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Authors: Leigh Michaels
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prime-cut steaks were ready for the barbecue grill.
Beth glanced at the clock and went to tidy her hair and freshen her
makeup. It took only ten minutes to drive from the central fire
station to their house, and she wanted to look her very best when
Josh arrived.
Ten minutes went by.
Fifteen.
A half hour.
An hour.
The soup curdled. Beth was pouring the last
of it down the drain when Josh finally came in. She barely heard
the back door bang because of the roar of the garbage disposal.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said.
“What kept you?” Beth’s voice was steady; she
was proud of herself.
“Farrah wanted to review procedure for a
toxic spill. We do things a bit differently than she learned at the
training center. Good, you haven’t started making dinner. I want a
shower first.” He aimed a kiss at her ear, missed, and went off
down the hall, whistling.
You haven’t started making dinner? She
stood there with the pan in her hand and thought about hitting him
with it. The roar of the blood in her ears almost drowned out the
garbage disposal.
She put the steaks on the grill, pulled the
rolls out of the oven, and waited.
In less than ten minutes he was back, wearing
fresh jeans and a Lakewood fire department tee shirt, with his hair
still dark with water and curling gently against his neck. He put
his arms around her and kissed her deeply.
Beth’s heart melted. He was so very handsome
– so alive, so much fun, so sexy. And he was hers. Sometimes she
had to peek at his left hand – at the gold wedding ring he always
wore when he was off duty – just to make herself believe that of
all the women in Lakewood, Josh had chosen her.
She was no beauty, and Beth knew it. She was
shorter than average, so every extra ounce seemed to show. Her hair
was plain brown, her eyes were ordinary blue. And she was a teacher
at the local pre-school, with just one class of four-year-olds each
morning – so her after-work conversation was seldom very exciting,
either.
As if he’d read her mind, Josh asked, “How
was school today?”
“Jamie head-butted Ryan in the tummy in a
squabble over their favorite swing, and Ryan threw up.”
“So just another normal day at pre-school
then, huh?” He lifted the corner of the dishtowel which covered the
yeast rolls and took a deep breath. “Man, that smells good. And
steaks? What’s the occasion?”
“Nothing special,” she teased. “I was just
thinking about where we were three mon...” She stopped
suddenly.
“Where we were... when?”
“No big deal,” Beth said. And she told
herself it wasn’t a big deal. He’d just forgotten, that was
all. He’d been in a hurry after his shower because he was rushing
to get back to her.
That must be why – for the first time she
could recall – he hadn’t put on his wedding ring.
*****
Josh didn’t wear his heavy gold band at work,
of course. A ring on a man’s hand could be dangerous, he had
explained. Too many firefighters had lost fingers when their rings
caught on equipment, or on the unpredictable loose edges that were
always a hazard at a fire scene. Because of one particularly
horrible accident many years ago, the Lakewood fire department had
decreed that firefighters were not allowed to wear jewelry on the
job.
Beth, who loved Josh’s big, strong hands, had
shuddered at the idea of one of his long, expressive fingers being
torn away. So though she had bought him a wedding ring and had it
engraved with their names and wedding date, she made sure the box
it had come in was always right on top of his dresser – so he could
easily put the ring away when he got ready for work and easily find
it when he came home again.
And he always had. Until tonight.
She told herself she was being ridiculous.
But the next day, as soon as she was home from her morning
preschool class, she mixed up a batch of chocolate-chip cookie
dough. When the first two pans to come out of the oven had cooled
enough to handle, she slid the
Beth glanced at the clock and went to tidy her hair and freshen her
makeup. It took only ten minutes to drive from the central fire
station to their house, and she wanted to look her very best when
Josh arrived.
Ten minutes went by.
Fifteen.
A half hour.
An hour.
The soup curdled. Beth was pouring the last
of it down the drain when Josh finally came in. She barely heard
the back door bang because of the roar of the garbage disposal.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said.
“What kept you?” Beth’s voice was steady; she
was proud of herself.
“Farrah wanted to review procedure for a
toxic spill. We do things a bit differently than she learned at the
training center. Good, you haven’t started making dinner. I want a
shower first.” He aimed a kiss at her ear, missed, and went off
down the hall, whistling.
You haven’t started making dinner? She
stood there with the pan in her hand and thought about hitting him
with it. The roar of the blood in her ears almost drowned out the
garbage disposal.
She put the steaks on the grill, pulled the
rolls out of the oven, and waited.
In less than ten minutes he was back, wearing
fresh jeans and a Lakewood fire department tee shirt, with his hair
still dark with water and curling gently against his neck. He put
his arms around her and kissed her deeply.
Beth’s heart melted. He was so very handsome
– so alive, so much fun, so sexy. And he was hers. Sometimes she
had to peek at his left hand – at the gold wedding ring he always
wore when he was off duty – just to make herself believe that of
all the women in Lakewood, Josh had chosen her.
She was no beauty, and Beth knew it. She was
shorter than average, so every extra ounce seemed to show. Her hair
was plain brown, her eyes were ordinary blue. And she was a teacher
at the local pre-school, with just one class of four-year-olds each
morning – so her after-work conversation was seldom very exciting,
either.
As if he’d read her mind, Josh asked, “How
was school today?”
“Jamie head-butted Ryan in the tummy in a
squabble over their favorite swing, and Ryan threw up.”
“So just another normal day at pre-school
then, huh?” He lifted the corner of the dishtowel which covered the
yeast rolls and took a deep breath. “Man, that smells good. And
steaks? What’s the occasion?”
“Nothing special,” she teased. “I was just
thinking about where we were three mon...” She stopped
suddenly.
“Where we were... when?”
“No big deal,” Beth said. And she told
herself it wasn’t a big deal. He’d just forgotten, that was
all. He’d been in a hurry after his shower because he was rushing
to get back to her.
That must be why – for the first time she
could recall – he hadn’t put on his wedding ring.
*****
Josh didn’t wear his heavy gold band at work,
of course. A ring on a man’s hand could be dangerous, he had
explained. Too many firefighters had lost fingers when their rings
caught on equipment, or on the unpredictable loose edges that were
always a hazard at a fire scene. Because of one particularly
horrible accident many years ago, the Lakewood fire department had
decreed that firefighters were not allowed to wear jewelry on the
job.
Beth, who loved Josh’s big, strong hands, had
shuddered at the idea of one of his long, expressive fingers being
torn away. So though she had bought him a wedding ring and had it
engraved with their names and wedding date, she made sure the box
it had come in was always right on top of his dresser – so he could
easily put the ring away when he got ready for work and easily find
it when he came home again.
And he always had. Until tonight.
She told herself she was being ridiculous.
But the next day, as soon as she was home from her morning
preschool class, she mixed up a batch of chocolate-chip cookie
dough. When the first two pans to come out of the oven had cooled
enough to handle, she slid the
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