There was a short silence on the other end of the line, and then, “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Peyton,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m thrilled to hear that.”
“I’m thrilled to tell you.” I stood from my bed and went to the connecting bathroom to wash my face, the phone still pressed against my ear. “I just—I’d like to get to know you better, Jake. No strings attached. It’s not working out here.”
“What about Korbin?” he asked, and I couldn’t blame him for asking.
“We’re done,” I said quickly, feeling that familiar lump rise in my throat. “I’m sorry that I kept you waiting for so long. I’m—I’m not this person. I don’t date multiple people at once, it’s just not who I am. But I like you, Jake, and if you’d give me the opportunity I’d love to start over. I’d love to get to know you.”
“Peyton, I’d love that,” Jake said. “Do you—do you need any help packing?”
“I don’t have much,” I assured him. “A carload or so. I need to get settled in and then I’ll call you, yeah?”
“Sounds excellent.”
“Hey Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being patient for me. I don’t know if I’m worth the wait.”
“I think you are,” he said, leaving it at that. “Goodnight, Peyton. Sleep tight.”
I hung up the phone and tossed it aside, realizing that I was smiling. I had done the right thing; I wasdoingthe right thing.
I had to let go. It was time.
Chapter19
Korbin
“How does it feel to be back to work, Butler?” Matthew Nelson asked on Monday morning, clapping my shoulder fondly. The sun was shining for the first time all weekend, but my mood didn’t reflect the nice day. I hadn’t heard from Peyton since Saturday night when I’d dropped her off at her mother’s house, and I was starting to get concerned. She wasn’t answering my calls or texts, which meant that she was still angry with me, and at this point I wondered if I’d done the right thing by giving her space.
“Feels good,” I told Matt, hoping I sounded more convincing than I felt. “I missed you shit heads.”
Matt laughed, and so did a few of the others. Hansen and Paisley weren’t here—they were on their honeymoon in Bora Bora—so I didn’t even have my best friend here to bitch to. Not that he would have sympathized with me, of course. I was starting to get the feeling that maybe I had been in the wrong here.
“It’s good to have you back, Butler,” Chief Davis said with a nod, coming into the kitchen from his office. He poured himself a mug of black coffee and sat down across from me at the table, those wise, no-bullshit eyes seeming to peer right through me.
“Thanks, Chief,” I said, trying not to hold his gaze too long. He was reading me like an open book, ever the intuitive man, our chief.
“Did something happen?” he asked, and I shook my head, unsure if I should get into this with him. I had to figure out what happened myself first. This was all on me.
“Girl troubles,” I said with a smile that felt false even to me. “Peyton is angry with me.”
“Hmmm.” Chief Davis took a drink of his coffee and set it back down on the table, curling his large hands around the mug. “What did you do?”
I laughed humorlessly, shaking my head. “Screwed it up, you know. I’m an idiot.”
“No one here is going to argue that,” Chief Davis said steadily, nodding his head. He fell silent and so did I, both of us focusing on whatever happened to be in front of us. Finally, Chief Davis looked at me again, and the expression on his face made me wish I had never brought it up to begin with. “I suggest, Lieutenant Butler, that you don’t wind up like me. Alone.”
“You’re not alone, Ch—”
“I am,” he said firmly, voice rising with indignation. “I chose my career over a life. I chose firefighting over my wife, and she left me many years ago because of it.” He looked away from me briefly, but then met my eyes again. “I missed out on a home. And a family.”
“Chief, your family is here.”
