Redeemed Hearts (Thoroughbred Men Series Book 3) (11 page)

PS- the hammer is for my hard head

Teri grinned wildly at the note. He apparently was very observant, because the shoes were the same size as the heels she had to wear yesterday at the wedding. The pink slip was a lovely shade of hot pink that looked decidedly feminine. She planned on sleeping in it tonight. The hammer would be going in her tool belt. Teri pulled out her phone and texted the number he had included in the card earlier this morning that was tucked safely in her pocket. She bit her lip, unsure what to say.

It’s Teri. Thank you for everything. That was terribly sweet.

She hit “send” with a smile. She gathered up her pink bag of items and unlocked the front door of her house. She set the bag down on the couch and moved to unload her truck. Her arms were full of bags when she heard her phone chime in response. She unloaded the bags onto the table and checked her phone, excited.

I’m glad you like everything.

Teri smiled, content. He was being very cordial. It was terribly sweet of him to surprise her not once, but twice. He had a very romantic nature to him and it made her feel very cherished and dainty. She liked it.

Thank you again, you did not have to but I adore it all.

Teri did not want to come off as the clingy type but the girly part of her wanted to jump up and down and keep texting him gushy things. She was going to have to put a muzzle on that giggly girl, she thought with a laugh. She shook her head and unpacked the bags, laying out the items for the cocoa jars she had seen on Pinterest.

The roast Teri had put in the Crock-Pot smelled divine. She was getting ready to divide it up into containers to freeze, when a thought hit her. Teri texted Richard again:

Have you had dinner?

Richard sat back and smiled. She must have really liked the hammer, shoes, and slip. To go from ignoring him to asking him about dinner was true progress. Unfortunately, he was stuck at the station and the only reason the pink bag made it to her house was he was able to pull in a few favors and get some help from the guys.

Thank you but I can’t. I’m on duty at the station.

Richard really hated to send that to her. He hoped she would maybe be interested in dinner another night with him. He sighed when the text showed it was read but there was no response.

 
Tony walked in and sat down next to Richard who was checking his gear and tank. “What’s wrong, Romeo?” he teased. “She like the presents you sent her?” clapping him on the back.

Richard grinned. “Yeah, she did. Thank you for the help. Where did you find those girly shoes, Tony? You have a secret you need to share?” he taunted back, feeling happier than he did this morning when Teri had not been receptive to the flowers.

The two laughed good-naturedly. “I can’t give away all my secrets. You just owe me,” he quipped. Richard agreed. Tony grinned from ear to ear. “No seriously, you really owe me because those little sparkly shoes look much better on Teri than they ever would have on Mike’s wife. Teri is a delicate looking thing and can pull it off, Martha can’t.”

Richard looked at him, confused for a moment, and then it dawned on him. “She is here?” he squawked. “Where is she? Why didn’t you tell me?” he laughed and pretended to wrestle with his friend. Tony ended up pulling him in a bear hug and repeated again for him to be good to her. Richard had no intention of mistreating her. She was amazing.

Richard walked into the front office area and saw five other men hanging around Teri, all smiling at her. “Hey! Back off you guys! Stinky! Lumpy! Roadie! Back off! Elvis, you are married, you SFB! Y’all leave my woman alone,” he stopped shoving through the crowd. “Hey baby, what are you doing out here?” he asked surprised.

The guys started ruffling his hair while playing keep away with Teri. The pulled him away, shoved in front of him and wrestled him around until he finally broke free. They continued on, telling him she brought dinner for them all and jokingly called him “SFB” (
shit for brains
) now instead of his call sign “Romeo”.

Each man had a call sign they were dubbed when they came on at the station. His happened to be Romeo simply because his first shift he was dropped off by some woman, whose name he had forgotten over time. Tony’s call sign was due to his Italian heritage, his large moustache, and his love of dogs. He was dubbed “Tony” after the chef at the restaurant in “Lady and the Tramp”. Stinky was because he stunk up the bathroom each time he was on shift, etc. Each man “earned” his name and the crew became closer for it.

Richard swatted at them playfully and looked at Teri. She looked amazing in a blue sweater, jeans and her new sparkly shoes. “Those are perfect,” he said with a smile. He pulled her forward and kissed her in front of the guys, claiming possession. “I’m serious, boys, stay away from my woman,” he tossed over his shoulder and kissed her again to their delight. They hollered and teased him mercilessly and it was all worth it to Richard.

Teri was pleased at how possessive Richard was towards her and how enthusiastic the men at the station seemed to be when she walked in with the Crock-Pot accompanied by a large package of rolls. There was no way she would have eaten the entire roast she cooked. She had intended to break it up into containers and freeze part of it, but seeing how excited they were made her feel wonderful. She hoped it was as good as it smelled. Teri watched as Richard leaned down and kissed her again with enthusiasm.

Richard was so happy to see her and the idea she brought dinner made him feel extremely special. He would be sure to tease the boys that their wives and girlfriends did not bring them dinner here. Of course they did, but it sure didn’t smell like whatever was in the Crock-Pot nor was it packaged as pretty as Teri was. “Join us for dinner, Sunshine?” he invited and whispered in her ear, “Unless you are dessert and then I’m not sharing at all! I prefer my dessert first if I can,” he teased and kissed her neck.

Teri blushed fiercely and followed the men to the dining area. Thankfully, they did not say anything about how red her cheeks must be as she thought of being dessert for Richard. She heard several groans of delight as the men dished up the roast and started eating. One man, whose name she found out later was Lumpy because of his muscles, told her she was welcome to bring anything to the firehouse- including other single girls who could cook. Teri laughed good-naturedly and said she would make sure to tell her friends.

Teri had a small serving, leaving plenty for the guys that surrounded her at the table. They decimated the roast, potatoes, carrots and rolls till the Crock-Pot was clean. Literally. Stinky was sweeping a roll around the bottom of the Crock-Pot capturing all the juices when the bell rang. Teri jumped at the loud ringing and gave a shout of surprise.

The seven men around the table flew into action. They raced from the room and moved to their positions. Teri scooted back against the wall to move out of the way of the quick moving barrage of testosterone that was tearing through the chamber. Once emptied, she dodged around the table to see them in action and stood back aways in an effort not to get stepped on. She watched as they all threw themselves into their gear that stood perched atop of their boots by the massive fire engine.

The lights flipped on and the uniformed men climbed aboard. Richard looked back over at Teri wistfully. He hated to leave her so suddenly like this but it could not be helped. It was his duty. Richard waited last to get on the truck, yelling over his shoulder as he carried his helmet. He turned to her. “Thank you for dinner, Sunshine. Text me or call me tomorrow,” he said trying to keep the need out of his voice. He then heard the others ribbing him from inside of the truck.

“Call me, baby cakes!”

“Love you, snookie-wookie!”

“Dinner was nummy nummy, my pookie bear!”

“C’MON ROMEO, GET IN THE DAMN TRUCK!”

“Gotta go!” he said as he climbed on board. “Shut up guys and thank the lady!” he barked as the door slammed behind him.

Teri heard a chorus of “thank yous” spill from the truck as they began to pull out of the station and the wail of the siren began. She waved. Teri whispered “be safe” to no one as she was left alone in the silence.

It all happened so very fast. It was almost brutal how silent the station was once it was cleared out. Teri walked back to the dining area and cleaned up, starting their dishwasher and left out a note telling them all that it was “very nice to meet their team” and she would be bringing more goodies later on. She wiped down the table and shut off the light. Teri got in her truck out front and texted Richard, knowing it might be some time before she heard from him.

Let me know when you are safe

Teri began the short drive home, looking around for smoke or any signs of the truck. Not seeing them, she pulled up to her house. Teri fixed herself a drink, put on the pink slip and turned the ringer on a high setting on her phone awaiting a text from Richard.

Teri woke to a chime with a start. She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting. Teri groggily grabbed her phone noting the time. It was barely past midnight. She had gotten home from the station about eight. She opened her text message with a sigh of relief.

I’m back safe. Thank you again for dinner, you are an amazing woman. I am going to try to get some sleep before the next alarm rings. I will dream of you in that pink slip

Teri smiled and mischievously took a “selfie” in the pink slip and sent it to him. It was a very modest photo and you could tell she had the slip on. That was about as good as she was willing to send right now, considering she had never, ever sent a photo of herself in her undergarments before in her life.

Richard grinned at the photo Teri sent of herself. He could see she was lying down on the couch in her living room and could see a pink strap. That was it. Was she suddenly shy? He texted her as he lay in his bunk. He knew he should be sleeping but the thought of Teri sending him a photo was too exciting.

Take another pic, please?

Teri knew what he was wanting, a dirty photo of herself. She just could not do it though… could she? Teri snapped several shots of herself and groaned, each was worse than the prior photos. Finally, she snapped one of her legs. They looked like they went on for days with the angle she used on her phone and at the very top of her thighs was the pink of the slip. That was about as dirty as he was going to get! Teri sent the photo.

Richard looked at the picture she sent and muffled a groan. She had the most amazing legs and the glimpse of pink was exactly where he wished he was right now.

Baby, that is the hottest thing I have seen in a while. I was lucky enough to touch that soft skin. I will dream good tonight thinking that is where I should be. Goodnight sweetheart.

He knew it was mushy but thinking about how those legs felt, how her body felt and how sweet she was to come see him at the station, he felt mushy, dammit. She had definitely worked her way into his life and under his skin. He would do anything to make that petite woman smile at him.

Teri smiled softly at the text. She wished she could see his face right now, to see if he was smiling at her. She adored the way one side of his smile would lift when he looked at her, like he had a sexy secret.
Sweet dreams
she replied and went to bed.

 
Teri was pretty impressed at the attention that Richard had been paying her over the last week. She was flattered that he texted her several times throughout the day just to say “hello” and would make an effort to go out of his way to show her she was special. She had come home several times over the last several days, finding a small trinket or gift box on her porch.

One afternoon, he had left a small ornament that looked like a hammer and another time, a box full of “kisses” – the Hershey kind. Each day the item was accompanied with a small note from him. Sometimes it was silly, like with the kisses, the note read “here’s a ton of kisses…can I have one?” and other times it was tender.

Teri was excited to pull up to her house this afternoon, curious to see what Richard had left on the front steps. She had really enjoyed coming home each afternoon anticipating the texts or phone call from him. She had spent the last few nights putting together the small jars to give out at the nursing home and would be running the hot cocoa bar this evening.

She was exhausted but it was definitely energizing to know that even though they had lost loved ones, they could be happy and celebrate all together. That is what had originally drawn her to spending some time there- the sense of comradery.

She loved listening to the tales from the older men and women as the reminisced about their loved ones and how things were in their day. Teri would go listen, talk, mingle and then visit Daniel’s grave.

This year would be no different, except this year she did not plan on crying all night to herself. She would share how happy her last few weeks had been and how she had not been so lonely. Teri had needed a friend and companion, and even if things did not work out, Richard had been a wonderful distraction in her life. She had smiled more the last week or two than she had in the last several years.

Today, she pulled up to see Richard’s SUV parked out front and a grinning Richard dressed in a red sweater and black jeans. He held a small bag in his hand and looked supremely proud of himself. Teri eyed him as she put her truck into park and moved towards the front door of her house. “What exactly are you up to?” she laughed. “You have the most mischievous smile on your face,” she said as she approached him.

Teri watched as he held out the bag towards her. She took it, eying him warily as she watched his smile get bigger and bigger. “What?” she grinned and accepted the bag, peeking inside.