The Spark Between Us by Stacy Travis
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Sarah
One WeekLater
With a little bitof pulmonary therapy and a few days on a liquid diet, Braden made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital. He had to be wheeled out in a chair—hospital rules—but the second he’d crossed the threshold, he stood up and squinted into the sun.
The guy hadn’t been outside in a week, and his eyes were probably having trouble adjusting.
That was okay. I’d just wait—leaning against the side of his truck wearing a pair of sunglasses in the roundabout in front of the hospital. I folded my arms across my chest even though my biceps were unimpressive.
Bella, wearing a red handkerchief around her neck, sat at my feet, her tail wagging so hard she was sweeping up a mini-tornado.
The sun was out and the sky was that medium blue, cloudless color that seemed to hang over Carolwood and the surrounding towns. Perfect grape growing weather.
When Braden finally saw me, his face broke open—literally stretched beyond what I’d ever seen his cheeks do before—into the biggest smile his features could hold. We were only a hundred feet apart, but he ran the distance between us and pulled me into his arms.
“Sarah . . .”
I buried my face in his long-sleeved shirt, which was, of course, so tight that I could feel every muscle in his chest. I didn’t want to let go.
But I also wanted to see his face. I’d seen him every day since the fire, but I’d never gotten tired of looking at him. Never would. So I leaned back. His eyes fixed on mine, and we had one of those crazy moments of connection we always seemed to have.
“You look good, fireman. Glad to see they let you out.”
“I’d have clawed my way out to get to you, Damsel.”
I knew he’d want to drive, so I tossed him his keys and went around to the passenger side. Then I waited until Braden came around and opened the door and held out his hand because I knew he’d want to do that too. When I’d stepped up and settled on the passenger seat, Braden leaned in and ran his fingers along the side of my face.
“If I didn’t say it when I was doped up on pain meds, I want to make sure I say it now. Thank you for being here.”
I nodded.
We still hadn’t discussed anything about us.
With the pain Braden was in from burns to the back of his neck and his inability to speak for several days, we agreed to table all serious discussions. So I read him more books I’d gotten from the kids’ section of the library, and he mostly closed his eyes and listened with one hand resting on some part of me at all times.
But we needed to talk.
I assumed Braden would drive straight to his house, so it surprised me when he got on the highway instead. “Where’re we headed?” I turned to look and saw that he was smiling.
“Field trip.”
Quirking an eyebrow, I thought about our last field trip when I ended up pole dancing in the station. “Okay, I trust you. Your field trip ideas in the past have proven to be to my liking.”
He smirked. “Mine too.”
Since it seemed like he wasn’t going to share our destination, I tipped my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. I hadn’t slept well for the past week, between worry about Braden’s condition to trying to sleep curled up in the uncomfortable hospital chair.
The next thing I knew, Bella was licking the back of my hand, and Braden was smiling at me through the open door of the truck. He extended his hand to me, but I was so groggy it took me a minute to unlatch the seatbelt and get my bearings.
“How long did I sleep?”
“About forty minutes, give or take.”
“Wow. Sorry. You’re the one who just got out of the hospital. I didn’t mean to fall apart on you.”
He was still holding out his hand, so I took it and stepped down, fixed on Braden’s face. Bella loped off the seat and sat down next to him. “First of all, never apologize for being tired. And second, falling asleep isn’t falling apart.”
“Okay, I guess I exaggerated.” I gave him my deep-voiced imitation of how he sounded when he was grumpy. Then I looked past him when I realized we were apparently at the destination of our field trip.
And lo and behold, it was another firehouse.
“Aha, do I detect someone who’s interested in a little pole dancing action?” I smiled seductively, but I had my heart under lock and key. It wasn’t healthy to feel things for him when I didn’t know if we had any chance of a future.
“Not exactly, no.” He folded his arms across his chest, making his biceps look insanely sculpted.
“Okay, I’ve never asked you this, but I’m sorry . . . do you do that because you know how hot it makes you look?”
“Do what?” He actually said that. How could he not know?
“Nothing. Never mind. So why no pole dancing?”
He started walking me toward the front of the station. “Well, this particular station doesn’t have a pole. Most of the newer ones don’t. It’s only two stories. Doesn’t take that long to go down a flight of stairs.”
And yet . . . we were still standing at the front door.
“Okay, so what are we doing here?”
“I’m told it has a backyard. I wanted to see it, and I thought you might like to see it with me.”
Had he damaged his brain in that fire? What the hell was this man talking about?
He texted someone, and a minute later the door opened, and a firefighter in the same blue uniform Braden wore welcomed us. “Captain Michaels, I was told to show you out back.”
“Thanks so much.”
Thoroughly confused, I followed him through the fire station that looked a lot like the one in Carolwood where I’d done my pole dance. And for that matter, what part of town were we in now?
The backyard was big. Pretty with a wide-open grass area. Bella took off, running circles around the perimeter, and Braden led me to a bench under a tree.
“This is a great yard,” I said, still waiting for an explanation. When I didn’t get one, I had to ask. “Why are we here?”
Braden took my hand and interlaced our fingers. “Couple reasons. For one, last week there was a moment when I stared down into a flaming hole that I was pretty sure would be the last thing I’d ever see, and I got some pretty good goddamned clarity. I figured out a few things.”
He looked at me, the calm in his eyes something I hadn’t seen before. I’d never thought of him as troubled, just sad. But the absence of something that had weighed him down was now gone.
I felt bad that I hadn’t known it was there when I could have asked about it.
“What’d you figure out, fireman?”
“I’m done taking unnecessary risks. I’m selling the motorcycle. My job comes with enough adrenaline that I don’t need to push the envelope. I don’t want to risk my life unless it’s for you. I’d run into a hundred burning buildings for you. But that’s it.” He squeezed my hand. “Only for you.”
The thought warmed my heart, but the idea of him running into danger still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “I hope you never have to do that,” I insisted, my eyes pressed shut at the image of him facing fire and danger for me.
“All that matters is that you believe—that you know—I would. I will.”
“Thank you.” The quiet solemnity of my tone was at odds with the intensity of my love for him and his desire to be there for me in the worst of circumstances. That was not lost on me.
He shook his head and looked around like maybe he was noticing our surroundings for the first time. It was a really nice yard, almost like a park. I could hear neighborhood noises like maybe a school was nearby.
Braden turned on the bench so he was facing me more squarely and brought my hand to his lips. When his breath warmed my skin, I felt a chill that I’d missed so much since I’d left town.
“The woman I described to you when we were hanging out on that night after you moved in, the one I said I was looking for, my idea of perfect love—that woman is you. It’s been you since the moment you insisted you could carry your book boxes after a car accident and told me you cared whether I died in a fire. You didn’t even know me, and I could tell it mattered to you—that I . . . mattered to you.” His voice broke as he said it, and my heart clenched at the soft vulnerability I so rarely saw. I reached up and cupped his cheek in my palm, feeling the soft scruff on my hand. A tiny muscle in his jaw popped, and he swallowed.
“Of course it mattered. And you matter—more than I think you know.”
“You blew into town and turned my world upside down. I never planned on wanting more than a life alone in the same town where I’ve lived for a decade, and you’ve got me wanting it all.”
He was saying things I’d needed him to say while I was still there. Before, I made myself believe he didn’t feel them because he’d so easily let me go.
“I love you, Sarah. I love you so much. And I want you with me on the journey—wherever it takes us—even though I don’t deserve it.”
I put a finger over his lips. I melted at his words, but I couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop saying you don’t deserve it. If you don’t deserve to be happy, then neither do I. And I won’t stand for that. I deserve it. And I want you. So there’s nothing left to discuss. You’ve got me. And I’m not letting you go.”
I didn’t know how it was going to work with him living an hour away and me being a disaster in a car, but maybe . . . maybe we’d figure something out.
He crushed my lips with his kiss, pushing his hands into my hair. Our tongues tangled and he wrapped me in his arms. Things could have escalated quickly from there if we hadn’t both realized we were in a fire station yard.
Speaking of which . . .
“Braden, how’d you find this place? What town are we in?” I asked. It was certainly picturesque.
“Richmond.”
“Where?”
“Woman, please get a map. It’s one town over from Berkeley.”
“No, I know where Richmond is. I’m asking why we’re here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Captain Michaels was offered a transfer.”
My brain whirled as I put the pieces together. “Wait, here? You’re going to work here? So I can keep my job at Berkeley and still live with you and not have to get in a car?”
He nodded, and my eyes welled with tears.
As he blotted them with his thumb, he grazed my neck with his lips and whispered in my ear, “There’s beauty in the unexpected, Sarah. Love is the beauty.”
He was right. I loved him. And it was beautiful.