EPILOGUE | DESIREE
THREE MONTHS LATER
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
A loud series of vibrations rattled through my iPhone, signifying the end of the three-minute timer that I had set.
I swiped my thumb across the screen and the vibrations immediately ceased, but I remained glued to my perch on the edge of the bathtub.
“Come on, Des, you can do this,” I whispered to myself. “It’s just like ripping off a Band-Aid. You just have to go for it!”
I took a deep, shaky breath, then I pushed myself up to my feet and slid across the cool tile floor towards the bathroom vanity.
The pink plastic pregnancy test was right where I had left it, face-up, next to the sink. My stomach twisted into knots and I deliberately averted my eyes, staring at my reflection in the mirror as I slowly reached for the plastic stick.
I was wearing black stockings, a brown corduroy mini-skirt, and -- the piece de resistance -- a soft pink Christmas sweater decorated with fuzzy white pom-poms and jingle bells that really jingled.
Christmas was just around the corner, and tonight we were celebrating early at the annual Firehouse 56 holiday potluck; ugly Christmas sweaters mandatory.
Charlotte and I were supposed to be meeting Rory at the firehouse in less than an hour. Taking a pregnancy test definitely hadn’t been an item on tonight’s ‘to-do’ list, but somewhere between changing into my ugly Christmas sweater and touching up my makeup, I had let my curiosity get the better of me.
Now that the results were in, curiosity had turned into panic.
You can do this! It’s just like ripping off a Band-Aid...
I took another deep breath, then I blinked my eyes open and stared down at the digital result window. My jaw immediately dropped and my eyes went wide as saucers.
“Holy fu--”
KNOCK, KNOCK!
I was so startled by the sound of someone knocking on the bathroom door that I jumped up in the air, nearly dropping the plastic wand.
“Hey Des, can you please help me with my hair?” Charlie’s little voice squeaked through the door. “I want braids for the Christmas party!”
“Of course, sweetie!” I called back. “Just give me one sec--”
I blinked down at the pregnancy test one last time, then I tucked it into the waistband of my corduroy skirt and pulled open the bathroom door.
***
Forty-five minutes later, Charlie and I were crossing the gravel parking lot towards Firehouse 56. Rory was waiting for us by the door, and Charlotte made a beeline straight for him.
“Daddy!” she squealed, throwing her arms around his legs.
“Hey, kiddo!” he scooped her up and spun her around in a circle, then deposited her gently back on the ground.
“Look at my hair!” she said proudly, flaunting the pair of French braids I had given her. “Des braided it for me! Don’t I look pretty?”
“You look beautiful,” Rory beamed down at her. Then he whispered, “Hey… I think there’s someone inside who really wants to see you.”
“Who?” she wrinkled her nose thoughtfully for a moment, then her face lit up, “Cooper!”
Charlie scampered eagerly into the firehouse to find the dog, and Rory’s eyes trailed after her proudly before he turned his attention to me.
“You look gorgeous,” he murmured under his breath as he pulled me into his arms. I pressed myself against his firm chest and breathed in his familiar smell, and I was immediately comforted.
“I can’t believe you’re actually wearing this thing,” I teased, glancing down at his ugly Christmas sweater. I gently flicked one of the jinglebells and it rattled softly.
“Hey, you picked it out,” he reminded me.
“I know,” I said. “But I didn’t think you’d actually wear it.”
“Everyone else is wearing them…”
“Exactly!” I grinned. “Since when does Rory McAlister care about fitting in?”
“I was getting kind of bored with being the odd man out all the time,” he shrugged. “Turns out fitting in ain’t so bad…”
I smiled, then popped up on my tip-toes so I could kiss him on the lips.
“Hey,” he whispered, kissing me again. “There’s something I want to tell you…”
“Oh really?” I gulped. “There’s something I want to tell you, too.”
“Ladies first,” he said.
“No way,” I shook my head. “I want to hear yours first.”
He chuckled softly as he exhaled, then he relented,
“It’s about that job offer,” he said. “I finally got a call back from the department chief in Albany, and they’ve made their decision…”
My heart swelled in my chest and my eyes widened.
About a month ago, Rory had gotten an offer to interview for a position on the fire department in Albany, New York. The job up for grabs wasn’t just an entry-level spot on the crew; it was for the coveted position of Assistant Chief.
The title would be a huge promotion and an amazing opportunity… but Rory was reluctant to uproot Charlotte again. After lots of discussion, the three of us had agreed to give Albany a trial run by spending a long weekend in the city. We had fallen in love within the first twenty-four hours, and Rory agreed to interview for the position.
That was a few weeks ago. Once Rory had completed the interview process, all we could do was wait for the Albany Fire Department to make their decision.
“So?” I asked, feeling my heart race through my chest. “What did they say?”
“Well,” Rory sighed heavily, staring down at the ground. “They said that we should probably pack our bags, because we’re moving to Albany!”
“Holy shit!” I jumped up, wrapping my arms around Rory’s neck. “That’s incredible! You got the job?!”
“I got the job!”
“I’m so proud of you, Assistant Chief McAlister!” I held his face close to mine, kissing him over and over again.
“It’s not me,” he said. “It’s us. It’s always us.”
He kissed me again, then I settled back down on my own two feet.
“Ok… now it’s your turn,” he reminded me. “What were you going to say?”
A lump immediately wedged itself in the back of my throat. I didn’t know what to say, or how to say it… so instead, I slid my hand down into my pocket and pulled out the pregnancy test.
For a few seconds, his face remained totally blank as he studied the test. Then he glanced up at me,
“We’re having a baby?”
I swallowed heavily, then nodded my head.
“We’re having a baby,” I whispered.
“We’re having a baby!” he lifted me up in his arms and spun me around, pressing his lips into mine over and over again until we heard footsteps and voices wandering towards us.
“Hey,” a voice called out. “Are you guys going to come inside and join the party, or are you just going to hide out here and make out all night?!”
“We’re coming,” Rory called over his shoulder. He kissed me one last time, then he led me into the station.
Tonight was my first time attending an official Firehouse 56 function as Rory’s date, and the firehouse was packed with faces -- some familiar, but most I’d never seen before.
Rory led me around the room and made introductions, but there were too many names and faces to keep track of, and they all started to blur together.
We were on our second lap of the room when I heard a fork tink against a beer bottle. Everyone went silent and turned to see the fire chief, raising his bottle of beer to initiate a toast.
“If you’ve spent any time around Firehouse 56, then you know I’m not the kind of guy who gives long-winded speeches,” he said. There was some laughter around the room, and he paused before continuing, “But… since I have you all here tonight, I figured I would use this opportunity to say a few words.”
He cleared his throat and glanced around the room, raising his beer bottle to each of the twelve Firehouse 56 crew members.
“It’s my professional opinion that Firehouse 56 is the best damn fire crew in state of Connecticut,” he said. There were cheers through the station, and he continued, “But that’s not all we are. I believe that when you’re part of a crew like this, the people you work with aren’t just colleagues… they’re your family.”
There was more cheering, and even Rory clapped his hands together in agreement.
“Firehouse 56 has always been one big family,” the chief continued. “Sometimes families can be dysfunctional or chaotic, but they’re always held together by mutual love and respect. I know the twelve men on this crew feel that love and respect for each other, and I know that even if their time at Firehouse 56 comes to an end, they’ll always regard each other as brothers for life.”
The firehouse was filled with the sound of clapping, and the chief waited until it had quieted down before he continued,
“So now that I’ve gotten that sappy bullshit out of the way, I hope you’ll all join me in congratulating one of our brothers tonight,” he cleared his throat, then turned to look straight at Rory. “His time at Firehouse 56 may be coming to an end, but he’ll always be our brother. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the Albany Fire Department’s new Assistant Chief, Rory McAlister!”
The entire room rattled with the sound of applause, and Rory’s face lit up with a giant smile.
The applause slowly died down, and then a chorus of voices began chanting, “SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!”
“Ok, ok!” Rory held up his hands until the room slowly went silent.
I watched Rory as he glanced around the firehouse. Then he took a deep breath and said “You may not get this from looking at me, but I’ve always been a bit of an outsider.” There was a ripple of laughter, and he smiled as he chuckled at himself.
“Growing up in Hartford, I had a rough childhood,” he continued. “I couldn’t wait to get away from here and never look back. I always thought that when I left, I would be out where I truly belonged. Ironically, it took coming right back to where I started to realize that I had been right where I belonged all along.”
His eyes landed on me and he winked. I smiled back.
“In the months I’ve spent at Firehouse 56, I’ve found things I never thought I would find, friendship, brotherhood, loyalty, love…” he paused, glancing around the room again, and then he continued, “It’s time for me to move on now, but this time when I leave Hartford, I’ll know that I’m not leaving behind a town full of strangers or bad memories.”
The firehouse erupted with applause, and several members of the Firehouse 56 crew emerged from the crowd to slap Rory on the back and jostle him into a hug.
“Hold on, hold on!” Rory said, shouting over the commotion. Everyone went silent again. “Before I can leave Hartford, there’s still one thing left that I gotta do.”
He strode across the room, walking straight towards me.
“Rory--” I frowned, confused. Then he bowed down onto one knee, and I felt the wind rush out of my lungs. My hands shot up to my mouth and my eyes went wide.
“Desiree Leduc,” he said, pulling a black velvet ring box from his pocket. “You’re the love of my fucking life, and there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you since I was about nine years old…”
He popped the ring box open and the sparkly flash of a diamond ring caught my eye.
“Will you marry me?”
I was rendered momentarily incapable of saying anything, so I just nodded my head up and down until my voice returned and I finally managed to squeak out the word “yes!”
As Rory slid the ring over my finger, Charlotte scampered out of the crowd and wedged herself between us. The three of us shared one giant hug right there in the middle of Firehouse 56.
We were a family.
***
Hi Beautiful,
Thanks for reading April Embers, my fourth romance novel and the final book of Firehouse 56. If you want to know more about me, you can join my publisher’s fan group on Facebook . I stop in sometimes and visit.
You should also to get a preview of what I’m working on next. It’s grittier than firefighters, but I think these next guys will still set your skin ablaze. I won’t email you about anyone else’s books ever. Just me and you. I can’t wait to show you more.
Until our next happily ever after,
Chase