Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 29

DALTON

There was nothing unusual about the outfit I was wearing. Navy blue pants, belted at the waist, a Strawberry Fire Department t-shirt, tucked into the pants, and my black work boots. For about a decade and a half, I’ve been wearing this same thing three to four times a week, but today it was different. This was the first time wearing this uniform since the day of my accident. There was a point in time when I thought I’d never have the chance to wear it again. Today felt like my first day as a probie all over again. My emotions were all over the place, but mostly I was thrilled.

My personal life had changed a lot since the last time I put this uniform on as well. The accident brought me Elizabeth and Elizabeth brought me Eva. I wasn’t just a single dad heading off to work anymore. I had two more people that would be relying on me to come home every night. It was a bit more pressure, but it also meant I had two more people celebrating the day with me. Two more people celebrated my first day back at work this morning. Tonight when I got home, it would be three people greeting me at the door, my three ladies.

Even after agreeing that we would start looking for a place to move in together, Elizabeth and I still lived in our two apartments. The housing market in Strawberry wasn’t the best, but we did have an appointment with a real estate agent next weekend to look at a few places. If we were willing to live in another surrounding town, we could probably find something sooner, but living in Strawberry was a priority for us. We both agreed we weren’t in a rush, we would wait for the perfect place to call home. 

While we waited, I still had my place and she still had hers. For the last two weeks, we’d spent most of our time together as a family of four. It wasn’t until right before bedtime that we’d split up for the night. This morning, Elizabeth and Eva dropped by my place this morning as a surprise. They made cinnamon rolls to celebrate my first day back. I gave them all kisses and hugs before Elizabeth took the girls to school. It was going to be great to see them afterward as well. The need for babysitters would lessen as well, Elizabeth was almost always able to pick the girls up from school and once I was back on a regular rotation, I could do the same on my off days. 

After one final glance, I was ready to head to the station for my first day back. I wouldn’t be running into any burning buildings or recusing cats from trees today, for the next month, I would still be on modified duty. In simplest terms, I was working the desk until I could fully pass the physical test. Modified duty was better than no duty. 

“There he is!” Harrison was the first person out the bay door when I pulled into the station. He shook my hand and then enveloped me in a big hug. “Damn, it is good to see you here again.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to be here, Cap.”

He shook his head and pushed my shoulder, “You’ve been gone for months and you’re right back at calling me that, huh?”

“I know you’ve missed me,” I wink. 

The rest of the crew working today filed out of the station and welcomed me back. It was good to see them all. I appreciated the gestures, but I was ready to get back to work in the capability that I was able to. I would be doing anything and everything to keep myself busy and feel like part of the brotherhood until I could get in that truck once again. Maybe I could convince him to let me take the rig out here and there. I used to drive it by the school during recess, Katie would get a kick out of that, and I bet Eva would too. 

By the end of my first shift, I had helped Harrison dig out of the pile of paperwork on his desk and we came up with a system for me to take over some of his duties until I was back on the squad full-time. Harrison deserved the title of captain, but he despised the paperwork that came along with it. Paperwork didn’t give me the same thrill that fighting fires did, but it would keep me busy and I didn’t mind helping out a friend.