Forever Mine by Natalie Ann
Never Forget Your First
The next day Whitney opened the door to the fire station that had responded to her alarm and heard, “Bridges. Barb’s on the phone.”
“Shit,” he said and moved toward the back and out of sight. Oh well.
“Can I help you?”
“Hi. Whitney Butler. You guys responded to a call at my house yesterday and I just wanted to come and thank you all with lunch.”
She had four pizzas in her hand and the fireman reached forward with a massive grin on his face. “Sweet. We are always thankful for that.”
“Poor dude,” she heard another one say as he helped himself to the pizza on the counter. “Can’t catch a break.”
She wanted to ask who they were talking about since they’d turned to see Trey walk to the back for his call, but then the other guy said, “Yeah, hopefully it’s nothing major with his kid.”
Her smile wanted to drop at hearing that. She’d come here to get another look at Trey when she was more relaxed, but it sounded like he had a wife and kids.
“Hope it’s nothing serious,” she said.
“Probably not,” the first fireman who commented said. “Just that I wouldn’t change places with the dude raising a baby on his own.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Steve, fill your mouth with food and shut up. Sorry about that,” the second fireman said as Steve moved away. “He runs his mouth too much. Anyway, we appreciate the food. I’ll be sure to let the captain know you dropped it off.”
“She’s playing nice because her family owns half this town.”
She looked behind the one guy who she was talking with and saw Trey coming back. She hadn’t gotten a good enough look at him in his fire gear and helmet yesterday, but seeing him in his uniform, her mouth was drooling.
His hair was shaved short on the sides, a little longer on top, clean-shaven face like she remembered. He filled out his shirt and pants well and it took a major effort for her eyes to not roam over his body.
Why had she been nervous about his future career when he looked like this?
He’d had a grin on his face when he said those words so she wouldn’t take it as an insult.
“Just want to make sure you guys are appreciated for the hard work you do. I’m lucky it was easily fixed and my house wasn’t on fire. But you responded fast enough and that still makes me thankful.”
Trey nodded his head, then reached in for a slice of pizza. “Rick, bring these to the kitchen and let the guys know.”
Interesting, Trey was leaving the two of them there alone. “Thank you,” she said again. “I know it’s your job and all, but it’s still scary. I got a lot of lectures last night.”
“I’m sure. It’s nothing to mess around with.”
“As I know.”
“It’s all fixed now?” he asked.
She was trying to pull her eyes away from his mouth as he chewed. God, she remembered that mouth on hers. She’d only been with a few men in her life, but you never forget your first.
“They are finishing up as we speak. The heat exchange was cracked and they had to order the part. I guess it helps to have contracts in place so they just pushed other work aside to get to mine.”
He nodded. “Nice to know the right people. Did you stay there last night?”
If she found this conversation odd, she wasn’t letting on. “No. Between Ryan and my father, I wasn’t in the mood for another headache. I had dinner at Ryan’s with his family, then went to my parents’ house and slept in my old bed. Made me wish for my king again.”
She saw Trey’s face flush and wondered if he was remembering the same as her. The few times they were alone in the house and made use of the bed in her old room.
“There is something to be said for big beds.”
This was the most awkward conversation. “Is your child okay? One of the men said that was your sitter calling?”
He frowned as if he didn’t like being talked about. She remembered that about him. “Yeah. Ben seems to be filling a lot of diapers today. I told the sitter it was the entire jar of prunes that Gillian gave him last night.”
Whitney laughed. “I’m sure that would do it. How is your sister? Or is that another Gillian in your life?” Might as well clarify that.
“She’s doing well. Only one of them in my life. Only two women actually. Mom and her. I’m sure Steve commented on me being a single father. He runs his trap more than he should, especially to a pretty lady. I think he gets foot-and-mouth disease when he sees one and hasn’t figured out how to close his jaw.”
“You think I’m a pretty lady?” she asked, leaning against the counter. No one was around them and she figured why not? This was the Trey she remembered, not the one that told her he needed space.
“I used to tell you that often. You look the same as you did.”
“Ah, every woman wants to hear that at our age. So Ben, your son. How old is he?”
“He’ll be ten months in a week.”
And there her smile went. It was a baby he was raising alone. At a risky job where he worked nights and days. She was dying to know what happened to Ben’s mother but didn’t feel it was her place to ask. “Can I see a picture of him?”
He pulled his phone out. “Sure. I know you love kids.”
“I do. Don’t have any of my own though. Someday. I get to spoil Ryan’s stepkids until then. My cousin Kaelyn has a toddler too.”
“Harris’s wife?” he asked.
Everyone knew retired professional pitcher Harris Walker was from this area and moved back. It was even bigger news when he married her younger cousin Kaelyn.
“Yes. Scarlet is a doll.”
She took the phone from Trey and looked at his son. She saw the baby blue eyes most kids at that age had and wondered if they’d stay or not. Trey had brown eyes.
“I see a lot of you in him.”
“Thank God,” he said. “No confusion then when I get him at daycare.”
He was laughing and she wasn’t sure what to make of that statement. Probably just a joke. “Well, thanks again for everything. Enjoy your lunch.”
As much as she wanted to stay there and talk to him, she was feeling self-conscious and wondering what the hell was going through his mind.
She’d dated two men since her divorce. One longer than the other. Mark was nice enough and they got along, but she didn’t feel the spark she wanted to feel.
The one she’d been searching for in her life.
The one she felt for Trey years ago.
When she’d seen him yesterday it started to flicker in her belly again and she wasn’t sure if it was the fear of what was going on with her house or something more.
Coming here today would give her an idea.
All it did was confuse her to know that she still had the hots for him. He was the same nice guy he was before bringing up their past as if he didn’t remember breaking her heart in a million pieces. Or maybe he didn’t think as much of what they had as she did.
If he did, maybe he would have brought that up. Anything. Or any comment.
But he didn’t. It was like it never happened, when to her, her world had crashed and burned when he’d said the words to her so long ago that he wasn’t ready to think like her and he needed to just breathe. That he had plans and dreams in life too and if she couldn’t accept them, then it was on her.
Looking back, she could see she was in the wrong. She scared him off and she knew it.
She wanted something that not many were thinking of at that age.
She was trying to have him be someone he wasn’t.
The question was, did she want to see if he was willing to try again?
Did she have it in her to even consider it?
She left shortly after and climbed back in her SUV. Not the one she owned when she was married even though she’d said she’d keep it for years. Nope, she got rid of anything she had that Kevin had a part in when she kicked his butt out.
No more expensive frivolous vehicles in her life. She was a simple woman who just wanted the basic things in life.
One of those things was love and she wondered if she’d ever find it again.
* * *
Trey watchedWhitney walk out to the parking lot and get in her SUV from the windows. She still had the nice slim body on her as always and when she mentioned her teenage bedroom he knew his face flushed with a memory of the two of them naked and rolling around fast, hoping not to be caught.
“That was nice of her family to bring over pizza.”
He turned to see Steve standing there again. The dude was worse than a woman when it came to gossip. “I’m sure it was her and not her family, but the same thing.”
“Still nice. You two were talking long enough. You’re from this area too, did you know each other?”
“Don’t you have work to do?” he asked. “I can find you something. The trucks could be vacuumed out again.”
“I’m still eating,” Steven complained. “I even brought you another slice.”
He reached for the plate and took it. There was enough pizza there for everyone to have multiple slices. There’d be some leftover for the night shift at this point. “Thanks. That isn’t going to stop you from having to finish up your duties though.”
“Yeah,” Steve said. “I didn’t think so. Everything okay with Ben?”
And as annoyed as he’d always gotten with Steve and his mouth, the guy did care. He was always asking about Ben. Giving fatherly advice or offering old toys or clothes his own kids outgrew. Steve had a boy and a girl in elementary school and his wife never wanted to get rid of anything and he used Trey as an excuse to clean house.
He didn’t need any handouts, but the truth was, he was given things he didn’t even know he’d need. There was so much he was flying blind on when he took his son home at two days old and had to do it on his own.
Taking those eight weeks off had helped him get a better handle on things, but he was still getting scraped hands and knees from tripping and falling all the time in his attempt to parent a baby.
“He’s fine. Gillian gave him a jar of prunes yesterday. I thought for sure he got it all out of him last night, but I guess he’s keeping Barb busy. She was afraid he might be sick and wanted to talk to me.”
Steve laughed. “Oh God. I remember when my wife did that a few times with the kids. Gross. I was happy to push it off on her.”
“I don’t have that luxury all the time, but I did make sure Gillian got the first load since she started it.”
Steve flushed when he said that. “Sorry. You know what I meant.”
“I do. No worries. Glad you’ve got Casey to help you out. Hope you thank her all the time for the hard work too.”
Steve snorted and laughed. “She thanks me monthly when I see the credit card bill.”
Trey laughed. “The plus side to being single.”
“Ah, but you’re too young for that. Maybe you’ve got your sights on a pretty woman who just brought some pizza in?”
It was the last thing he needed or wanted to be started. “Just making conversation, Steve. Thanking her for the pizza.”
When the alarms went off he was grateful for the distraction and the reprieve from this topic because his mind had been thinking of Whitney and wondering about her after Gillian said she was divorced.
From their short talk, he got the vibe she might be interested in more but then reminded himself he barely had time to do a load of laundry. How the hell was he going to date anyone? Especially the woman who broke down in tears and wanted to know what she did wrong when he broke up with her.