Page 3 of Save Me (The Midnight Cove #2)

GUNNER

“ W hat’s up, buttercup?” I drag my bag out of the passenger side of my truck as I see Ash doing the same.

“Dude, I’m glad to come to work. At least here I can get some damn rest. This planning-a-wedding shit is stressing me the fuck out.”

I grin. “Which part? Because I seem to remember you being all, I’ll be tasting cake off her body. ”

He flips me a finger. “Go fuck yourself.”

My chuckle is loud as we walk into the fire station. We wave to our co-workers going off shift while we clock on. Every week we’re assigned new tasks at the station. Looks like this week, while I’m here, I’m cooking.

“Fuck,” one of our new recruits, Mark, whispers. “When you cook, we get no dessert. Why can’t you switch with Ash?”

“As Ash told me earlier, go fuck yourself. I cook damn good chili.”

“It’s summertime,” Mark argues, groaning. “We don’t want chili.”

“Too bad for your ass. I’m in charge of cooking this week.” I wave my finger in his face before I turn and head toward the kitchen. I hold my arms out wide, turning around in a circle obnoxiously. “This is my domain. You’ll eat what I cook.”

God, it feels good to be able to talk to people like my mom.

It’s times like this I wish I had kids to boss around.

The new recruits will have to do. One of the first jobs, as the one who’ll be handling the meals for the next forty-eight, is to make a grocery list and get us stocked up for whatever may come our way.

It’s usually not that big of a deal, but it also depends on who you’re working after.

Some of the guys love to buy in bulk, while some of them only get what we’ll need for their days.

Taking quick inventory, I see I’m going to have to purchase quite a few things. Grabbing a notebook and a pen, I begin making my list.

“You want some help?”

Turning, I see Ash. “If you wanna help, I’ll gladly take it. It’s gonna be a big grocery order.”

He nods, automatically opening up the pantry. I’ve known Ash for a long time. We’ve both lived here our whole lives and went to high school together. Sometimes I know him better than any of my siblings or even myself. Right now, he’s way too quiet.

“What’s up with you?”

He grunts. “A lot on my mind. Recently, Syd’s been paying more attention to the news. She sees that what we do is dangerous, and she’s starting to understand it. Emma’s been having to deal with Sydney losing her shit on a routine basis while I’m gone…” He trails off.

I haven’t spent much time with them lately, which makes me feel like shit. Before Emma came into their lives, I treated Syd like my own. It’s been a few months since I took her out on an afternoon with just the two of us. “You think I could help?”

“Probably. She’s feeling left out lately,” he sighs.

“So much of what’s going on right now includes only Emma and me.

We’re obviously including her, but it’s still not the same.

She was the focus of my world for so long, and now she’s sharing me with another person.

I know she loves Emma, but I think she’s struggling with how to express what she needs. ”

“I’ll talk to her,” I offer. “I’ll come over sometime this week and give her some attention. I’m the one person she doesn’t really have to share with anyone else.”

“Which is dangerous too,” Ash interjects. “Because at some point you’re going to find a woman you’ll want to spend your time with, and then she’ll be going through this again.”

“Dude.” I put my hand out, hoping to keep him from stressing.

“It’s called growing up. We all have to deal with it at some time in our life.

Your girl is awesome. She’ll get this figured out.

She’s got a lot of changes happening, and if I can do something to make it easier on you all, then I will.

It’s not a problem for me to make some time to spend with her.

” I finish writing down my grocery list. “You coming with me? I’m not packing all this shit in by myself. ”

He chuckles. “C’mon, you whiny ass.”

“Excuse me, I wasn’t the one complaining about my daughter just a second ago,” I remind him.

“Only because you don’t have one,” he throws back as we walk out to my truck. “Give it time—sooner or later you’ll have someone to complain about too.”

That’s kinda what I want more than anything, but I’ll keep that secret to myself.

“Did you find out who she was?” Ash asks as the two of us drive to downtown Midnight Cove. Two days, and the traffic situation has started to change. We’re sitting through this stop light for the second time.

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. The woman with the kid, the one from the beach?”

I knew exactly who he was asking about, but truthfully, I don’t necessarily want to get into it with him.

He’s having this amazing run of good luck in the romance department, where I’ve had shit.

I’m afraid my bad luck might rub off on him.

“I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I’ll see if I can talk to the EMT who responded. They may have gotten some information.”

Ash blows out a loud breath. “You are so full of shit. I’m surprised you didn’t ask them before we left.”

“Somebody decided I’m cooking this week, and if I don’t have dinner ready tonight at a decent hour, then I’ll have all of you up my ass.”

“That would hurt, a lot,” he laughs, interrupting me.

“You know what I mean.” I roll my eyes as I check my blind spot and jockey to park the van we use when we grocery shop for the station.

“It’s better for me to get everything situated, and then ask questions after I’m done.

I’ve never seen so many full-grown men have a meltdown if they don’t have anything to eat. ”

“We’re growing.”

“A fuckin’ gut.” I reach over, smacking Ash’s stomach with the back of my hand. “That’s what love does to you—makes ya soft.”

“But at least it can make you hard too,” he laughs like a teenager.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Is this what happens when you get some on a regular basis?”

He shrugs. “Maybe. But maybe you shouldn’t be taking yourself so seriously.

Life is about the little things, man. You need to laugh, have fun, and love.

Not only someone else, but yourself too.

Having Emma in my life has taught me a lot, and if I don’t take things as seriously as I once did, then so be it. I’m happy.”

I watch him grab a grocery cart as I grab mine.

There’s a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eye, and a relaxed way he carries himself that wasn’t there a year ago.

Ash has definitely gotten this part of his life figured out, and more than anything, I want to get it figured out too.

Most of my siblings and plenty of the people in my age group have marriages, families, at least a fucking dog.

I don’t have any of that, and it’s a damn lonely life to live.

The problem is, no one around here has struck me as intriguing.

At least not until I met the woman on the beach.

When I close my eyes, I can still make out what color hers are.

Then there are the questions. Why isn’t there a father?

Why is no one helping her and taking care of the mother and daughter?

Do they need someone to help them? I could do it all, but first I have to find out her name, and to do that, I have to do a little digging.

“Are you happy?” he asks me, his voice serious.

Our job is dangerous, and it puts a lot of men in precarious situations with their mental health. I can tell he’s asking because he’s worried.

“I’m not, but it has nothing to do with our job,” I’m quick to explain. “I think I’m ready to share my life, but I don’t know how to get started. I don’t know what’s out there for me.”

“There’s only one way to find out, my man. You’ve got to put yourself out there. Let the ladies see what’s on the market.”

That doesn’t sound appealing to me at all, and I’m sure he can tell by the look on my face.

“Wait, is there a particular lady? The chick from the beach?” He smacks his hands together. “I knew you were interested.”

“She’s a single mom.”

He throws his head back. “Oh my God, just like I was a single dad. You know better than anyone what she’s facing. Man up and figure out who she is. Ask her out, wine and dine her and her daughter, get married, have more kids, and get a fucking smile on your damn face.”

A chuckle breaks through my irritation, reverberating in my chest. “Is it really that easy?”

“Yeah,” Ash nods. “You just have to open yourself up to the universe and let it in.”

As we turn the corner in the grocery, I repeat those words in my head, adding my own changes.

Well, universe, I’m opening myself up. I’m ready to let it all in. Whatcha got for me?