“Alexandra,” he uttered.
“Tell us how you met her,” she encouraged.
He took a deep breath. This was too tough a conversation to have just hours after learning the woman who told him out of the blue that she loved him was now back with her ex. “I think I’d like to leave well enough alone, Aunt Sadie.”
“Tell me something. What do you have to lose? It’s not like you have anyone else to talk to about it. You parents wanted us to remain close, and it’s clearly bothering you, so why not?”
Ahhh. The guilt trip. Works every time.
Deciding he would not go into too much detail, he told them, “She grew up next door to me.”
“The girl next door! How cute and cliché. Convenient too. So, you grew up together. Go on.”
The weight of just that admission felt heavy on his chest. Whoever said talking about things was therapeutic must not have had much emotion in the mix. This felt heavy and empty and useless all at once, not at all therapeutic or helpful.
Aunt Sadie raised her eyebrows. “You can tell me.”
Sebastian opened his mouth to politely ask her to please drop the subject when his phone rang in his pocket. A smile crept up his face before he pulled it from his pocket. This could be the save to get him out of this interrogation, never mind how good dinner tasted tonight.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologized, looking down at it to see who was calling, fully intending to exaggerate whatever the call was about so he could leave before the hot seat burst into flames with him in it. When he saw the number on the screen staring back at him, he thought twice about answering at all.
Why exactly is Alexandra Storme calling me…and why now?
He was not up for talking to her. He swiped the reject call button, slid the phone back into his pocket, and told his aunt and uncle something pressing came up. It was too much to take right now. In his Jeep, he pulled out the cell phone again, this time checking for messages. There were six voice and text messages. The first five were from Alexandra, all telling him she needed to speak with him urgently—no doubt to come up with some story to explain away what happened between her and Wilkes. The next was from Clint. He tabbed to Clint’s number in the call logs and tapped the green call icon. Clint picked up after one ring.
“Hey Bash.”
“Hey. I just saw your call. What’s up?”
“I was hoping you had time to swing by here for a few minutes this evening. I could use your help with something, and there’s no way I’d ask anyone else.”
“Sure. I’m just leaving my aunt’s place now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Beth was out when Sebastian made it to Clint’s place. He helped move a small but clunky ottoman from one bedroom to another. It was something Beth probably couldn’t handle on her own anyway, but not so heavy that it would bother Sebastian’s knee. On his return downstairs, the TV was on the music channel, naturally. He would have asked Clint to change it, but it was country music. He was not too worried about having to see Lexxi Rock show up, however after five minutes into another odd job—fixing a living room ceiling vent that had been rattling and driving Clint insane—Sebastian realized he was wrong. There they were, Wilkes and Lexxi, in a clip of the music video for their upcoming duet, no doubt. Clint did not allow him to ignore it, either.
“Hey, there she is. Can you even believe we met her?” Sebastian continued tightening the screws that held up the vent, and did not answer. “Have you heard the new song she did with her ex?” he asked.
“You mean her boyfriend,” Sebastian pointed out.
Clint huffed. “Not even close.”
“Well, they sure look like they’re together. It’s also all over the magazines and tabloids. There has to be some truth to it.”
“Maybe you should have asked her to move in with you when you had the chance.”
“I did. Look, forget it.” Sebastian had no intention of getting into what went down between him and Alexandra.
Clint turned back to the TV, pointing at it as he appeared to be gearing up to speak at length. “Just look at them. Look at her body language. She’s all business. Nothing like she used to be before he cheated on her. Look at how she’s sitting on that bar stool. See that?” Clint pointed until Sebastian stopped what he was doing with the air vent and turned to look. “She’s leaning away from him. A woman who’s interested in a man would lean towards him. He, on the other hand, is all about her. It’s just not reciprocated.”
Sebastian narrowed one eye and glared down at Clint from the step-ladder. “The kiss they aired seemed reciprocated enough.”
Clint looked up at him, a sly grin tightening his mouth. “Don’t you know a publicity stunt when you see one? Wait. Never mind. Don’t answer that. I’m sure you don’t.” He laughed. “Every shot of those two that has surfaced the past little while has been bullshit. Well, except that one of them kissing. That one still baffles me a little because in every other picture, it’s obvious her heart’s just not in it.”
“Can we drop this so I can finish up what I came here to do?” At this point, Sebastian was really ready to pack it in.
“Listen to me, man. I saw the way she was looking at you the night she came for dinner. She looked at you with much more interest than she looks at cowboy there…and she’s dated him. What does that tell you?”
Sebastian stepped down the ladder. “It tells me that you won’t give up this topic, and as I’m done with this air vent, I’ll just head on home now, buddy.”
“Come one now. I’m telling you she wants you. Why is that so hard for you to take?”
Picking up the ladder and stepping to the front door, Sebastian told him, “If this is how she shows me she wants me, I’d rather be alone. On that note, I’ve got to start training tomorrow for the firefighter physical. I’m meeting up with Nate and Rodrick really early in the morning. I’ll get this back in the garage. Let’s talk about it another time.”
“Like never, huh?”
With one foot already out the front door, Bash answered, “That would work too. Tell Beth hi for me when she gets in, okay? Have a good night.”
Chapter 18
SEBASTIAN pushed his way through his morning workout with Nate and Rodrick at the basement gym of their fire hall. There was only one phrase he repeated to himself.
Pain is temporary. Pain is temporary.
It had been his mantra throughout the entire rehab experience. He usually believed it, but today, not so much. The pain he felt today had less to do with his knee and everything to do with the damned song pouring through the speakers at the gym. As if it wasn’t enough that the news of her reconciliation with the rhinestone cowboy was widespread, she had to go and release a song with him. A song that at the moment, made Sebastian want to rip the speakers from the ceiling. Yes, this was a new kind of pain.
The pain in his knee however, was all but gone. So much in fact, he felt pretty good about his chances to pass the physical in a week. That would get him back to work, and it wouldn’t be a moment too soon.
“What the hell are you doing, Bash?” Rodrick shouted across the room from the functional training bench. “Did you forget about getting a bench press spotter while you were off?” He crossed the space in six long strides and placed his hands near the center of the bar Sebastian had lifted high above his chest. “How much weight do you have on this thing?”
“A hundred and fifty pounds,” Sebastian groaned, placing it up on the rack before sitting up. “Thanks. It’s my last set for the day.”
“Good. So…when were you planning on coming clean, bud?”
Sebastian picked up the towel resting on top of his gym bag. “About what?”
“You had us fooled.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Alex…that was Lexxi Rock all along? Man you got us hook, line and sinker that night at the speed dating thing.”
“Oh right,” Sebastian chuckled. “Yeah man. Sorry about that. Lexxi Rock was doin
g what she could to keep a low profile in town.”
“So you two are friends?”
He hesitated. They weren’t anything now. “I wouldn’t say that. Her dad lives next door.”
Nate looked at him curiously. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to that story?”
Sebastian picked up his gym bag and started heading to the mats for a quick stretch. “There isn’t.”
“Hmmm. Okay. So when are you hooking us up with Lexxi Rock concert tickets or backstage passes?”
“I haven’t hooked myself up with those, so why would I hound her for you slackers?”
“That’s ice cold, Sullivan.”
“Nope. It’s fair. Don’t you think she’s got lots of people she knows who are already hounding her for shit because of what she’s made of her life?”
“True, but they aren’t the ones who took her speed dating. I’d say you, Rodrick and I are special. Plus she got the drop on us with that Alex boy stunt she pulled. I’d say she owes us.”
“You’re welcome to tell her that yourself.”
“What? You’re hooking me up with her number?”
“Nice try, bud.” Sebastian finished up his stretches and checked the clock on the wall. “Okay. I think I’ll call it a day.”
“Cool. Are you coming out to the bar with us this weekend? We’ve got to celebrate seeing you around here again.”
“Friday?”
“Yeah.”
“I can probably swing it. Sure. I’ll be there.” Grabbing his gym bag, Sebastian headed for the locker room.
“Sullivan,” the fire chief called out before he made it to the door.
“Hi Chief.”
“Let’s have a word upstairs for a minute.”
“Sure,” he answered, confused. He followed the fire chief up the stairs to the small back office built in behind the three-truck fire hall bay.
“Come on in and have a seat.”
“Thanks. How can I help you?” Sebastian asked, taking a seat on the only guest chair in the small, cluttered room.
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news,” he told him, pulling a file folder off the top of a large pile at one corner of his desk. He moved around the stack of papers inside, looking for something.
Sebastian shrugged, trying to hide his nervousness. He straightened in the chair, bracing himself for the worst. “Tell me the bad news first, Chief.”
“You sure?”
He swallowed and nodded.
“Okay. The bad news is you won’t be coming back to your firefighter position.”
“What?” Sebastian asked, shocked. “I’m just getting ready now for the fitness test. You’ve got to give me a chance, boss.”
“We’ve seen this type of injury before, Sullivan. We can’t put you or the team, or the public, at risk by letting you return to this job. Now, I’m sure you can take this up with the union, and they’ll grieve the issue and get you in that test when they win, but that’s not going to change the outcome.”
Sebastian’s shoulders slumped. The timing couldn’t be worse. The agonizing rush of disappointment tightened up his throat as the air around him seemed to leave the room. He ran a hand over his face. “Okay,” he said shakily, failing miserably at taking it all in stride.
The Chief rapped on the desk to draw Sebastian’s troubled gaze back to him. “I’m not finished. The good news is I recommended you for a promotion and it’s a go. Now wipe that sorry-ass look off your face.” He laughed heartily, and it took Sebastian a second to register what the man was telling him.
“I…I don’t understand,” he said slowly.
His boss passed him the papers he finally found in the file he was searching through, Sebastian scanned them over.
“As I mentioned, based on your injury, Sullivan, the doctor does not feel comfortable letting you try out for that fitness test. If by some chance you pushed through and passed, you’d still be a liability, and even if we wanted to take a chance on it, your doctor wouldn’t clear you for it. Just so you understand, he did say he would re-evaluate your knee after another six months. He just isn’t too optimistic. So, at the moment, you’re cleared to work in an office setting. Son, because of your degree in Fire Science and your experience, none of us here want to see you walk away from what you do best. So if you want the fire investigator position that just opened up, it’s yours, and I’d like to be the first to tell you congratulations.”
The Chief reached a hand across the desk to shake Sebastian’s, and the excitement, relief and gratitude expanded out to where it threatened to make him tear up. He stood and gratefully clutched the fire chief’s hand, pumping it up and down. He could hardly believe it.
“Chief, I don’t know what to say,” he told him, slightly choked up. “Thank you. That’s the best news I’ve had, probably all year.”
“Don’t mention it,” he humbly waved him to sit back down. “You should already know there are some training programs you’ll need to redo, but the state’s paying for all that. You can report to work here next week, and get started by scheduling some of those trainings right away. I also want to pair you up with Cumberland for a while. He’ll get you up to speed and make sure you learn the ropes out in the field. The bottom line is you’ll be back to work soon.”
“Wow, Chief. I can’t thank you enough.” He took a few breaths to let the good news sink in. He was not expecting this. It was a lot to take in, and a heck of a lot to be thankful for.
Once the chief kicked him out of the office, he was greeted by his crew and some of the other firefighters, all waiting with a cake and handfuls of confetti. He laughed when he looked up and saw the Congratulations banner they must have put up in the few minutes he had been in the chief’s office.
Rodrick stepped forward. “We hate to lose you on the team, man, but you’ll still be close enough to harass. We’re all pretty proud.”
“Thanks,” Sebastian murmured. “You knew about this didn’t you, you old bastard.”
Rodrick gave his a wink. “Yup. Don’t forget about us, now, because we know where your office is, and you’re likely to get a hose-down if you get too big for your investigator breeches.”
The group relaxed into low key laughter and lighthearted conversation, and someone passed Sebastian a slice of cake after they shook his hand. Everyone stopped what they were doing around the firehouse to wish him well and share in the celebration. As he said a few words to the people he had come to know as family, relief washed over him. He still had a career to return to.
Nate, Rod and Sebastian talked for a few minutes before the fire bell went off and a dispatcher announced an emergency call. The party wrapped up pretty quickly, and Sebastian watched the gang gear up to go fight a fire somewhere in the city.
The Chief stepped over to him quickly. “Stick around if you’d like. We’re all glad to see you back. See you later.”
After they were gone, he stared around at the beige cinderblock walls and scuffed concrete floor of the fire station truck bays. He had really missed this place. With the pain in his knee still a dull ache, he knew how incredibly fortunate he was, that instead of hearing he couldn’t come back, they found a way to make it work to keep him on the team.
A small part of him wanted to call Alexandra to tell her all about it.
I should, but I won’t.
He was ready for anything that could get his mind off of Alexandra and Wilkes.
Chapter 19
“I’ve got those VIP passes you wanted for Max and Rosa,” Rick announced the next day in the late afternoon, stepping into her office with a brown envelope in one hand.
She beamed up at him from her desk. Giving Wilkes the boot was probably the best thing she had done in a really long time. “Sweet. Thanks Rick. I didn’t know you were still here.”
“You’re not the only one burning the midnight oil.”
“It’s barely seven o’clock, Rick. Stop exaggerating.”
“It feels like midnight, especi
ally now that you pissed off your ex-boyfriend and gave me the task of sorting out his termination agreement.”
“We both knew this was where things had to go if I wanted to get my life back, Rick. Did you see the stunt he pulled at the interview yesterday morning?”
“Sure, but it was not as believable as what you two did at your front door. That kiss looked damn real, if you asked me.”
“Don’t you start. Anyhow, what have the lawyers said?”
“About Wilkes? Easy as pie. A few million will do it, along with throwing in an extra percent or two of royalties for this upcoming album. I always told you he was all about the greenbacks.”
“You did, and that settlement is more than reasonable. Hey, you think you can get somebody to send these tickets off for me? The way my schedule has been, I’ll probably forget they’re here on my desk. I want to make sure Dad and Rosa get them.”
“Not a problem. I’ll take care of it. By the way, can you spare an hour to meet with someone?”
Alexandra looked at the clock on her desk. “Now? What for?”
“You’re going to love me.”
She groaned.
“Clearly you’re having a great day, and I’m about to make it better,” Rick quipped, unaffected by her sour mood.
Alexandra growled. “Rick, please.”
“Lexxi, have I ever let you down? This is important.”
“Okay what is it?”
“The woman you’re interviewing for the Chief Operating Officer position next week is right outside your office.”
“What? How come?”
“I bumped into her over lunch and suggested she come by. You’re welcome,” Rick hummed.
“Do you have time to meet her with me? I need you to be on board with whoever we choose.”
“I’m on board, Lex. Trust me. She’s the right person for this job. Easy on the eye too, if you know what I mean,” he said with a wink.
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