Light Up The Night: A Bad Boy Firefighter Novel

by Parker, Weston

  I was proud of the people I worked with. They all took their jobs seriously and had made incredible improvements in their work ethic—and tips—over the last two years since I started implementing big changes and having higher standards. It benefitted all of us. Me, my staff, and the customers who frequented The Glade. The best service with affordable but high-quality food in a modern, trendy environment.

  And on the beach. It didn’t get better than this.

  I sipped my sparkling water as Tara enjoyed her sangria. The bartender, Roy, arrived for his shift and wiped everything down before flicking on the television mounted on the wall behind him. He threw his rag over his shoulder and looked back and forth between Tara and me. “Are the two of you off this evening?”

  We both nodded.

  “And yet, you’re still here,” he said, amused.

  I grinned. “Didn’t you know, Roy? I live here. I never go home.”

  He snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ve never had an owner work as hard as you do, Mel.”

  “Kiss ass,” Tara said.

  He shot her a look. “Jealous?”

  Tara giggled, and he cracked a smile. Roy was a good guy. We had a lot of laughs, and he and Tara were always engaged in some sort of witty banter.

  He stepped to the side to check how full his ice bin was, and I got a clear view of the television. My eyes roamed causally over it. I saw flames, a red fire truck, and a flash of an ambulance, and then did a double take.

  “Oh my God,” I said, sliding off my bar stool and getting to my feet as I stared at the television.

  Tara followed my gaze to the TV. “Is that the shitty little duplex on Kensworth Avenue?”

  “Looks like it,” I said. But I wasn’t really paying attention to the house that was burning. I was more focused on what was happening in the background behind the news reporter. There was a fireman lying on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. Two paramedics were bent over him. I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t look like he was conscious.

  One of the medics got up and left the shot of the camera. When he came back, he had a gurney with him. They lifted the firefighter onto it, and I knew without a doubt that the unconscious fireman was Hayden.

  My heart started hammering in my chest, and my mouth went dry.

  “Mel,” Tara said slowly. “You’re turning white. You should sit down.”

  I shook my head. “I’m okay. But that’s—that’s Hayden.”

  Tara looked back at the television. The gurney was being wheeled off the sidewalk, and they loaded Hayden into the ambulance. Another firefighter was hovering around him, no doubt asking the paramedics dozens of questions. The ambulance doors closed with one of the paramedics in the back with Hayden. The other hurried around to the driver’s door, got in, and drove away.

  I swallowed. “Do you think he’s okay?”

  “I’m sure he is,” Tara said nervously. “This is all a part of the job.”

  I lifted my hands up in front of my face to discover that they were shaking. Tara grabbed them and squeezed them in her own. “I’ve had four sips of my sangria. Come on. Give me your keys, and I’ll drive you to the hospital. You can see with your own eyes that he’s okay. All right? Mel?”

  I felt like she was talking to me from very far away, but I nodded.

  All of this felt too familiar. Too terribly familiar.

  Roy was watching me with concern from the other side of the bar. “You all right, boss?”

  I nodded slowly, and Tara answered for me. “She’s okay. Hold down the fort, will you?”

  Roy nodded soundlessly and watched as Tara took my hand and pulled me out of the restaurant.

  Don’t panic, I told myself. You’re overreacting. He’s probably fine. He does this all the time.

  Try as I might to keep a level head, my subconscious was screaming with fear.

  23

  Hayden

  When I woke, it was to an aching, hoarse feeling in my throat and lungs. I could feel the warm press of an oxygen mask around my mouth and nose and knew I must be in the hospital. The gentle beeping of a monitor somewhere nearby confirmed that suspicion before I opened my eyes to stare up at a foam-panelled ceiling. I blinked a couple times to bring moisture to my dry eyes.

  I had a headache of epic proportions, and my mouth was dry. Damn, I was thirsty as hell.

  “Sleeping Beauty finally stirs,” a familiar deep voice said beside me.

  I turned my head to see Derek sitting in an armchair beside my hospital bed. He had a magazine flipped open in his lap, and one foot rested on the frame of my bed. A smirk played on his lips, but relief was clear in his eyes.

  I tried to answer him, but the oxygen mask made it difficult.

  He shrugged me off. “The nurse said she was coming back to get that off you soon. You’ve been out for,” he paused and glanced at his watch, “a little over twenty hours. They said you’ll be out of here by tomorrow morning.”

  Tomorrow morning? I had no intention of lying in this bed that long. Aside from the headache and sore lungs and throat, I was fine. Besides, I’d passed the dangerous stage, which was the first couple hours after inhaling the smoke. I should be clear to go home soon. I’d been through this shit on more than one occasion. All of us had, for the most part. Well, all of us except for Maddox.

  Derek flipped a page in his magazine, even though he hadn’t been reading. Knowing him, he’d just been looking at the pictures. “You had a visitor last night.”

  My mumbled question, “Who?” was hoarse and weak.

  Derek arched an eyebrow. “Who do you think?”

  My brow creased. “My dad?”

  Derek’s eyes widened a little bit, and I saw guilt skitter across his features for making me think my father would take the time out of his busy retirement schedule to come see his son in the hospital. “Uh, no,” Derek said apologetically. “Sorry, man. But this might cheer you up. It was that girl of yours. Mel.”

  I smiled. He’d called her Mel, not the single mom.

  Derek chuckled. “I thought that might brighten your day. She hung around for a while. She was here by the time they got you this private room, and she stayed until close to midnight. She only had to leave to get back to her daughter. She said she’d be coming back tonight, too. She was a wreck, man, if I’m being honest. She’s clearly not been around this sort of thing. I said everything I could to ease her mind, but she didn’t seem to believe me that you’d be just fine. I told her you’ve gone through this before. So have I. She wasn’t convinced. When you get that mask off—don’t take it off now,” he warned as I reached to pull it down. I froze, and he nodded approvingly. “When the nurse gets back, she’ll get it off you. If she thinks it’s all right. But as I was saying, when you get it off, you should call your girl. She’s worried about you.”

  I let my hand fall to my side and tried to take as deep of a breath as I could manage. It burned, but that was to be expected. I pushed through the pain until my lungs were full and breathed out slowly. I could feel the oxygen filling my burned capillaries. It was soothing. I took a few more deep breaths.

  “I owe you a thanks,” Derek said, holding the conversation effortlessly, even though I wasn’t really able to participate.

  I grunted.

  “For getting me the day off,” he explained. “Rinehart made the other guys go back to the station, but he sent me after you. You know, to make sure you didn’t do something stupid. Like take your mask off before you were supposed to. He asked me to stay today, too.”

  I chuckled and it hurt. Derek grinned too. Pain was temporary.

  Derek closed the magazine and tossed it on the table beside my bed. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I, uh, called your dad, Hayden. I told him what happened. But—”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear it right now.

  Derek nodded and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and refused to meet my eye.

 
We were saved when the nurse came in. She wore pale blue scrubs that swished as she walked. She came over to the side of my bed and smiled down at me. “Nice to see you awake, Mr. Miller. I checked all your blood work. Everything looks good.” She reached behind my head to gently remove the oxygen mask. “There’s some cold water in that pitcher there that I’m sure will feel very nice on your throat. Maybe your friend can fill up a glass for you?”

  Derek didn’t wait to be asked again. He got up and filled a small plastic cup with ice water. He handed it to me as I propped myself up in the bed. I drank thankfully. She was right. The cold water soothed my burning throat.

  The nurse smiled. “Very good. The doctor would like to keep you overnight, just to make sure you are in the clear. Just take it easy while you’re here, and press that red button if you need anything.”

  “Thank you,” I said. My voice was incredibly scratchy, like nails on a chalkboard.

  She took her leave and left Derek and me alone again. I glanced at my friend. “The two bodies we pulled out. Who were they?”

  Derek sighed. “Boyfriend and girlfriend. Late thirties. No kids.”

  He knew the children would be my next concern. It made our job harder to know a child had lost their parents. It was even harder when parents lost their child. Thank God it hadn’t been one of those days.

  I nodded. “The smoke kill them?”

  Derek nodded. “They hadn’t replaced the batteries in their detectors. They both worked night shifts and were sleeping when the fire started in the unit above theirs. By the time they woke up, their exit was blocked. Looks like they made it out into the hallway but passed out before they could get out.”

  “Do they know how it started yet?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. But the investigators are there. My guess? A cigarette on the back deck in a dry planter. Trace called and told me the unit that started the fire were smokers, and it looks like the deck was full of plants. Just got a feeling, you know?”

  “Yeah.”

  Derek rubbed his hands together. I knew there was something he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure how to broach it. Without him having to say anything, I knew what it was about. My father. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. In fact, the last time I’d landed myself in the hospital, Derek had called my father and left him a voicemail. He never called back because he knew I would be fine, as Derek stated in the voicemail.

  My best friend ran his hands down his thighs. “I thought about driving down to your old man’s house this morning to give him a piece of my mind.”

  “Wouldn’t have helped,” I said, sipping more water. I sucked on one of the ice cubes.

  “No. Probably not. But it would have made me feel better.”

  “Temporarily.”

  “I don’t know. Ripping a strip off that asshole would have been satisfying as hell. No offense.”

  “None taken,” I said. My dad was an asshole.

  Derek sighed and shook his head. “It’s just insane to me. I mean, when I called him, I knew you’d be fine. And I told him so. But the fact that he can’t even be bothered to swing by? It blows my fucking mind, man. You should cut your ties with him. You’re so much better off without him in your life. He’s just this toxic, blood sucking, piece of—”

  “I get it,” I said.

  Derek licked his lips. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You’re right. But he’s my dad. And we only get one. If all I get is a guy who calls me up when he needs help building a shed, then so be it. I don’t need him for anything. I’ve got you and the boys.”

  Derek gave me a crooked smile. “Damn straight.”

  “You got my phone somewhere?”

  Derek got to his feet and opened one of the drawers in the table beside my bed. He grabbed my phone and handed it to me. Part of me hoped there’d be a missed call from my father, but when I unlocked it, there were no missed calls or messages. I found Mel’s number and pressed dial.

  She answered halfway through the first ring. “Hayden?”

  “Hey, Mel, sorry—”

  “Are you all right? You had me so worried! Derek’s been texting me with updates. I was just about to get my things and come see you. Do you need anything?”

  I was a little taken aback by her concern. I wasn’t used to this—at least, not from someone who wasn’t part of my crew. This was refreshing. Comforting. “I’m all right, Mel. Don’t worry. I don’t need anything. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well I’m—” She broke off. There was a long pause. I thought that maybe—just maybe—I heard her sniffle. “I’m all right. Better now that I know you’re okay. Are you sure you don’t want anything? I can swing by the restaurant and pack up a meal for you and be there in twenty. I can bring something for Derek too, if he’s still there.”

  “Thanks Mel, but I’m all right. I don’t think I’d be able to eat food right now, no matter how delicious it is. I’m actually about to get out of here and go home to rest. Can I see you tomorrow for dinner?”

  “You’ll be up for that?”

  “Hell yes, I will.”

  I could hear the smile in her voice. “Okay. I would like that very much. Seriously though, Hayden. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

  “I will. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow,” she said softly.

  Then we hung up the phone. Derek was scowling at me. “What?” I asked.

  “Did you just seriously turn down free food? She was going to bring me something too, you selfish ass.”

  I snorted. “I didn’t even think about it. How about you drive me home, and I’ll pay for your dinner?”

  Derek got to his feet. “Deal, but that nurse isn’t going to let you leave so easily.”

  I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “They can’t keep me here. They can only request that I stay. Where are my clothes?”

  Derek pointed to a folded up pair of jeans and a T-shirt on an open chair. “I brought those over for you. They’re mine, but they should fit you well enough. You’ll have to give me a set of your house keys one of these times, you know?”

  I padded over to the chair and grabbed the clothes, and then I went to the bathroom to change. Before I closed the door behind me, I told Derek there was no way in hell he’d be getting a key to my house.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, my nurse was standing at the foot of my bed with her hands on her hips. “And just where do you think you’re going?”

  “Home,” I said sheepishly.

  “The doctor wants you to stay overnight.”

  “I know. Tell him thanks for me. And thank you for taking care of me. But I have to go home. I’m fine.”

  She scowled at me but let me go. She had no other option, and she and I both knew it. Derek followed me out of the room and down the hall. He took me outside to where he was parked, and we got in his truck. “You owe me for parking, too,” he said as he started it up.

  I chuckled. “Add it to my tab.”

  24

  Mel

  When I got off the phone with Hayden, all my tense muscles relaxed. I hadn’t realized how tense I was. I blew out a deep breath and put my phone down on the kitchen counter.

  Kylee popped her head out from the hallway and looked up at me. “Is everything okay, Mommy?”

  I nodded. “Yes, kiddo, everything is fine. Go put your PJ’s on, and we’ll start the movie.”

  Kylee bit her bottom lip but padded off down the hall to her bedroom as I carried a bowl of chips and my glass of water into the living room where Tara was waiting.

  My best friend was watching me with concerned eyes. “Is he all right?”

  “Yeah. He’s leaving the hospital now.”

  “That’s great news!”

  I nodded.

  “Why don’t you seem enthusiastic about this?” Tara asked, leaning forward to pluck a salt and vi
negar chip out of the bowl.

  I dropped down into the couch beside her and sighed. “How often do you think this happens to him?”

  “Well, it’s part of his job.”

  “I know. Exactly. That’s the point I’m trying to make. Am I being a total fool for letting myself… you know, fall for him?”

  Tara raked her fingers through her thick blonde hair. “I don’t think so. You can’t control who you like, Mel. Don’t think about this stuff right now. Are you going to see him tomorrow night?”

  I nodded. “Yes. He wants to go for dinner.”

  “Then see how you feel after you spend some time with him. Ask him some questions. Get his side of things.”

  Kylee came back into the living room and jumped up between Tara and me on the couch. She grabbed the remote and looked back and forth between us. Her gaze settled on me. “You’re going to see Hayden tomorrow night?”

  “I think so,” I said.

  Tara grabbed Kylee’s head and ruffled her hair. “How about Kylee and I have a night together, and that way you and Hayden get some alone time? What do you say?”

  Kylee answered before I had a chance to. “Yes! Yes!” She got to her feet and stood between us on the couch. She jumped twice before she caught my warning glance not to jump on my sofa cushions. She stilled, batted her lashes at me, and clasped her hands together pleadingly. “Please, Mommy?”

  I looked at Tara, who was smiling at me, knowing she’d already won this round.

  “Please, Mommy?” she asked teasingly.

  I threw my hands up in the air, admitting defeat. “All right. All right.”

  “Yay!” Kylee dropped to her butt on the sofa.

  “We’ll do something fun,” Tara told my daughter. “Maybe we could build a fort and watch movies. Or play board games.”

  Kylee nodded eagerly as I plucked the remote from her lap and started the movie we had paused on the television. It soon captured Kylee’s attention.