Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 3

DALTON

“Uncle Harrison!” My daughter, Katie, sprinted through the apartment and jumped into the awaiting arms of my best friend and, most importantly, her favorite person. I had to come to terms with Harrison taking that position away from me, but at least I’m still her favorite dad.

Harrison moved here a couple of years ago after being let go from his station in Omaha. His parents moved here a few years prior and they convinced their son to come to visit. Little did they know, that visit would turn into a life-changing experience for a lot of people in this small town. Harrison was offered the position of Fire Chief, he met Angela and fell in love, and I got myself a best friend. It took a little bit of time for my normally shy daughter to open up to somebody with the stature of Harrison, but once he was in, she had herself a new best friend too. 

Since Katie’s mom and my wife passed away, the two of us didn’t socialize with a lot of people. We had my parents, my wife’s parents, and Katie’s babysitter. Strawberry was a small town and I grew up here, so I knew a lot of people, but I didn’t go out of my way to make friends or hang out. I was content just working my job and raising my daughter. I clicked with Harrison though. Of course, with Harrison came Angela and then her best friend Blair. Before I knew it I had a full group of friends that were around my age whom I hung out with frequently. They also loved Katie the same way that I loved their children. It felt good.

“Hey Kitty Kate, are you ready for school?” Harrison set her down after their shared hug and checked around to look for her things for school. Since my injury, I have needed a little more help with things around the house. I wasn’t one to ask, but I didn’t have to. These people showed up whether I asked them to or not. I did my best to get my daughter ready for school, but I still couldn’t drive her. I was busy trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do, but they were all making plans behind my back to pick up the slack. If it wasn’t Harrison getting her every morning, it was one of the others. 

“I think I’m ready,” she said with such confidence.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I pointed to her feet, “Are you sure? Because I think you need to wear shoes to school.”

Katie dramatically throws her head back and hits her palm against her forehead, “That would be sooooooooooo silly to go to school without shoes!”

“You get your shoes on, while I make sure your dad has everything he needs.”

“What are you doing today, Daddy?” 

“Uncle Harrison is going to take me to the doctor’s office after he drops you off at school.”

Her shoulders drop and she frowns, “You’re going to be okay, right, Daddy?”

Her reaction broke my heart, but I couldn’t blame her. My accident unintendedly filled my sweet daughter with insecurities that she should never have to feel. Katie never knew her mother, she passed away when she was still a newborn, but she knew she had a mom who died. I openly spoke about Brandi in an age-appropriate way, but a side effect of that was Katie’s anxiousness anytime something happened to me. Even just a bout of the flu that I had a couple of years ago scared her. She was terrified of losing another parent and I couldn’t blame her one bit.

“You don’t need to worry, Katie. The doctor that I’m seeing today is going to help me heal so I can get out of this silly knee brace and throw away these crutches.”

Katie giggles, “And we can run around at the park again?”

I nod my head, “Oh yes, don’t you worry, when I’m all better I am going to chase you over and over until you’re screaming for me to stop.”

“That’ll be super fun! Maybe you can even push me on the swings again.” She leans in to whisper, but of course, her voice still carries through the living room, “Uncle Harrison isn’t that great at pushing the swing.”

“Hey!’ Harrison objected, “You told me that you didn’t need me pushing you on the screen.”

“That’s because you weren’t that good at it.” She shrugged it off and ran into her bedroom while Harrison stood in the living room looking like somebody just kicked his puppy.

“You okay over there, Harrison?”

“She’s rude.”

“Hurts when she prefers somebody else, huh?” I wink.

In a short bit of time later, Katie has her boots on and Harrison has helped me get off the couch. I could do it myself, but it does take a longer time. I hate being so useless. It isn’t in my nature to be the person who is always asking for help. I’m a firefighter, I’m the one who helps other people. The entire reason I’m in this position is that I was trying to save a young woman from running into a fire. Yet, I feel like I took all of the punishment for her actions and it isn’t fair.

Katie’s school is across town, it is the same elementary school that I went to all those years ago. It doesn’t look the same as it has gone through extensive upgrades, but I still feel that nostalgia when I get the chance to drop her off or pick her up. With my schedule, that isn’t always possible. On the days I’m at the firehouse, my parents are usually watching her. It’s been hectic since she started school because they can’t just take her back to their place. We’ve talked about getting a part-time nanny, but those are hard to come by in this small town.

The drive from the school to the hospital is rather quick with no traffic on the highway. The hospital sits about equal distances between Strawberry and another small town. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that large city hospitals have, but it works for most people here. The physical therapy center that I will be going to for the next six to eight weeks is located at the same location. 

“Remember to be nice to the staff, Dalton.”

“Fuck off, Harrison.”

He laughs, but I’m not really in the mood. I didn’t have the best experience when I was here after the accident I had to meet with the hospital director more than once. Looking back I will admit that I had a shitty attitude and took my issues out on the doctors and nurses rather than handling them internally, but can you blame a guy? My career is potentially done if I can’t properly rehab my knee. The only thing I’ve ever done is work for the fire department. If I can’t pass the physicals, I will be medically retired. 

Harrison pulls up to the entrance and then puts his truck into park. I hate that I have to wait for him to assist me out of the truck, but there is no way I could do it on my own. He doesn’t make a big deal about it though, he just supports my weight while I slide to the ground. “I’m serious, Dalton. I know this injury has you fucked in the head, but you can’t go around treating people like shit just because you’re mad.”

He hands me my crutches and I tuck them under my arms, “I know. I was a dick, but in my defense, I wasn’t in a good state of mind then. I know I have to recover to get back to work, so I’m ready to take these visits seriously and I’m willing to do anything to regain my strength.”

“That’s what I want to hear,” he claps my shoulder with his hand. “Hayes said he’d pick you up to take you back home since I need to head into the station.”

“That’s kind of embarrassing.”

“I know, but he’s a good kid and in six months he’s going to be your co-worker.”

“You think he’s going to pass all his tests?”

Hayes is Harrison's cousin’s son. He just turned twenty and finished his degree at the community college. He’s enrolled in the fire academy now and on his off time, he volunteers at the station. At this point, he’s been able to do everything except fighting the actual fires. He’s young, but damn he’s a good kid.

“He’s been asking me to make practice tests for him. I think he’s going to be good.”

“I’ll quiz him on the drive home.”

“He’d probably like that. See you later, Dalt,” he points at me again before I head inside, “Be fucking good so I don’t have to go Chief on your ass!”