Courage (Heroes of Big Sky 1)

“You can’t be here,” I say firmly. “Where are the kids?”

“With Aspen.” Her eyes roam over me as she pats me down some more. “Jesus, you flew. How many fingers am I holding up?”

I stand and make her stand, too. The fresh wave of nausea makes me want to lean on her, but I don’t.

“You can’t be here,” I say again. “Tash, listen to me.”

I move us both away from the heat of the fire.

“You can’t leave me,” she says. She’s hysterical now.

“Tash.” I give her shoulders a shake, and she looks up at me. “I can’t have you here. Listen to me. This is too dangerous, and I have to do my job.”

“You’re hurt.”

“No, I’m not.” The lie falls off my tongue easier than it probably should, but I need to get her the fuck out of here. “I need you to get the kids and go. I’ll see you at your house later.”

Her face registers hurt, but then she steps away. “Okay. See you.”

She turns and hurries back to the crowd she came from, and I get back to work.

“You need an EMT,” Jess, one of my coworkers, says. “You hit hard.”

“I’m fine. Let’s get this under control before we lose more.”

It’s a fucking brutal few hours, but we move fast and efficiently, and with only minimal damage to the two homes on either side, the fire calms to a smolder.

Some of the guys agree to stay through the night to keep an eye on things and work on any hot spots, making sure that it doesn’t get out of control again.

It’s after eight in the evening when I glance at the time. It’s been a long fucking day.

I need food, a shower, and a bed—in that order.

I walk into Tash’s house and the twins immediately greet me, wanting to know everything.

“Is the fire out?”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Did someone die?”

“No one died,” I assure them as they both latch onto my legs. “And no one was seriously hurt. I’m going to take a shower, okay?”

I glance up and see Tash leaning on the counter, watching me with guarded eyes.

“Are you hungry?” she asks.

“Starving.”

“You take that shower, and I’ll make you something.”

“You’re the best.” I lean over and kiss her cheek on my way down the hall to the bathroom.

The shower is hot and soothing. My head aches like a son of a bitch, and I’m tired to the bone. But I’m also starving, so diving into bed for about twelve hours of sleep isn’t going to happen yet.

When I return to the living room, the kids are in their pajamas. Both jump up from the couch to greet me again.

“We want to snuggle before bed,” Kelsey informs me. “But Auntie Tash says you have to eat. Can you eat on the couch so we can snuggle?”

I glance at Tash, who just shrugs. “Up to you.”

“As long as she doesn’t care, I suppose it’s okay.”

I eat the BLT and fries Tash made and chat with the kids on the couch, eating around little heads and arms that want to hold onto me.

“Why are you guys so clingy tonight?”

“They saw you,” Tash says before either of the kids can respond. “They were there.”

“I’m totally okay,” I assure them both right away. “This is what I’m trained to do. I’m glad you waited up for me, but I think you should probably go to bed now.”

Natasha herds the kids to their room, and I can hear her talking to them as I polish off the second sandwich.

I stretch my arms above my head and then take my empty plate to the kitchen.

“How are you, really?” she asks when she returns.

“I’m okay. Slight concussion according to the EMT, but no special instructions for that. It mostly just knocked the wind out of me.”

She nods and crosses to me.

“I’m gonna go to bed myself,” I say and hug her, then kiss her lips. “I’m exhausted.”

I walk back to the bedroom and climb into bed. The sheets are cool, and I barely hit the pillow before sleep overtakes me.

* * *

The house is silent.

I sit up and rub my hands over my face, then check the time.

I slept through the morning. Hell, it’s almost noon. I never do that.

I walk out of the bedroom and find Tash sitting at the table, making a list and checking her open laptop.

“I’m sorry I slept so late.”

Her head comes up, and she watches me. “You needed to. How do you feel? Headache?”

“Actually, no. I feel pretty good. A little groggy.”

She stands and makes me a cup of coffee. “This should help.”

“So, I guess the kids are at school, huh?”

“Yup.”

She sits back down and doesn’t look at me at all as she writes something on her list.

“What’s going on, Tash?”

“What do you mean?”

I raise a brow and sip my coffee. “What’s up with the cold shoulder?”