Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 18

DALTON

I could hear the vibrations of my phone alarm going off, but I wanted to just ignore it instead. The vibrations continued and soon the melody of the alarm began to play and there was no more ignoring it. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone, shutting off the alarm and groaning at the time. It was five in the morning and the world was still quiet. The sun wouldn’t even be up for a couple of hours.

Just like every morning since my accident, my leg was slow to get with the program. I had to sit on the side of the bed and massage it a bit before the lingering pain lessened and I could put some weight on it. The limp was obvious, but I wasn’t going to let it hold me back. My leg was never going to be the same, even when I was done with physical therapy and cleared for work. This was just going to have to be part of my normal routine. I was well aware that I couldn’t be a firefighter forever and that date until my retirement from action was moved ahead after my injury. 

I couldn’t help but grin as I sat there naked in Elizabeth’s bed. Last night was unexpected, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Part of me hoped that we could progress our relationship further, I think we did that and more. It had been a long time since I slept with a woman that I actually had feelings for. An orgasm always felt great, but it sure felt better when I was releasing myself into somebody I truly cared about. Elizabeth was still fast asleep while I had this internal dialog. A small piece of me was tempted to wake her up so we could play around a bit before I left, but she looked so peaceful and I worried waking her up might result in a kick to my nuts.

I quietly moved into the attached bathroom and took care of business before standing in front of the mirror rubbing my hands over my tired eyes in an attempt to wake up. I was tired, but I noticed that I was smiling. She made me smile. It wasn’t just the sex, although that was excellent, Elizabeth just made me happy. My heart still felt a bit of pain because I was seeing her in a way that I had only seen in Brandi all those years ago. We had loved each other fully ad unconditionally, but she was gone. I had put Katie first for the last six-plus years, it was time to attend to my feelings as well.

My fingers ran over the Gaelic tattoo that I had done a year after Brandi passed away. It had been a while since I paid much attention to it, but Elizabeth had noticed it last night and for a moment I wasn’t sure if I could continue on. “Maireann lá go ruaig ach maireann an grá go huaigh,” it read. My father had said it to me on the day of Brandi’s funeral and then in a card on the first anniversary of her death. “A day lasts until it's chased away but love lasts until the grave.” I disagreed with it a little bit because I still loved her, but I knew that quote didn’t mean that I’d stop loving her, but just that we’d had each other for as long as we could.

When I finished up in the bathroom, I went back into Elizabeth’s bedroom and started searching around for my clothes. I just finished putting my top on when I heard shuffling in the bed and Elizabeth’s eyes opened, “Hey, you weren’t leaving without saying bye, right?” She asked in a groggy voice.

“You looked for peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“If you didn’t say goodbye I’d be worried that I was just your dirty little secret.”

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head, “You’re anything but, Babe. Once we’re ready, I’m going to tell the whole world how I feel about you.”

“I like the sound of that,” she replied with a sleepy smile. “You’ll be back for breakfast, right?”

“I’ll do you one better, what if I pick up some pastries from the coffee shop and bring them over.”

“You’re going to spoil those girls, Dalton.”

I smile and kiss her again, “I intend to spoil all three of you.”

In order to leave Elizabeth’s apartment, I had to sneak past the door to Eva’s room. I wanted to look in to check on Katie, but there was a risk that came with that. We managed to enjoy ourselves last night with no visitors and I didn’t need to chance it. There was no reason to assume that she wasn’t happily passed out with her friend. I was super careful locking the door from the inside before meeting the chilly November morning in nothing but sweatpants and a thermal. 

After a quick job across the apartment complex, I end up back at my place. It was still dark and I was exhausted. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my top and climbed back into bed. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to fall asleep. While in bed with Elizabeth, sleep came quickly and with no issues, but alone I just overthought the situation. Even after messing up on multiple occasions, she was still willing to give me a chance. I felt guilty that we still didn’t go on a real date. That was something I needed to get on. As much as I wanted to spend even MORE time in bed with her, I wanted to try a real relationship.

After two hours of tossing and turning, I gave up on sleep and hopped in the shower instead. Dressed in a pair of jeans, another thermal, and a Strawberry Fire Department hoodie, I got in my car and headed down to the coffee shop that was bustling on a Friday morning. Black Friday wasn’t really a thing in Strawberry, but I’m sure a bunch of these patrons were headed to the big city to shop at those big box stores. 

Armed with a box of bear claws, I knocked on Elizabeth’s door. I could hear the giggles of the girls on the other side of the door and a few moments later Elizabeth opened the door wearing a lot more clothing than when I left her bed this morning. “Good morning,” I said with a smirk. She returned my greeting with an all-knowing smile of her own.

“Hey girls,” she shouted into the apartment, “Look who showed up bright and early?”

The two girls hopped off their chairs in unison and made a mad dash for the door. “Daddy!” Katie threw her arms around me while I let out of oomph sound at the impact. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!”

“I thought the three of you might want some pastries from the diner for breakfast. If you don’t though, I mean I guess I could take them back.” I pretended to walk away from the apartment, but both Eva and Katie were grabbing at my arms, begging me to stay. Elizabeth had to rescue the box of goodies from my arms to avoid losing the goods. Once I had both hands free, I bent down and lifted both girls up on my shoulders. 

This was a move I’d probably regret, and Elizabeth was giving me the stink eye on a professional level, but I loved hearing the two of them scream and attempt to wiggle from my hold. Once I got them into the kitchen, I set them each down on a barstool with just a small fumble. “I take it that you want the pastries?”

“Yes!” Both girls yelled in unison.

I kissed Katie on the head and gave Eva’s shoulder a friendly squeeze before making my way into the kitchen to help Elizabeth. It took all my mental strength to not reach out and try to touch her while she was plating breakfast and I was getting them both milk. I realized that this moment was a defining one for me. For far too long I had only seen the future as Katie and me, but being in this apartment with Elizabeth and Eva just felt right. It didn’t scare me or make me nervous. I wasn’t about the run away scared that I was falling for a woman who wasn’t my wife. This was a future I could see, these three ladies and myself living happily ever after.