Rescued Hearts (Hero Series) (9 page)

“Hi Mike, I’m downstairs” Susan was calling from her iPhone in front of the fire house.

“Ok, I’ll buzz you in and be right down.” Mike pressed the button to allow Susan access to the stations entrance. Rather than taking the stairs down, he walked down the hall to slide down the fireman pole just to make a dramatic entrance.

“That’s certainly a way to make an entrance.” Susan said.

“Yeah well, it was closer to the front door. Good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too.”

So what kind of idea did you have in mind?”

“I was wondering if you could introduce me to Captain Miller so I can get his approval to ride with you guys on the job for 3 days. I want to show our viewers what it’s really like to be a firefighter and how theirs so much more to it than extinguishing fires. It’ll be a great opportunity to show the city what the firefighting world is like on a daily basis. What do you think?” Susan asked.

“Sounds good to me. We’ll have to run it by the captain first?”

“You think he’ll go for it?”

“I can’t see why not. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“What’s that wonderful aroma coming from upstairs?”

“Tell you what? Join us for dinner and that’ll be an excellent opportunity for you to talk to the captain.”

“Oh thank you Mike. That would be great.”

***

Nick was at O’Malleys waiting for his date and wondering if he should just leave. Every minute that passed while he waited for a complete stranger, made him feel very awkward. He decided to stay put since he had already given Susan the go ahead. Sensing someone was staring at him, he turned around.

“Hi. Are you Nick?”

“Yes, Nice to meet you.”

Nick already knew what Karen would look like based on Susan’s description. Karen was tall about 5’10” but that was because she had heels on; take them off she was probably 5’8”. A little too young for Nicks taste; she appeared to be in her early 20’s.  She was an attractive, brunette, both pluses in Nick’s book, with dark brown eyes

“Wow. Susan’s description of you was right on.”

Nick smiled hesitantly, “Glad you were able to tell me from the crowd. Let’s grab a table?”

“Sure.”

As soon as they sat down table, Karen continued bombarding Nick with questions and he couldn’t help but feel this was going to be a waste of time for both of them.

“So Susan told me you’re a fireman. How long have you been doing that?”

“Yeah, about 10 years now.”

“Must be a really intense job.”

“It can be at times.”

“Did you ever think of doing something else?”

“Absolutely not, I love what I do.”

“Have you lived in town long, I mean were you born here?”

“Yes I was.”

“What was the craziest experience you’ve had as a firefighter?”

Getting tired of all the questions, Nick asks, “Are you a reporter also?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Because you ask a lot of questions, but I guess if you don’t ask questions then how do you get a story. Right?”

“Exactly. It’s a habit, especially when I’m performing research and looking for new material for the news.”

“So am I material for a story you’re reporting on?” Nick said wishing he was somewhere else right now.

“Oh, not at all.” Karen attempted to get Nick talking about something else. “What about music? Do you like jazz or rock? You know there’s another bar not too far from here that plays live rock. Starts at 7, would you like to go?”

Wondering how he can escape from this situation. Nick thought,
How about trying the truth?

“Karen, you’re sweet and attractive but I can’t do this. It’s not you, it’s me. I’m just not ready for dating. I truly am sorry.”

Feeling rejected Karen said, “It’s OK, I understand.”

Nick got up, left O’Malleys and let out a sigh of relief.

***

Back at the firehouse Mike and Susan were heading upstairs and to Susan’s surprise several firemen were preparing dinner. “So you team up also to prepare your meals?” Susan asked.

Mike explained, “We’re not out all day rescuing people from fires, so on our down time we’re either working out, cleaning, cooking, sleeping, checking equipment, preparing for inspections. My favorite part of the day is the cooking. More specifically, the eating.”

Alex interrupted by saying, “Yeah, we all cook except for Mike. He only knows how to boil water.”

“Yeah but I do it so well.” Mike said jokingly.

Pulling out a frying pan, Alex says “The best chef this firehouse has ever seen is Nick.”

“Must be nice having a brother for a chef.” Susan said.

Mike replies, “It would be but he hasn’t cooked for some time now. I’m going to check if the captain’s available. Be right back.”

A few minutes later Susan’s iPhone rings. “Hey Karen! How’s your date going?”

“What date? He left.” Karen said rather annoyed.

Mike walked back over to Susan waiting for her to finish her phone conversation. “Already? It’s not even 6:00 yet.”

“We never really clicked anyway.”

“So sorry it didn’t work out Karen.”

“No problem. It happens. See you tomorrow at the office.”

Already sensing the outcome, “The office hookup bombed, huh? Mike asked.

“Unfortunately yes. It was my fault. I was just trying to help and I just made things worse.”

“Welcome to the club. Now you know what I’ve been dealing with. Also the captain isn’t going to be available tonight but he’ll be back on shift in a few days.”

“OK, I’ll call the captain in a few days then and see if I can meet with him then. As far as Nick is concerned, should I go to your place and talk to him or would that just make matters worse?”

“I would leave him alone tonight but tomorrow afternoon from 11:00 to 1pm, you’ll only be able to find him in one place?

***

“Hello Nick.” Turning around from closing the refrigerator door, Nick was surprised and happy to see Susan standing there. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Mike told me I could find you here at the soup kitchen. I hope that’s OK?”

“Only if you roll up your sleeves and give me a hand. Just kidding.” Susan puts down her purse and begins to pick up left over dishes.

“I was only kidding.” Nick said.

“No, I want to help and by the way, I’m sorry about your date with Karen.”

Nick started laughing to hide his embarrassment. “She was very sweet, full of questions, but she was fine. Most guys would’ve jumped at the chance to sit down with her, but I felt awkward. I just felt I wasn’t ready.”

Susan moved closer to where Nick was standing to rinse the dirty dishes. “The good thing about this whole experience is that you got out of your comfort zone and tried. Next time it’ll be easier. But you’ll have to do that one on your own. I don’t have any other single girlfriends to introduce you to.” Susan said in jest as she placed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. “Do you volunteer here a lot?”

At least once a week for the past 3 years.” Mike said.

“I used to volunteer at St. Joseph’s Hospital performing simple duties, stocking rooms, talking to patients when they needed someone to talk to, filling water pitchers, simple stuff but then my career kicked in I just never found the time to go back.” Susan said.

“If something’s important to you, you’ve got to make the time.”

“Ever since you rescued me from that fire, I seem to be thinking about that more and more as the day’s progress. Things that I thought were important before, no longer are.”

“I trust that’s a good thing?”

“Oh definitely but it’s still a work in progress.”

“I can relate.”

“You know the guys really miss you at the station.”

“Yeah, I don’t know when I’m going back.”

“Yes, but you can visit them.”

“You’re right. I could at least do that with all this time on my hands.”

“Besides the firehouse could use the master chef back.”

“Oh so you heard about my title, did you?”

“Oh yes and I look forward to trying one of your specialties one day.” They both looked at each other and shared a gentle smile. Realizing he was admiring her beauty longer than he should have, Nick turned around and said, “Well I’ll just start the dishwasher and we’re done.”

As they walked out of the soup kitchen together, Susan noticed that he was carrying a motorcycle helmet. “How long have you been riding?”

“For about 6 years now. It was a wedding present from my parents.”

“Cool parents. How old are they?” “Cool parent’s is right. My dad is 60 and my mom 58 and they still ride together on my dad’s Honda Goldwing.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have they been married?”

“They’ve been together for over 40 years.”

“That is so beautiful to hear. Hoping that she’ll be able to say the same thing one day, Susan continued. “How do they keep the fire going in their relationship?”

“They love to read to one another, go for walks, pray for one another and are very social with the friendships they have. They’re always planning their next vacation. Going on cruises, golfing, you name it. They’re best friends.” Nick gets on his motorcycle saying, “They were meant for each other.”

“Sounds like they have a beautiful life together.”