Page 35 of My Three Hometown Firefighters (Aspen Springs #2)
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Tucker
Sienna texted the group chat earlier, saying her appointment went well, and she had some ultrasound pictures to show us the next time we were together.
We weren’t going to hang on to the whim of “whenever,” so that’s how we find ourselves standing outside her apartment door.
I peek down at Jackson, who’s leaning against his dad’s leg. “Why don’t you knock?” I ask him.
His eyes light up. When he steps toward the door, I mutter to the two guys on either side of me.
“I think she’ll be more receptive to his unannounced visit than ours.”
They both grunt their agreement.
Maybe showing up like this wasn’t the best idea, but this woman is stubborn as all get out.
She’s been an ice queen since deciding she just wants to be friends. Her walls are pure, impenetrable ice.
Jackson raises his fist to the door, knocking three times. He looks over his shoulder at Warren when nothing happens immediately.
“Just give it a minute, bud,” Warren says.
There’s rustling on the other side of the door a moment before the door opens.
Confusion crosses her features as she looks over the three of us men standing before her, but when her eyes dart down to the little boy at her feet, her whole demeanor softens.
“Hey, little man. How are you?” she asks.
“Good,” he says in his sweet voice.
She crouches down in front of him, so they’re at eye level. “This is a nice surprise.” Even with the back of his head to me, I can tell he’s smiling. “Why did you guys drop by?” she asks, her gaze still focused on Jackson.
Jackson shrugs. “Daddy said we needed to check on you.”
“That’s very sweet,” she says.
“Are you sick again?” Jackson asks, worry evident in every word.
“No, I’m not sick. I promise.”
He nods a couple of times.
“Did the guys make you knock because they were too scared?” Sienna asks.
Jackson giggles. “Maybe.”
She smirks as she finally looks back up at us. Bringing Jackson was definitely the right call. Some of the ice has melted, even if it’s only momentary.
Thank you, kid.
She stands, holding her hand out for Jackson. “Come on in.” The kid happily slides his hand into hers as we all follow her into the apartment.
Sienna sits on the corner of the couch with Jackson at her side. The rest of us sit down around the small room.
“So, what’s up?” she asks. Her eyes dart between all of us.
“We wanted to make sure you’re really okay,” Grayson says.
“I’m fine. I promise.”
An orange cat darts out from the hallway, jumping on Jackson’s lap.
“Nacho,” she yelps. “What are you doing?”
Jackson giggles, petting the cat.
Sienna’s forehead scrunches as she stares at them. “So, it’s just me you hate, Nacho. Geez.”
Oblivious to her confusion, Jackson looks up at her with big, round eyes. “Can I go play with him?”
She shrugs. “Go for it. I’ve never seen that cat play a day in my life, but I have a feeling if he’s going to play with anyone, it will be you.”
Nacho follows Jackson to the corner of the room. He starts playing with him like he does with Mack.
Glancing back at Sienna, I find her staring at her hands that are knotted together in her lap. “I’m sorry,” she mutters.
For what, exactly?
She finally looks up. Her eyes catch on me first.
“I don’t know how to do this whole ‘just friends’ thing, given the situation. It seems I went straight from…” She trails off, looking over at Jackson. “Everything we were doing to freezing you guys out altogether.”
None of us says anything.
“Gram told me this afternoon, it’s okay to let people help me. I’m not very good at that, if you haven’t noticed.”
Grayson huffs out a laugh, which makes her smile, even if it’s laced with a bit of sadness.
“I’m going to work on finding that balance of being friends and letting you be involved. I just haven’t quite figured it out yet,” she says, looking almost defeated.
Warren, who’s sitting on the couch, scooches over until he’s next to her. She stiffens slightly but doesn’t move.
“Even before, we were all friends,” he says quietly. “I think we can be the way we were with each other, just minus the,” his head wobbles from side to side, “you know.”
She smiles at him, giving his thigh a squeeze. “You’re right.” She looks over at Grayson and me. “I’ll work on it. You guys don’t deserve to be pushed away from all of this.”
“We all want to be a part of this for the baby, but we care about you too,” I say.
She drags in a breath, nodding.
“I care about you guys, too.”
As friends.
A twinge of confusion runs through me. I’m happy she wanted things this way, and wasn’t looking for something more serious, more committed. Right? Right?
It never would have lasted. There’s no way. Relationships in my life never last. Ever.