Saving His Heart

by Jennifer Youngblood

  It was time to go home—aka to Colton’s house.

  Meeting him at the hospital had been a lucky coincidence. She hadn’t wanted to disturb him at work, and she would have gladly stayed in a hotel for the night while he finished his shift. But the way it worked out was even better.

  She gathered her bag, arranged the documents the secretary made her sign, and closed the zipper.

  A curvy nurse with a pointy little nose and a bright smile came into the room and walked up to her. “Hi, I’m Emma. You must be the new nurse, Dr. Baker’s friend.”

  Amy shook Emma’s hand. “Yes, I am. My name is Amy.” Apparently, her friend had already managed to spread the word about Amy’s arrival. Poppy had been more excited about Amy’s move than Amy was.

  “I don’t want to disturb you. I see you’re heading out. I just wanted to ask who that hottie was.” Emma winked at Amy, conspiratorially.

  The hottie? Amy shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”

  “The firefighter, girl. The one you hugged.” Emma clapped her hands and rolled her eyes, as if Amy's ignorance indicated that she had to be mental. “He was such a smoking piece. I wouldn’t mind having him come to my house to put out my fire, if you know what I mean.” A wicked cackle sounded in her throat. “Or his partner, for that matter. He was handsome, too.” She giggled, and her eyes moved into that spellbound look Amy had observed on the faces of so many of her female acquaintances when they saw men in uniform.

  Amy couldn’t really fathom it. A uniform shouldn’t change a man’s sex appeal. They weren’t meant to attract women. Those clothes had a whole different significance and purpose—especially for firemen.

  Emma must have realized that she’d lost Amy somewhere along the way, because she stopped laughing. “What’s the matter? You don’t like swooning over men in uniform? Or is it because you already have your own fireman?”

  Heat rushed to Amy’s cheeks at Emma’s insinuation. “Oh, no. Colton and I are just friends. Like best childhood buddies. I’m actually staying at his house while I get myself set up in Jackson again.”

  Emma’s eyes opened wide. “You’re gonna live with that fireman under the same roof? Oh, gosh. You are so lucky. Just friends, you say?” A calculating glint filled Emma’s eyes. “I’ll take a friend like that any day.”

  Great. She’d just arrived back in town, and already her first new colleague was interested in Colton. It was high school all over again. “I would never date a fireman,” she said. “It’s kind of a rule we have in my family.”

  “Wha-aat?” Judging by the bewilderment in Emma’s tone, Amy had just declared herself an alien.

  Amy hurried to explain. “My father was a fireman. He didn’t like the idea of his daughter dating anyone in his line of work. You know, the job doesn’t just come with big muscles, wide shoulders, and a smooth uniform. There are many dangers, so …”

  Emma nodded approvingly as if she and Amy were finally on the same page. “Oh, I get it. Firefighters do have the rep of being womanizers.”

  “This wasn’t really what I …” Amy wanted to correct her, but she trailed off. Emma's attention had drifted over her shoulder to a post on their message board.

  “Did you see that? There’s a limbo party at Old Giant. I totally gotta go. The pub is near the fire station. Maybe I'll get a chance to show off my moves to your friend's colleagues.” She winked at Amy, then turned on her heels and hurried out to the corridor.

  Amy rolled her eyes. Was she the weird one, or was Emma? It was hard to decide.

  She picked up her bag and walked to the elevator. While she descended to the ground floor, she observed herself in the mirror. The signs of last night’s long cry were luckily fading away. Perhaps she was the only one who could notice that her face was still slightly puffier than usual. She shook her head and withdrew her eyes from the silver surface.

  As the elevator doors opened and she stepped outside, she filled her lungs up with air. Jackson Central was going to be a great place to work. Her memories of Mark would also fade at some point. Having Colton as a roomie would ensure that she wouldn’t brood over the past. Colton had a talent for making her smile and keeping her head free of worry.

  Amy went to her car, entered Colton’s address into her phone’s GPS, and hopped in. She started the engine, and in less than ten minutes, she was parked in front of a nice house in a friendly neighborhood. She didn’t fail to notice the sign on the corner pointing to the Jackson Hole Fire & Rescue station. She should’ve expected that Colton would buy a place as close to his work as possible.

  Amy had never met anyone as dedicated to his job as Colton was. Of course, his history ensured that becoming a fireman was his destiny. But maybe Amy’s dad had also influenced Colton’s passion.

  She parked the car in the driveway and got out. She had just pulled her luggage from the trunk when an elderly lady shuffled over to her.

  “Hi, my dear. Is Colton home, by any chance?” She beamed at Amy.

  Amy shook her head. “I’m sorry, he’s still at the station. His shift doesn’t end until tomorrow.”

  The lady’s smile didn’t waver, which made Amy suspect that she already knew the answer to her question. She’d probably come over to snoop around and see who was arriving at her neighbor’s house with these giant suitcases.

  To help shorten this unexpected conversation—Amy really craved a shower—and to help the woman save face, she added, “I’m Amy, Colt’s friend. I’ll be living here for a while.”

  The woman’s thinly plucked eyebrows lifted, and so did the corners of her mouth. “That’s wonderful news, honey. I’m so glad Colton finally came to his senses and stopped seeing that all-leg brunette. Theresa, or what’s-her-name, never let Colton come over to my house for dinner. I used to cook for him on his free days, you know.” She patted herself on the chest proudly. “Firemen can whip up nice meals, but Colton says he prefers my lamb stew to his own. What a darling, right?”

  Amy tried to keep her teeth pressed together to prevent her chin from dropping. The lady was unloading a whole lot of new information on her.

  Colton was seeing someone. Why didn’t he tell her? What a fool! She should’ve inquired about Colton’s current relationship status before dropping her request on him. It was clear that he wouldn’t have refused to take her in, even if it meant making himself look bad in front of his girlfriend. Colton took his role of surrogate brother and best friend pretty seriously.

  No, it should’ve been up to Amy to investigate the situation a bit before calling in favors. It was this whole messed-up situation with Mark that made her forget her good manners.

  Amy chewed on her lower lip. She would need to make amends as soon as Colton got off shift. Maybe she could reduce her stay to only a few days. She’d only stay as long as necessary.

  Her eyes moved back to Colton’s neighbor, who was jabbering on about how much she disliked this Theresa and how Amy seemed like a much better fit for a good guy like Colton.

  Amy held up her hand. “I’m sorry, Ms. …”

  “Ms. White.” She smiled. “But you can call me Auntie Maggie, if you want.”

  Oh, wow. The woman had quickly taken Amy into her confidence. It was probably due to Amy’s petite figure. Somehow, elderly women found Amy nice at first sight. Colton joked that it was because Amy reminded them of those porcelain dolls they loved to collect in their living room cabinets. The hypothesis bugged Amy—for obvious reasons.

  “Auntie Maggie,” Amy said, hoping the nickname would make the woman listen. “I’m sorry I have to disappoint you. Colton and I are just friends. He’s helping me out because I moved back to town and need to find my own place. As far as I know—” Or don’t know. “—Theresa and Colton are still together. So I think it’s best if you don’t mention anything of what you just told me to her or Colton, okay?”

  Auntie Maggie frowned. “Oh, that’s unfortunate.” Then her eyes lit up. “Anyways, all is not lost that is delay
ed. With you living here, Colton will quickly realize what he has, right?”

  Amy almost choked, because she wanted to swallow and protest at the same time. “No, Ms. … I mean, Auntie Maggie. We really are just friends. Like, best friends.”

  The woman pulled an eye down with her index finger. “Friend to a hot man in a uniform? Please.”

  Amy stifled a snort. Hot man, really? The words sounded strangely out of place coming from Aunt Maggie. This was the second time today that Amy felt the need to explain that not every female on earth was looking for a man in uniform. No, better to just let it go. She just shrugged in response.

  Amy looked down at her luggage. It was time to get herself under the water. She could feel the unpleasant sensation of a too-long car ride on every inch of her body.

  Auntie Maggie took notice of Amy’s gesture and clapped her hands. “Look at me babbling here. You must get unpacked. I’ll go back to my house now. But please, call me if you need anything. I’ll be here watching Friends to Lovers, my favorite TV show.” She winked and ambled back to her garden.

  Amy sighed and grabbed her luggage. Friends to Lovers. So that was where the lady got her inspiration for trying to set up Amy with Colton. These entertainment shows should be banned. Some people just couldn’t figure out how to separate reality from fiction. Oh well. In Auntie Maggie’s case, it was harmless.

  Amy dragged her stuff up to Colton’s veranda. She carried her bags inside and shut the door.

  The house was different from the previous place Colton had lived in. It was larger and far brighter. Also, the open kitchen had much more counter space. But somehow it still looked familiar to Amy. Maybe it was because of the same fluffy green sofa that Colton kept bringing to each of his new rentals. Or maybe it was the eerie order with which his bookshelves were lined. Nothing was out of place. The only detail breaking the meticulous order that was so characteristic of Colton was the stack of car magazines on the living room table.

  Maybe he had been thumbing through them and had gotten paged to go out. Amy knew when that happened, Colton would drop everything and hurry over to the station. He was always up for another call and never too tired to save another life.

  Kicking off her shoes, she wandered around the room. Her attention was drawn to a framed picture that sat on the cabinet behind the sofa caught her attention. It was the same picture she used to have above her bed in Portland. She ran her index finger over the three smiling faces. In the picture, Zach and Colton actually looked like brothers. It was Amy who seemed like the odd one out between the two tall men. They’d taken it shortly before she'd gotten her acceptance letter into nursing school.

  Was that the last day all three of them had been together?

  She zoomed in on Colton’s face. He’d been a crazy good-looking young man, but he’d turned into an even more attractive adult. It had cost Amy some self-discipline not to compliment him on how much more seasoned and muscular he looked, and felt, when they met in the hospital.

  Good thing she’d managed to bite back the comment. Colton would have joked that she was finally getting burned by the Colt-fire. She would've replied that she couldn’t have.

  First, it wasn’t true. Maybe in the past at some point, but not anymore.

  And second, Colton didn’t need an extra boost to his ego. He was confident enough with women as it was.

  She put down the picture and rubbed her forehead. How quickly time flew. Maybe she should ask Zach if he could spare a trip to Jackson one of these days. Her brother had a tight business schedule, but he might be motivated by the idea of a lovely evening with the three of them, like old times.

  Amy went over to her luggage and opened the one with her toiletries. She would take a long shower and wash the smell of the car from her skin. Then she could take a nap and maybe order a pizza for dinner. It sounded like the best plan ever.

  She took a fresh change of clothes, grabbed the little red bag, and searched for Colton’s bathroom.

  3

  The next morning at eight, Colton pulled into his driveway and parked his truck behind Amy’s old red Ford. When he glanced at her rusty ride, his chest warmed. It was a nice feeling to come home to a house that had someone inside. Someone he cared about.

  He got out, slammed the door, and stepped over to Amy’s car to take a peek inside. Before handing Amy his welcome gift, he wanted to check whether he’d bought her something that she already had.

  Nope. Just as I hoped.

  A grin spread on his face, and he hurried to the door. He was tempted to ring the bell first, to announce to Amy that he was home, but then he decided otherwise. He turned the key quietly as a sudden idea occurred to him.

  What if he snuck up on her? They used to love this joke when they were younger, but it was almost always Amy who managed to surprise the boys. With her lithe figure, she could walk like a ghost. Not even the old flooring at the Powells' would creak beneath her weight.

  He took off his boots at the entrance and dropped the duffel bag filled with his work clothes. He couldn't ignore their captain Adam’s friendly reminder to the rest of the crew about the locker room starting to stink. Usually, Colton washed his stuff at the station, but a late fire call this morning meant he had even more dirty clothes and no time to wash them. Maybe he could smuggle his clothes in when Amy did her laundry?

  A boyish smirk spread on his lips. Laundry was the chore he hated the most. Separating, hanging, and then folding the clothes was beyond him. He managed to keep his entire house well kept, but washing was a challenge. How lucky was he to have loads of station apparel to fall back on?

  The house was quiet. Where was Amy? Maybe showering? He tiptoed his way into the living room, listening for the sound of running water. Nothing. Perhaps she’d gone out for a run?

  His stomach gave a loud growl. He would need to remind Amy that she’d promised him a special tortilla breakfast. He passed on leftovers at the station so he could eat with her.

  He turned toward his bedroom to see whether Amy had found the bed linen he’d left for her, and his glance fell on the sofa. Amy was lying on the fluffy green fabric, curled up in a fetal position. Her long hair fell to the ground like a golden curtain. She was hugging the giant pillow as if her life depended on it.

  Colton stepped closer to her and kneeled down. Should he wake her?

  He studied her eyelids, which were batting almost imperceptibly. She was in REM sleep, dreaming.

  A smile played on Colton’s lower lip. Amy had changed so much since he’d last seen her. She didn’t look like the young girl who’d decided to become a nurse. No, she was now a grown woman, and a very beautiful one at that. But the way she slept, all concentrated and peaceful, awoke many tender memories about the sleepovers he used to have with Zach and Amy. It had been a very happy period of his life.

  Amy twitched and kicked, making her blanket slip off. Colton’s eyes flitted to her pajama shorts. They featured Wonder Woman, which made him grin even more. She'd always been determined to be on the same level as the boys. While other girls swooned over Barbies, Amy played superheroes with him and Zach.

  When Colton’s gaze wandered lower to her lean legs, his smile froze on his lips. The weirdest sensation invaded his stomach. His pulse increased slightly as if he’d just jogged twice around his house.

  Amy’s skin was smooth and tanned, much more than the season would account for. They were just heading toward summer, so she couldn’t have sunbathed that much yet. Had she been on a vacation?

  The longer he stared at her bare flesh, the more awkward he felt. He grabbed the blanket and covered Amy carefully so that she wouldn’t wake up. It wasn’t acceptable—even between friends—to gawk at someone while they slept.

  He stood up and blinked. His heartbeats were slowly returning to normal. He inhaled and let the air out slowly.

  Well, this is weird. What the heck is happening to me?

  He scratched his head, then shrugged. Nothing. There was nothing wrong with
him. It was normal for him to notice that Amy had turned into this ravishing woman. He shouldn’t blame himself for looking at her through the eyes of a man instead of a friend for a second.

  The important thing was that it wouldn’t happen again, especially not when Amy was awake. He didn’t want her to think he’d had shady intentions when he'd invited her to live here. They were like family, and the thought of seeing Amy as anything besides his adopted little sister would be crossing some invisible line, right?

  Maybe a cool shower would help to set his mood back to where it belonged. It would surely ease the smell of rubber and smoke that permeated his clothing and probably his hair too.

  After rubbing himself clean, he got out and grabbed his towel. He dried himself and looked around for his clean clothes, only to realize that he’d forgotten them on his bed. His head had gotten slightly fuzzy after seeing Amy sleeping, so his usual routine got jammed.

  He shrugged, then wrapped his towel tightly around his hips like a Scottish kilt. He picked up his razor and shaved quickly, staring at his face in the mirror as he rinsed off the last remaining bit of foam. Darn this regulation about facial hair. He wanted to grow a beard and look a bit more seasoned. He hated walking around with the fresh face of a twenty-something boy when he was already in his thirties.

  When he was done, he stepped into the corridor. From the kitchen came the sizzling noise of something frying and the faint beats of Indian music. He popped his head around the corner to take a peek at what Amy was up to. Perhaps she’d remembered her promise to prepare his champion breakfast?

  She had her back turned to him. Her phone, the source of the unusual music, lay beside her on the kitchen counter. Her body bounced to the beats while she stirred something with a wooden spoon.

  Her sense of rhythm was surprisingly good. Which was weird, because the Amy of his memories would hide as soon as a song came on. Colton always suspected that a person with as much grace as Amy had to have excellent moves, but he had never seen proof of them till now. She looked like a dancer from one of those Bollywood movies. Only a colorful sari was missing, but otherwise she was totally into her role.