Dear Mr. Firefighter
The Match Maker Series
Kelli Callahan
Copyright © 2019 by Kelli Callahan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
1. Cain
2. Chloe
3. Cain
4. Chloe
5. Cain
6. Chloe
7. Cain
8. Chloe
9. Cain
10. Chloe
11. Cain
12. Chloe
13. Cain
14. Chloe
15. Cain
16. Chloe
17. Cain
18. Chloe
19. Cain
20. Chloe
21. Cain
22. Chloe
Epilogue
Epilogue
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The Match Maker Series
About the Author
“We’ve got a call!” I motioned to the other firefighters and ran towards the locker room to grab my gear.
“Friday night in St. Louis is never dull.” Jon, one of our newest recruits, was the second guy in the locker room.
“Nope.” I shook my head back and forth. “You’re with me tonight. It’s a vacant warehouse, so it’ll be a good opportunity for you to get some experience inside the building.”
“Hell yeah, thanks Cain.” He nodded and a huge smile spread across his face. “I’ve been ready to get my hands dirty since I started!”
“It’s no reason for celebration.” I glared at him and started walking towards the truck.
But you have to learn at some point, even if you are a pompous prick.
Jon wasn’t the first brash young guy to show up thinking he was going to be some sort of real life superhero because he stuffed his balls into a firefighter suit. I had been on the job too long to feel like any sort of hero. A hero saved everyone. We didn’t always get that lucky. Thankfully, the call that came in didn’t require heroics. We just needed to do a sweep of the perimeter, verify that there was nobody inside like the report said, and then hose the whole fucking place down. I didn’t mind calls like that. They were a hell of a lot better than having to face a family and tell them that someone didn’t make it out alive. Jon would have to do that one day, but first he needed to learn how to take care of himself so that he would be able to do everything possible to save other people’s lives when a real emergency call came in.
“Don’t do anything stupid and stick with me the whole time.” I looked over at Jon once I was behind the wheel of the fire truck.
“Yes sir, I will.” Jon nodded in confirmation. “This is what I signed up for, so I’m ready.”
I hope so, but if you’re going to do something stupid, at least you won’t be jeopardizing someone else’s life in the process.
“Okay, it’s right up here.” I pointed. “We’ll sweep the perimeter first and make sure there aren’t explosives nearby that could make this fire worse than it already is.”
I parked the fire truck and the guys on the back started getting the hoses hooked up while I took Jon with me to make a quick lap around the outside of the warehouse. I could already tell that he wasn’t going to listen to directions very well because he kept trying to walk in front of me and ignored a couple of bottles that could have easily been filled with something flammable. I wasn’t eager to take him inside, but it was necessary. He had been at the station for a few months already and eventually, we would need him. I just hoped he learned fast and used common sense rather than misplaced heroism.
“Hold on.” I grabbed his sleeve. “That can right there has liquid in it. We need to dump it.”
“It’s water…” He grunted and walked over. “The can is all rusty and shit—it’s been out here for a while.”
“We check everything.” I slid the can away from the building with my foot, touched the surface of the liquid with my finger, and kicked the can over.
“Water, right?” He put his hands on his hips.
“Yes, but it could have easily been something else. Come on.” I motioned for him to follow me around the corner.
We had a process and we didn’t deviate from it. Yes, a rusty can next to a building was likely just going to be filled with rainwater, but there was a chance it could have been filled with gasoline. It was unlikely that discarded soda bottles were filled with motor oil, but that didn’t mean we ignored them. The process kept us alive and made sure everyone got to return home to their families when the job was done. All of us knew what we signed up for and we were prepared to give our lives to help others if it was necessary, but that didn’t mean we stacked the odds against ourselves.
“Okay, we’re almost done.” I motioned for Jon to keep following as we rounded the last corner.
“Then we get to go inside.” Jon’s tone echoed excitement—not really what I was hoping for.
I led Jon through the final paces of the perimeter check and then it was time to put on the rest of our gear so we could head inside. The fire wasn’t even close to going out, despite being doused with a decent amount of water while we were sweeping the outside. If this was a true emergency, we would have deployed a team to check the perimeter while another one rushed into the flames, but that wasn’t necessary for a warehouse fire. The place was abandoned and looked like it had been that way for years. It was still necessary to do a quick check, just to be safe. Another part of the process, and one that had resulted in a couple of lives saved over the years when abandoned buildings turned out to be havens for the homeless population in St. Louis. Luckily, this warehouse was too far away from the area where they pandered for money to offer them shelter.
“No, your mask needs to be tighter.” I grabbed the strap on Jon’s mask and gave it a quick yank.
“Ow, fuck.” He grabbed his mask and adjusted it. “You nearly busted my fucking lip.”
“Then put it on right.” I grunted under my breath and motioned for him to follow me. “You don’t want to be breathing carbon monoxide once we get in there.”
“Yeah, got it.” He nodded and started walking behind me.
It was a really quick check. The fire was centralized in the back part of the warehouse, it was just a large open room, and there were no signs of activity. I pointed out the dust near the door to Jon, the lack of fresh footprints, and the other obvious signs that the place was completely deserted. I hoped he was paying attention. There would be come a time when he was the first man through the door and that kind of stuff would be important. Since there was no sign of activity, there was no reason to get close to the fire. Any call that ended without us getting our eyebrows singed was a really fucking good one. I did a few more quick checks, confirmed that what I saw was correct, and then started heading for the exit with Jon following behind me.
“Aw man, that was boring.” Jon pulled off his mask once we got back outside.
“Boring is good. Trust me.” I grunted under my breath and removed my helmet, followed by my mask. “Grab a hose and help them put out the fire.”
“Yes sir…” Jon sighed and walked over to the truck.
It was hard for me to be that angry at Jon. I was young and brash once myself, but I respected life a lot more than he did because I knew how quickly it could be taken away. I was a Navy SEAL for five years before I came back to St. Louis an
d became a firefighter. The things I saw in the line of duty made my job as a firefighter less exciting than it was for others, but it didn’t make me value human life any less. It gave me a completely different perspective on the fragile nature of the human race. Waking up each day was a miracle, and some weren’t that lucky. I cherished what I had because I knew how quickly it could go away—in an instant—and you might not even see it coming.
* * *
A few hours later
“Do you want to go out for a beer after our shift is over?” Jon looked over at me as he changed back into his regular clothes.
“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m going to get a shower and then I’m going home to sleep.”
“It’s seven in the fucking morning.” Jon raised an eyebrow. “It’s way too early to sleep.”
“It’s way too early to start drinking too.” I stifled a chuckle.
Not that I haven’t been there myself after a tough shift, but this one wasn’t bad enough for day drinking.
“Never too early to have a drink, especially after being on the clock for twenty-four hours.” Jon grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
I took a shower, put on a t-shirt and jeans, and walked outside of the fire station. It was a Monday, which meant that my sister would already be up, mainly because she needed to make sure my niece didn’t miss the bus. My sister offered me a place to stay when I came back to St. Louis, and while I could have gotten an apartment on my own, I realized she was asking because she needed my help. The asshole that knocked her up disappeared as soon as the pregnancy test came back positive and she was struggling to make ends meet as a single mom. I didn’t mind. I missed the first five years of my niece’s life and I loved them both. The girl was going to be a teenager in a few years, so things were only going to get more difficult when her angst kicked in—I wasn’t looking forward to that.
“Uncle Cain!” My niece ran into the kitchen and I could tell by the excitement in her voice that she had something to tell me that couldn’t wait.
“Hey Abby. What’s up? Where’s your mom?” I looked down the hallway and saw my sister, Bridget, peek her head out the door of her bedroom.
“I told Abby not to, but—she wouldn’t listen.” My sister sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Uh oh.” I looked down at Abby. “Did you do something bad?”
“No! I did something really good!” She held up the tablet in her hand. “Look! I signed you up for a dating site!”
“Um, what the—heck?” I choked back my profanity before it came rolling off the tip of my tongue.
“It’s a great place! One of the girls in my class said her Dad met someone there.” She nodded quickly. “It’s called What the Heart Wants—see, this is your profile!”
“Abby…” I exhaled sharply. “Wait, if you wanted to set someone up, why didn’t you make a profile for your Mom?”
“I told her that she’d be living on the street if she tried to put my information on that stupid website.” My sister came walking down the hallway wearing her work uniform.
“Yeah.” Abby nodded. “But you need a date, right Uncle Cain? You haven’t had a girlfriend since you moved in with us!”
Thanks for reminding me…
“I’m not looking for a girlfriend.” I shook my head back and forth. “Don’t you need to finish getting ready for school?”
“Oh! Right!” Abby put the tablet down on the counter beside me and scurried to the bathroom.
“What the fuck…” I leaned over and looked at my profile, no longer stifling my profanity with my niece out of earshot. “How do I delete this shit?”
“I don’t know. I’ll make her do it when she gets home from school.” Bridget rolled her eyes. “She means well, but she doesn’t understand that things aren’t as easy as getting matched up with someone who checks a few boxes.”
“No shit.” I nodded and scrolled the screen with my finger. “If it was that easy, we’d both be happily married.”
“Abby, you’re going to miss the bus!” My sister leaned over the edge of the counter and yelled down the hallway.
“Coming, Mom!” Abby ran past us and grabbed her book bag on the way out the door.
“Have fun at work. I’m going to bed.” I rubbed my eyes and sighed.
“See you tonight.” She picked up her purse and followed Abby out the door.
I stared at the profile that Abby set up for a few more seconds before heading to my bedroom. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and walked closer. I was starting to look like my father more every day. I even had a little salt-and-pepper in my beard, just like he had when I was a boy. At thirty-five, I felt like I was already too old to get married, much less start a family. My sister was younger than I was, and she was about to be raising a teenager. Hell, it wouldn’t be long before one of us was teaching Abby how to drive. I had a few regrets, but who didn’t? Life wasn’t a fucking fairy tale where everything worked out in the end.
I’m sure I wouldn’t want to meet a woman desperate enough to use a website to find a date anyway…
“I can’t believe I’m going through with this.” I looked at the sign on the dating agency in front of me.
What the Heart Wants. I don’t even know what my heart wants…
“It’ll be fun.” My best friend, Lola, grabbed my arm. “Let’s go check it out!”
“I still think it would be easier to just set up a profile on Tinder.” I sighed and let her lead me through the front door.
“I’m tired of meeting guys on Tinder. All they want to do is hook up.” Lola looked around as soon as we entered the building. “Look, they have a wall filled with success stories!”
“All of them true!” A woman walked out of the back room with a smile on her face. “I’m Grace Graham. Welcome to What the Heart Wants.”
“I’m Lola. We spoke on the phone.” My best friend let go of my arm and walked over to shake Grace’s hand.
“Ah yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” Grace looked over at me. “This is your friend—Chloe I believe?”
“Yes.” I walked over. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Graham.”
“Call me Grace.” She chuckled under her breath. “Okay, who wants to go first?”
“We—aren’t doing this together?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“That’s totally up to you, but I usually find that it’s more effective if we speak in private.” She looked to Lola and then over at me.
“I’ll go first!” Lola nodded quickly.
Okay, I guess I’ll just sit out here all by myself. I should have brought a book.
Grace took Lola into the back room and closed the door. I walked over and started looking at the wall of so-called success stories. Everyone looked happy—but I wondered where they were ten years after the photograph was taken. Were they still smiling reflections of bliss? I doubted it. My parents had plenty of photographs where they were all smiles too, but those happy reflections didn’t stand the test of time. Ten years after I was born, they called it quits—and I found out on my birthday when my Dad showed up drunk enough to accuse my mother of cheating on him in front of everyone. She didn’t even deny it—and the cake wasn’t the only victim of my father’s wrath once he found out that the guy, she was cheating on him with was at my party.
My parents weren’t the only awful examples of adultery that I had fresh on my mind. I made the mistake of thinking a guy I met at college could change my perspective on love. I fell head over heels for him while he was going balls deep in a cheerleader named Marcia. How did I find out? She posted a picture of them on Instagram with the hashtag #MyManNowBitch. At least she saved me the embarrassment of finding out after I let him put a ring on my finger. Thankfully, I never slept with him. Maybe that was part of the problem, but I wasn’t sure it would have even mattered. Marcia said she could have any man she wanted—even if they were supposedly taken.
“Okay, we’re all done. Are you ready, Chl
oe?” Grace opened the door and Lola came walking out with a smile on her face.
“I guess so.” I sighed and nodded.
Not like I have a choice if I want to get Lola off my back.
I walked into Grace’s office and she immediately closed the door. It wasn’t much to look at, and the clutter on her desk suggested that she wasn’t the most organized woman in the world. I wondered how she managed to keep everything straight, especially since her computer looked like one I would have left by the curb when I was in high school. She sat down behind her desk and shuffled a few pieces of paper out of the way until she found what appeared to be a blank application. I was the one she had just filled out for Chloe sitting next to her computer and it already had a coffee ring on the top corner.
“Okay, why don’t we start with a few basic questions.” She clicked a pen and pressed it to the paper.
Grace went through the kind of questions that a normal dating website would ask. I didn’t drink very often, I hadn’t smoked since I nearly hacked my lungs out trying a cigarette in high school, and drugs were a definite no. We went through some more standard questions that were a little more personal like religious preferences, sexual orientation—just in case I was looking for Ms. Right instead of Mr. Right—or both, and after she filled in a few details about how I looked, she leaned back in her chair.
“Alright, so let’s talk about the kind of guy you want to meet.” She smiled and reached for her coffee.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m tired of men in general, but I’m not interested in girls. Lola is the one who dragged me in here.”
Dear Mr. Firefighter: The Match Maker Series Page 1
