Ignite (Wildwood 1)

“No kidding,” Harper muttered. “When did you want to meet tonight?”

“I’ll swing by and pick you up around seven? Is that good?”

“Perfect.”

The moment Delilah walked out, Harper’s phone started to ring, which was unusual. Pretty much everyone who needed to talk to her texted first, including her mom. It was so much easier that way.

But when she saw who was calling her, she answered immediately. “Hey, you.”

“Hi. I wanted to hear your voice.” West’s deep, sexy voice made her smile. And shiver. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Where are you?” Don’t get your hopes up. Don’t get your hopes up.

“Still at the station. About ready to tear my hair out. I’m so anxious to get out of here.”

Her hopes crashed to the ground in a tangled heap of disappointment. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, but I have good news. Maybe.” He paused. “Rumor has it that Tate and his crew might be on their way back to the station today. They’ll need a few days off, but another engine from a nearby station is coming over to give all of us some reprieve.”

“No way,” Harper breathed, excitement building inside her. She wanted to see him so bad she could hardly stand it. “That’s great news.”

“I know. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed. Even if it really isn’t my own bed.” He took a deep breath. “Used to be yours, right?”

“Right,” she admitted softly, glancing up at the open doorway to double-check that no one was around. She turned the chair around so her back faced the open door. “You like sleeping in my old bed?”

“Definitely. But I’d prefer it if you were sleeping with me,” he admitted in a growly whisper that filled her brain with all sorts of interesting images. “Not that we’d get much sleep.”

Her heart fluttered. “Are you off tonight?” Delilah would kill her if she canceled on them, but she’d eventually understand. After all, Harper was sexually frustrated too.

One taste of West wasn’t nearly enough. He made her greedy. She wanted more.

More sex. With West. That was it. Not a relationship, nothing serious. Just free and easy. That was all she wanted.

Right?

Harper frowned. Why did she feel like she was constantly arguing with herself?

“That’s the problem. I have no idea when I’m off, or if this is really going to happen tonight. I just wanted to keep you posted, let you know what’s going on,” he explained.

She clutched the phone closer to her ear. “I’m glad you did. Thank you for calling.”

They chatted for the next few minutes, mostly about stuff that had been happening since they saw each other last. Harper didn’t have much—cleaning out a messy office wasn’t that exciting. So she let West talk, absorbing all of his stories, her frown deepening the more he said.

He’d gone on some dangerous calls, something she’d never really thought about before. But he put his life at risk to help others and that gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

“I’ve missed you,” he finally admitted, his voice gruff. Like he didn’t want to say it but had to anyway.

“I’ve missed you too.” She smiled and her heart squeezed. She told herself to settle down. Feeling all swoony over West wasn’t smart. Delilah was right. How serious could those Gallagher brothers ever really be? They didn’t do relationships. “Call or text me when you know what’s going on, okay?”

“I will.”

“Be safe.” She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat, thinking again of all the dangerous things West faced on a daily basis. If they ever were to become serious, would she be able to handle it? Knowing that he put himself on the line every single day? That maybe . . . oh, God . . . he wouldn’t come home one day?

A shudder moved through her at the horrible thought.

“You too, baby,” he murmured.

Her belly was warm long after she ended the call with West. He’d called her baby. Like maybe she did mean something to him, which was probably ridiculous on her part yet . . . She couldn’t help but think that way. They’d always had a connection. Now that they’d finally acted on that connection, maybe they really could make it work.