Chapter Three

The next day Jenny’s blood pressure spiked as she left the office for the day and limped toward the elevator. She’d ditched the crutches in favor of the elastic bandage, athletic shoes, and fancier-looking jeans with a short sleeved green blouse. She’d piled her hair back into a neat braid, ready to make the professional appearance she strove for every day at work.

Everything about today had started rocky. Donna had called Jenny the night before and reiterated her insistence that Jenny go into work the day after the tornado. Not once had the woman asked how Jenny was, but Donna’s dismissive, cold behavior never surprised Jenny. Just as Jenny finished the call, Dane and Lexi had turned up with her car instead of Greg. They’d explained that Greg had been snagged for some cleanup work at the park, which still closed after the tornado.

Jenny had been so backed up with work, she found she didn’t think too much about how disappointed she’d been when Greg hadn’t come back to her house with her car.

Face it, girl. You really, really wanted to see him again.

But when she did think about him, her mind went straight into the gutter and back to that moment in Greg’s car July fourth when he’d been so close, and when he’d looked at her mouth in a way that made her wonder what his kiss would be like. She’d wondered again when those dark eyes of his had smoldered and made everything inside her ache to explore his hard body. She’d even dreamed of his arms around her, and how his finely-honed muscles had cradled her close. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was dying to see what he looked like naked. Heat flamed inside her at the thought.

The elevator opened and speak of the devil, Greg stood there with a box in hand.

“Hey.” He stepped out of the elevator and smiled. “I meant to bring these earlier. Brochures we found at the park today. Time got away from me.” His eyebrows went up. “No crutches?”

She rotated her ankle and winced. “I can’t get anything done stumping around with those crutches. Plus, they’re killing my underarms.”

“I get it. They’re not comfortable, but it’s doctor’s orders, right?”

She had an idea, an impulsive one she could’ve ignored. Instead she took a chance.

“I can’t carry that box, I don’t think. If you help me take this back to the office, I’ll take you to dinner. My treat. And I’ll use my crutches to walk.”

His smile widened. “Deal. I can probably fix the crutches so they don’t hurt your arms. We can wrap some padding around them. A trick I learned when twisted my knee a few years back.”

“That would be great. Where would you like to eat?”

“Have you tried Santos? Best Mexican food I’ve ever had.”

“Haven’t tried it, but I’d love to.”

* *

Jenny followed him to the restaurant in her own car, using her GPS to make sure she didn’t get lost. She’d heard of Santos, and as they entered the restaurant, the delicious smells reminded her that the salad she’d eaten for lunch had worn off a long time ago. The old southwest and Spanish colonial decor had an authentic ambiance, and the low-lighting promised intimacy. Spanish guitar music played unobtrusively in the background. The place already rocked with people.

The hostess at the front greeted Greg like she hadn’t seen him in ages. A gorgeous, thirty-something woman with long dark hair, she also welcomed Jenny warmly. Yet Jenny noticed the well-dressed hostess had a special look in her eye that said she appreciated Greg as a sexy, virile man.

“Can we have that booth in the back if its free?” Greg asked after introducing the woman as Maria Santos, daughter of the owner.

The hostess winked. “For you, anything.”

The booth in the back had a high leather back seating which added to the secluded feeling. After handing them their menus, the hostess left and a waitress took their drink orders. Cold brew coffee for Greg and a strawberry iced tea for Jenny. Quiet surrounded them for a moment before Jenny spoke.

“How do you know the Santos family?”

He took a sip of water. “They go way back in Dallas. This restaurant has been here fifty years, and they love firefighters. We’ve had a lot of banquets here. Quite a few wedding receptions. They’re very supportive of first responders and they’ve also done a lot for Station 58.”

“Maria really likes you.” As soon as the words came out, Jenny cringed internally.

He smiled and shrugged. “She likes firefighters. I keep thinking she wants to marry one.”

Before Jenny could comment, their waitress came with their drinks and a basket of tortilla chips and took their meal orders. Jenny selected an enchilada platter, while Greg ordered chimichangas.

“Ever been married?” Greg crunched a tortilla chip after dunking it in a generous scoop of salsa.

Surprised by the question, she almost choked on her tea. “No. You?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

Okay, you got yourself into this one, Jenny.

“Handsome firefighter? What else is there to add?” she asked.

He laughed softly, the twinkle in those eyes warming her all over.

“Contrary to rumor, not all firefighters have a ton of women hanging around,” he said.

“All of my friends drool over firefighter calendars. The ones with half naked guys carrying puppies or babies.”

“Do you?”

Heat filled her face. Damn, she just dug a deeper hole every minute. To avoid answering right away, she grabbed a tortilla chip.

“I appreciate a good-looking man.”

He nodded. “Yeah, but the reality is that most firefighters don’t look like those guys in the calendar.”

“Very true. Is there something in the water at Station 58, though? Dane and Jax are great-looking guys and…” She almost said that Greg was the most amazing-looking man she’d ever seen. Instead she crunched another chip. “And I’d better stop before I get myself in trouble.”

When she laughed, he joined her. “It’s okay. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered by the attention I get sometimes for being a firefighter. It’s nice to be appreciated.

Oh, I think you’d get a lot of attention no matter what your occupation.

“True. Very true.”

Silence gathered around them, but it was a comfortable feeling that didn’t require constant talking.

Her curiosity about him, though, wanted to know more. “You’ve been a firefighter for how long?”

“I was an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Specialist in the Marines for several years before I got out and joined Station 58.”

Ah, a Marine. A hot firefighter and former military man explained why she’d felt that dark and dangerous vibe coming from him the first moment she saw him.

“Why did you leave the military?”

His expression darkened, the seriousness and sadness entering his eyes making her wonder if she shouldn’t have asked the question.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t want to talk about it?”

He scrubbed the back of his neck, his mouth twisting a little. “It’s still a little raw.”

She reached out to touch his hand, a gentle press of reassurance. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

He hesitated, then covered her hand with his, returning her touch before letting her go.

“It’s okay. I don’t have anything to hide.  My parents were in their forties when they had me. I grew up on a working farm near Flower Mound, and when my mother died of MS about ten years ago, Dad kept the farm going anyway. I joined the Marines at eighteen and loved it.”

“Even with war going on?”

“The war is awful. But I fit the Marines. I fit the discipline. I was pretty aimless as a kid and had a little bit of ADD. The Marines straightened that out and gave me a focus. I liked the brotherhood, too. Dad started slowing down a little with age. Then…” His throat worked, as if he wasn’t sure if he could form the words. “I’d decided by then I’d come back to Texas and help Dad because he needed it. I’d processed out of the Marines and was leaving California when I got a call from Dad that changed everything.”

The sorrow in his tone filled her, and she felt it deep inside her.

He continued. “Lightning started a wildfire near the farm. He tried to outrun it and he called me while he was in his truck. He crashed and was killed instantly.”

She touched his hand again. Squeezed it gently. “Oh, my God. Greg, I’m so sorry.”

He nodded and took a shuddering breath. “Yeah, I’m still working through it. The only solace I’ve got is that Dad didn’t suffer in the fire. I wished I’d been there to help him.”

“Of course. I can’t imagine how that must have felt.”

His gaze caught hers, and even though she couldn’t always hold someone’s gaze, she looked into his eyes and saw everything there. Honesty. Integrity. Grief.

“You still feel a little guilty, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done.”

He nodded, but sadness still haunted his expression. “I know, but it’s there anyway.”

“Did the farm survive?”

“No. It burned to the ground. Everything from my old life that I didn’t have with me that Dad had stored in my old room…it was all gone. Pictures, a couple of trophies for track and field competition. Destroyed. I’m still deciding what I want to do with the land.”

The raw emotion is his voice sent a vibration through her. Her admiration for him ramped up. “That had to be a lot to take in. When did you decide you wanted to join Dallas FD?”

“About two weeks after Dad’s funeral. He had a lot of friends, including people in the Dallas Fire Department. He’d met them through some community functions in Flower Mound and here in Dallas. He was a great supporter of first responders. They came to his funeral and a couple of the older guys suggested I apply to the department.”

“Did you have to start at the bottom when you got hired?”

He smiled, and she liked seeing the sadness disappear in his eyes.

“Oh, yeah. I was a probie even if I had firefighting experience. I still had things to learn.”

“And you don’t regret joining the department?”

“Nope. I love it.”

When their meals came, they turned to lighter topics. They discovered they liked a lot of the same movies and books and felt the same way about a variety of other topics. Both of them disliked the bad bits of social media; she used it to keep in touch with friends. He barely used it at all.

“How did you get the nickname Viking?” she asked at one point.

“My heritage is from Norway and there’s some Danish in there mixed with Irish. No one calls me that much anymore, except for guys in the military who knew me back in the day.”

“And you’re big and very tall. Hence the Viking name.”

“Bingo.”

“Did you play football in high school?”

“I was too involved with the track and field. I was a fast runner and good with long distance, too. Twisted my knee at the end of my senior year, though.”

“Ah, the crutches experience. Tell me how to fix my crutches so they don’t kill my armpits.”

He gave her tips on how to wrap the crutches, which she appreciated.

“Wow,” he said at one point after he pushed away his empty plate. “It’s been too long since I’ve been back here. That was great.”

“My enchiladas were fantastic. I’ll definitely come back.” She switched gears. “By the way, thanks again for grabbing the brochures from the park. Where did you find them?”

“Some were buried under the tent next to your booth.” He leaned in a little closer. “Almost half the booths, including yours, were a total mess. It’s a good thing you weren’t under them when that tornado came.”

“That’s for sure. I read in the paper that forty people were injured.”

“Yeah, but thankfully nothing serious.” He looked at the small bandage on her forehead. “How’s the head?”

“It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt. And the ankle is feeling better already.”

“Good.” He yawned.

She smiled. “Yikes. That’s not a good sign for a date.”

“It’s not a sign of how much I’m enjoying the company. I enjoyed this.”

A pleasant tingle went through her as he leaned closer, his eyes filled with warmth. A sensual tingle danced through her stomach. She wanted to move nearer to him, but at the same time didn’t want to make it too obvious.

“I’d like to do this again,” he said softly.

“Ditto.”

After they’d paid the bill, they walked to their cars which were right next to each other.

“I’ve got a forty-eight hour shift starting tomorrow,” he said around a yawn. “Okay if I call you after that?”

A rush of pleasure hit her. Dude? Is it okay? Hell to the yes. She tried for nonchalant while assuring him of her enthusiasm. “I’d love it.”

She typed his number into her cell phone and he did the same with her cell phone number.

His grin was lopsided and so damned charming. “Good. You have a great rest of your night.”

Everything inside her tingled. “You, too. Talk to you soon.”

As she drove home, she wished she’d taken a chance and kissed him. Because everything inside her wanted to so much. What she’d learned about him tonight had twisted her up inside in a good and a bad way. A bad way because of the horrible sorrow he’d experienced. Good because she’d learned enough about him that she wanted to know a whole lot more.