Married For Jeremy (Under Fire Book 1) (13 page)

              “Not that badly.”

              “I’ll move, you need to rest.” She jumped to her feet.

              A little frustrated, James watched her head for the kitchen. He looked down at the floor where Jeremy had fallen asleep and realized he was a little sleepy himself. Stretching out on the couch, he was out in no time.

Chapter 14

              When James woke up, a blanket slid to the floor. Reaching down, he picked it up. Ellen must’ve gotten it for him. Jeremy wasn’t on the floor anymore, so he assumed he’d slept a long time. James started to sit up, but it was slow. Every muscle in his body was stiff. He got to his feet and headed for the bathroom, a hot shower sounded like a good idea, and after that, some food.

A knock on the bathroom door caught his attention and he shut the water off. “James?”

“Yeah?”

“Roy is here to see you.”

“Okay, I’ll be right out.” James dried off and got dressed as quickly as he could, then headed out to the kitchen room where Ellen had just poured Roy some coffee. “Hey, what’s going on?” James asked.

“I thought I’d stop by personally to let you know how Zack was doing.”

“It’s not bad is it?” James asked concerned.

“No. Zack’s awake and aware of what’s going on. He has a minor burn on his hand because one of his gloves slipped during the collapse and made a gap in his gear, and his leg is broken, but otherwise, he’s fine. They’re going to discharge him tomorrow as long as there’s no complications tonight.”

“That’s great. I wasn’t sure who I was going to partner up with if something happened to him.”

“There’s always m,” Roy said with a smile.

“Sure, but...”

“I know, I’ll stick with ladders and ventilation.” He looked at Ellen. “I’m the ladder guy.”

James laughed. “More like crazy monkey guy. It’s amazing you haven’t gotten yourself hurt instead of me.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll bounce if I fall.”

Ellen left them in the kitchen and went to take the laundry out of the dryer. Realizing how close she’d come to losing James, had made her realize how important he was to her.

              James had already gone to bed when Ellen finally got Jeremy settled and asleep. Hoping he was still awake, she went to his room and knocked.

              “Com’on in.”

              She pushed the door open. James was sitting up against the headboard. “Want some company.”

              “Sure,” he said with a smile.

              She crossed the room, and sat on the bed beside him. “How are you feeling?”

              “Stiff, but not too bad. You going to kiss me to make it better?”

              Ellen blushed.

              “I’m kidding.” James ran his hand through his hair. “Guess you decided to brave being in a room with the moose?”

              Ellen glanced up at the animal. “Well, maybe it’s not that bad.”

              James gave her a lopsided smile. “I dare you to go touch it.”

              Ellen looked up sharply. “I’m, well.”

              “Still scared of it?”

              “No, I just, well, it’s gross.”

              “So it’s gross, not scary?” James leaned over and tickled her. “I thought you were getting used to country living, a little ol’ elk shouldn’t scare you.”

              Ellen shrieked with laughter as he shifted closer and tickled her some more. “James, cut it out.” She finally grabbed onto his wrists and stopped him. They were still for several moments as they realized he was on top of her. She released his hands and didn’t move. James reached toward her and touched her hair. Then slowly, he traced his finger around her ear before leaning down and kissing her. Ellen slid her hand behind his neck, and kissed him back. Caught up in the moment, she didn’t want him to stop and grabbed onto him when he pulled away.

              “Wait.” He whispered.              

              She looked at him in confusion. “Why?”

              “I want you to want this. We can’t just get carried away like last time. I don’t want you to have regrets in the morning,” he said with a soft voice.

              “I’m ready James.”

              “Okay.”

Chapter 15

              “How was it?” Ellen asked hesitantly when James returned home.

              “Great. Kid’s banged up but he’ll be fine. It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be.” James went to the fridge and retrieved the jug of cold water. “I was a little worried I’d be first on scene to more than I could handle by myself.”

              “Were you first on scene?”

              “Yeah, for about thirty-five seconds. Zack was right behind me. Apparently he was shopping for his mom and was on his way home when the tone went off. Again though, it was good it wasn’t bad or he wouldn’t have been of any use to me. We basically just had to keep the guy calm and keep him from moving until EMS arrived.”

              “How badly is he hurt?”

              “Broken ankle and cuts and bruises. Might end up with a mild concussion.”

              “You really like medical stuff don’t you?”

              “Yeah, I guess, it’s part of the job.” James walked to the living room with his glass of water. “Do you mind if I watch Jeopardy?” James asked.

              “I guess.” He always asked for permission, knowing she disliked game shows.

              Half way through the show, she joined him on the couch. “Have you ever thought of being a paramedic?”

              “Yeah, lots of times. Why?”

              “I don’t know. Why don’t you go for it?”

              “There’s no way I could get into the program. My grades have always been terrible.”

              “Why? You’re fairly detail oriented. I would’ve thought school would be easy for you.”

              “Not so much.” James tightened his arm around her. “You might not have noticed, but I’m severely dyslexic. I can read if my life depends on it, but that’s about it.”

              “Is that why you can’t spell?”

              “Yeah.”

              “That makes sense, I always wondered about that.” 

              “Well now you know,” James said, smiling slightly.

              “What’s it like?”              

              “What?”

              “Being dyslexic?”

              “Frustrating.”

              Ellen was silent for a few moments, then looked up at him. “If someone read you something, could you learn it that way?”

              “I guess, why?”

              “Because you have a fantastic memory, so I’m wondering if someone were to help you, you could go to school again.”

              “You’re talking in riddles Ellen.”

              “Figure out how to get into school and I’ll read for you.”

              “Nice thought Ellen, but I don’t think it would work.”

              “Why not? Isn’t dyslexia technically a disability? Wouldn’t there be assistance for it? There should be if you can get a specialist’s note or something.”

              “I have one. I’ve been to every specialist there is, tried every different learning remedy there is and it’s still the same. Like I said I can read, and as you know, I can write, just not spell. But as for actually doing school work again, I don’t think I can.”

              “But you’re an amazing medical worker.”

              “It doesn’t matter. Can we talk about something else?”

              James skipped up the front steps, hoping Ellen wasn’t busy. She was on the phone.

              “So you’re telling me that I’ve been paying a yearly fee since I got the card?”

              James opened the fridge and stood surveying the contents. He settled on a handful of carrot sticks. Pushing the door shut with his foot, he stood want watched her while munching on a carrot.

              “But this is the first time I’ve seen this charge on my statement. I want it changed.”

              Ellen still wasn’t done with the phone when James finished his carrots. He walked up behind her and slipped his hands into her back pockets. She spun around and glared at him, nearly tangling herself in the phone cord. “Go away,” she mouthed.

              James released her and wandered across the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, he gave her a silly grin.

              Finally, she hung up the phone. “What is your problem?”

              “Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you.” He crossed the room and slipped his arms around her again.

              “Was it so important you had to bug me while I was on the phone?”

              “No, but you looked like you weren’t getting anywhere. I thought I could get you to shorten the call. What was it about anyway?” He brushed his nose against the back of her neck, she smelled especially good today.

              “There was an annual fee charged on my credit card statement. I was trying to find out why. My card isn’t supposed to have a fee.”

              “Cut it up.”

              “It’s not that easy.”

              “Com’on Ellen, relax, you know you want to.” James pulled her tense body closer and she leaned against him. “Let me tell you want I’ve got in mind and I’ll see if I can’t make your life a little better.”

              “O.K. Carrot Breath.” She turned in his arms. “What’s going on?”

              “I’m eating healthy, now besides that. How about a nice dinner out tomorrow night?”

              “Why?”

              “Because it’s our first anniversary. Or did you forget?”

              “No, I remembered.”

              “Yeah, so let’s go out.”

              “Maybe we could go out. Get hamburgers of something. I don’t want to stay out too late though, it might mess up Jeremy’s schedule.”

              James cupped her face with his hands. “Let me re-phrase this. I made a reservation at Daisy’s for six o’clock. Cindy is coming here at five-thirty to take care of Jeremy. I thought that after dinner, we could go for a nice walk, then go to the nice hotel room I also reserved for some you and me time. What do you think?”

              “I guess we could. But would Cindy and Jeremy be O.K. together?”

              “Of course.”

              “We can’t ask her to stay all night though.”

              “Sure we can. She offered to do it, or I wouldn’t have even thought of it. I’m a man, remember.”

              “Yeah.”

              “Cindy babysits for some of the other guys too. This isn’t the first time. And she’s had four kids of her own. Everything will be fine. And if it isn’t, we’re only a phonecall away.”

              “I guess.”

              “So can we do it?”

              “Yes.”

              “Good.” James kissed her, then let her go. “I think I’ll eat some more carrots.”

              Daisy’s, despite it’s common name, was a high-end restaurant in town. Ellen put on her black dress and put her hair up. Her dress didn’t fit quite as well as it did before she had Jeremy, but it was still flattering. Hoping James would like the way she looked, she slipped out of the bathroom.

              James whistled in appreciation when he saw her. He had put on black jeans and a sport shirt, and slicked his hair down with some water.

              “Do you like it?”

              “Of course I like it,” James said, smiling. “You look amazing.”

              Cindy arrived and James almost had to drag Ellen out the door. Cindy promised to call if anything was amiss and James and Ellen headed for the restaurant.

              It was dimly lit; the tablecloths were red and the candles white. Ellen had heard of the place, but never been there. When she admitted this to James, he looked surprised. “Are you serious? I figure everyone around this place at least for lunch.”

              “No, I didn’t know what it was like.”

              “It’s nice, you’ll like it,” James promised.

              The meal was excellent, but they didn’t hurry. When it was finished, they found themselves lost in each other’s eyes over the candlelight. Ellen rested her hand on the table. James covered it with his own, then reached into his shirt pocket with his free hand. “Close your eyes.”

              “Okay,” Ellen said with a puzzled look.

              She felt James turn her hand over, then felt a round object being placed in her palm. He closed her fingers over the object, then sat back in his chairs. “Take a look.”

              She opened her eyes and looked down at the table. The most beautiful engagement ring she’d ever seen was resting in her hand. “Oh James.”              

              “Do you like it?”

              “Yes, it’s amazing. But why?”

              “Every other married woman I know has an engagement ring. I should’ve bought you this a long time ago.” 

              “Thank you.” Ellen thought she was going to cry.

              “Here.” James picked up the ring with one hand and her hand with the other. He slipped the ring onto her finger, then sat back smiling.

              James wasn’t in bed when Ellen woke up. She brushed her tousled hair back from her face and looked around the room, wondering where he’d went. The door clicked open a moment later to answer her question.

              “Morning.” He smiled at her as he crossed the room with two mugs in his hand. “I went downstairs to get us some coffee.” He handed her one of the mugs. “Here, they made you hot chocolate.”

              “Thanks.” She smiled back. She brushed her hair out of her face again. She’d slept with it down and now it was tangled.

              “Guess I made a mess of your hair last night, huh?” James sat down on the bed.

              “Partly I suppose.” Ellen sat up a little straighter to lean her back against the headboard. She took a sip of hot chocolate, then looked into his eyes. “James, this was like the wedding night I never had.” 

              “Yeah.”

              “Thank you.”

              “You’re welcome.” He set his coffee on the bedside table and moved closer. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t come up with all this. But I’m glad we did it. I realized a few days ago that last year, when this all happened, I didn’t really love you. That night, I said I loved you, and thought I did, but really, you just felt good in my arms.”

              “Is it different now?”

              “Very.”