“Fuck it,” I stated. I reasoned that Michelle probably signed herself out to get back to her family. She did have a son after all. And chances were if she had a son, she had a husband to go along with him. Or at the very least, a father for her child.
I slowly turned back to the doors I’d entered, pulling my helmet back over my head. I got on my Ducati, started it up, and backed out of my parking space, waiting until I’d exited the hospital’s parking lot to rev up the engine and peel out onto the street, doing my best to get lost in the adrenaline rush that came from moving this fast on the road.
****
Michelle
Days like this, I wish I had a man in my life who’d do this type of thing for me. As I stared at the salesman in the passenger seat, ramble on about the upgrades of the two thousand eighteen version of the vehicle, I just let him talk. It was either that, or tell him again?for the third time?that I had no interest in buying a brand new car.
I’d finally gotten the insurance payout for my totaled car and all I wanted was a three or four year old car that ran great and got me where I needed to go. Apparently, I hadn’t made that clear enough to the salesman, who was still talking about the two thousand eighteen features.
“No, no, that’s great. Maybe I’ll look into that in the future,” I spoke up. “But for now, I’d just like the 2014 model.” I rubbed my hands up and down the steering wheel. We’d just done a test drive of the 2014, and I was set on it. This was pretty much the exact same car I’d had and I hadn’t had any problems with it until the accident.
“Are you sure? We have some–”
“I’m sure. And I’ll be writing a check, so no need to go through all the financing paperwork. If we could get this done as soon as possible. I have to pick up my son from the sitter.” That was a total lie, but thankfully, one that Steve bought.
“Oh, a mother, huh? I get it. My wife’s always rushing around taking the kids from one place to another. How many kids do you have?”
“Just one.” I smiled, tightly.
“Well, if you’re thinking of having more in the near future, we’ve got some SUVs and minivans that are perfect for driving the family around.”
“I’m not. Thank you.” I got out of the car, shutting the door, making it clear to Steve that I was ready to head out. Thankfully, he got the message and followed suit. He held the door open for me to enter the dealership. Forty minutes later?after writing a check out for the total amount of the vehicle?I had my new keys in hand and was on my way out. It was just after two o’clock and I had plenty of free time. I’d left Diego with my mother for the day, and they were planning on going to see a children’s play. Those two were like peas in a pod, couldn’t get enough of hanging with one another. That’d brought a smile to my lips. My mother and I hadn’t had a great relationship growing up, but she was great with Diego.
On a whim, I got the idea to head over to the Rescue Four firehouse. It was something I’d contemplated over the last three weeks, since my accident. All during my week and a half recuperating process from work, and even since I’d been back, I couldn’t get my mind off the sexiest and most haunting pair of blue eyes I’d ever seen.Carter.That was his name, at least I thought it was. That was the name I remembered calling out, as I was being pulled from my car. The tight hold around my hand that was almost strangling my circulation but felt good just the same. And it may have been my imagination, but I thought I remembered that just before I was loaded into the ambulance, he’d lifted my hand and brought it to his soft lips. I still remember the tiny tingles that shot through my adrenaline flooded body. I was pretty sure that the adrenaline was the reason I was still so caught up on thoughts of him. It had to be the adrenaline and high emotion of it all. I told myself it was nothing more than the energy of the situation, even as I bought two dozen donuts from my favorite shop and pointed my new car in the direction of the firehouse.
Fifteen minutes later, I parked across the street of the Rescue Four fire station and got out of my car. Pulling out the two boxes of donuts from the passenger side, I checked the street before crossing. A nervousness settled over me the closer I got, but I was already there. No turning back now. I entered through the opened garage where a fire struck sat, equipment out behind it.
“Hello?” I called.
A dark head popped out from behind the fire truck. The man, dressed in dark blue slacks and T-shirt of the fire department, greeted me with a smile.
“Hi. My name is Michelle. Michelle Clarke. I was in an accident three weeks ago and your squad pulled me out of my car. I just …” I paused as three more men emerged. “I brought something to say thank you,” I continued, holding up the boxes for all the men to see.
All four men now broke out into smiles.Whoa!All of these men were gorgeous. The first one I’d met introduced himself as Don. He had dark hair and was about six foot, medium build. The next one was introduced as Eric. He was tall, too?with dark, silky hair and a creamy coloring to his skin thanks to his Asian heritage. Next came Sean, who was a few shades darker than me and slightly taller than Don. Finally, I shook hands with Corey, who was somewhere between my caramel coloring and Sean’s complexion, and just as handsome as the other three men.
“Thank you for these,” Don stated, holding up the boxes of donuts he’d relieved me of. “We always love food as a token of your appreciation.” He laughed, and the rest did as well.
Despite how great all these men were, disappointment settled in my belly at not seeing the one face I’d hoped beyond hope to see.
“Come in, doll,” Don ushered.
“Oh, that’s okay. I didn’t want to disturb your day.”
“Nonsense, come on. It’s rare we get a face as beautiful as yours around here,” Sean added.
I smiled, and followed the men inside. We entered from the garage side door into a huge kitchen. I glanced around and saw a few other firefighters milling about.
“Here’s everyone’s favorite room in the entire firehouse,” Eric informed.
Don placed the donuts on the table and suddenly I felt guilty.
“Hey, I know there’s a cliché about cops and donuts, but these are from my favorite shop, so I hope no one’s offended,” I laughed.
“Offended? We’d be more upset if you didn’t bring food,” Sean exclaimed.
“Hey, what’s so–”
