Page 9

CHAPTER 9

A little over a week later...

For Brody, the shift was crawling by in some ways. They'd had four calls that kept them moving, but there just wasn't time to talk with each other outside of medical topics.

The one time they'd been in the rig with a few minutes to talk, Rhea had all but shoved a protein bar in her mouth and when he'd tried to talk to her anyway, she'd shoved a bar at him.

But now, they finally had a reprieve. At least that's what he was praying it was, as they headed back to the firehouse.

He was dying to get her to talk to him.

As soon as he shifted the rig into park she was out and on her way to the bathroom, calling out behind her that she'd be right back.

He sighed and got out, moving around to the back to reset their supplies.

This was like a complete one-eighty from how they normally worked together. He knew that she wasn't trying to be difficult. There was something going on. Something she was worried about.

And he wanted her to tell him what it was.

But until he got to that point, he didn't want to push.

Opening the back doors, he climbed up inside. They kept the rig clean. Trash stored away. He never had a complaint when they worked together. In fact, they cleaned up around each other.

He made a quick mental note of what he needed to get out of the storage cabinets inside and stepped out. He crossed over to the large trash bin near the front wall and disposed of their trash. It was nice not having to rush in between calls to reset the back which could become an issue when his old partner was in the back.

It was so much easier working with Rhea than working with his prior partner. He'd just been set in his ways and those ways weren't really conducive to working in an ambulance dealing with blood and injuries if things got messy.

"Hey."

"Hey," Brody turned around and smiled at his cousin. "What are you doing at the firehouse, Gabe? Are you looking to move up in the world?"

Gabriel gave him a rather subdued middle-finger, hiding it at the center of his chest so anyone walking onto the apparatus floor wouldn't see the gesture. "I stopped in to see if you were around. I haven't seen you in a few days."

"Aw," Brody batted his eyelashes at his cousin, "you missed me, sweetie?"

"Fuck off, Brody."

Brody laughed. "Well, it was worth a try to make you laugh or throw a punch at me."

Gabriel folded his arms across his chest. "When was the last time I punched you?"

Brody rubbed at his jaw as he gave his cousin a side-long look. "Don't remember, but that doesn't mean I want a repeat." He saw the smile just below Gabriel's stern gaze. "How are Misty and Roya? Do I get to see them on Sunday?"

Gabriel nodded. "You're off?"

"Yes." He barely avoided his childhood favorite retort of 'duh.'

"Yeah. We'll be there."

Gabriel looked around the apparatus floor. "You solo today?"

Brody shook his head. "As soon as we pulled in, Rhea headed inside."

He shared a look with his brother that needed no words. Having been raised by the Moms and having a sister each had taught them at an early age not to make assumptions or judgements about why they'd gone to the bathroom. Brody still had nightmares the first time he'd gone into the bathroom he'd shared with his sister at home and saw the wrapper for a tampon in the trash. He hadn't known what the paper wrapper went with and asked his sister as they were headed off to school. Rachel had called out for their mother and even though he'd backtracked and hadn't wanted to know at that point, his mother had told him. And put in a fair bit of detail.

By the time they got to school he was barely holding in his breakfast and Rachel looked like she wanted to push him off of a cliff.

"I have some news."

Brody clapped his hands together. "Am I going to be an uncle again?"

Gabriel's expression made him look like he'd been knocked off balance. "No. Besides, if we were having a kid, you wouldn't be an uncle."

Brody shrugged. "Yeah, but really, do you think the kids want to say... 'first cousin once removed Brody?'"

Gabriel's lip curled up like his traffic stop just rolled down a window and hit him with a cloud of pot. "That would be a little much."

"And I jumped the gun. Sorry, man. What's the news?"

Gabriel smiled and Brody was happy to see it.

After he'd met Misty, smiling was the norm for his rather grumpy cousin.

"I'm getting a dog."

Brody grinned. "A two-dog family, huh?"

Gabriel's smile widened into a grin. "Two working dog family."

"What kind of dog?"

"A police K-9." Gabriel lifted a brow, and his smile tilted off its axis a little. "Sort of."

Brody was excited. He wanted a dog, but since he had long hours every couple of days it was hard to think about having an animal that he'd either have to have someone babysit or he'd have to trust on its own for a day. That wasn't fair to anyone.

Gabriel took out his phone and opened an app.

Brody stepped up beside him and looked at the screen. "A German Shepherd. Sweet! Do you have to learn commands in German?"

Gabriel nodded. "Already done. I've even gotten to Facetime with Roland."

"Roland?" Brody leaned back. "You named him Roland?"

Gabriel sighed. "I didn't name him, Brody. That's the name he comes with."

Gabriel's body language changed, and he stepped past Brody, leaving Brody to follow his movement.

"Rhea. It's good to see you."

Gabriel put out a hand and Rhea shook it before dropping her hands to her sides. "Good to see you, too, Gabriel."

Brody knew that Rhea wasn't much of a hugger.

Oh, she'd hug her son. She'd also hugged Missus Hardy, he still had a hard time calling her Bea.

But people she knew but didn't feel close to were in the easy to firm handshake group.

"I hope I didn't interrupt," she met Gabriel's gaze before turning to him. "I can reset the supplies."

She turned to head over to the rig, but he put out a hand and touched her shoulder.

He felt her tense at his touch and let her go gently. "Sorry," he murmured softly. "Gabe was just showing me the dog they're getting."

That put a smile on her face and eased the tension that he'd put there. "Another dog?"

Gabriel nodded. Turning his phone around and setting it in Rhea's hand. "Brody was already giving me shit about his name."

Brody saw the look she gave him over the top of Gabriel's phone.

Brody reached out and smacked his cousin on the arm. "Tell her you were joking."

Brody saw Rhea look at Gabriel and he did too because Gabriel was silent.

Gabriel shrugged. "You did give me shit over his name. Roland is a good name for a dog."

Rhea winced a little. "It's a nice name. But maybe not my choice for a dog."

Gabriel folded his arms again. "Really? Both of you?"

Rhea narrowed her gaze a little. "Roland is... German?"

Smiling, Gabriel nodded. "The trainer said it means Glory of the Land."

Brody nodded at that. "Okay. It's not half bad."

Gabriel grumbled at him. "I'm done asking you."

Brody shrugged, but it was Rhea who spoke again.

"Working dog?"

Gabriel nodded. "I've been wanting a K-9 for a few years, but Fallport doesn't have the budget for one." He turned his head to look at Rhea. "Misty knows a few people."

Rhea smiled back at him. "Yeah. I bet she does. Did you get Roland through one of her contacts?"

"Yeah. He's barely costing us anything in the long run."

Brody's forehead furrowed. "How? Those dogs are big ticket items."

"Well, I talked to the Chief, and we didn't really need a dog who could subdue suspects."

Brody nodded. "Not many people around here that we'd need to bring to heel with a dog wrapped around their arm or leg."

Rhea shuddered at that. "Thank goodness."

Gabriel continued. "Which ended up just fine because that's why they can't send Roland to the police department he was being trained for. They need a fur missile."

Rhea turned to Brody and mouthed 'Fur Missile.'

Brody shrugged at her. "So what is he going to do for Fallport's Police Force?"

“He's great at drug sniffing. Bombs, too, but we're hoping that doesn't need to be tested. And we think he'll be great around kids so we can do things down at the school."

Gabriel brightened for a moment. "Rhea, are you and Chip coming to family dinner on Sunday?"

Rhea's mouth dropped open, but instead of answering Gabriel she turned to Brody. "I don't think we should."

Brody frowned at her. "Why not?"

Her eyes widened as she looked between him and Gabriel but settled back on him. "It's your family dinner."

Brody shrugged. "You're my partner. It's as good as."

Rhea's brow lifted at that. "How often did you invite your last partner to dinner?"

Gabriel looked up and found a really interesting spot on the ceiling, leaving him to his own devices.

"Well, in my defense, he was an ass."

She shook her head. "I'd feel weird leaving Bea by herself."

"Bea?" Gabriel looked at Rhea with a question, but his mouth dropped open and he grinned. "That's right. Someone in the family mentioned that you were living with Missus Hardy."

Brody gave him a hard look. "That was me, bonehead."

Rhea nodded. "She asked me to call her Bea. She said the same thing to Brody, but he looked a little green when she asked him."

Brody turned to his cousin to plead his case. "You had her in Third Grade, right?"

Gabriel nodded. "I think all of the Armstrong kids did."

Brody gestured at Gabriel. "Imagine calling her 'Bea'? Could you do that?"

Instead of agreeing outright, Gabriel folded his arms, turned his head to the side and stroked at his chin. "I guess I could."

"See?" "What?"

Brody tried to ignore Rhea smiling at him, even though it was impossible.

He was always thinking about her.

And he only turned his head far enough to look at Gabriel and still keep her well within his peripheral vision. "Seriously, Gabe? You could?"

Gabriel shrugged. "It's different now. I mean we're all out of school."

"Yeah, but-"

Rhea touched his arm, and he forgot what he was going to say. "And I bet that when you were in her class, she was taller than you were."

Brody saw Gabriel's reaction to her words. He nodded as if he thought it was a valid point.

Well, it kind of was. "Maybe an inch or two."

That earned him a glare from Gabriel.

Brody grinned and shrugged. "You were shorter than she was. I was too in her class."

"But," Rhea added in, "you almost tower over her now. It's different. And think about it, Brody. You're a man now. She's an older woman. Calling her Missus Hardy probably makes her feel every one of the years that it's been since you've been in her class. If you call her Bea, I think it just makes her feel... a little younger."

Gabriel nodded first. "I can see that."

Brody turned his head to look at his cousin. "You are not helping, man."

"I'm being reasonable."

"You're being a jerk." Brody started to laugh. "At least that hasn't changed."

Gabriel moved closer to Rhea and leaned in. "Sorry, I couldn't help poking the bear. It's unfair since we've been doing this push and pull since before we were Chip's age."

She shrugged. "I'm an only child. So, I'll take your word for it."

"I'm going to leave before I rile him up more than I have already, but please consider coming on Sunday. We should have Roland by then."

She grinned at his cousin. "Will he be okay with the kids wanting to touch him? I want to prepare Chip before we go."

"He's great with kids. The trainer has three under ten, and they make sure that they're trained around children."

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll think about it. I just want to make sure that we have dinner ready for Bea so-"

"Bring her along." Brody felt his heart swell in his chest, and he had to admit he was happy at Rhea's smile. "We can set another place, and I know our family will enjoy having her there."

Gabriel leaned in and gave Rhea a pat on her shoulder. "Think about it. We'd love to have all of you."

He left and suddenly they were alone again.

Brody felt like he should clarify something. "You know I don't mind calling her Bea, right?" She didn't answer back, and he continued. "It's just a little strange as I feel like I've known her my whole life. Even though it wasn't my 'whole' life."

Still nothing.

He turned around. "Are you okay?"

He could tell that his question surprised her.

She went from smiling to tense in a minute and he hated it.

"Rhea? Have I done something?"

Her gaze lowered to the floor and moved about a bit.

"Or have I not done something?"

He wanted to reach out to her, but he had a feeling that it would be the absolute wrong thing to do. So he kept his hands at his sides.

"All I know is that you've been on edge the whole shift so far."

Her gaze lifted to meet his eyes in a heartbeat. "Do you think that people noticed?"

He knew that look. She was afraid.

"You've been great with the patients we've had, I'm not complaining about your work, Rhea. You're always great when we're working but every time it's just been... it's just been 'us' in the rig I feel like you're on the verge of running in the opposite direction. I'm just glad you’re seat belted in, and the door was closed." He let out a breath. "I'm not trying to push you, but I'm worried."

She looked back at him, and he could see something in her eyes. It was hesitant, but it was there. He fought himself from reaching out to pull her into his arms.

"You know, we're going to spend downtime together in the rig and at the station house during our shifts. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

She managed a little smile. "You're fun to be around."

Why did those words hit him like a sucker punch?

"And I'm not complaining about fun," she told him, echoing some of his words. "I like talking to you and yes, normally we talk during the down time and that helps pass the time. I'm just... I’ve got something weighing on me and I don't want to dump this on you. You're still you, Brody. You're single. You shouldn't have to deal with me rambling on about kid stuff."

Her gaze darted to the large clock on the wall. "We need to get restocked while it's-" She bit into her bottom lip, afraid to say anything along the lines of 'quiet.' That was a curse in and of itself. "So let's go do that."

She started for the storeroom, taking out a reusable shopping bag from her pocket.

He followed behind her. "I keep meaning to get one of those and put it in my pocket."

She turned her head toward her shoulder, and he nodded.

The storeroom was close to the apparatus floor, meaning that they didn't have to go far. Which was a nice part of the design of the station. She looked up at him as he entered the room. "You know what we need, so I'll hold the bag."

He smiled as he passed her. He had to ride out the wave of awkward energy. "Sounds good."

He started with a few wrapped bandages. And then he did a little finger shopping through the boxes.

"I might be painfully single," he admitted before he could think better of jumping into the deep end, "but I'm around the kids and my family quite a bit. I'm no stranger to conversations like that. Unless it's about which sanitary pad to choose for different flows because while I know how the plumbing works, I'm not all that familiar with menstrual cycles beyond the biology."

He turned to look at her and saw her watching him with wide eyes and a hint of a smile on her face.

She looked like she was trying to decide if he was being silly or serious.

He put another pack of sterile gloves in the bag.

He gave her a lop-sided grin. "I noticed you've been using your own gloves. I ordered a size smaller than mine for you."

She blinked at him. "Really? Thanks."

He nodded and went back to picking out supplies. "I know I joke a lot on shift."

He saw the quirk of her eyebrow. "And off."

"Okay." Her voice was lighter with a hint of laughter.

"But I care, Rhea." He looked at her. "I do."

"You're a good partner to work with."

Why did it feel like she'd just sucker punched him?

He turned back to the shelf trying not to feel as bereft as he was. It was a struggle.

"Brody?"

He closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Yeah?"

"I don't know how to do this."

He closed the cabinet and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

As soon as he said the words he saw her walls go up. Fuck.

"Rhea?" He locked the cabinet and looked around the hallway. No one was around. He took the bag from her hands and set it down on the ground beside his feet. "I should have asked the question a different way. I just don't know how."

She gestured between them, looking more than a little lost.

He hated that for her.

"I guess I should ask you if you see us as friends."

Her face changed again. This time, she looked like she was holding something in.

"I guess?" She continued on, her lips pressing into a line so thin and tight he began to wonder if it hurt. "Before, when I worked as an EMT. My partners were partners. Sometimes I don't even think they considered me a partner, more like an assistant."

She dropped her gaze down toward their feet rubbing her hands off on her pants legs before she looked back up into his eyes.

"And now I'm here. I’m trying to start a new chapter in our lives, and I like working with you. I like working here at the firehouse. Everyone here is different than what I'm used to. Even the air is different. And you're asking me if I think you're a friend. I'm... I'm confused. Hopeful. And yet, I feel like I'm out of my depth."

"Rhea-"

"No." She put her hands out, palms facing him, but not stretched out. "Please, if I don't say this now, I feel like I'm going to bottle everything up inside and I'm trying not to be that person. Not anymore."

He nodded. He needed to get into her head.

And into her heart.

He'd been struggling to get there through the castle walls and the gate she had around her.

"I feel like I'm a completely different person here, but that just means I feel... out of sorts."

"You're perfect as you are."

"Please," she shook her head. "I feel like I'm going through the motions most days. Waiting for the day I mess things up and have to start all over again. So, can we just leave things the way they are?"

He didn't answer her. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Or how to say it.

She blew out a breath and bent down to pick up the bag with their supplies in it. "Okay, let's get back to the rig."

She'd only taken a step before he started after her and he caught up with her before she reached the door. "Rhea, wait."

He caught her at the elbow, his hand just tight enough to grip, but not enough to hurt.

"Rhea, please."

She stopped, waiting for him. He loosened his hold on her, but he didn't take his hand away. His fingers trailed over her elbow to the underside of her forearm.

"I want to help."

Her lips twisted into a wry smile of disbelief. And she shook her head for a moment before she spoke again. "I think I have to do as much as I can on my own. No doubt that you and your family were instrumental in everything those first few days. And your family is responsible for hiring me to do this job. I owe you all... so much."

He frowned at both her tone and the words. She sounded so sweet and as much as he hated to admit. He didn't want her to be thankful to him. Or grateful.

If he wanted her to be either of those things, he wanted it to be in bed after a slew of orgasms.

"I don't want you to owe me or my family, Rhea. No one sees it like that. No. One. We all l- like you. You're going to be a part of our family. You work closely with two of us and after what you did for Avalon and R-"

"I did my job, Brody. I pulled over like anyone would have done. I was able to help and keep her stable until you got there, which would have happened in moments, anyway. I did my job. I like helping people. It makes me feel... useful."

He still had a gentle hold of her arm, and he gently brushed his fingers against it. He wasn't sure she could feel it through her long-sleeved uniform shirt, but he had to feel connected to her.

Needed more of her.

"Rhea," his gaze moved over her face and held on her lips for a moment longer than he should, "even if you'd just shown up for work on your first scheduled day, you’d still be important to us. To me."

"You're important to me, too." She nodded slowly, her gaze on his face. "And I think that's part of why I'm wound so tight around you. It's only too easy to spend time with you. I just don't want to cross any lines and change how things are. The last thing I'd want to do is lose you, Brody. I like working with you too much." She turned and headed toward the rig to replenish their supplies, and he let her go on ahead while he got his thoughts in order.

He loved hearing what she was thinking.

It beat the hell out of wondering.

And he loved that she felt like he was important in her life, but her last few words had sunk the knife into his gut.

He really couldn't wait until Sunday to have a chance to talk to his cousins.

He needed some help to put things into perspective and as much as it galled him to have to ask Josh or Gabe, he couldn't think of anyone else who might be able to understand.

Ah, fuck!