by Cathie Linz
Kayla was preparing to read Ashley her bedtime story. The little one only wanted to hear “Beauty and the Beast,” night after night after night. More recent Disney animated features had come out, and Kayla had them all on video, but Ashley was stuck on “Beauty and the Beast.”
She knew the songs by heart, the book by heart, the illustrations by heart. Even so, she wanted to hear the story read to her every night at bedtime. And heaven help the poor soul who might try and skip over a line or two.
But tonight, Ashley had taken it into her head to ask about the new sleeping arrangements, in the middle of her bedtime story.
“Jack and I are married now,” Kayla explained. “Married people sleep together.”
“Hugs and me isn’t married and we sleep together.”
“That’s because you and Hugs aren’t grown up yet.”
“Is Jack my new daddy?”
“Do you want him to be?”
“I don’ know. Does he want to? Being a daddy is scary for Jack maybe. Would he be mean to Hugs like Daddy?”
“No, sweetie. Jack likes Hugs almost as much as you and I do.”
“How come Daddy doesn’t like Hugs?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you and Daddy still mad?”
“We’re not mad. Sometimes grown-ups have disagreements and they need to get things settled.”
“And then they don’t sleep together no more, right?”
“Uh...”
“Is Daddy going to move here?”
“No. He and Tayna have their own house.”
“It’s lots bigger there than here. They have a pool. Maybe we can all move there.”
“Don’t you like your new room?”
“I like it. The closet had monsters,” she leaned forward to confide in a whisper. “Jack made them go away, he told me so. He fixed it all. Can I have two daddies?”
“If you want.”
“I want Jack to read to me now. Ja-ack!” Ashley yelled out.
“Did I hear an elephant shrieking in here?” Jack inquired a few seconds later.
Ashley giggled. “It was me. Read to me, Jack. Please.”
Jack, realizing she’d just granted him a huge honor and that this was a test of sorts, took the book Kayla handed him. It was just a fairy tale. He could handle this. He started reading, his halting delivery as deadpan as Ernie’s might have been.
Ashley, however, wanted the rest of the story read with proper drama and flare, as Jack was now finding out when he read the heroine’s part.
“You don’ sound like a girl, Jack,” Ashley was reprimanding him. “Read higher.”
Looking like a man being led to a firing squad, Jack fidgeted and cleared his throat several times before starting again.
His falsetto nearly made Kayla laugh aloud. She had to bite her lips to stay quiet. He would not be a happy camper if he thought Kayla was laughing at him.
The truth was she found it so endearing that a man who faced real danger every day without flinching was so panicked by the occasional requests of a little girl. Even so, he was good with Ashley, patient, encouraging and fun.
“I wanna be a bride,” Ashley declared out of the blue. “I’m going to get married tomorrow.”
To give him credit, Jack didn’t so much as blink at the three-year-old’s proclamation. “Really? Married, huh? That will come as a surprise to your mom. Kayla, did you know your daughter is getting married tomorrow?”
Anticipating her mother might not approve, Ashley stuck out her bottom lip and lifted her chin in her don’t-mess-with-me pose. “You and mommy got married. I wanna get married, too. It’s my turn.”
“Weddings aren’t like birthdays where everyone gets one a year, sweetie,” Kayla tried to explain.
“How come? I wanna get married. You get lots of presents and have a party and big cake. You can come to my wedding party, Jack, but you have to dress fancy.”
Kayla grinned. “Jack looks real handsome when he dresses fancy, doesn’t he?”
“I love you, Jack. Now we all live happily ever after, okay?”
“Okay, sweetie.” And Kayla thought it really would be okay. She’d done the right thing marrying Jack.
Spring was definitely in the air as Kayla reached into her oversize bag for her house keys. It was early April, time to think about putting in the garden she wanted to plant out back. And some pink impatiens would brighten up the front, as well.
Just like the two small throw pillows she’d just found at a craft show would brighten up the couch. They’d look perfect.
Actually the place was really starting to take shape. There was definite evidence that her hard work was paying off. At first she’d thought the job of blending Jack’s masculine furniture with her few classy pieces would be impossible, but in the end they’d found a nice balance. His couch had a new denim cover over it and now went well with her birch rocking chair.
And the third bedroom had turned out to be a great home office, allowing Kayla to spend more time at home with Ashley. The business continued to do well, so well that she and Diane were considering hiring another part-time assistant for the errand running while Kayla took over more of the paperwork. The laptop computer and modem she had made working at home a breeze. Explaining to Ashley that Mommy was working and couldn’t play all the time was a little harder.
Kayla had resorted to rewards and today had been one of them. She and Ashley had gone shopping this morning and then had lunch at Ashley’s favorite burger place.
“Mommy, Hugs wants choclotts.”
“Hugs always wants chocolate,” Kayla replied as she opened the door and guided her daughter inside.
“Hi, biscus,” Ashley greeted the pink hibiscus that Diane had given them as a housewarming present. The southern window beside the front door gave it plenty of light.
That sunlight also picked out the heavy amount of dust floating in the air.
“What the heck...” Kayla entered the living room only to freeze in her tracks.
“Hi, honey, you’re home,” Jack noted with a cheerful smile, looking completely at ease in a room that could readily have been classified as a federal disaster area. “I wasn’t expecting you back quite so soon.”
Nine
Kayla was speechless. The lovely room she’d left this morning was completely torn up. Dust cloths covered the furniture, which had all been moved to the dining room. Plaster covered Jack’s dark hair, turning it prematurely white. What he’d done was sure to turn her hair prematurely white.
“What did you do?” she gasped.
“Took down the ceiling. Don’t judge things by the way they look now. It’s going to look great with a cathedral ceiling and skylight. You said you liked southern exposure, and that’s what the skylight will have.”
“Skylight?” she croaked.
“You bet. I’m going to put it over here.” He moved a few feet to his left and pointed at the gaping hole in the ceiling. Hole, phooey, it was a cavity the size of the Grand Canyon. Kayla couldn’t believe one man could do so much damage in so little time.
“How could you do this?”
He beamed before trying to look modest. “It wasn’t that hard.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“I knew you’d be pleased.”
“Pleased? Ashley, why don’t you and Hugs go to your room and play.”
“Uh-oh,” Ashley said, recognizing her mother’s tone of voice. “You’s in trouble, Jack,” the three-year-old warned him before going to her room.
“Now, honey...” Jack began placatingly.
“Don’t ‘honey’ me,” Kayla retorted. “You’ve never called me honey before. Don’t start now.”
“Okay.” He eyed her warily.
“Did it ever enter your mind to ask me before you tore down our living room ceiling? To talk to me, consult with me?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You succeeded beyond your wildest dreams,” she assured him, toss
ing her purse and the bag holding the pillows into the relative safety of the hallway.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to hear that you look cute when you’re mad?” Jack noted.
“You suppose right. What am I here, Jack? A guest in your house?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why didn’t you talk to me before tearing down the ceiling? Why did you just go ahead and do it as if I played no part in your decision? As if I played no part in your life? As if my opinion doesn’t matter, isn’t worth a pile of...lentils! We’re married now, it would help if we agreed on things beforehand.”
“We do agree on lots of things,” he murmured, stealthily coming up behind her to nuzzle her nape.
“Don’t do that! I’m furious with you!”
“I can tell. I’m sorry. This wasn’t some plot to make you feel rotten. I honestly wanted to surprise you by opening up the ceiling and bringing more light in here. You’d said how nice it would be to have a cathedral ceiling.”
She wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet, even though his coaxing voice was getting to her. So were his repentant kisses along her jawline. “I mentioned it. Once. In passing. That’s not discussing it.”
“Okay, so I messed up.”
“You’ve got that right,” she muttered, wiping plaster dust from her cheek as she surveyed the mess he’d made of their living room and the damage he’d done to the ceiling.
“My heart was in the right place.”
“You don’t know when to call it quits,” she noted, less forcefully this time.
“Okay, so maybe I got a little too enthusiastic. Chalk it up to the fun I had tearing down the ceiling without having to look for embers. On the job, I’ve torn down my fair share of ceilings and found my fair share of embers.”
“Oh, I’m very familiar with embers,” she retorted huskily, pivoting in his arms until she faced him. Then she slid her hand down his chest to the placket of his jeans. “And sparks, too.”
“Mmm, and flames.”
“Whatcha doin’?” Ashley asked from the doorway, making Jack and Kayla spring apart like guilty teenagers caught necking.
“We’ll finish this tonight,” he muttered.
Later Jack was as good as his promise. When Kayla came to bed after reading Ashley her story and tucking her in, Jack was ready for her. He met her at the doorway, wearing the boxer shorts he slept in. “As I recall, we were interrupted during a very heated discussion about embers and fire. Now where were we?...” He lazily undid the buttons of her blouse, tugging it from her denim skirt. “Ah, yes. Now I remember. I was going to tell you about the basic steps I go through when fighting fire. First I find the fire. Mmm, there seem to be some definite signs of fire here,” he murmured as he caressed her breasts, lightly brushed the pads of his thumbs over her nipples. “Now I need to rescue any trapped occupants.”
Undoing her bra, he released her breasts from the lacy confines. Soon her skirt joined her blouse and bra on the floor.
“I need to search for more signs of fire.” Jack lowered his head to place his mouth directly over one rosy crest. Meanwhile his hands were sliding down to that other area aching for attention, barely covered by one of the silky peach bikini panties he’d given her. “Mmm, more fire.”
He continued teasing her with his touch, promising but not delivering. Coming close, but not close enough. Exciting her with his erotic love play.
“I’m going to do these next two steps out of order. I’m going to establish communications—you want to tell me if this feels good?” He seduced her with his clever fingers.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Does this feel better?”
“Yes!”
Tiny shivers of red-hot bliss shot through her, drenching her in pleasure and leaving her weak-kneed.
Jack half-carried her to the bed where he tumbled down beside her, adding his boxer shorts to the pile of abandoned clothing.
“Wait.” Leaning forward, she rested her forehead on his bare shoulder while huskily confessing, “I...I forgot to pick up my birth control prescription this morning.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Reaching for the drawer in the bedside table, he removed what he needed. “A firefighter is always prepared.”
“I thought that was the Boy Scout motto.”
“It’s the next step in fighting fire. Taking safety precautions.” He took care of it, as she stared at him with eyes still dazed and satisfied from her earlier climax. Once he was sheathed in the latex condom he came to her, nudging her legs apart with his work-roughened hands, gentle hands, seductive hands.
“Protect exposures,” he whispered in a sexy growl.
She slid her hands around to his derriere. “Like this you mean?” she asked with a sultry smile.
“Just like that.”
“And the last step?” she asked as he was poised to enter her.
“Call for help if needed.”
“Help isn’t needed,” she replied. “I’ll show you what’s needed.” She arched her back and shifted her hips, taking all of him. “Are you...going to...extinguish this...fire?” she asked in breathless gasps of excitement.
“Extinguish it, hell. I plan on fueling it.”
And he did, with each slow thrust, with every surge of motion, until they were both utterly consumed.
“What you need here are some real men to finish the job.” The proclamation came from Boomer as he, Sam and Darnell examined the mess Jack had made of the living room. Two weeks had passed before he’d decided to call in reinforcements. He’d done a lot of the ground work. Now all that was left was to finish installing the skylight, box in the area, put up the wallboard, then prime and paint it. And the ceiling beams needed staining.
Between them, they should be able to finish things up today. Jack knew that it was driving Kayla nuts having things torn up this long.
His folks had come over to join in the festivities, and several other of his firefighting buddies dropped by to donate an hour or two of their time. With such a big work crew it was natural that he’d run out of beer.
“I’ll go get it,” Kayla offered.
“No way. I remember the last time I sent you out to get my beer,” he teased her. “You brought back a pale imitation.”
“Talk about holding a grudge,” she grumbled.
“You stay here and keep staining that wood trim. I’ll be back before you know it.”
A quick kiss on her cheek was greeted with a great deal of catcalling from the other guys before Jack was gone.
“Did Jack ever tell you what his nickname is down at the firehouse?” Boomer asked her with a teasing grin.
Kayla was tempted to reply that Jack rarely told her anything, not even that he planned on putting a hole in their living room ceiling but especially not about his work. Since that time when they’d sat in the kitchen in his apartment, he hadn’t said much more about his work. But she was afraid that if she let Boomer know how closemouthed Jack was with her, that Boomer would be the same way. So instead she said, “Why don’t you tell me.”
“We considered Jumping Jack Flash, because of his fast moves in a fire, the way he goes jumping and leaping over obstacles. But that was too much of a mouthful. So we call him Ace, because he’s so lucky. He was always real proud of the fact that he never broke anything major, like a leg, until now.”
Which made Kayla wonder what minor breaks he’d suffered.
“Then we were in this house fire, house fires are always tough emotionally, you know. Anyway Jack goes roaring into this back bedroom, even though the floor looked like it was going to go any minute. It did. But he managed to save a kid, a little boy, before things fell in. He claims he would have gotten out fine if he hadn’t tripped over a hose in his hurry to get out of there. But the truth is that he broke his leg saving that kid, the floor going like that is what threw off his balance. But there was no stopping Jack. You know how he is about saving kids, risk or not. That’s just the way Jack i
s, but then he has his reasons.”
She didn’t know how Jack was, at least not about things like this, except that he was closemouthed as a clam. And she had no idea what his reasons for being that way might be, aside from the death of his own parents. Was that why he took such risks?
“He seems to be getting a kick out of fixing up this place.” Boomer noted. “I saw he already installed what... three smoke detectors?”
Kayla nodded. “He did that the first day we moved in. He’s a fanatic about it.”
“Because it isn’t the heat from a fire that kills most of the victims, it’s the smoke. Smoke detectors save lives. There was an incident our first year...” Boomer’s expression became uncharacteristically serious as he sadly shook his head. “I know Jack has never forgotten it.”
“What happened?”
“It’s not my story to tell.” Boomer looked guilty, as if he’d let slip more than he should have. “Anyway, Jack put up those smoke detectors because he’s trying to protect you. Jack is real good at that.”
“Yes, he is,” she murmured, silently noting that he wasn’t as good at letting someone else protect him. Ashley was just about the only one he’d let fuss over him, and there was only so much a three-year-old could do.
Jack had fallen for “little Ash,” as he called her, big-time. He knew as much about the custody case as Kayla did. Whenever she worried about the upcoming May first custody hearing, or “Mayday” as Kayla had dubbed it, Jack teased her out of it. He was really good at teasing. Not so good at opening up or confiding. Not at all.
Kayla couldn’t help wondering what had happened that first year Jack had been a firefighter and if it had anything to do with that stricken look he’d gotten on his face when Ashley had called him a monster.
As Boomer went on, telling her about his time with Jack at the firehouse, Kayla realized how much there was about his life that she didn’t know—a huge part of his life. It suddenly hit her how little he’d shared with her, aside from his bed. He hadn’t shared his thoughts or dreams, unless they related to seducing her.
He didn’t talk to her about his friends, his work, how he’d broken his leg or even about the house and his plans to install a skylight. Which left her feeling like an outsider in her own home, a stranger in her own marriage. And it hurt.
