“What if they don’t let you?”
“Why wouldn’t they let me?” she asked, giving his trembling body a gentle squeeze. “Besides, I’m going to need help with the baby when it comes,” she said, praying that Deb was able to find someone in time.
“A baby?”
“Mmmhmm, and I’m going to need you and Deb to help pick out names,” Sloane murmured, her voice sounding slurred to her own ears.
“What about Chase?” came the softly whispered question as she struggled to open her eyes as her lungs stopped pulling in air and–
He loved her.
She knew it even if he didn’t. It was in the way that he touched her, the way that he smiled when he looked at her, the way that he held her and made love to her, and…
She should have said yes, Sloane thought as she found herself starting to drift off.
Chapter 43
“You can’t do this!” came the high-pitched screech that met Chase when he climbed out of his truck and found himself sending Thomas a sympathetic wince when he saw Amy throw herself at him in mid-tantrum.
Poor, dumb bastard, Chase thought, chuckling as he made his way to the station where half the crew was standing outside, watching the show.
“Seriously dodged a huge fucking bullet,” Adam said, shaking his head in wonder as he watched Amy drop to her knees as she begged Thomas to take her back.
“Please don’t do this! I love you!” came the hysterical scream that followed Thomas as he walked away.
“If he takes her back, I’m going to have to kill him,” John said, shaking his head in disbelief as he reached over and shook Chase’s hand.
“I think you’ll have help,” Chase said, chuckling.
“How is Sloane? I heard that she wasn’t feeling well last night,” John asked with a warm smile as he gestured for Chase to follow him to his office.
“She’s doing better,” Chase absently said, wondering how he was going to fix this.
She loved him and he…was fucking broken, he realized, biting back a sigh. There was no doubt in his mind that he could do this, but he wasn’t sure that it was going to be enough for Sloane. She deserved more and he honestly wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to give it to her. He’d take care of her and the baby, make sure that they never wanted for anything, but…
He couldn’t give them more than that.
“Good,” John murmured as he closed the door behind him and gestured for Chase to sit down. “How are the classes going?”
“They’re going well,” Chase said as he watched John walk around his desk and sit down. “Actually, they’re going better than I expected. I’ve got some interest in running a paramedic course and some guys asking for help training for the academy. I’ve been playing with the idea of opening a school since I came back.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” John murmured softly.
“Thank you,” Chase said, watching the chief as he seemed to think something over.
There was a heavy sigh and then, John said, “I was actually hoping that you’d consider coming back,” taking Chase by surprise.
“Coming back?” Chase repeated slowly, not sure that he’d heard him correctly.
“I spoke with your doctor and he thinks that you’d be ready to come back on light duty in a few months and probably back on the truck within a year,” John said as Chase sat there, slowly nodding as he thought about coming back on the truck and–
“I think I’m going to have to pass,” Chase said, forcing the words out, already knowing that he would never be able to do this job again.
Right now, he could deal with a smoke alarm going off, but that was it, which was a problem for a fireman. He wouldn’t be able to do his job without putting his men’s lives at risk and he would never do anything that would risk their lives no matter how badly he wanted back on the truck. He…
He just couldn’t do it.
Maybe that was for the best, Chase thought as he sat there thinking about Sloane and the baby. Christ, he was going to be a father, he thought, slowly exhaling only to feel his lips pull up into a pleased smile.
He was going to be a father.
They were having a baby and he couldn’t wait. He’d always wanted a large family, at least five kids, and now…he was fucking terrified. There were so many things that could go wrong, but even knowing that he wanted this baby, more than anything. He wanted to be there to watch their children grow up, which was another reason why he couldn’t go back on the truck.
He knew plenty of guys that managed to work on the truck and have a family, working two twenty-hour shifts a week and being on call for the rest of the time and…he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to go a day without seeing Sloane and their children and he sure as hell didn’t want to miss anything. Opening the school would allow him to do what he loved and be there for his family.
Nodding, John said, “I understand,” as he stood up. “But if you ever change your mind…”
Chuckling, Chase shook his hand. “I won’t.”
“Let me know when your school is up and running so that we can start scheduling classes,” John said as Chase headed for the door.
“Thanks, John,” Chase said as he left, unable to help but smile as his mind shifted back to Sloane.
She was as good as his, Chase thought with a wistful sigh as he headed outside. She was also stubborn, but that was okay with him because he was prepared to do whatever it took to convince Sloane that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He was going to spend the rest of his life making sure that she–
“Chase?” came the soft whisper that had him glancing to his left to find Amy sitting against the wall, her arms wrapped around herself, crying, as she sent him a pleading look, the same one that she used to send him whenever she needed him to save her.
She was nothing like Sloane and thank fucking god for that, Chase thought as he headed to his truck as the alarm went off, announcing a call seconds before the dispatcher announced the call over the PA system. When he heard the address, he forgot how to breathe.
Shadow House.
A moment later, Chase was in his truck, throwing it into drive and tearing out of the parking lot, telling himself that everything was fine as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to call Sloane.
“Come on, baby, pick up,” Chase said as he moved his ass, weaving in and out of traffic and ignoring the cars blaring their horns as he focused on getting to Sloane.
When she didn’t pick up, he tossed his phone on the seat next to him and pulled into the grocery store parking lot and cut through the back to get to the small backroad that would take him to Shadow House. A few minutes later, he was jumping out of his truck and making his way to the front door, noting the smoke rising from the back of the building and the small group standing outside the doors.
“Where’s Sloane?” he demanded as soon as he spotted Grey making his way out the front door.
“I didn’t even know she was here,” Grey said only to bite out, “Shit!” as he glanced back at the parking lot and–
“Chase!” came the terrified scream that had everything inside him going still as he looked to his right to find Deb running toward him as tears streamed down her small face.