Blaze stared into his coffee while steam curled upward between them.
Outside the bay doors, sunlight gleamed against the engines lined in the apparatus bay. Somewhere beyond the marina, gulls cried overhead.
Four months ago, he'd walked into Station 3 looking for a reset.
After five years with Baltimore Fire, he'd grown tired of twelve-hour shifts turning into twenty-four and politics turning good firefighters into miserable people.
Sheraton Beach had seemed like the perfect place to catch his breath.
Station 3 was familiar. Comfortable. Temporary.
At least that had been the plan. He'd come home intending to figure out what came next.
Then Johanna happened. Now she was the only thing he could think about.
Finally, Blaze exhaled.
“Some things don't leave you.”
That shut everybody up for approximately three seconds.
Then Michael slapped the counter again.
“Oh, he in LOVE love.”
The room completely lost its mind.
Blaze laughed despite himself and shook his head.
Truthfully, there wasn't much point in denying it anymore. Not after seeing Johanna again. Because the truth was embarrassingly simple. No matter how many years passed, some part of him still belonged to her.
Always would.
Ryan dropped into the chair across from him. The teasing eased from his expression, replaced by something more knowing.
“You nervous?”
That earned a pause.
Blaze frowned. “About what?”
Ryan stared at him. “Seeing her again.”
Blaze opened his mouth automatically. Then closed it. Because Johanna Bennett still affected him. And Blaze was manenough to admit it.
Burning buildings didn't make him nervous. Car wreck extractions didn't make him nervous. The possibility of a roof collapsing over his head didn't make him nervous.
But Johanna Bennett… that woman could dismantle his peace with a single look.
Michael pointed at him dramatically. “That silence told us everything.”
Blaze rolled his eyes. “I hate this station.”
“Nah,” Ryan said easily. “You just hate that we know you.”
Unfortunately, they did.
The station phone rang in the front office. Someone shouted about inventory checks. The television overhead switched to sports highlights. Life inside Station 3 slipped back into its normal rhythm. But Blaze remained still for a moment longer.
