Rick laughed because it was true, if a little exaggerated. His truck was so bad he’d changed the digital display so it showed the outside temperature instead of the average miles per gallon just because it was depressing, but he couldn’t hide the dent it put in his wallet. But he wasn’t driving around this city in a compact car for any amount of savings at the pump.
“I told Marie I’d talk to you about it,” Joe said. “But we haven’t said anything to Jessica. No sense in muddying the waters if you’re not even interested to begin with, know what I mean?”
Rick nodded, his gut tightening. By muddying the waters, Joe meant displeasing their granddaughter, who probably wouldn’t like them making that big of a financial decision on emotion alone. “I’m definitely interested, but I don’t think I want to hide something like that from her. Things are complicated, I guess.”
“Things always are, son.”
It was several hours before Rick got the chance to speak to Jessica alone. Joe and Marie were busy at the kitchen table sorting through boxes of papers, and he went upstairs to find Jess sitting cross-legged on her bed, scowling at her computer.
“Hi,” she said when she noticed him in the doorway. “Have you heard anything about Danny today?”
“Yeah. He’s going home, actually. Nothing to be done but rest and let the breaks heal. But no lasting damage.”
“He’ll be out of work for a while, then?”
“Yeah. Guys will rotate through and cover for him to get the extra shifts, but they’ll have to find a long-term replacement for him, unfortunately.” It was always hard when somebody new joined a company that had been together a long time.
“At least he’ll be okay eventually.”
“Yup.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling awkward with her for the first time in a long time. “I wanted to talk to you about something. You got a minute?”
“Of course.” She closed her laptop and set it aside. “You look so serious.”
“I was talking to Joe earlier about the house, and he surprised me by telling me he and Marie want me to have dibs on buying the house,” he said. “Not at the full asking price, though.”
“Really? What did they offer it to you for?” When he said the number, he wasn’t surprised when her eyebrows shot up. “Not at full asking price? Rick, that’s not even half of what it’s worth.”
“Trust me, I know.”
She stared at him so long, he had to fight the urge to squirm. He hadn’t done anything wrong and he’d honestly thought they’d put the lack of trust when it came to the house behind them a long time ago. But he could practically hear the wheels turning in her head.
“I wish you’d say something,” he told her.
“What do you think I’m going to say? Of course I’m going to recommend they retract the offer and list it with the real estate agent. I’m not letting them get screwed out of money just because they like you.”
Screwed. The implication he’d deliberately masterminded the offer to screw over Joe and Marie hurt like a kick to the stomach, and the fact she’d think it of him made him angry. “Worried about your inheritance?”
The color drained from her face and she blinked at him for a few seconds. “Excuse me?”
“If they only get half what the house is worth, they might burn through it and not have anything left to leave you.”
“I can’t believe you’d say that to me.” Red splotches shone on her cheeks, and her eyes sparkled with anger. “I couldn’t care less about an inheritance, and I thought you knew me better than that.”
“And I thought you knew me better than to think I’d take advantage of Joe and Marie.”
“Do you understand my job is to protect people’s money? Maximizing investments is what I do, so what kind of financial advisor would I be if I stood back and let my own grandparents take a bath on their house?”
“Your grandparents might not have fancy finance degrees, but they’re not stupid and neither wants to leave the other unprotected in the future, so I’m sure they’ve thought this through.”
“They’re letting emotion cloud their judgment. Feelings have no place in business.”
He rolled his eyes. “Did Davey have that cross-stitched on a pillow for you?”
When her mouth tightened and her eyes went flat, he realized he’d gone too far, but there was no taking it back.
“My success in financial planning has nothing to do with my father and everything to do with my education, instincts and experience. Don’t sell me short, Rick.”
“I think you’re selling your grandparents short.”
“I’m sure you’d think so, since you’re the person who stands to benefit the most if I’m wrong.”
Rick blew out a breath and ran a hand over his hair. This had gone sideways on him in a way he couldn’t have imagined. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you.”
“We’ve obviously arrived at the conflicting interests phase of our relationship. We always knew it would probably happen. I’ll sit down with Joe and Marie today and go through all of their options one more time, including a look at their long-term finances if they choose to sell you their home at a fraction of its value.”
“You’re phrasing it that way to make it sound worse than it is.”
“It’s an accurate representation of the situation. I’m sure they’ll let you know what their decision is within a day or two.”
The dismissal was clear in her voice and he knew in her current mood, he’d probably have better luck beating his head against a brick wall than convincing her he hadn’t put Joe and Marie up to anything.
With a heavy heart, he turned and walked away.
* * *
“The last thing we wanted to do was cause a problem with you and Rick,” Marie said, setting a big bowl of baked macaroni and cheese in front of Jessica.
The comfort food was killing her. And possibly her wardrobe. “You didn’t cause a problem with us. We simply have different philosophies when it comes to protecting your investments.”
“I know you see this old house as an investment,” Joe said. “That’s your job and with the market the way it is, I guess it is pretty valuable. But to your grandmother and I, it’s a home. That’s what matters to us and it’s important to us that somebody loves it as much as we have. Sometimes there are emotions in business, no matter what your father and your business professors told you.”
“I’ve broken down the numbers for you,” she said. “You can see the impact it has on your financial future.”
“Of course it has an impact,” Marie said. “But our future financial security doesn’t depend on the full amount. Your numbers show that we can live quite nicely with half the amount.”
“That’s true. It’s not what I recommend, but all I can do is suggest. Ultimately, it’s your decision to make.”
“I just feel so bad that you’re going back to California now,” Marie said.
“I was always going back to California, since that’s where I live. And now that you’ve made decisions and have the ball rolling, I don’t need to be here. I can handle a lot of things via email.”
“What about Rick?”
Jessica looked at her grandfather. “What about him?”
“We’re not stupid. We’ve minded our own business, but it’s obvious you and Rick have been in a relationship. If we hadn’t offered him the house without talking to you first, what were your plans going to be?”
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “We hadn’t talked about the future.”
“But you must have thought about it,” Marie said.
“Of course I had. My father made a comment about opening an East Coast office to expand the business, but I wasn’t sure at the time if he was being sarcastic or if he meant it. But the more I thought
about it, the more I wanted to seriously consider it. I could still be a part of the family business I’ve helped build, while being here with you guys. And Rick.”
“That can still happen.”
“I don’t think so. It was fun while it lasted. Now it’s time for me to go home and get back to work.”
Joe wisely changed the subject to something he’d seen on the news recently before Marie could get too emotional, and Jessica listened to them chatter back and forth until she could escape to her room to start packing.
How was it possible she’d accumulated so much stuff during her two stays in Boston? And ninety percent of it was stuff she couldn’t wear in California. She’d planned to leave it behind for her next visit, but if Rick was going to buy the house, that wasn’t going to work.
With her mouth set in a grim line, she started sorting the few things she’d carry with her from the majority of it, which she’d ship to her address in San Diego. With one checked bag and her carry-on, she could probably bring home the things she’d want right away.
When she dumped her underwear drawer on the bed, her gaze fell immediately on the yellow bra she’d worn to watch the hockey game with him. Picking it out of the pile, she sat on the edge of the bed, pressed it to her face and sobbed.
* * *
Rick was checking the air pressure in Ladder 37’s tires when his cell phone chimed. Technically they had mechanics who took care of all things maintenance related, but he liked to know what was going on with his own truck. And it never hurt to make sure they were doing their jobs properly, either. In frigid temperatures, especially if they had the chains on, tire pressure mattered.
He pulled out the phone and read the words on the screen. Jessica just left for the airport. Her plane takes off in three hours. Just thought you might want to know. Love, Marie.
For a second, he was amused by her message. Someday she’d figure out she didn’t have to sign texts like they were letters because the contact information came through with it.
Then the message itself hit him like a wrecking ball. In three hours, a plane was going to take Jess back to California. If they left things as they were, it would be over. If there was no more communication between them, by the time she returned to Boston again they’d be barely more than polite acquaintances who’d once been lovers.
He sank onto the bumper, feeling sick to his stomach. It didn’t seem possible he could spend the rest of his life without seeing those eyes smile at him again. He would never kiss her again.
She would be gone and, even if they crossed paths again, what they’d had would be nothing but a distant memory.
“You okay?”
He looked up at Gavin. “What?”
“You look like you got really bad news.”
There was no sense in trying to hide anything around these guys. “Jess is on her way to the airport to go back to San Diego.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I really liked her.”
“Me too, kid. More than liked, actually. I love her.”
“Did you tell her that?”
“No.”
“Not even on Facebook?”
Rick rolled his eyes. “Seriously, are you even old enough to shave?”
“I’m old enough to know you don’t let the woman you love get on a plane without running after her. Have you ever even seen a movie, dude?” When Rick glared at him, the tips of Gavin’s ears turned red. “Uh, Lieutenant Dude.”
“I think all those movies were made before they changed the security procedures.”
“You’re a Boston Fire officer.”
“I don’t think Homeland Security’s going to rewrite their manual for me.”
“I just meant you could probably talk somebody into having her paged for you, but misuse of power’s another way to go.”
“I had no idea you were trying to be a comedian, kid. You might want to keep the day job, and don’t spend so much time with Scotty Kincaid. You’re starting to sound like him.”
Gavin laughed and walked away, but Rick couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. So they’d fought about how to handle the Broussards’ house. People in love fought sometimes and they got through it.
But Jess didn’t know he was a person in love. She didn’t know he thought they had something worth fighting for because he hadn’t told her. Assuming she knew it—could see in the way he looked at her or feel it in his kisses—wasn’t enough. He had to say it.
He ran up the stairs and poked his head into Cobb’s office. “I have an emergency, Chief. Okay, not a real medical emergency or anything. But I have to do something.”
“Boudreau just shared the latest gossip with me. Go. And don’t bother coming back today. I’ll cover because you’re either going to be worthless and mopey or you’ll get the girl and forget to come back, anyway. And don’t you dare flip that emergency light switch in your truck. No lights for personal shit.”
Rick used the remote start on his truck so it was already running and ready to go when he climbed into the driver’s seat. After buckling his seat belt, he gunned the engine and drove through the city as fast as traffic allowed, taking a few shortcuts here and there.
Using his phone’s hands-free connection to the truck, he called Marie. “I need her flight info, Marie. Airline. Gate. I could walk around that airport for three days and not find her without a starting place.”
She gave him the information and the hitch in her voice told him she was getting emotional. “Good luck, honey.”
When he reached the right terminal, he lucked out and saw a police officer he knew from a charity marathon he used to run back when he thought running was fun. With permission to leave his truck at the curb for ten minutes, he went inside and scanned the lines waiting for security screening. She’d been in a cab and hadn’t had that much of a head start on him.
She saw him first. When he found her in line, she was looking at him and those pretty eyes hit him hard. They weren’t smiling today. He held out his hands, trying to gesture to her to please just give him a minute.
She hesitated so long, he wasn’t sure she was going to give him a chance. Then she made her way back the way she’d gone, squeezing her way past the people in line behind her and trying not to hit anybody with the carry-on bag slung over her shoulder.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” she asked when she reached him.
He wanted to touch her face or to stroke her hair. Something. But he had to earn that right back. “I couldn’t let you go without talking to you one more time. I want to apologize for losing my temper when we talked about the house. I felt like you were implying I was trying to screw Joe and Marie over and it hurt.”
“I didn’t think that and I’m sorry the words I used made you feel that way. It wasn’t meant to be personal, but you hurt my feelings, too, so it got messy.”
“It was mostly me, Jess. It’s no excuse, but the house has been a roller coaster and Danny...the nightmares were bad and I didn’t sleep well and it made me oversensitive. I understand that you make those kinds of decisions differently. I really do. I was so stupid and I don’t want to lose you because of it.”
“I don’t...I didn’t...” She pressed her lips together, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears.
“I love you.” He touched her face then because he couldn’t stop himself. Cradling her cheek in his hand, he wiped away a tear with his thumb. “That’s the important thing. I love you and I want you to stay with me. I want us to figure out our future together and have children and take them to Joe and Marie’s new place for Sunday dinners. I want us to be a family, Jess.”
“You say family like it should mean something to me. My mother took off when I was three and never looked back. I just met my grandparents and I’m thirty-four years old. How the hell would I know anything about family? You s
ee how I messed things up because emotion is hard for me to balance.”
“You don’t have to balance. You just love. Like you love Joe and Marie. They’re your family and you’re taking care of them because you love them. And how about your old man? You know how being a financial advisor or whatever you call it isn’t your dream. You wanted to be an event planner, and you still do, but you do the finance stuff anyway and you kick ass at it because it’s his dream and you love him? That’s family, Jessica.”
“I want the family I see in the picture frames at the store,” she said, her eyes shimmering with tears.
“Those are models, Jess. God knows that ain’t me. I’m real and I have bad days and sometimes I say stupid things, but I love you.” He paused, not knowing what to say next and just hoping the right words would come out. “I love you so much you won’t need a picture to capture it because I swear to God you will feel it every day of your life.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, and Rick’s knees almost buckled from the relief. He’d thought—hoped—she did, but he was afraid he’d blown it so badly she’d never say the words. “I don’t know when it happened. Weeks ago? But I know standing in that line, waiting to be thousands of miles away from you, was breaking my heart.”
“Don’t get on the plane today. Come home with me and let me show you just how much I love you. That way, every time you get on that plane, I’ll know you’re coming back to me as soon as you can.”
“Yes, I’ll go home with you.” She threw her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “We’ll make our own family.”
“I can’t wait.” He kissed her and then raised his eyebrow because it always made her smile. “As a matter of fact, we should go get started on that right away. You don’t absolutely need anything in your checked bag, do you? It’s probably zipping around a conveyor belt right now.”
Jess reached up and ran her fingertip over his eyebrow. “The only thing I absolutely need is you.”
* * * * *
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