“What are you talking about, buddy?” Chase asked as he watched his nephew that he’d missed more than he’d realized, begin to pull out some of the things that he’d given him over the years. “You can have this back.”
“What’s going on?” Chase asked, frowning while he watched as Nicholas continued to pull more stuff out of the box.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you, but I’ll do better. Please stop being mad at me!” Nicholas said around a choked sob as he began placing everything back in the box so that he could pick it up only to end up dropping it and
“Come here,” Chase said, reaching over and pulled the boy that looked like he’d grown six inches since the last time he saw him onto his lap.
“I’m sorry,” Nicholas managed to get out as he wrapped his arms around Chase and held on tight, making him realize just how badly he’d fucked up.
*-*-*-*
“He’s fine,” Sloane said, gesturing to Nicholas, who was laughing hysterically as Chase tipped his wheelchair back and dropped them both in the pool.
“Oh, thank god,” Melissa said, releasing a shaky breath as she dropped down on the patio chair next to her while Sloane sat there, wondering what Chase had been like before the accident.
“What’s going on?” Melissa asked, taking in the chaos surrounding them.
“Chase challenged Nicholas to a game of basketball, but apparently, Chase cheats at basketball and Nicholas demanded a fair game. So, Chase called my brothers and organized a pickup game that ended with everyone agreeing that Chase does, in fact, cheat at basketball. That ended when my mother showed up with food,” Sloane said, gesturing toward her mother, who was most likely putting together another plate of food for Chase.
God, she spoiled him…
“Is there a reason why they’re glaring at you?” Melissa asked, gesturing toward the other side of the pool where Sloane’s nieces and nephews were gathered, most likely trying to decide how they were going to torment her today.
“Your brother is evil,” she said, reaching over to grab a Coke from the bucket of ice that one of her brothers had placed on the table earlier and handed it to Melissa.
“He can be,” Melissa murmured in agreement, her lips twitching as she took a sip of her soda.
A trio of adorable children walked onto the patio with a man that shared their dark hair only to break out into a run when they spotted Chase in the pool. “Uncle Chase!”
“They missed him,” Melissa said with a sad smile as they watched the trio jump into the pool, shoes and all.
“He definitely missed them,” Sloane said, unable to help but smile as Chase gathered the trio up in his arms and gave them a bear hug that had them squealing with laughter and
“You love him,” Melissa said, sending her a curious glance.
“I don’t know,” Sloane admitted even though it would have been so easy to say yes, but she knew that it was a mistake.
“Fair enough,” Melissa murmured, taking another sip before adding, “Just so we’re clear, if you do anything to hurt my brother, I’ll destroy you.”
“Crystal clear,” Sloane said because she had a feeling that Chase wasn’t going to be the one that ended up getting hurt when this was all over.
Chapter 32
“This was a bad idea,” Chase said, only to release a pained grunt when the insensitive woman who refused to allow him to skip this so that he could spend the morning between her legs dropped his bag on his lap.
“This was a great idea,” Sloane murmured with a satisfied sigh as she made her way inside the fire station that he hadn’t set foot in since the morning of his last shift.
For a moment, Chase could only sit there, staring at the old firehouse as he thought about that morning. He’d just come off a twenty-hour shift when the call came in. If he’d just kept walking to his car instead of jumping back on the truck…
“You are going to be great,” Sloane said as she walked back to him so that she could lean over and brush her lips against his. “Promise.”
With a wink and a teasing smile, she headed inside, leaving him to follow her. As he rolled inside the station, he absently took in everything, a new couch, the same old battered flat screen on the wall, and a bunch of other shit that he barely noticed as his gaze kept going back to Sloane’s incredible ass.
God, that woman wrecked him, Chase thought on a heartfelt sigh as he followed her down the small hallway that connected the old firehouse with the administrative building that the city added a few years ago instead of the training center that they desperately needed. The city had given them a small room in the back, thinking that it was a good compromise.
It wasn’t, but they’d made it work. Before his accident, Chase had handled their continuing education courses and training and while it hadn’t been his favorite part of the job, he’d actually enjoyed doing it. Since he’d let Sloane talk him into doing this class, he’d realized just how much he’d missed it. Over the past month, he’d gone through his old courses, taken several new ones online, signed up for a few in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles taking place in the next year and…
Realized just how much he’d missed having a reason to wake up in the morning.
After the accident, he’d spent most of his time wondering how he was going to make it through another day without losing his fucking mind. He’d spent most of his time too fucking angry at the world to think straight and once he met Sloane…
She’d saved him.
There was no other way to put it. She gave him hope, gave him a reason to try, and now, he was well on his way to getting his life back. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to pull this off, but he wanted it all back. He wanted back on the truck, wanted to feel the rush of going on a call, and he wanted…
More.
“This isn’t so bad,” Sloane said as she walked into the training room and took in the training equipment lining the walls, the tables, and the desk in front.
“It’s too small,” Chase said, sighing heavily as he placed his bag on the desk.
“True,” Sloane murmured only to add, “but you’ll make it work,” as she stepped out of the way as the guys made their way inside.
“Do you want anything before I leave?” she asked as Chase focused on pulling his laptop out of his bag and setting up, needing a moment to prepare himself for what was about to come.
“Coffee would be great, Pookie,” he said, searching for the wire to connect his computer to the monitor hanging on the wall only to realize that it was on the other side of the desk that he wouldn’t be able to reach because of his wheelchair.
Without a word, Sloane walked around the desk, grabbed the wire and handed it to him with a quick kiss and a mumbled, “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait! What about my kiss?” Adam asked as Chase attached the wire and quickly pulled up the presentation that he’d created.
“Stop ogling my girl’s ass and help me with this desk,” Chase said, rolling out of the way.
With a heartfelt sigh, Adam said, “I love her,” as he gestured for Scott to help him.