by Kate Tilney
I hold up the small bowl. “Is this yogurt with a clementine in it.”
“It’s a fruit parfait,” he repeats. “But, yes, it’s mostly Greek yogurt with a clementine.”
“That sounds . . .” weird, but also, “pretty good.”
“We hope mademoiselle enjoys it.” He leans forward to press his lips to my forehead, and my heart beats just a little faster. “Oh, I almost forgot.”
He sets a single rose on the tray. It’s a wonder I don’t spontaneously combust or melt into a puddle right here and now.
If I didn’t have a tray of food and coffee on my lap right now, I’d pull him down and show him exactly how much I appreciate the effort. Instead, I take my first sip of coffee and sigh, my eyelids fluttering shut. It’s just perfect.
“I love when you do that,” Cooper says.
“Do what?”
“Have your first drink of coffee and act like it’s the most wonderful thing that’s happened to you.”
“Some days, that first drink of coffee is the most wonderful thing that’s happened so far in the day.”
Until I met him. Now, it’s being woken up tenderly with a kiss instead of the blare of an alarm. And it’s having someone else make my morning brew instead of fumbling around blindly in the kitchen while I make my own.
“Have you always been a morning person?” I ask, taking a second gulp of coffee before turning my attention to the plate of breakfast.
“You kind of learn to be good at early morning wake-up calls when you’re in the military.” He sits on the edge of the bed and drinks from his own coffee mug. “But this is a much better way to start the day.”
My mouth is full, so I just beam at him. This man really is a keeper.
While I eat my breakfast, Cooper talks about the day of training ahead of him. His voice and face are filled with excitement so contagious, my pulse quickens again.
“Today I’m shadowing the ambulance crew. We’ve been given specific orders that we’re to watch, but not touch. Still, it’ll be great to be out of the classroom for a day.”
“Won’t you miss having to do a thousand push-ups and run up and down a million steps?” I ask.
“Oh, we still have to do the push-ups and steps.” He winks. “But at least we have something besides a textbook and slideshow to look forward to after.”
I shake my head at his enthusiasm and try the so-called fruit parfait. It’s actually pretty good. Just like everything Cooper does is good. Even the way he has such a positive outlook on just about everything. It begs the question.
“Have you always faced everything with so much optimism?”
A hint of darkness flashes in his eyes, and I momentarily regret my question. But it softens.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate my whole life.” His voice is low and serious. “I have the best parents. I have a brother who is a pain in the ass but always has my back. I served my country and came out with all of my limbs fully functional. I’m training for the job I’ve wanted to do my whole life. And right now, I’m having breakfast in bed with a gorgeous, smart woman. Who is going to let me have a bite of that fruit parfait.”
“She is?” I ask, even as I hold out a spoonful of fruit and yogurt. My heart is pounding my throat now. Stealing a glance at the clock on the nightstand, I have a flicker of disappointment. “Do you mind if I grab a shower?”
“You know the rules. My house is your house.” He presses another kiss to my forehead and stands. “I need to head to the station, but help yourself to anything.”
Then, he gives me another kiss—this one on the lips, and more lingering—and he takes the empty plates away, leaving me to get ready.
While I shower and dress, I think about what a difference one week makes. On the day we met, I was frazzled at best. But in that time, I feel steadier and more at peace. I suppose it’s because ever since we got together, I’ve had something to look forward to every day. We have evenings of sharing a dinner made at home—or out at a restaurant—followed by a walk through the neighborhood or a wine or beer tasting at a local taproom. Over the weekend, we lingered in bed later than I have in years. When we finally got out, I’ve never felt so satisfied. Then, he took me to play putt-putt. We placed a wager, and the payment was so enjoyable, I didn’t mind losing.
And even though Cooper is going through the most intensive training a person can, he still finds time to send me funny texts. They’re usually memes from movies. But no matter what, they make me smile.
Cooper is right. We both have a lot to be grateful for right now. I have a job I was born to do. I have a car that now has functioning brakes. And I’m falling head over heels for a man who is quite possibly the best.
I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice the other car failing to yield at the stop sign as I drive through the intersection.
Seven
COOPER
We’ve just finished our morning workout and hit the showers when the call comes in.
“Two vehicle accident at the intersection of 27th and Pine.”
“Do you hear that, Rookie?” Conrad, my mentor for the day, asks. “Better finish tying your shoes and hop in the bus.”
“Copy that.”
I’m in the ambulance within seconds, my heart pounding, while Shane—the other firefighter/EMT riding with us—connects with dispatch.
“Alpha delta two oh five is en route.”
“Copy. Patrol is reporting to redirect traffic.”
“Sounds like you might get to see your wife ahead of schedule today,” Conrad says. “Just try to keep it professional. We’re working.”
“Hey, Jami and I are always professionals.” His lips twitch. “It’s not my fault accident scenes are some of the best date nights we get with the twins at home.”
“Well, keep it in your pants, otherwise the twins will have a baby brother or sister before the year is out.”
“No worries about that. Jami probably has a headache.”
Shane snickers. “Copy that.”
Even though I’ve only met Shane and Conrad a couple of times, I know they’re just kidding. Both men proudly have pictures of their wives and kids plastered all over their lockers. And just yesterday Conrad’s wife and son brought a box of bagels when they came to visit.
My heart warms at the idea of Lucy and a pint-sized version of us showing up for a visit. I know we haven’t been together all that long, but she’s it for me. I started falling for her the minute she stepped out of her beat-up junker car with a coffee stain dripping down her scrubs.
“You have a girl?” Conrad asks.
“I do.” And wouldn’t they be surprised to find out she’s someone they know?
The dispatcher breaks through before we can carry on the conversation any farther.
“Alpha delta two oh five, we have more information on the accident.” The radio crackles. “Two vehicles. One SUV. One compact. Sounds like a ninety-two Civic. Four doors. Gold.”
My heart skips a beat at that. Lucy drives a car of that same make. How many people could possibly be driving a car that old—or that gold—around town? “Did she say a ninety-two Civic?”
“Copy,” Conrad says into the radio, giving me a nod. “Any injuries?”
“Driver of the SUV appears to be fine. The driver of the Civic needs medical attention.”
My heart pounds in my ears now. It could be someone else. But I know Lucy takes that same route to the hospital every day. I glance up at the street sign as we drive through an intersection, sirens blazing. We’re only two blocks out. But it still feels too far away.
Please, God. Please let her be okay.
“You okay, rookie?” Shane asks.
I give a short nod, even though it’s a lie. I don’t want to be an alarmist. I could be wrong. Please, God, let me be wrong.
As we pull to the intersection, my stomach twists into a knot. There in the middle of the road is a black SUV with busted out headlights and a barely crumpled bumper. As for the
other car, there’s no mistaking who it belongs to.
Before the bus is even to a full stop, I jump out, ignoring Shane and Conrad. I know I’m supposed to look and not touch. I’ll take whatever citations I get for disobeying orders. I don’t care. Nothing matters. Nothing in the world until I can make sure Lucy is safe.
I barely break a sweat as I race to the driver’s side door of her crushed, piece of shit car. I say a quick prayer of thanks that most of the impact appears to be on the passenger’s side. But when I reach the car, I find it empty.
“Lucy!” I turn on my heel, glancing around me. “LUCY!”
“Cooper?”
I spin around as the back door of the SUV opens. I nearly collapse to my knees when I see her face. Her face with a cut across the eyebrow.
My hands are shaking when I reach her side. I gently cup her face. “Where’s the blood coming from?”
“It’s just a scratch on my forehead.” She tries to pull back, but I won’t let her. “I think my wrist might be broken.”
It’s then I notice that she’s cradling her right hand. Before I can act, Shane and Conrad are at my side.
“Rookie, we’re going to need you to step back,” Shane says.
“Like hell.” I glare at him. “I’m not leaving her side. This is my girl.”
Awareness dawns on their faces, and they give short nods. With their quick agreement, some of the fire inside of me fades. Knowing they won’t push me completely to the wayside, I move back to give them room to treat her.
Staying within an arm’s reach, I listen to my crew run through the list of questions that is normal for a situation like this.
“Do you feel any dizziness?”
“On a scale from one to ten, how is your pain?”
“How’s your vision?”
While Lucy gives what can probably be considered the best possible answers given the situation, I also keep another ear on the exchange between a police officer and the other driver.
“I had a glare from the sun and I didn’t see the light change from green to red. I don’t know how I could have been so stupid,” he says.
My hands make fists at my side. I’d like to give the driver a piece of my mind about driving safely during morning rush hour. But beating him up won’t fix anything. Well, besides getting me suspended or fired before I officially start as a firefighter.
And, thank God, it could have been worse. I shiver just thinking about that. Just like I thank God and every other divine power that the woman I love is safe. Because I do love her. With every beat of my heart, I know that I will love her with every part of my being for as long as I’m breathing.
By the time Shane and Conrad have given Lucy a concussion test and loaded her into the back of the ambulance, I’m second-guessing my decision not to slug the other driver. I may have gotten fired, but I bet I’d be a hell of a lot less tense right now. She’s in my arms the second they close the door behind us.
“Cooper, I’m okay.” She gives a shaky laugh, even as she pulls me closer with her one good arm. “I suppose this is it for the Civic.”
“We’ll get you something better.” Bigger. Sturdier. Like a tank. “I’ll feel better once we get you to the hospital.”
She sighs. “I’m probably going to have to take some time off. A nurse won't be much good with only one good hand.”
“I’ll take care of you.” I brush the curls away from her face to stare into her beautiful eyes. “Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.”
A grin spreads across her face. “Really?”
“Damn straight. You’d better get used to it. I love you more than anything in the world. And I take care of what I love.”
“I believe you.” She nestles closer to me. “I love you too.”
My heart soars when minutes ago it felt close to breaking. I guess that’s what it means to love someone else this much. Your heart no longer belongs to you. It no longer beats for yourself alone. And that’s just fine with me. Because I found myself the perfect woman. And I intend to keep her safe for the next fifty or sixty years. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
LUCY
The sixteen-year-old kid working the track counts down over the speaker.
“Three. Two. One. Go.”
With the loud blare of the horn, engines blazing, we’re off. Squeezed into a bumper car with our four-year-old son, I hit the pedal to the metal. We spin and turn, with Declan clapping his hands and laughing.
Smash.
We jerk and spin around, coming face-to-face with our attacker. I arch an eyebrow.
“Somehow, I knew it would be you.”
“It’s payback, babe,” Cooper smirks. Beside him, two-year-old Tenley covers her face in a poor attempt to hide her laughing. “At least we aren’t in real cars.”
My eyes narrow into slits.
“Oh, it’s on.” I lower my head toward Declan. “What do you say we teach Daddy a lesson.”
Giggling, he thrusts his fists in the air. “Let’s get him!”
For the next five or so minutes, we tear around the ring, taking turns ramming into each other in our bumper cars. Only once does the kid running the game have to remind us to be careful. We take it down a notch then. But only just a notch. By the time the horn toots again, bringing the cars to a stop, we’re all laughing so hard, our stomachs and faces hurt.
“I hate to say it, but I think you won that round,” Cooper says between laughs. “Then again, you are the expert at rear-ending.”
I nearly swallow my tongue. That sounds so dirty. Then again, Cooper has always liked my full-figured hips and derrière.
With Tenley on his hip, Cooper holds out his hand to help Declan and me out of the car. Before he releases my hand, he raises it to his lips.
“Good game, babe.”
“Oh, we’re just getting started.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” His lips curve into a full grin, and my heart skips a beat. We’ve been married for more than five years and he still makes my heart and belly flutter. Among other things.
My hand in Cooper’s—and Declan’s hand in mine—the four of us take off for the next booth at the carnival. It’s one of those stands with balloons and water guns.
“Are you sure you want to go up against me in a game that involves shooting water?” Cooper asks.
I roll my eyes. “This is hardly the same thing as pointing a hose at a fire to put it out.”
He brushes his lips over my ear and whispers, “Who says I was talking about putting out fires?”
Again, I almost choke on my tongue. We’re the parents of two—hopefully one day soon three—children. He’s risen to the ranks of lieutenant with the fire department. And I became a nurse practitioner just last year. We own a home that we built together on the outskirts of Sunset Canyon. On paper, we are as grown-up as we can get.
Clearing my throat, I turn to whisper back, “You can prove just how good you are at firing hoses later. In bed.”
His mouth falls open, and it’s just the distraction I need. The buzzer sounds and I manage to get a full two seconds of balloon filling time before him.
At moments like this, it’s nice to be reminded that we’re both still young at heart. And life is never dull walking through life with this man I love.
Thanks for reading COOPER! Be sure to read the rest of the Sunset Canyon Fire & Rescue: Rookies series.
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ies #1): a BBW, firefighter instalove short romance
