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Tish
My annoyance about Griffin’s high-handedness was still chafing at me when he called me that afternoon. I was tied up with a meeting at work and didn’t get a chance to take his call. Roughly an hour later, I learned his crew had gotten called out to another fire. My annoyance disappeared as quickly as a balloon popping.
A near-instant worry rose inside. I tried to call him back, but he didn’t answer. I hurried down the hallway to search for Phoebe.
“What is it?” she asked when I walked into her office.
“Griffin’s crew got called out to a fire.”
Her gaze was warm and sympathetic, and she pulled me into a quick hug.
“Why did I have to fall in love with a firefighter?” I bemoaned.
Phoebe squeezed my shoulders before she stepped back. “You did, so you’ll learn to deal with it.”
Phoebe insisted I come with her to card night. With everything going on, I had forgotten about it. A serious side effect of having a baby all by myself was I had become wildly forgetful.
Conveniently, Madison was hosting, so I didn’t even have to go out of my way to get there. When I arrived with Phoebe, Allie immediately swept Teddy into her arms. Maisie came in with Lucy and Amelia on her heels. Holly, Tiffany, and Farrah joined us, along with Susannah and Jasmine.
It was always a mix-and-match group, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Stella there. She smiled at me when I sat down beside her. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
“I was at Firehouse Café, and, Janet introduced me to Maisie. She invited me,” Stella explained. “I’m new here, so thought it’d be good to get to know some people.”
I smiled around at my newfound friends before my gaze made its way back to Stella. “I’m still new to town, but they make me feel like I belong.”
Madison sat down on my other side, curling her arm around my shoulders and squeezing tight before leaning back. “Of course you belong.”
While we were nibbling on an array of appetizers, we began a casual game of cards and the usual chatter started. During a pause, Phoebe piped up, “Tish is learning that dating a firefighter can be stressful.”
I felt my cheeks get hot when all eyes turned to me. “Griffin and Graham’s crew got called out,” Madison explained.
“I promise you’ll get used to it,” Amelia chimed in.
Maisie nodded vigorously. “Of course I worry about Beck when he’s gone and I miss him like crazy. Aside from the worry, there are perks. I get plenty of my own time and hot welcome-home sex.”
Stella snorted. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
“Well, it’s not make-up sex, and I think it’s better,” Maisie replied matter-of-factly.
“So, how serious are you and Griffin?” Susannah asked.
“Pretty serious, I think.”
“Do you love him?” Maisie pressed.
I slid my gaze to her. Amelia let out a dry chuckle. “Beck is the nosy guy, and Maisie is the nosy girl.”
“I call it curious,” Maisie said. “You don’t have to answer.”
“I don’t mind. I do love him. I just can’t believe he even wants to be with me. I have a baby, and it’s not his baby, and then this whole drama happened…” I threw a hand up in the air.
That led to plenty of questions and I had to fill everyone in on the events around Paul and his parents. Stella mostly stayed quiet.
“You work at the law firm, are you helping her with this?” Farrah asked.
Stella held her palms up. “I can’t talk about it unless Tish wants to.”
“Stella has been amazing. It’s all good. I just hope Paul doesn’t do anything else shitty,” I added.
