Light My Fire
: Chapter 25

Two weeks.

It’s been two fucking weeks since we got back from the cabin.

Two weeks of dog photos and videos from Jackson.

Two weeks of house and acreage photos from properties he’s considering buying. One week of house and acreage photos from the one he actually put an offer on.

Two weeks since I’ve actually seen him, talked about anything else, or mentioned anything that happened at the cabin.

It’s also been two weeks since Luke and I talked about anything other than work. When we’re at calls, everything is normal. Our teamwork is completely unaffected. Of course it is. I trust him with my life and vice versa. He’s the best firefighter I’ve ever known, and he leads our fire house with integrity, firmness, and heart. There’s nothing weird at all when we’re doing our job.

But at the firehouse between calls, things are different. If I was going through something like I am about Brooke, I would talk to him about it. But I feel like I can’t with this because he’s a part of it. He might say otherwise. Hell, he might wish it was different. But, like it or not, he’s part of the reason I’m not talking to her every day, not making plans to go see her. Not calling her my girlfriend.

Strangely, it’s not even that he fucked her. It’s that she has feelings for him. And I’m not mad about it, or jealous. Much. I just know that I need her to have everything she wants, and if that includes Luke, and he’s not into that, I’m not going to be happy knowing she’s not completely happy.

And, of course, more than anything, it’s been two weeks without Brooke. Two of the longest weeks of my life. I’ve only texted her that one night and that made it worse because she asked me to stop.

And I’m about to lose my shit.

It’s my day off. I’m at home, watching one of Jackson’s dog videos for the fifth time, and I want to hear her voice with an intensity that I almost can’t believe.

This is probably a terrible idea. But I do it anyway.

I press her number and let it ring.

She picks up after three rings.

My heart almost stops when I hear her voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Brooke.” That’s all I manage at first.

I don’t know if she has my number programmed in. I don’t know if she’ll recognize my voice. But suddenly I don’t know what else to say.

“Hi,” she says softly.

My heart squeezes—as cheesy as that sounds—and my cock twitches, just from that one simple word.

“It’s Wyatt,” I say.

Her laugh is soft. “I know.”

I’m very glad she knows. I blow out a breath. “I maybe shouldn’t have called,” I say. “But I couldn’t resist anymore.”

She is quiet for a few seconds, then she asks, “Why would you when I asked you not to reach out?”

“Well, it’s not just a friendly call to say hi or to see how you are,” I say. “I mean, I really wanted to hear your voice. And I really want to hear how you are. But it’s more than that.”

My heart is hammering in my chest and my palms are actually sweating. I don’t think I have felt this way talking on the phone to a girl since I was thirteen or fourteen. Hell, maybe not even then. I’ve always been pretty confident with girls.

I’m just not sure any previous girl has meant as much as Brooke does to me now.

“Well, I’m good. Getting ready to start my clinical rotations in two weeks. My exams went really well, though I think I told you that. And I’m glad to hear your voice, too.”

I breathe out, relieved. “That’s awesome. I’m glad to hear all of that.”

“So what else is this call about?” she asks.

My heart thumps hard, and I swallow, but I am fucking saying this. Consequences be damned. “I want to see you. I can’t quit thinking about you. I have feelings for you, Brooke. Feelings I can’t get over. I really want to see you again. So I’m coming to Minneapolis. I have the plane tickets pulled up in front of me right now and I am ready to push the buy button. I just wanted to be sure that you’re not busy this weekend.”

I am definitely all for just showing up, but I’m trying to be respectful. I don’t have any idea what veterinary school is like, so if she has more exams or some meeting or something else she has to do, I don’t want to fuck that up for her.

The silence stretches for several seconds, and I frown. “Brooke?” My heart is in my throat. “I know how things were when we left the cabin and I know you said it’s too hard because you have feelings for me. I know you also have feelings for Luke and Jackson. I get it. I’m okay with that. All I know is how I feel. I just want to see you again. Please let me come to you.”

Finally, she says, “It’s not that.” I hear her take a breath. “I mean, it’s maybe kind of that but…”

“Brooke, honey, we can talk about all of that. It doesn’t have to be hard, I promise. I really just want to see you. In person.”

“Okay,” she says. “But don’t push the buy button.”

I frown. “Why not?”

“Well, I have to tell you something. I wasn’t sure if I should. But now…”

I give a short laugh. “After everything you have told me, and everything that happened, you can tell me anything.”

Again, she’s quiet for a couple of seconds and I picture her gorgeous face with that sweet blush that is so easy to elicit.

Then she says, “I’m in Chicago.”

A thrill shoots through me. “Awesome.” I slam my laptop shut. “How long are you here? Where are you?” I stand and head for my bedroom to change clothes.

“I’m here for a while. Actually, the next couple of years.”

I freeze in my bedroom door. “What do you mean?”

“My internship is here in Chicago. I am living here now.”

I let that sink in. Then I pull in a deep breath. “Fuck, yes.”

“Wyatt… I…”

“Brooke. Give me your address.”

She hesitates, then says, “I don’t know if I should.”

“You definitely should,” I say firmly.

“I like you,” she says. “A lot. I’ve been thinking about you ever since the cabin, too. But I like all of you. I don’t think I can date just one of you.”

I feel like all of the air has been sucked out of my lungs.

But my heart is still hammering.

We can make this work.

I think we have to make this work.

“That’s not a deal breaker for me,” I tell her.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I will do whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy. If you want to date all of us, we can make that work.”

She’s quiet. There’s no sound from her end of the phone.

“Brooke,” I say firmly, but softly. “We’re going to make this work. This isn’t over.”

Finally she says, “Okay.”

“Okay.” I pause, then say, “Bye, Brooke. We’ll talk soon.”

“Bye, Wyatt.”

We hang up, but for the first time in two weeks, I’m happy. Hopeful.

I don’t know how exactly I’m going to solve this, but I am going to see this girl again.

I do know who I need to help me solve it, though.

I send a text to my two best friends.

Jackson responds first.

Then Luke texts right on his heels.