Page 28 of Final Score

“Hi. You’re pretty.” Charlie smiled a large toothless grin. “Is your name Kat because you like cats?” She asked completely serious.

I crouched down next to the bed, getting on her level. “Hi Charlie, it’s nice to meet you. Kat is my nickname. My real name is Katherine.” I answered shaking her little hand.

“My real name is Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlie. I like her, Uncle J. Can we keep her?” She asked.

"That was my plan, kiddo.” Jenner answered, picking her up off the bed. “Why don’t we go get some dinner and let your dad rest?” He asked, spinning her around in a circle.

“Yay! I want spaghetti.” Charlotte squealed in his arms.

“Then it’s a good thing Grandma is cooking tonight.” Jenner answered, looking at his brother. “Get some rest, bro. We’ll be back in the morning.”

I moved to follow them out the door when Trey called my name. “Kat, would you mind staying for a second?” He asked. I paused in the doorframe, glancing in Jenner’s direction. He nodded in approval before leaving me alone in the room with his brother.

“I know coming back here couldn’t have been easy for you, but I appreciate you coming for him.” Trey spoke, a grimace crossing his face as he moved back into the center of the bed. “My brother isn’t always the easiest person to deal with. When he came home at Christmas, he was different. Happier, more relaxed. I know that’s your influence.” Trey smirked. “It’s none of my business, and Jenner would kill me if he knew I was telling this. No matter what you decide going forward, you should know. He’s loved you for the past five years. I think that feeling’s mutual, but be careful with him, Kat. Losing you again would crush him.”

“I just want him to be happy.” I answered honestly. “I hope you get some rest.”

“Dinner was wonderful.” I said, thanking Mr. Blackwell for the millionth time.

Dinner truly had been amazing. Homemade spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and apple pie for dessert. Sitting in the company of my father’s old co-workers and my fake boyfriend’s family had made me anxious. Even when the conversation flowed easily, I felt like I was stepping back into a time frame I didn’t want to repeat.

A twinge of guilt hit my heart as I thought about what Trey had said in the hospital. Jenner’s family was wonderful. They were everything you wanted, your significant other’s family to be. Kind, respectful, endearing. Every single one of them had made me feel included tonight.

Yet, I didn’t know how I felt about their son/brother. If I did, I wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone, let alone myself. I knew things had changed between Jenner and I. It was getting harder to ignore. Especially when it no longer felt like we were pretending to be a couple. I was excited when I got to see him and sad when he wasn’t around. Hell, I had agreed to go on this trip with him. Something I swore I would never do, just, so he didn’t have to do it all alone.

I couldn’t admit out loud what my heart was screaming. It went against everything I had promised myself years ago, and I was stupid enough to let it happen. Jenner had worked his way past the walls surrounding my heart without my permission, and I didn’t know how to put them back up again.

What I wished for most was clarity. Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear Jenner’s father speak until he stopped walking. “Sorry.” I apologized. “What did you say?”

“I would like to show you something, if you don’t mind.” He answered.

“Of course.”

Walking past the bright red engine, Jenner’s father led me down a hallway and into the station’s break room. He stopped in front of a large golden plaque on the wall. My heartbeat faster as I read the words engraved in metal.

“In memory of our fallen heroes. You will be missed. Your sacrifice never going un-noticed. Forever in our hearts.”

Underneath was a picture of every firefighter the 117 had lost. At the top, directly underneath the plaque, was a picture of my father. Forever immortalized in his uniform, smiling down at his fellow first responders. He looked young. Younger than he had been the last time I’d seen him. They would have taken the picture when he was assigned as Capitan ten years before his death.

My heart broke at the sight. It was a beautiful gesture, and a perfect display of the brotherhood I knew was forged between the firefighters in this station. Seeing my face, Jenner’s father pulled me in for a hug.

“I think about him every time I put this uniform on. When someone asks for the Capitan, my first instinct is to look for your father even after all these years. I do this job every day in his honor. Hoping to make him proud.” His voice cracks, and I know he’s thinking about the friend he lost.

“He loved this job. I know he would be proud of all of you.” I answer, hoping to provide him some comfort.

“You were his pride and joy. You’ve grown into a wonderful young lady. He would be very proud of you too, Katherine.”

I nod, unable to speak. I hope he knows how much that means to me and my family. Wiping tears from my cheek, I take one last look at my father’s picture on the wall. I love you, dad. I wish you were here.

Jenner had left the firehouse early, explaining that he had an errand to run, before asking his father to drive me home. When I walked into our hotel room, Jenner had yelled through the closed bathroom door instructions to wait outside until he said it was ok. So, I had been sitting on the bed for fifteen minutes listening to him clumsily move about the bathroom. What on earth is he doing? I thought as another loud crash and a colorful cuss word sounded behind the door.

The door opened, and Jenner walked around the corner looking disheveled, an impish grin on his face. “I have a surprise for you.” He said, hand outstretched.

Weary, I followed him into the bathroom as he covered my eyes with his hands. “Surprise!” Jenner exclaimed.

Rose petals were scattered across the marble floor and along the edge of the white claw-foot tub. A Sherpa lined robe was laying across the vanity and candles were lit next to the bathtub, that was full of steaming hot water and bubbles.

“No matter how hard you tried to hide it, I know today wasn’t easy. I figured a nice relaxing bath would be the perfect way to end the day.” He responded, answering my unspoken question. “I’m going to go watch the NHL game on tv. You get to relaxing, ok? Call me if you need anything.”