The One Who Promised Forever: A Christian Firefighter Redeemed Marriage Romance by Tara Grace Ericson

Author:Tara Grace Ericson [Ericson, Tara Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silver Fountain Press
Published: 2023-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

NATHAN (12 MONTHS AGO)

I reached across the center console for Rebecca's hand. "It feels like forever since we've been out."

She laughed. "Yeah, it really does. Are you sure your parents are up for this? Joey is only a year old, and he still wakes up almost every night... Maybe we should just pick them up after dinner." Her expression morphed into one of worry.

I shook my head. "Uh-uh. Tonight, you're all mine."

I'd been looking forward to this all week. A night alone without kids? I think we'd forgotten what that was like. And I intended to become intimately reacquainted with my wife.

We needed this.

I needed this.

We had dinner at the bistro. Nothing fancy, but the dinner specials were a step up from the burgers and fries at Bulldog's. Plus, Rebecca looked so pretty in the candlelight. She had her hair down, and I loved the way it spread across her shoulders in soft waves. It was almost always pulled up at home.

"Chief Bergman is thinking we'll add a couple more probationary firefighters in the next year. He wants me to mentor one." Pride filled my voice. It would be my first probie as a captain and felt like a big responsibility.

Rebecca nodded. "Do you think you'll have to work extra hours because of that?"

My heart sank. Would it kill her to be excited for me? This was a big opportunity. The flatbread pizza turned to ash in my mouth as I lost my appetite. "I'm not sure," I said. I was already at the station far more than any of the other firefighters. "He'll be on my shift, so it should just be on the clock."

Rebecca hummed an acknowledgement and took a bite of her food.

I leaned back, frustrated at her response. The rest of our food came, and we talked about trivial things. I barely ate my food.

"You going to eat that?" Rebecca asked, pointing to the last piece of the gorgonzola, pear, and chicken flatbread. I knew she'd already had four of the seven pieces, but I shook my head, my lips lifting in amusement. She’d always eaten just as much as me. "Still eating for two? I thought you were done nursing?"

Her eyebrows flew up. It was meant to be a joke, but the words landed with a barb.

She leaned back from the table. "Oh shoot. I'm sorry, Bex. I was just joking. Go ahead and eat it."

"It's fine," she said. But I knew it wasn't.

I'd messed up. Surprise, surprise.

It felt like that was all I did these days. Say the wrong thing. Do the wrong thing. Forget to do something entirely.

"I really am sorry, Bex. You can eat the pizza.”

"I don't want it anymore"," she said, successfully making me feel like a jerk.

"I love you," I offered optimistically. As though saying those words would undo the damage I'd just caused.

"Love you, too," she said. But her smile was half-hearted.

I changed the subject, asking her about the crazy outfits Alex had worn for Spirit Week at school.

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