Page 18 of Koa’s Little Girl (Soldier Daddies #8)
B y the time she finished work the next day, Giana felt awful. The scratchy throat she’d attributed to the smoke from yesterday’s major fire had gotten worse as the day progressed. Now each time she swallowed, her throat felt like broken glass. Her hoarse cough wasn’t helping it.
“Captain, you don’t sound good,” Tom said from her doorway.
“I’m fine,” she assured the firefighter who frequently wanted to hang out in her office.
“Maybe you should go to the doctor. I could take you,” he offered, coming in to sit in the chair in front of her desk.
“I’m busy, Tom. I can’t stop to talk,” she croaked. “Go check on the supplies in the medical cabinet.” She’d already asked him twice to do the inventory. The job would take several hours and keep the man out of her hair for the rest of her shift. He couldn’t be done.
“The other guys can do it. I’ve been trying to talk to you all day,” Tom said, appearing peeved.
“Emergency?” she snapped.
“Well, no. I thought we needed to get to know each other better. I’d love to take you…”
“I don’t date firefighters, Tom. I’ve told you this before. If you ask me one more time, I’m going to write you up for harassment. No means no.”
“Women change their minds all the time. I think we’d be a good match. You just have to give me a chance.”
Giana straightened her spine and shot him a stern look. “Get out of my office. Pack your things and report to station four within the hour. That will be your new home base effective immediately.”
“You can’t do that!”
She stared at him. When Tom didn’t leave, she glanced at her watch. “You’re down to fifty-seven minutes before you’re considered late for your shift at station four.”
Tom glared at her, holding her gaze to challenge her authority. Giana didn’t address him again. She turned to pick up her phone and called the fire captain at his new station.
“Good news, Robert. I’m permanently transferring an employee to station four.” Ignoring Tom, she listened to the other captain’s response. “I noticed this morning in the district meeting that you were down two firefighters while we had one extra. That should help balance out the numbers.”
After disconnecting, Giana focused back on the computer screen.
She continued to fill out the state reports that tortured her every month as the worst part of her job and completely ignored the clueless firefighter who had just become someone else’s problem.
The creak of his chair a few minutes later clued her in that he was still in her office.
Giana glanced at her wrist and then met his gaze. “Leave, Tom.”
“You’re making a big mistake.”
“Take advantage of this fresh start. Station four is your last chance,” she told him bluntly.
“You fuck…” Tom bit off his words. Smashing his hands down on the armrests of the chair, he rocketed toward her.
Giana didn’t flinch or move away. She said one word, “Camera.” That stopped him in his tracks.
“You’re recording me?”
“Yes. I don’t do the ‘he said, she said’ thing.” Giana looked past Tom to the older firefighter hovering outside her office. Mark had stopped immediately, shocked by Tom’s aggressive lean over her desk.
“Mark, Tom is going to station four. Could you help him collect his belongings? He will not be returning here,” Giana told him in a crisp, authoritarian tone.
“You got it, Captain,” Mark answered.
Tom whirled and swore under his breath to see that they had an audience. Turning back at Giana, he growled, “This is bullshit.”
“Watch where you step on the way out,” she told him evenly.
“Come on, Tom. You’re not accomplishing anything here,” Mark said.
Shaking with anger, Tom allowed himself to be ushered out of her space. As soon as he was out of sight, Giana accessed the camera feed she’d installed in her office. She copied it into Tom’s station file and saved it.
A few minutes later, Mark appeared at her door. “He’s gone. Are you okay?”
“Perfect. I appreciate your backup, Mark. Was there a reason you’d come to talk to me?”
“Can I get a personal day scheduled? The doctors have scheduled my daughter to have her C-section next month.”
“Of course. Congratulations. Send me the date. I’ll make sure the duty roster gives you a couple of days off to enjoy your next grandson,” Giana assured him.
“Thanks, Captain. And I’m sorry.”
“For taking time off with your family?” she asked.
“For the total ass. The entire station will be glad he’s gone. Tom is toxic.”
“You hadn’t said anything,” Giana said.
“I figured he’d hang himself soon.”
“That he did. Clue me in next time if someone is disrupting the peace around here if I don’t pick up on it,” Giana requested.
“Will do, Captain. Be careful. He’s angry.”
“Always. Thank you, Mark.” Giana turned back to her paperwork. She wouldn’t give Tom another moment of her time. She had a drink of her now-cold coffee and grimaced. Too bad she didn’t have time to make a coffee run.
Giana pulled the jacket closer around her neck. How cold had someone cranked the air conditioner up? This was ridiculous.
She reviewed the document on her screen one more time before copying it to her supervisor and pressing submit. Using the last of her energy, she pushed herself up from her chair and headed for the kitchen to return her coffee cup.
As she walked in, the firefighters on that shift greeted her eagerly. One female clapped, and the others joined in. Giana froze. Her worn-out brain took a second to realize they were celebrating Tom’s transfer. Unable to discuss personnel issues with other employees, she changed the subject.
“Did I actually tear out all my hair over this month’s reports?” she croaked.
Several smoothed over the right side of their hair, signaling to her that she’d definitely rucked up her normally restrained bun. Giana didn’t even care. “I’m off for a couple days. Stay safe, everyone.”
“Thanks, Captain,” came from all sides.
The woman who’d started the clapping suggested, “Go to the doctor, Captain. You sound awful.”
“Thanks, Liz. I’ll definitely consider that.” Giana nodded her thanks and headed for the door.
The trip to her truck exhausted the last of her energy.
Giana dragged herself into the driver’s seat and pulled her seatbelt around her.
She dropped her forehead onto the steering wheel.
The blare of her phone made her wince. Surely this wasn’t an emergency.
She hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot.
Daddy appeared on her screen as the caller. Giana fumbled with the phone. “Hi, Daddy. I’m on my way home.”
“What’s up with your voice?” he asked.
“I’m sure it’s from the smoke yesterday.”
“Does your throat hurt?”
“Yeah. I feel like a truck hit me. Maybe I’m coming down with something. I’ve been so cold today. I think the air conditioning at the station must be broken.”
“You’re not running a fever, are you?”
She could hear the concern in his voice. The memory of him taking her temperature the little girl way made Giana shiver. “I need some sleep, and I’ll be better.”
“Drive home safely, little girl.”
Giana could tell from his voice that the conversation wasn’t over. He was worried about her. And Koa worried meant he was in full Daddy mode. She smiled to herself and thought, “Not like he’s ever out of Daddy mode.”
Navigating the busy streets was torture on a good day. This evening, it was a lot for her to handle. She’d never been so happy to see a house in her whole life as when she pulled into her daddy’s driveway. Giana dropped her forehead back onto the steering wheel to rest.
A knock on her window made her look up. Koa stood outside, concern etched on his handsome face. “Little girl. Unlock the door for me.”
She ran her fingers over the buttons, trying to process which one worked. Finally, she heard the whir of the motor as the lock released. Her daddy opened the door and stepped close. He pressed a hand to her forehead and shook his head.
“You are burning up, Flame. Why didn’t you tell me you were this ill? I would have picked you up.”
“I just need some sleep,” she mumbled and struggled to get out of the seat.
“Let me help you, baby.” Koa quickly unfastened her seatbelt to free her.
Giana melted into his arms as he picked her up.
Resting her heavy head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes.
Trusting Koa to take care of her was so easy.
She had vague impressions of being carried into the house and settled on top of their bed.
Curling onto her side around her stuffies, Giana crashed into sleep.