted to do. As soon as I graduated high school, I enrolled in the fire academy. Fighting fire is my first love. Okay, fine. My family is my first love, but fire fighting is a very close second. Women come right after that.